2001 Indy Racing League

The 2001 Indy Racing Northern Light Series saw the addition of five races and loss of one to bring the total to 13. Chip Ganassi Racing returned to the Indy 500 with four cars and were joined on the grid by Penske Racing and Team Kool Green. Sam Hornish Jr. won 3 races on his way to the championship while the less consistent Buddy Lazier won four races on his way to second place in his title defense.

2001 Indy Racing League season
Indy Racing Northern Light Series
2001 Indy Racing League
Season
Races13
Start dateMarch 18
End dateOctober 6
Awards
Drivers' champion Sam Hornish Jr.
Indianapolis 500 winner Hélio Castroneves
Sam Hornish Jr. (left) won his first Drivers' Championship while Buddy Lazier (right) finished second in the championship.

Team and driver chart
Team Chassis Engine No. Drivers Round(s)
Team Menard Dallara IR-01 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 2 Greg Ray 1–10
Jaques Lazier 11–13
Galles Racing G-Force GF05B Oldsmobile 3 Al Unser Jr. All
32 Didier André  R  All
Panther Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 4 Sam Hornish Jr. All
Kelley Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 8 Scott Sharp All
28 Mark Dismore All
Cahill Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 10 Robby McGehee 1–5, 8–13
A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara Oldsmobile 11 Donnie Beechler 4–12
Greg Ray 13
14 Eliseo Salazar All
Bradley Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile 12 Buzz Calkins All
Walker Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 15 Sarah Fisher All
Treadway-Hubbard Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 21 Felipe Giaffone  R  All
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing G-Force Nissan Infiniti VRH35ADE V8 24 Robbie Buhl All
Heritage Motorsports G-Force Oldsmobile 35 Jeff Ward All
Team Cheever Dallara Nissan 51 Eddie Cheever All
Vertex-Cunningham Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 55 Shigeaki Hattori All
Zali Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 81 John Paul Jr. 4
Billy Roe 5–13
Team Xtreme G-Force Oldsmobile 88 Airton Daré All
Hemelgarn Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 91 Buddy Lazier All
Curb-Agajanian-Beck Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile 98 Billy Boat All
Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile 99 Davey Hamilton 1–5
Richie Hearn 6, 12
Jaques Lazier 7–10
Alex Barron 11
Part Time and Indy 500 Entries
Treadway-Hubbard Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 5 Arie Luyendyk 4
Rick Treadway  R  10, 12–13
Tri-Star Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile 6 Tyce Carlson 1
60 4
Richie Hearn 4
9 Jeret Schroeder 1–5, 7–8
18 Jon Herb  R  2–4, 8
Dick Simon Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 7 Stéphan Grégoire 1–5
Roberto Guerrero 4
17 4
Cahill Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 11 Dr. Jack Miller 3–4
Indy Regency Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 16 Cory Witherill  R  3–4
Truscelli Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 18 Johnny Unser 4
PDM Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 18 Jon Herb  R  12–13
Blueprint Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 27 John Hollansworth Jr. 2
Jim Guthrie 4
McCormack Motorsports G-Force Oldsmobile 30 Brandon Erwin  R  1–5
Jimmy Kite 4
Galles Racing G-Force GF05B Oldsmobile 31 Casey Mears  R  1–4
Chip Ganassi Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 33 Tony Stewart 4
44 Jimmy Vasser 4
49 Nicolas Minassian 4
50 Bruno Junqueira 4
Conquest Racing Dallara Nissan 34 Laurent Redon 12–13
Heritage Motorsports G-Force Oldsmobile 36 Stéphan Grégoire 4
Brayton Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 37 Steve Knapp 4
61 Memo Gidley 4
Team Motorola Dallara Oldsmobile 39 Michael Andretti 4
A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara Oldsmobile 41 Robby Gordon 4
Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile 44 Anthony Lazzaro  R  11, 13
Team Cheever Dallara Nissan 52 Scott Goodyear 4
Team Penske Dallara Oldsmobile 66 Gil de Ferran 1, 4
68 Hélio Castroneves 1, 4
Team Xtreme G-Force Oldsmobile 77 Jaques Lazier 4–6
Hemelgarn Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 92 Stan Wattles 1–3
Chris Menninga  R  11–13
93 Steve Knapp 4
94 Stan Wattles 4

