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
Races	13
Start date	March 18
End date	October 6
Awards
Drivers' champion	Sam Hornish Jr.
Manufacturers' Cup	Oldsmobile
Rookie of the Year	Felipe Giaffone
Indianapolis 500 winner	Hélio Castroneves
← 2000 2002 →

Sam Hornish Jr. (left) won his first Drivers' Championship while Buddy Lazier (right) finished second in the championship.

Confirmed entries

All drivers and teams used Firestone Tires.

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

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 28	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
Sources:[1][2]

• This race was originally scheduled for September 16th but was postponed in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks.^[3]

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.

Race summaries

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.

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

• 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 was the final Indy car race held at Atlanta to-date.
• Fifth and final career win for Greg Ray.

85th Indianapolis 500

The 85th running of the Indianapolis 500 was held May 27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Scott Sharp sat on pole.

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

• Polesitter 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 to 2000. Penske finished 1st–2nd with Hélio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran, Roger Penske's first-ever 1–2 at Indy as an owner.
• Second straight 500 victory for a race rookie.

Casino Magic 500

This race was held June 9 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mark Dismore won the pole.

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

• 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.

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

• Final career win for Eddie Cheever.

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*

• On lap 103 of the race, Cheever was attempting to lap the slower car of Greg Ray, when the two made contact in turn 2. The resulting accident also caught up Unser, Jr., Beechler, and Dismore, who was struck from behind by a charging Airton Dare. No one was injured in the crash. This was the first caution of the race and lasted 18 laps, with Buddy Lazier in the lead as racing resumed. He would go on to win.
• Second and final career top ten finish for Donnie Beechler.

Belterra Resort Indy 300

This race was held August 12 at Kentucky Speedway. Scott Sharp won the pole.

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

• Final career win for Buddy Lazier.
• This race was Greg Rays last for Team Menard. He would part ways with the team after finishing 3 laps down to the winner in 13th.

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

• Penultimate career win for Al Unser Jr.

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

• This was Jaques Laziers only IndyCar win. It was his second start for the Menard team after taking over the car previously driven by Greg Ray.

Chevy 500

This race was originally scheduled for September 16th at Texas Motor Speedway but was postponed in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks.^[4] The race was eventually held October 6. 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

• Only career top five finish for Rick Treadway. Also his best finish ever.
• Greg Rays first race back after losing his Team Menard ride. He drove for A.J. Foyts team in this race.
• Final career start for Buzz Calkins. Also his final top ten finish.
• Only career top ten finish for Jon Herb. Also his best ever finish.

Final points standings

Further information: List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems

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 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 Wth 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 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 Wth 22 40 31 Casey Mears  R  20 11 23 DNQ 36 32 Stan Wattles 16 26 12 Wth 36 33 Chris Menninga  R  19 16 19 36 34 Michael Andretti 3 35 35 Stéphan Grégoire 21 22 15 28 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 Wth 15 43 John Hollansworth Jr. 18 12 44 Alex Barron 21 9 45 Robby Gordon 21 9 46 Dr. Jack Miller 25 5 47 Nicolas Minassian 29 1 48 Scott Goodyear 32 1 – Raul Boesel Wth 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 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

• 2001 Indianapolis 500
• 2001 Indy Lights season
• 2001 CART season
• 2001 Toyota Atlantic Championship season
• http://www.champcarstats.com/year/2001i.htm
• http://media.indycar.com/pdf/2011/IICS_2011_Historical_Record_Book_INT6.pdf Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (p. 125–126)

References

1. "NTT IndyCar Series Calendar 2001". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
2. "Indy Racing League". Kenosha News. October 26, 2001. p. B4. Retrieved November 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
3. https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2001/09/14/texas-track-decides-to-postpone-races/62130931007/
4. https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2001/09/14/texas-track-decides-to-postpone-races/62130931007/