2001 CART FedEx Championship Series
| 2001 CART season | |
|---|---|
| FedEx Championship Series | |
.svg){kind=logo} | |
| Season | |
| Races | 21 |
| Start date | March 11 |
| End date | November 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
[edit]The following teams and drivers competed in the 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series. All teams competed with tires supplied by Firestone.[3]
Team changes
[edit]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
[edit]| Key | |
|---|---|
| Icon | Legend |
| O | Oval/Speedway |
| R | Road course |
| S | Street circuit |
| C | Cancelled race |
- 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
[edit]Final driver standings
[edit]
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- ^ Kenny Bräck also awarded 1 point for his pole position in Fort Worth. The race was canceled after qualifying due to excessively high speeds.
- ^ Toranosuke Takagi was penalized 2 points for rough driving in Toronto.
- ^ 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
[edit]- 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 |
| Pos | Chassis | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reynard 01i |
378 |
| 2 | Lola B1/00 & B2K/00 |
335 |
| Pos | Chassis | Pts |
| Pos | Engine | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honda |
342 |
| 2 | Toyota |
309 |
| 3 | Ford-Cosworth |
297 |
| 4 | Ilmor |
0 |
| Pos | Engine | Pts |
References
[edit]- ↑ "Penske must drop Marlboro logos for Indy 500". Autosport. May 25, 2001. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
- ↑ "Indy 500 wasn't in Marlboro country; team drops logo". Maryland Daily Record. May 25, 2001. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
- 1 2 "CART Championship Series - 2001: Entrylist". Speedsport Magazine. Archived from the original on March 22, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "CHAMPCAR/CART: Newman/Haas Racing tabs da Matta and Toyota". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2026. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Moreno tests 2001 Reynard at Sebring". Autosport. November 17, 2000. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Toyota drops Della Penna". Crash.net. October 26, 2000. Archived from the original on October 4, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "PPI driver announcement". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2026. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
- ↑ "CART Championship Series - 2000: Entrylist". Speedsport-Magazine.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Mercedes-Benz to pull out of CART". UPI. September 9, 2000. Archived from the original on January 6, 2026. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Ilmor Racing Engines: Up From The Ashes?". Autoweek. January 21, 2001. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
- ↑ Mauk, Eric (May 15, 2001). "Arciero-Brooke To Miss Japan". SpeedVision. Archived from the original on September 5, 2001. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
- ↑ Phillips, David (January 4, 2001). "Herdez/Bettenhausen Goes With Ford Power". SpeedVision. Archived from the original on September 5, 2001. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Honda Championship Auto Racing Highlights". Honda. April 1, 2002. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "CHAMPCAR/CART: Reynard wraps up constructor's championship". Motorsport.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2026. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
- ↑ "2001 Reynard 01I". UltimateCarPage.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
- Åberg, Andreas. "CART FedEx Champ Car World Series 2001". Driver Database. Archived from the original on December 31, 2008. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
- "2001 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series". Champ Car Stats. Archived from the original on November 22, 2008. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
- "CART Postpones Firestone Firehawk 600 Presented by Pioneer Due to Unprecedented Physical Demands on Drivers" (Press release). CART / PR Newswire. April 30, 2001.
- "Standings after Fontana". Champ Car World Series. Archived from the original on October 22, 2008. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
Bibliography
[edit]- Shaw, Jeremy, ed. (2002). Autocourse Cart: Official Champ Car Yearbook 2001-2002. Richmond, Surrey: Hazleton Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903135-12-9.