Season Summary

Schedule
Rnd Date Race Name Track City
1 March 18 Pennzoil Copper World Indy 200 Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix, Arizona
2 April 8 Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida
3 April 29 zMax 500 Atlanta Motor Speedway Hampton, Georgia
4 May 27 85th Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana
5 June 9 Casino Magic 500 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas
6 June 17 Radisson Indy 200 Pikes Peak International Raceway Fountain, Colorado
7 June 30 SunTrust Indy Challenge Richmond International Raceway Richmond, Virginia
8 July 8 Ameristar Casino Indy 200 Kansas Speedway Kansas City, Kansas
9 July 21 Harrah's 200 Nashville Superspeedway Lebanon, Tennessee
10 August 12 Belterra Resort Indy 300 Kentucky Speedway Sparta, Kentucky
11 August 26 Gateway Indy 250 Gateway International Raceway Madison, Illinois
12 September 2 Delphi Indy 300 Chicagoland Speedway Joliet, Illinois
13 October 6 Chevy 500 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas

Race results
Rnd Race Pole position Fastest lap Most Laps Led Winner
1 Phoenix Greg Ray Billy Boat Sam Hornish Jr. Sam Hornish Jr.
2 Homestead-Miami Jeff Ward Sam Hornish Jr. Sam Hornish Jr. Sam Hornish Jr.
3 Atlanta Greg Ray Greg Ray Greg Ray Greg Ray
4 Indianapolis Scott Sharp Sam Hornish Jr. Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves
5 Texas 1 Mark Dismore Eddie Cheever Greg Ray Scott Sharp
6 Pikes Peak Greg Ray Billy Boat Sam Hornish Jr. Buddy Lazier
7 Richmond Jaques Lazier Buddy Lazier Buddy Lazier Buddy Lazier
8 Kansas Scott Sharp Mark Dismore Eddie Cheever Eddie Cheever
9 Nashville Greg Ray Buddy Lazier Sam Hornish Jr. Buddy Lazier
10 Kentucky Scott Sharp Mark Dismore Scott Sharp Buddy Lazier
11 Gateway Sam Hornish Jr. Robbie Buhl Sam Hornish Jr. Al Unser Jr.
12 Chicagoland Jaques Lazier Robbie Buhl Jaques Lazier Jaques Lazier
13 Texas 2 Sam Hornish Jr. Felipe Giaffone Sam Hornish Jr. Sam Hornish Jr.

Note: All races running on Oval/Speedway.

Pennzoil Copper World Indy 200

This race was held March 18 at Phoenix International Raceway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  2. 14- Eliseo Salazar
  3. 91- Buddy Lazier
  4. 8- Scott Sharp
  5. 98- Billy Boat
  6. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  7. 35- Jeff Ward
  8. 10- Robby McGehee
  9. 12- Buzz Calkins
  10. 88- Airton Daré

Inaugural Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami

This race was held April 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Jeff Ward won the pole. Sarah Fisher's second place was the highest finish in an Indy car race by a female driver at the time.

Top ten results

  1. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  2. 15- Sarah Fisher
  3. 14- Eliseo Salazar
  4. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  5. 35- Jeff Ward
  6. 3- Al Unser Jr.
  7. 28- Mark Dismore
  8. 8- Scott Sharp
  9. 51- Eddie Cheever
  10. 32- Didier André

zMax 500

This race was held April 28 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Greg Ray won the pole. A huge 11-car pileup occurred on lap 54, sending Dr. Jack Miller to the hospital with a concussion. It would be Miller's final race. This is also the final Indy car race held at Atlanta to-date.

Top ten results

  1. 2- Greg Ray
  2. 8- Scott Sharp
  3. 12- Buzz Calkins
  4. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  5. 14- Eliseo Salazar
  6. 91- Buddy Lazier
  7. 35- Jeff Ward
  8. 55- Shigeaki Hattori
  9. 88- Airton Daré
  10. 21- Felipe Giaffone

85th Indianapolis 500

The Indy 500 was held May 27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Scott Sharp sat on pole. Sharp crashed on the opening lap, and finished last. Team Penske returned to Indy after failing to qualify in 1995 and boycotting the race due to the IRL/CART "split" from 1996–2000. Penske finishes 1st–2nd with Hélio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran, Roger Penske's first-ever 1–2 at Indy as an owner.

Top ten results

  1. 68- Hélio Castroneves
  2. 66- Gil de Ferran
  3. 39- Michael Andretti
  4. 44- Jimmy Vasser
  5. 50- Bruno Junqueira
  6. 33- Tony Stewart
  7. 14- Eliseo Salazar
  8. 88- Airton Daré
  9. 98- Billy Boat
  10. 21- Felipe Giaffone

Casino Magic 500

This race was held June 9 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mark Dismore won the pole. A serious crash on lap 56 involved Davey Hamilton, who lost control after Jeret Schroeder blew an engine, and Hamilton drove in the oil. Hamilton then crashed hard into the turn 2 wall, causing serious injuries to both legs and feet. The crash effectively ended Hamilton's full-time racing career. Scott Sharp stole the win after Eddie Cheever and Greg Ray crashed hard on the backstretch while battling for the victory in the final laps. Robby McGehee, who was running many laps down, was also caught up in the mishap; McGehee suffered leg and head injuries and missed several races.

