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2001 CART season facts for kids

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2001 CART season
FedEx Championship Series
CART vertical logo (1997-2002).svg
Season
Races 20 (22 planned)
Start date March 11
End date November 4
Awards
Drivers' champion Brazil Gil de Ferran
Constructors' Cup United Kingdom Reynard
Manufacturers' Cup Japan Honda
Nations' Cup Brazil Brazil
Rookie of the Year New Zealand Scott Dixon
← 2000
2002 →
BryanHerta 2001
Bryan Herta's #77 Forsythe Reynard at Rockingham Motor Speedway in 2001

The 2001 FedEx Championship Series was a big year for American open-wheel car racing. It was the twenty-third season for the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) series. There were 20 races, even though 22 were planned. The season started in Monterrey, Mexico, on March 11 and finished in Fontana, California, on November 4. One race in Fort Worth, Texas, was canceled because of safety worries. The champion driver was Gil de Ferran from Brazil, and the best new driver (Rookie of the Year) was Scott Dixon from New Zealand.

The 2001 season was a tough one for CART. Two races were canceled, and a trip to Europe had many problems. During this trip, a serious accident happened to former champion Alex Zanardi, which meant he could no longer race open-wheel cars. There were also disagreements between engine makers like Honda and Toyota, and some big teams, like Team Penske, decided to join a different racing series called the Indy Racing League (IRL). Also, the series lost its TV contract, and some long-time race tracks left.

Even with these challenges, some CART teams, like Team Penske, also raced in the 2001 Indianapolis 500. Helio Castroneves from Team Penske actually won the Indianapolis 500 that year!

Race Teams and Drivers

Many different teams and drivers competed in the 2001 CART Championship Series. All the cars used Firestone Tires.

Team Chassis Engine No Drivers Races Primary Sponsors
United States Team Penske Reynard 01i Honda HR-1 1 Brazil Gil de Ferran All Marlboro 19
Penske Racing 2
3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves All
United States Chip Ganassi Racing Lola B01/00 Toyota RV8E 4 Brazil Bruno Junqueira  R  All Target
12 France Nicolas Minassian  R  1–7
United States Memo Gidley 8–21
United States Walker Motorsport Reynard 01i Toyota RV8E 5 Japan Toranosuke Takagi  R  All Pioneer 20
Walker Racing 1
United States Newman-Haas Racing Lola B01/00 Toyota RV8E 6 Brazil Cristiano da Matta All Texaco-Havoline
11 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi All Kmart
United States Team Rahal Lola B01/00 Ford-Cosworth XF 7 Italy Max Papis All Miller Lite 17
Miller Genuine Draft 4
8 Sweden Kenny Bräck All Shell
United States Bettenhausen Racing Lola B01/00 Ford-Cosworth XF 16 Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. All Herdez
United States PacWest Racing Reynard 01i Toyota RV8E 17 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin All Nextel
18 New Zealand Scott Dixon  R  All Powerware 19
Nextel 2
United States Patrick Racing Reynard 01i Toyota RV8E 19 United States Townsend Bell 16–17 Visteon
20 Brazil Roberto Moreno All
40 United States Jimmy Vasser All OXXO 1
Patrick Racing 4
Visteon 15
United States Dale Coyne Racing Lola B2K/00 Ford-Cosworth XF 19 Germany Michael Krumm 1–2 The Dark Dog
21 Brazil Luiz Garcia Jr. 1–2 Embratel
United States Sigma Autosport Lola B01/00 Ford-Cosworth XF 22 Spain Oriol Servià All Sigma Autosport
United States Arciero-Blair Racing Lola B2K/00 Ilmor 25 Brazil Max Wilson  R  1–4 winnerB2B.com 9
Driving 101 10
Ford-Cosworth XF 6–10, 13–19
United States Alex Barron 20–21
United States Team Green Reynard 01i Honda HR-1 26 Canada Paul Tracy All KOOL 19
Team Green 2
27 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti All
United States Forsythe Racing Reynard 01i Ford-Cosworth XF 32 Canada Patrick Carpentier All Player's 19
Racing Since 1961 2
33 Canada Alex Tagliani All
77 United States Bryan Herta All Indeck
United States Team Motorola Reynard 01i Honda HR-1
39 United States Michael Andretti All Motorola
Mexico Fernández Racing Reynard 01i Honda HR-1 51 Mexico Adrián Fernández All Tecate
52 Japan Shinji Nakano All Avex
United States Mo Nunn Racing Reynard 01i Honda HR-1 55 Brazil Tony Kanaan All Hollywood Cigarettes 19
No Limits 2
66 Italy Alex Zanardi 1–16 Pioneer 19
Mo Nunn Racing 1
United States Casey Mears  R  18–21

