2001 CART season facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 2001 CART season |
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FedEx Championship Series | |
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Season | |
Races | 20 (22 planned) |
Start date | March 11 |
End date | November 4 |
Awards | |
Drivers' champion | ![]() |
Constructors' Cup | ![]() |
Manufacturers' Cup | ![]() |
Nations' Cup | ![]() |
Rookie of the Year | ![]() |
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!
Contents
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 |
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Reynard 01i | Honda HR-1 | 1 | ![]() |
All | Marlboro 19 Penske Racing 2 |
3 | ![]() |
All | ||||
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Lola B01/00 | Toyota RV8E | 4 | ![]() |
All | Target |
12 | ![]() |
1–7 | ||||
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8–21 | |||||
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Reynard 01i | Toyota RV8E | 5 | ![]() |
All | Pioneer 20 Walker Racing 1 |
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Lola B01/00 | Toyota RV8E | 6 | ![]() |
All | Texaco-Havoline |
11 | ![]() |
All | Kmart | |||
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Lola B01/00 | Ford-Cosworth XF | 7 | ![]() |
All | Miller Lite 17 Miller Genuine Draft 4 |
8 | ![]() |
All | Shell | |||
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Lola B01/00 | Ford-Cosworth XF | 16 | ![]() |
All | Herdez |
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Reynard 01i | Toyota RV8E | 17 | ![]() |
All | Nextel |
18 | ![]() |
All | Powerware 19 Nextel 2 |
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Reynard 01i | Toyota RV8E | 19 | ![]() |
16–17 | Visteon |
20 | ![]() |
All | ||||
40 | ![]() |
All | OXXO 1 Patrick Racing 4 Visteon 15 |
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Lola B2K/00 | Ford-Cosworth XF | 19 | ![]() |
1–2 | The Dark Dog |
21 | ![]() |
1–2 | Embratel | |||
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Lola B01/00 | Ford-Cosworth XF | 22 | ![]() |
All | Sigma Autosport |
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Lola B2K/00 | Ilmor | 25 | ![]() |
1–4 | winnerB2B.com 9 Driving 101 10 |
Ford-Cosworth XF | 6–10, 13–19 | |||||
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20–21 | |||||
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Reynard 01i | Honda HR-1 | 26 | ![]() |
All | KOOL 19 Team Green 2 |
27 | ![]() |
All | ||||
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Reynard 01i | Ford-Cosworth XF | 32 | ![]() |
All | Player's 19 Racing Since 1961 2 |
33 | ![]() |
All | ||||
77 | ![]() |
All | Indeck | |||
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Reynard 01i | Honda HR-1 |
39 | ![]() |
All | Motorola |
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Reynard 01i | Honda HR-1 | 51 | ![]() |
All | Tecate |
52 | ![]() |
All | Avex | |||
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Reynard 01i | Honda HR-1 | 55 | ![]() |
All | Hollywood Cigarettes 19 No Limits 2 |
66 | ![]() |
1–16 | Pioneer 19 Mo Nunn Racing 1 |
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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 |
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1 | ![]() |
R Fundidora Park | Monterrey, Mexico | March 11 |
– | ![]() |
O Autódromo de Jacarepaguá | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | March 25 |
2 | ![]() |
R Streets of Long Beach | Long Beach, California | April 8 |
– | ![]() |
O Texas Motor Speedway | Fort Worth, Texas | April 29 |
3 | ![]() |
O Nazareth Speedway | Nazareth, Pennsylvania | May 6 |
4 | ![]() |
O Twin Ring Motegi | Motegi, Japan | May 19 |
NC* | ![]() |
O Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Speedway, Indiana | May 27 |
5 | ![]() |
O Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wisconsin | June 3 |
6 | ![]() |
R The Raceway on Belle Isle Park | Detroit, Michigan | June 17 |
7 | ![]() |
R Portland International Raceway | Portland, Oregon | June 24 |
8 | ![]() |
R Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport | Cleveland, Ohio | July 1 |
9 | ![]() |
R Exhibition Place | Toronto, Ontario | July 15 |
10 | ![]() |
O Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan | July 22 |
11 | ![]() |
O Chicago Motor Speedway | Cicero, Illinois | July 29 |
12 | ![]() |
R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio | August 12 |
13 | ![]() |
R Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin | August 19 |
14 | ![]() |
R Concord Pacific Place | Vancouver, British Columbia | September 2 |
15 | ![]() |
O EuroSpeedway Lausitz | Klettwitz, Germany | September 15 |
16 | ![]() |
O Rockingham Motor Speedway | Corby, United Kingdom | September 22 |
17 | ![]() |
R George R. Brown Convention Center | Houston, Texas | October 7 |
18 | ![]() |
R Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca | Monterey, California | October 14 |
19 | ![]() |
