2001 CART FedEx Championship Series

2001 CART season
FedEx Championship Series
Season
Races21
Start dateMarch 11
End dateNovember 4
Awards
Drivers' champion Gil de Ferran
Constructors' Cup Reynard
Manufacturers' Cup Honda
Nations' Cup Brazil
Rookie of the Year Scott Dixon

The 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series was the 23rd season of the FedEx Championship Series, the premier series sanctioned by Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), and encompassed the 90th season of American open-wheel car racing alongside the rivaling 2001 Indy Racing Northern Light Series. The season consisted of 21 races, beginning in Monterrey, Mexico on March 11 and ending in Fontana, California on November 4. The Drivers' Championship was won by Gil de Ferran, the Constructors' Cup by Reynard, and the Manufacturers' Cup by Honda.

Off the track, the 2001 season was an unmitigated disaster for CART under the leadership of Joseph Heitzler. It included two race cancellations in Rio de Janeiro and Texas; a disastrous European tour that coincided with the September 11 attacks and witnessed a severe accident to former series champion Alex Zanardi in which he lost both of his legs; infighting amongst engine manufacturers that saw litigation and the announced future departure of Honda and Toyota; the loss of the series' television contract with ABC/ESPN; the departure of longtime tracks Michigan International Speedway and Nazareth Speedway; the loss of Firestone as the series' tire supplier and its replacement by parent company Bridgestone; and the defection of Team Penske to the rival Indy Racing League (IRL) at the conclusion of the season.

Team Penske and Team Motorola joined Chip Ganassi Racing in having concurrent IRL teams to run in the 2001 Indianapolis 500, with Penske's Helio Castroneves winning the race. In an unusual move, CART "sanctioned" the participation of teams in the race; this was an attempt to allow Penske's primary sponsor, Marlboro, to appear on cars in the 500, as they were prohibited from being in more than one racing series by the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. This legal maneuver was not successful, and Penske's cars ran without advertising.[1][2]

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series. All teams competed with tires supplied by Firestone.[3]

Team Chassis Engine No. Driver Rounds
Team Penske Reynard 01I Honda HR-1 1 Gil de Ferran All
3 Hélio Castroneves All
Chip Ganassi Racing Lola B01/00 Toyota RV8E 4 Bruno Junqueira All
12 Nicolas Minassian 1–7
Memo Gidley 8–21
Walker Motorsport Reynard 01I Toyota RV8E 5 Toranosuke Takagi All
Newman/Haas Racing Lola B01/00 Toyota RV8E 6 Cristiano da Matta All
11 Christian Fittipaldi All
Team Rahal Lola B01/00 Ford-Cosworth XF 7 Max Papis All
8 Kenny Bräck All
Bettenhausen Racing Lola B01/00 Ford-Cosworth XF 16 Michel Jourdain Jr. All
PacWest Racing Reynard 01I Toyota RV8E 17 Maurício Gugelmin All
18 Scott Dixon All
Patrick Racing Reynard 01I Toyota RV8E 19 Townsend Bell 16–17
20 Roberto Moreno All
40 Jimmy Vasser All
Dale Coyne Racing Lola B2K/00 Ford-Cosworth XF 19 Michael Krumm 1–2
21 Luiz Garcia Jr. 1–2
Sigma Autosport Lola B01/00 Ford-Cosworth XF 22 Oriol Servià All
Arciero-Blair Racing Lola B2K/00 Phoenix 25 Max Wilson 1–4
Ford-Cosworth XF 6–11, 13–19
Alex Barron 20–21
Team Green Reynard 01I Honda HR-1 26 Paul Tracy All
27 Dario Franchitti All
Team Motorola 39 Michael Andretti All
Forsythe Racing Reynard 01I Ford-Cosworth XF 32 Patrick Carpentier All
33 Alex Tagliani All
77 Bryan Herta All
Fernández Racing Reynard 01I Honda HR-1 51 Adrián Fernández All
52 Shinji Nakano All
Mo Nunn Racing Reynard 01I Honda HR-1 55 Tony Kanaan All
66 Alex Zanardi 1–16
Casey Mears 18–21
Source:[3]