  R   Eligible for Rookie of the Year

Race Schedule and Results

The 2001 season had races in different places around the world. CART tried to have 22 races, but some were canceled. This was the first time CART raced in the United Kingdom and Germany, and they also returned to Mexico after many years.

Race Schedule

Rnd Race Name Circuit City/Location Date
1 Mexico Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey Presented by Herdez  R  Fundidora Park Monterrey, Mexico March 11
Brazil Rio 200 (Cancelled)  O  Autódromo de Jacarepaguá Rio de Janeiro, Brazil March 25
2 United States Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach  R  Streets of Long Beach Long Beach, California April 8
United States Firestone Firehawk 600 Presented by Pioneer (Cancelled)  O  Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas April 29
3 United States Lehigh Valley Grand Prix Presented by Toyota  O  Nazareth Speedway Nazareth, Pennsylvania May 6
4 Japan Firestone Firehawk 500  O  Twin Ring Motegi Motegi, Japan May 19
NC* United States 85th Indianapolis 500  O  Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana May 27
5 United States Miller Lite 225  O  Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin June 3
6 United States Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit  R  The Raceway on Belle Isle Park Detroit, Michigan June 17
7 United States Freightliner/G. I. Joe's 200 Presented by Texaco  R  Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon June 24
8 United States Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by Firstar  R  Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland, Ohio July 1
9 Canada Molson Indy Toronto  R  Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario July 15
10 United States Harrah's 500 Presented by Toyota  O  Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan July 22
11 United States Target Grand Prix of Chicago Presented by Energizer  O  Chicago Motor Speedway Cicero, Illinois July 29
12 United States Miller Lite 200  R  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio August 12
13 United States Motorola 220  R  Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin August 19
14 Canada Molson Indy Vancouver  R  Concord Pacific Place Vancouver, British Columbia September 2
15 Germany The American Memorial  O  EuroSpeedway Lausitz Klettwitz, Germany September 15
16 United Kingdom Rockingham 500  O  Rockingham Motor Speedway Corby, United Kingdom September 22
17 United States Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Houston  R  George R. Brown Convention Center Houston, Texas October 7
18 United States Honda Grand Prix of Monterey Featuring the Shell 300  R  Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California October 14
19 Australia Honda Indy 300  R  Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Surfers Paradise, Australia October 28
20 United States Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota  O  California Speedway Fontana, California November 4

 O  Oval/Speedway
 R  Road/Street course

  • The original plan was for 22 races, but the race in Texas was canceled. Also, the Rio 200 race in Brazil was dropped.
  • The Indianapolis 500 was an Indy Racing League event. CART allowed its teams to race there, but drivers didn't get points for the CART Championship.