Top ten results

  1. 8- Scott Sharp
  2. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  3. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  4. 91- Buddy Lazier
  5. 98- Billy Boat
  6. 11- Donnie Beechler
  7. 14- Eliseo Salazar
  8. 3- Al Unser Jr.
  9. 77- Jaques Lazier
  10. 55- Shigeaki Hattori

Radisson Indy 200

This race was held June 17 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 91- Buddy Lazier
  2. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  3. 24- Robbie Buhl
  4. 98- Billy Boat
  5. 88- Airton Daré
  6. 51- Eddie Cheever
  7. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  8. 8- Scott Sharp
  9. 99- Richie Hearn
  10. 15- Sarah Fisher

Inaugural SunTrust Indy Challenge

This race was held June 30 at Richmond International Raceway. Jaques Lazier won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 91- Buddy Lazier
  2. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  3. 3- Al Unser Jr.
  4. 32- Didier André
  5. 8- Scott Sharp
  6. 28- Mark Dismore
  7. 11- Donnie Beechler
  8. 35- Jeff Ward
  9. 24- Robbie Buhl
  10. 12- Buzz Calkins

Ameristar Casino Indy 200

This race was held July 8 at Kansas Speedway. Scott Sharp won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 51- Eddie Cheever
  2. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  3. 11- Donnie Beechler
  4. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  5. 91- Buddy Lazier
  6. 88- Airton Daré
  7. 14- Eliseo Salazar
  8. 55- Shigeaki Hattori
  9. 98- Billy Boat
  10. 10- Robby McGehee

Inaugural Harrah's 200

This race was held July 21 at Nashville Superspeedway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 91- Buddy Lazier
  2. 98- Billy Boat
  3. 99- Jaques Lazier
  4. 10- Robby McGehee
  5. 8- Scott Sharp
  6. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  7. 55- Shigeaki Hattori
  8. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  9. 12- Buzz Calkins
  10. 11- Donnie Beechler

Belterra Resort Indy 300

This race was held August 12 at Kentucky Speedway. Scott Sharp won the pole. Buddy Lazier drove to victory, his final career win.

Top ten results

  1. 91- Buddy Lazier
  2. 8- Scott Sharp
  3. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  4. 3- Al Unser Jr.
  5. 11- Donnie Beechler
  6. 98- Billy Boat
  7. 55- Shigeaki Hattori
  8. 21- Felipe Giaffone
  9. 24- Robbie Buhl
  10. 35- Jeff Ward

Inaugural Gateway Indy 250

This race was held August 26 at Gateway International Raceway. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 3- Al Unser Jr.
  2. 28- Mark Dismore
  3. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  4. 51- Eddie Cheever
  5. 24- Robbie Buhl
  6. 98- Billy Boat
  7. 35- Jeff Ward
  8. 8- Scott Sharp
  9. 88- Airton Daré
  10. 10- Robby McGehee

Inaugural Delphi Indy 300

This race was held September 2 at Chicagoland Speedway. Jaques Lazier won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 2- Jaques Lazier
  2. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  3. 51- Eddie Cheever
  4. 35- Jeff Ward
  5. 11- Donnie Beechler
  6. 99- Richie Hearn
  7. 34- Laurent Redon
  8. 3- Al Unser Jr.
  9. 12- Buzz Calkins
  10. 21- Felipe Giaffone

Chevy 500

This race was held October 6 at Texas Motor Speedway. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
  2. 8- Scott Sharp
  3. 24- Robbie Buhl
  4. 14- Eliseo Salazar
  5. 5- Rick Treadway
  6. 3- Al Unser Jr.
  7. 88- Airton Daré
  8. 11- Greg Ray
  9. 18- Jon Herb
  10. 12- Buzz Calkins