Team changes

Chip Ganassi Racing's success with Toyota in the 2000 season increased demand for their RV8 engine, with Walker Motorsport,[4] Newman/Haas Racing,[5] PacWest Racing,[6] and Patrick Racing switching to the engine for 2001.[7] Because of the overwhelming engine production, Toyota ceased their support of two teams, Della Penna Motorsports and PPI Motorsports, forcing both to shut down their CART operations at the end of 2000;[8][9] PPI Motorsports shifted their efforts to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.[10]

PacWest Racing was one of four teams that fielded cars powered by Mercedes-Benz engines in the previous season,[11] but was forced to switch to a different engine supplier after DaimlerChrysler—Mercedes-Benz's parent company—announced their departure from the series at the season's end in order to exclusively focus on their Formula One program.[12] Ilmor, the company responsible for building Mercedes-Benz's CART engines, chose to stay in the sport and supply their own engines, named the Phoenix, for Arciero-Brooke Racing,[13] though the team resorted to Ford-Cosworth's XF engine starting from the Miller Lite 225.[14] As for the other teams, Bettenhausen Racing also ran the XF engine,[15] while Mo Nunn Racing used Honda's new HR-1 engine alongside four other teams, including the newly-formed Team Motorola and Fernández Racing,[16][17] marking Honda's largest lineup in their history with CART.[18]

Only two constructors, Lola and Reynard, supplied chassis for 2001 after Swift left the series following an uncompetitive 2000 season with Dale Coyne Racing.[19] Reynard had won the Constructors' Cup the previous season and introduced their new 01I chassis.[20][21]

Schedule

Key
Icon Legend
 O  Oval/Speedway
 R  Road course
 S  Street circuit
C Cancelled race
Round Race Name Circuit City Date
1 Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey  R  Fundidora Park Monterrey, Mexico March 11
C Rio 200  O  Autódromo de Jacarepaguá Rio de Janeiro, Brazil March 25
2 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach  S  Streets of Long Beach Long Beach, California April 8
3 Firestone Firehawk 600 (Cancelled)  O  Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas April 29
4 Lehigh Valley Grand Prix  O  Nazareth Speedway Nazareth, Pennsylvania May 6
5 Firestone Firehawk 500  O  Twin Ring Motegi Motegi, Japan May 19
6 Miller Lite 225  O  Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin June 3
7 Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit  S  The Raceway on Belle Isle Park Detroit, Michigan June 17
8 Freightliner/G. I. Joe's 200  R  Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon June 24
9 Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland  R  Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland, Ohio July 1
10 Molson Indy Toronto  S  Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario July 15
11 Harrah's 500  O  Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan July 22
12 Target Grand Prix of Chicago  O  Chicago Motor Speedway Cicero, Illinois July 29
13 Miller Lite 200  R  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio August 12
14 Motorola 220  R  Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin August 19
15 Molson Indy Vancouver  S  Concord Pacific Place Vancouver, British Columbia September 2
16 The American Memorial  O  EuroSpeedway Lausitz Klettwitz, Germany September 15
17 Rockingham 500  O  Rockingham Motor Speedway Corby, United Kingdom September 22
18 Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Houston  S  George R. Brown Convention Center Houston, Texas October 7
19 Honda Grand Prix of Monterey  R  Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California October 14
20 Honda Indy 300  S  Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Surfers Paradise, Australia October 28
21 Marlboro 500  O  California Speedway Fontana, California November 4
  • The original calendar called for 22 races on five continents, by far the most ambitious calendar CART had ever attempted. With the race at Texas being canceled and the Rio 200 being dropped, the 2001 season ultimately had the same number of races as the previous year.
  • For the first time, CART would race in the United Kingdom and Germany and also return to Mexico for the first time in almost twenty years.
  • The original calendar released on August 5, 2000, had the first round of the season at Jacarepaguá in Brazil, but disagreements with the track owners several months later led to the event being dropped.
  • The events at Homestead-Miami and Gateway were dropped after negotiations with the owners of the track; rival series Indy Racing League secured the contracts instead, and both tracks were featured in the 2001 Indy Racing League season.
  • The removal of Gateway from the calendar meant that Memorial Day weekend would be empty, allowing several teams and drivers the opportunity to compete at the Indianapolis 500.
  • The 2001 season was the final time Michigan Speedway appeared on the calendar.

