The 2001 CART PPG/Dayton
Indy Lights
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...
Championship Powered By
Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
consisted of 12 races. It was dominated by
Townsend Bell
Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.
Early career
He spent ...
who captured six victories on his way to the championship. It was the last Indy Lights season, as the series organizer,
CART
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
, decided to drop the Indy Lights series and concentrate its efforts on the
Toyota Atlantic Championship
The Atlantic Championship is a formula race car series with races throughout North America. It has been called Champ Car Atlantics (after its former name), Toyota Atlantics (due to the series' previous history of using Toyota-powered engines) ...
.
Most former Indy Lights teams that wished to stay in business went either to the Atlantic series, which replaced Indy Lights as the support race at most CART events, or the new
Infiniti Pro Series
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...
, which ran in support of
Indy Racing League
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
events.
Drivers and teams
All teams utilized
Lola
Lola may refer to:
Places
* Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama
* Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States
* Lola Prefecture, Guinea
* Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture
* Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands
People
* Lola (fo ...
T97/20 chassis with
Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
V6 engines.
Calendar
Race summaries
Monterrey
*March 11, 2001
*
Fundidora Park
Fundidora Park (''Parque Fundidora'' in Spanish) is an urban park located in the Mexican city of Monterrey, built in what once were the grounds of the Monterrey Foundry, the first steel and iron foundry in Latin America, and, for many years, th ...
,
Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
, Mexico
*Pole position:
Derek Higgins, 1:25.345,
Long Beach
*April 8, 2001
*
Long Beach street circuit
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It wa ...
,
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
*Pole position:
Mario Domínguez
Mario Domínguez (born December 1, 1975, in Mexico City) is a Mexican racing driver. He has competed in the CART and CCWS Champ Car series and later the IndyCar Series.
Early career
Domínguez first began racing in 1987 driving go-karts. He w ...
, 1:15.968,
Texas
*April 28, 2001
*
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24° ...
,
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
*Pole position:
Damien Faulkner
Damien Faulkner (born 15 February 1977) is an Irish race car driver from Moville County Donegal. Beginning his professional career in Formula Vauxhall Junior in 1995, he competed in the Formula Ford Festival in 1996 and finished 11th. He f ...
, 0:29:060,
*The
CART
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
race that weekend was cancelled due to track incompatibility, so this was the only race completed that weekend.
Milwaukee
*June 3, 2001
*
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectator ...
,
West Allis, Wisconsin
West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census.
Histo ...
*Pole position:
Townsend Bell
Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.
Early career
He spent ...
(qualifying rained out; grid determined by championship points)
Portland
*June 24, 2001
*
Portland International Raceway
Portland International Raceway (PIR) is a motorsport facility in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is part of the Delta Park complex on the former site of Vanport, just south of the Columbia River. It lies west of the Delta Park/Vanport ...
,
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
*Pole position:
Townsend Bell
Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.
Early career
He spent ...
, 1:04.991,
Kansas
*July 8, 2001
*
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 2011 ...
,
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...
*Pole position:
Mario Domínguez
Mario Domínguez (born December 1, 1975, in Mexico City) is a Mexican racing driver. He has competed in the CART and CCWS Champ Car series and later the IndyCar Series.
Early career
Domínguez first began racing in 1987 driving go-karts. He w ...
, 0:30.252,
‡Townsend Bell was penalized two positions for aggressive driving.
Toronto
*July 15, 2001
*
Exhibition Place
Exhibition Place is a publicly owned mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The site includes exhibit, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments ...
, Toronto, Ontario
*Pole position:
Townsend Bell
Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.
Early career
He spent ...
, 1:04.202,
Mid-Ohio
*August 12, 2001
*
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regio ...
,
Lexington, Ohio
Lexington is a village along the Clear Fork River in Troy Township and Washington Township in Richland County in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is part of the Mansfield, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,822 at the 2010 cen ...
*Pole position:
Townsend Bell
Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.
Early career
He spent ...
, 1:13.809,
Gateway
*August 26, 2001
*
Gateway International Raceway
World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway International Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park) is a motorsport racing facility in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, close to the Gateway Arch. It features a o ...
,
Madison, Illinois
Madison is a city in Madison and St. Clair counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 3,891 at the 2010 census. It is home to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and the first Bulgarian Orthodox church in the United States.
...
*Pole position:
Townsend Bell
Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.
Early career
He spent ...
(qualifying rained out; grid determined by championship points)
Road Atlanta
*October 5, 2001
*
Road Atlanta
Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...
,
Braselton, Georgia
Braselton ( ) is a town in Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall, and Jackson counties in the U.S. state of Georgia, approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 7,511, and in 2018 the estimated population was 11,652. ...
*Pole position:
Townsend Bell
Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.
Early career
He spent ...
, 1:14.883,
Laguna Seca
*October 14, 2001
*
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and M ...
,
Monterey, California
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...
*Pole position:
Townsend Bell
Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.
Early career
He spent ...
, 1:16.313,
Fontana
*November 4, 2001
*
California Speedway
Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previ ...
,
Fontana, California
Fontana is a city in San Bernardino County, California. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It is now a regional h ...
*Pole position:
Townsend Bell
Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.
Early career
He spent ...
(qualifying rained out; grid determined by championship points)
*This was the last CART-sanctioned Indy Lights race.
Final points standings
Note:
Race 4 no additional point for the qualifying was awarded due to rain, starting grid were determined by championship points standing.
Race 9 no additional point for the qualifying was awarded due to rain, starting grid were determined by championship points standing.
Complete Overview
R9=retired, but classified NS=did not start
See also
*
2001 CART season
*
2001 Formula Atlantic season
References
External links
2001 season datafrom Motorsport.com
{{Firestone Indy Lights Series
Indy Lights seasons
Indy Lights
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...
Indy Lights
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...