Final points standings
Pos Driver PHX
 HOM
 ATL
 INDY
 TXS
 PIK
 RIR
 KAN
 NSH
 KTY
 GAT
CHI
 TX2
 Pts
1 Sam Hornish Jr. 1* 1* 4 14 3 2* 2 2 6* 3 3* 2 1* 503
2 Buddy Lazier 3 20 6 18 4 1 1* 5 1 1 13 11 17 398
3 Scott Sharp 4 8 2 33 1 8 5 17 5 2* 8 25 2 355
4 Billy Boat 5 13 14 9 5 4 18 9 2 6 6 12 12 313
5 Eliseo Salazar 2 3 5 7 7 14 12 7 11 15 17 18 4 308
6 Felipe Giaffone  RY  6 4 10 10 2 7 11 4 8 8 20 10 21 304
7 Al Unser Jr. 23 6 17 30 8 11 3 20 14 4 1 8 6 287
8 Eddie Cheever 19 9 24 26 12 6 13 1* 15 21 4 3 18 261
9 Buzz Calkins 9 16 3 12 15 15 10 13 9 16 22 9 10 242
10 Airton Daré 10 23 9 8 19 5 15 6 17 20 9 19 7 239
11 Jeff Ward 7 5 7 24 16 12 8 Wth 20 10 7 4 24 238
12 Robbie Buhl 11 24 20 15 21 3 9 21 13 9 5 22 3 237
13 Shigeaki Hattori 13 15 8 DNQ 10 DNS 14 8 7 7 15 21 16 215
14 Mark Dismore 25 7 26 16 20 13 6 11 16 22 2 17 23 205
15 Donnie Beechler 25 6 16 7 3 10 5 14 5 204
16 Robby McGehee 8 12 21 11 14 10 4 18 10 20 14 196
17 Jaques Lazier 22 9 17 19 18 3 12 16 1* 20 195
18 Greg Ray 22 21 1* 17 11* 18 DNS 14 18 13 8 193
19 Sarah Fisher 17 2 11 31 18 10 17 12 19 19 11 24 25 188
20 Didier André  R  27 10 13 DNQ 17 19 4 16 21 11 12 13 15 188
21 Billy Roe 13 20 20 22 12 14 23 23 22 101
22 Jeret Schroeder 26 14 19 20 23 16 15 77
23 Jon Herb  R  25 16 27 DNS 19 15 9 70
24 Hélio Castroneves 18 1* 64
25 Rick Treadway  R  17 14 5 59
26 Davey Hamilton 12 19 18 23 24 54
27 Richie Hearn DNQ 9 6 50
28 Gil de Ferran 24 2 46
29 Laurent Redon  R  7 11 45
30 Brandon Erwin  R  14 17 27 DNQ 22 40
31 Casey Mears  R  20 11 23 DNQ 36
32 Stan Wattles 16 26 12 DNQ 36
33 Chris Menninga  R  19 16 19 36
34 Michael Andretti 3 35
35 Stéphane Grégoire 21 22 15 28 DNQ 34
36 Jimmy Vasser 4 32
37 Bruno Junqueira 5 30
38 Anthony Lazzaro  R  18 13 29
39 Tony Stewart 6 28
40 Cory Witherill  R  22 19 19
41 Arie Luyendyk 13 17
42 Tyce Carlson 15 DNQ 15
43 John Hollansworth Jr. 18 12
44 Alex Barron 21 9
45 Robby Gordon 21 9
46 Dr. Jack Miller 25 DNQ 5
47 Nicolas Minassian 29 1
48 Scott Goodyear 32 1
– Raul Boesel DNQ 0
– Memo Gidley DNQ 0
– Roberto Guerrero DNQ 0
– Jim Guthrie DNQ 0
– Jimmy Kite DNQ 0
– Steve Knapp DNQ 0
– John Paul Jr. DNQ 0
– Lyn St. James DNQ 0
– Johnny Unser DNP 0
– Johnny Herbert DNP 0
Pos Driver PHX
 HOM
 ATL
 INDY
 TXS
 PIK
 RIR
 KAN
 NSH
 KTY
 GAT
CHI
 TXS
 Pts
Color Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green 4th & 5th place
Light Blue 6th–10th place
Dark Blue Finished
(Outside Top 10)
Purple Did not finish
(Ret)
Red Did not qualify
(DNQ)
Brown Withdrawn
(Wth)
Black Disqualified
(DSQ)
White Did not start
(DNS)
Blank Did not
participate
(DNP)
Not competing
In-line notation
Bold Pole position
(2 points)
Italics Ran fastest race lap
* Led most race laps
(1 point)
DNS Any driver who qualifies
but does not start (DNS),
earns all the points
had they taken part.
 RY  Rookie of the Year
 R  Rookie
  • Ties in points broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc., and then by number of pole positions, followed by number of times qualified 2nd, etc.

See also
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