Results

Rnd Race Name Pole position Fastest lap Lead most laps Winning driver Winning team Report
1 Monterrey Kenny Bräck Dario Franchitti Cristiano da Matta Cristiano da Matta Newman-Haas Racing Report
2 Long Beach Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Report
3 Texas Kenny Bräck Race cancelled Report
4 Nazareth Bruno Junqueira Tony Kanaan Kenny Bräck Scott Dixon PacWest Racing Report
5 Motegi Hélio Castroneves Alex Zanardi Hélio Castroneves Kenny Bräck Team Rahal Report
6 Milwaukee Kenny Bräck Dario Franchitti Kenny Bräck Kenny Bräck Team Rahal Report
7 Belle Isle Hélio Castroneves Michael Andretti Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Report
8 Portland Max Papis Max Papis Max Papis Max Papis Team Rahal Report
9 Cleveland Maurício Gugelmin Roberto Moreno Memo Gidley Dario Franchitti Team Green Report
10 Toronto Gil de Ferran Hélio Castroneves Gil de Ferran Michael Andretti Team Motorola Report
11 Michigan Kenny Bräck Patrick Carpentier Max Papis Patrick Carpentier Forsythe Racing Report
12 Chicago Tony Kanaan Kenny Bräck Hélio Castroneves Kenny Bräck Team Rahal Report
13 Mid-Ohio Gil de Ferran Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Report
14 Road America Kenny Bräck Bruno Junqueira Hélio Castroneves Bruno Junqueira Chip Ganassi Racing Report
15 Vancouver Alex Tagliani Hélio Castroneves Alex Tagliani Roberto Moreno Patrick Racing Report
16 EuroSpeedway Gil de Ferran Tony Kanaan Kenny Bräck Kenny Bräck Team Rahal Report
17 Rockingham Kenny Bräck Patrick Carpentier Gil de Ferran Gil de Ferran Team Penske Report
18 Houston Gil de Ferran Jimmy Vasser Gil de Ferran Gil de Ferran Team Penske Report
19 Laguna Seca Gil de Ferran Hélio Castroneves Gil de Ferran Max Papis Team Rahal Report
20 Surfers Paradise Roberto Moreno Jimmy Vasser Roberto Moreno Cristiano da Matta Newman-Haas Racing Report
21 Fontana Alex Tagliani Max Papis Max Papis Cristiano da Matta Newman-Haas Racing Report