R Surfers Paradise Street Circuit | Surfers Paradise, Australia | October 28 |
20 | ![]() |
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 |
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1 | ![]() |
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Newman-Haas Racing | Report |
2 | ![]() |
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Team Penske | Report |
3 | ![]() |
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Race cancelled | Report | |||
4 | ![]() |
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PacWest Racing | Report |
5 | ![]() |
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Team Rahal | Report |
NC | ![]() |
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Team Penske | Report |
6 | ![]() |
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Team Rahal | Report |
7 | ![]() |
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Team Penske | Report |
8 | ![]() |
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Team Rahal | Report |
9 | ![]() |
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Team Green | Report |
10 | ![]() |
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Team Motorola | Report |
11 | ![]() |
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Forsythe Racing | Report |
12 | ![]() |
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Team Rahal | Report |
13 | ![]() |
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Team Penske | Report |
14 | ![]() |
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Chip Ganassi Racing | Report |
15 | ![]() |
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Patrick Racing | Report |
16 | ![]() |
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Team Rahal | Report |
17 | ![]() |
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Team Penske | Report |
18 | ![]() |
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Team Penske | Report |
19 | ![]() |
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Team Rahal | Report |
20 | ![]() |
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Newman-Haas Racing | Report |
21 | ![]() |
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Newman-Haas Racing | Report |
Final Driver Standings
Gil de Ferran won the championship this year! Here's how the top drivers finished:
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- 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 ![]() |
LBH ![]() |
NAZ ![]() |
MOT ![]() |
MIL ![]() |
DET ![]() |
POR ![]() |
CLE ![]() |
TOR ![]() |
MIC ![]() |
CHI ![]() |
MDO ![]() |
ROA ![]() |
VAN ![]() |
LAU ![]() |
ROC ![]() |
HOU ![]() |
LAG ![]() |
SUR ![]() |
FON ![]() |
Pts |
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1 | ![]() |
1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 341 |
2 | ![]() |
4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 240 |
3 | ![]() |
3 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 187 |
4 | ![]() |
5 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 20 | 17 | 1 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 25 | 5 | 26 | 163 |
5 | ![]() |
12 | 17 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 1 | 18 | 4 | 16 | 9 | 19 | 13 | 22 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 118 |
6 | ![]() |
9 | 6 | 8 | 17 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 24 | 2 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 9 | 25 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 23 | 23 | 105 |
7 | ![]() |
13 | 19 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 22 | 7 | 20 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 13 | 9 | 22 | 18 | 4 | 15 | 17 | 98 |
8 | ![]() |
17 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 15 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 19 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 75 |
9 | ![]() |
10 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 13 | 18 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 42 |
10 | ![]() |
14 | 14 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 23 | 11 | 18 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 26 | 17 | 25 | 11 | 42 |
11 | ![]() |
11 | 8 | 18 | 15 | 19 | 17 | 7 | ||||||||||||||
12 | ![]() |
23 | 15 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
Pos | Country | MTY ![]() |
LBH ![]() |
NAZ ![]() |
MOT ![]() |
MIL ![]() |
DET ![]() |
POR ![]() |
CLE ![]() |
TOR ![]() |
MIC ![]() |
CHI ![]() |
MDO ![]() |
ROA ![]() |
VAN ![]() |
LAU ![]() |
ROC ![]() |
HOU ![]() |
LAG ![]() |
SUR ![]() |
FON ![]() |
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 | ![]() |
378 |
2 | ![]() |
335 |
Pos | Chassis | Pts |
Engine Manufacturers' Cup
This cup was for the companies that made the car engines.
Pos | Engine | Pts |
---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
342 |
2 | ![]() |
309 |
3 | ![]() ![]() |
297 |
4 | ![]() |
0 |
Pos | Engine | Pts |
More Racing Fun
- 2001 Toyota Atlantic Championship season
- 2001 Indianapolis 500
- 2001 Indy Racing League
- 2001 Indy Lights season