Race Winners

Here are the winners of each race during the 2001 season:

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

Final Driver Standings

Gil de Ferran won the championship this year! Here's how the top drivers finished:

Pos Driver MTY Mexico LBH United States TXS United States NAZ United States MOT Japan MIL United States DET United States POR United States CLE United States TOR Canada MIC United States CHI United States MDO United States ROA United States VAN Canada LAU Germany ROC United Kingdom HOU United States LAG United States SUR Australia FON United States Pts
1 Brazil 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 Sweden Kenny Bräck 5 25 C 2* 1 1* 9 11 6 20 17 1 20 14 8 1* 2 7 25 5 26 163
3 United States 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 Brazil 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 Brazil 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 Italy 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 United Kingdom 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 New Zealand 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 Brazil 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 Canada 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 Canada 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 United States 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 Brazil 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 Canada 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 Brazil 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 Brazil 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 United States Memo Gidley 25 2* 17 14 5 11 20 10 14 18 3 2 10 14 65
18 Mexico 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 Spain 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 Mexico 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 Japan Toranosuke Takagi  R  10 20 C 14 20 DSQ 20 18 14 22 13 11 21 22 7 6 26 4 13 16 15 29
22 United States 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 Italy Alex Zanardi 24 26 C 20 7 11 24 26 13 4 20 9 19 13 24 20 24
24 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin 15 22 Wth 12 10 10 20 10 7 15 22 14 23 15 16 20 20 16 24 20 17
25 Brazil Max Wilson  R  28 21 C 17 23 23 4 19 25 Wth 15 25 25 18 21 16 24 12
26 Japan 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 France Nicolas Minassian  R  11 8 C 18 15 19 17 7
28 United States Casey Mears  R  17 11 26 8 7
29 United States Alex Barron 13 9 4
30 United States Townsend Bell  R  13 12 1
31 Germany Michael Krumm  R  23 15 0
32 Brazil Luiz Garcia Jr. 26 27 0
Pos Driver MTY Mexico LBH United States TXS United States NAZ United States MOT Japan MIL United States DET United States POR United States CLE United States TOR Canada MIC United States CHI United States MDO United States ROA United States VAN Canada LAU Germany ROC United Kingdom HOU United States LAG United States SUR Australia FON United States 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
  • Kenny Bräck got 1 extra point for being in pole position at the Firestone Firehawk 600 in Fort Worth, even though the race was canceled.
  • Toranosuke Takagi lost 2 points for driving roughly in Toronto.
  • Alex Zanardi had a very serious accident at EuroSpeedway Lausitz that ended his open-wheel racing career.

Nations' Cup Standings

The Nations' Cup was a competition where countries earned points based on their best driver's finish in each race. Brazil won this cup!

Pos Country MTY Mexico LBH United States NAZ United States MOT Japan MIL United States DET United States POR United States CLE United States TOR Canada MIC United States CHI United States MDO United States ROA United States VAN Canada LAU Germany ROC United Kingdom HOU United States LAG United States SUR Australia FON United States Pts
1 Brazil 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 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 Canada 3 4 3 18 12 8 5 9 2 1 2 3 8 16 3 6 10 15 3 3 187
4 Sweden Sweden 5 25 2 1 1 9 11 6 20 17 1 20 14 8 1 2 7 25 5 26 163
5 Italy 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 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 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 Mexico 17 13 9 11 5 12 15 21 3 3 10 17 3 6 17 19 14 10 7 16 75
9 Japan Japan 10 12 14 8 16 13 18 14 9 13 11 18 15 7 6 17 4 13 12 15 42
10 Spain Spain 14 14 9 14 14 16 9 17 23 11 18 9 10 5 5 10 26 17 25 11 42
11 France France 11 8 18 15 19 17 7
12 Germany Germany 23 15 0
Pos Country MTY Mexico LBH United States NAZ United States MOT Japan MIL United States DET United States POR United States CLE United States TOR Canada MIC United States CHI United States MDO United States ROA United States VAN Canada LAU Germany ROC United Kingdom HOU United States LAG United States SUR Australia FON United States Pts

Chassis and Engine Champions

Besides the drivers, the companies that made the car parts also competed!

Chassis Constructors' Cup

This cup was for the companies that built the car frames (chassis).

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

Engine Manufacturers' Cup

This cup was for the companies that made the car engines.

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

More Racing Fun

  • 2001 Toyota Atlantic Championship season
  • 2001 Indianapolis 500
  • 2001 Indy Racing League
  • 2001 Indy Lights season
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