Final driver standings

Further information: List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems
Pos Driver FUN LBH TMS NAZ MOT MIL BEL POR CLE TOR MIS CMS MOH ROA VAN LAU ROC HOU LAG SUR CAL Pts
1 Gil de Ferran 2 3 C 23 13 7 6 13 4 14* 24 3 2 5 2 8 1* 1* 3* 4 6 199
2 Kenny Bräck1 5 25 C 2* 1 1* 9 11 6 20 17 1 20 14 8 1* 2 7 25 5 26 163
3 Michael Andretti 4 28 C 6 23 2 4 8 15 1 19 24 26 2 3 4 5 21 14 2 7 147
4 Hélio Castroneves 8 1* C 11 2* 26 1* 17 12 19 8 7* 1* 7* 18 12 4 5 6 20 22 141
5 Cristiano da Matta 1* 2 C 10 25 25 7 10 7 15 4 19 10 6 20 26 3 6 20 1 1 140
6 Max Papis 12 17 C 24 6 8 11 1* 18 8 16* 13 24 16 22 2 11 9 1 9 2* 107
7 Dario Franchitti 9 6 C 8 17 9 2 6 1 24 2 15 16 19 9 25 9 2 19 23 23 105
8 Scott Dixon  RY  13 19 C 1 9 3 22 7 20 5 10 4 12 4 13 9 22 18 4 15 17 98
9 Tony Kanaan 7 7 C 16 3 6 DNS 24 16 10 21 8 5 12 4 7 8 12 8 17 5 93
10 Patrick Carpentier 25 23 C 25 19 17 8 5 26 21 1 2 3 9 16 3 16 10 26 11 10 91
11 Alex Tagliani 21 18 C 22 22 12 21 12 9 2 6 6 7 8 23* 21 14 19 15 3 3 80
12 Jimmy Vasser 6 5 C 4 5 21 18 16 5 26 23 14 23 21 19 15 7 11 5 6 12 77
13 Roberto Moreno 27 11 C 12 10 15 3 2 8 11 12 20 6 11 1 23 13 22 22 22* 19 76
14 Paul Tracy 3 4 C 3 18 24 14 21 24 6 7 12 4 26 26 10 6 24 18 14 24 73
15 Christian Fittipaldi 20 24 C 5 4 18 5 3 11 12 18 25 8 18 11 19 24 8 9 8 13 70
16 Bruno Junqueira  R  22 9 C 7 24 4 19 23 23 13 9 17 13 1 12 11 25 23 7 21 4 68
17 Memo Gidley 25 2* 17 14 5 11 20 10 14 18 3 2 10 14 65
18 Adrián Fernández 19 16 C 19 16 5 12 19 21 3 25 10 22 3 21 24 23 14 10 19 18 45
19 Oriol Servià 14 14 C 9 14 14 16 9 17 23 11 18 9 10 5 5 10 26 17 25 11 42
20 Michel Jourdain Jr. 17 13 C 13 11 13 25 15 25 16 3 23 17 17 6 17 19 25 23 7 16 30
21 Toranosuke Takagi  R  10 20 C 14 20 DSQ 20 18 14 222 13 11 21 22 7 6 26 4 13 16 15 29
22 Bryan Herta 16 10 C 21 21 22 15 14 3 18 5 21 25 24 17 27 15 13 12 18 25 28
23 Alex Zanardi 24 26 C 20 7 11 24 26 13 4 20 9 19 13 24 203 24
24 Maurício Gugelmin 15 22 Wth 12 10 10 20 10 7 15 22 14 23 15 16 20 20 16 24 20 17
25 Max Wilson  R  28 21 C 17 23 23 4 19 25 Wth 15 25 25 18 21 16 24 12
26 Shinji Nakano 18 12 C 15 8 16 13 22 22 9 22 16 18 15 14 22 17 15 21 12 21 11
27 Nicolas Minassian  R  11 8 C 18 15 19 17 7
28 Casey Mears  R  17 11 26 8 7
29 Alex Barron 13 9 4
30 Townsend Bell  R  13 12 1
31 Michael Krumm  R  23 15 0
32 Luiz Garcia Jr. 26 27 0
Pos Driver FUN LBH TMS NAZ MOT MIL BEL POR CLE TOR MIS CMS MOH ROA VAN LAU ROC HOU LAG SUR CAL Pts
Color Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green 4th–6th place
Light Blue 7th–12th place
Dark Blue Finished
(Outside Top 12)
Purple Did not finish
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
Italics Ran fastest race lap
* Led most race laps
 RY  Rookie of the Year
 R  Rookie
  1. ^ Kenny Bräck also awarded 1 point for his pole position in Fort Worth. The race was canceled after qualifying due to excessively high speeds.
  2. ^ Toranosuke Takagi was penalized 2 points for rough driving in Toronto.
  3. ^ Alex Zanardi's car was impacted from the side by Alex Tagliani's car at EuroSpeedway Lausitz. He lost both of his lower legs in the impact. This signaled the end of his open-wheel racing career.

Nations' Cup

  • Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup.
Pos Country FUN LBH NAZ MOT MIL BEL POR CLE TOR MIS CMS MOH ROA VAN LAU ROC HOU LAG SUR CAL Pts
1 Brazil 1 1 5 2 4 1 2 4 7 5 3 1 1 1 7 1 1 3 1 1 341
2 United States 4 5 4 5 2 4 8 2 1 4 5 11 2 3 4 5 3 2 2 7 240
3 Canada 3 4 3 18 12 8 5 9 2 1 2 3 8 16 3 6 10 15 3 3 187
4 Sweden 5 25 2 1 1 9 11 6 20 17 1 20 14 8 1 2 7 25 5 26 163
5 Italy 12 17 20 6 8 11 1 18 4 16 9 19 13 22 2 11 9 1 9 2 118
6 United Kingdom 9 6 8 17 9 2 6 1 24 2 15 16 19 9 25 9 2 19 23 23 105
7 New Zealand 13 19 1 9 3 22 7 20 5 10 4 12 4 13 9 22 18 4 15 17 98
8 Mexico 17 13 9 11 5 12 15 21 3 3 10 17 3 6 17 19 14 10 7 16 75
9 Japan 10 12 14 8 16 13 18 14 9 13 11 18 15 7 6 17 4 13 12 15 42
10 Spain 14 14 9 14 14 16 9 17 23 11 18 9 10 5 5 10 26 17 25 11 42
11 France 11 8 18 15 19 17 7
12 Germany 23 15 0
Pos Country FUN LBH NAZ MOT MIL BEL POR CLE TOR MIS CMS MOH ROA VAN LAU ROC HOU LAG SUR CAL Pts

Chassis Constructors' Cup

Pos Chassis Pts
1 Reynard 01i 378
2 Lola B1/00 & B2K/00 335
Pos Chassis Pts

Engine Manufacturers' Cup

Pos Engine Pts
1 Honda 342
2 Toyota 309
3 Ford-Cosworth 297
4 Ilmor 0
Pos Engine Pts

References

  1. ^ "Penske must drop Marlboro logos for Indy 500". Autosport. May 25, 2001. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  2. ^ "Indy 500 wasn't in Marlboro country; team drops logo". Maryland Daily Record. May 25, 2001. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "CART Championship Series - 2001: Entrylist". Speedsport Magazine. Archived from the original on March 22, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  4. ^ "Walker Racing Announces New Driver and Engine Supplier for 2001". Speedcenter.com. November 29, 2000. Archived from the original on November 4, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  5. ^ "CHAMPCAR/CART: Newman/Haas Racing tabs da Matta and Toyota". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2026. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  6. ^ "PacWest Racing to Run Toyota Power in 2001". Speedcenter.com. January 17, 2001. Archived from the original on January 6, 2026. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  7. ^ "Moreno tests 2001 Reynard at Sebring". Autosport. November 17, 2000. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  8. ^ "Toyota drops Della Penna". Crash.net. October 26, 2000. Archived from the original on October 4, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  9. ^ Mauk, Eric (October 25, 2000). "PPI To Close Champ Car Operation After Fontana". SpeedVision. Archived from the original on November 14, 2001. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  10. ^ "PPI driver announcement". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2026. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  11. ^ "CART Championship Series - 2000: Entrylist". Speedsport-Magazine.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  12. ^ "Mercedes-Benz to pull out of CART". UPI. September 9, 2000. Archived from the original on January 6, 2026. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  13. ^ "Ilmor Racing Engines: Up From The Ashes?". Autoweek. January 21, 2001. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  14. ^ Mauk, Eric (May 15, 2001). "Arciero-Brooke To Miss Japan". SpeedVision. Archived from the original on September 5, 2001. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  15. ^ Phillips, David (January 4, 2001). "Herdez/Bettenhausen Goes With Ford Power". SpeedVision. Archived from the original on September 5, 2001. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  16. ^ Mauk, Eric (September 26, 2000). "Michael Andretti Inks Three-Year Pact With Barry Green". SpeedVision. Archived from the original on November 14, 2001. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  17. ^ "Fernandez Racing To Enter CART FedEx Championship Series". SpeedCenter.com. October 28, 2000. Archived from the original on November 3, 2025. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  18. ^ "Honda Championship Auto Racing Highlights". Honda. April 1, 2002. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  19. ^ Kirby, Gordon. "The Way It Is/ Swift's 2012 Indy car concept". GordonKirby.com. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  20. ^ "CHAMPCAR/CART: Reynard wraps up constructor's championship". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2026. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  21. ^ "2001 Reynard 01I". UltimateCarPage.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2026.

See also

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