Bryan Herta's #77 Forsythe Reynard at Rockingham Motor Speedway in 2001
The 2001 FedEx Championship Series season was the twenty-third in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing. It consisted of 20 of the 22 originally scheduled races, beginning in Monterrey, Mexico on March 11 and concluding in Fontana, California on November 4. What would have been the third race in the season, the Firestone Firehawk 600 in Fort Worth, Texas, was canceled after qualifying due to safety concerns. The FedEx Championship Series Drivers' Champion was Gil de Ferran, while the Rookie of the Year was Scott Dixon.
Off the track, the 2001 season was an unmitigated disaster for CART under the leadership of Joseph Heitzler. It included two race cancellations; 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; 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. DaimlerChrysler shut down their CART program as an engine manufacturer via Mercedes-Benz brand as the company decided to move to NASCAR Winston Cup Series via the Dodge brand in the same year.
The 2001 FedEx Championship Series season was the twenty-third in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing. It consisted...
The 2002 FedEx Championship Series season, the twenty-fourth in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing, consisted...
the 2001CARTseason and the first race in the series to be held in Europe. Originally known as the German 500, the event's name was changed by CART in...
The 2000 FedEx Championship Series season was the twenty-second in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing. It...
Racing Teams (CART) was a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 1979 until dissolving after the 2003 season. CART was founded...
The 1998 FedEx Championship Series season was the twentieth in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing. It consisted...
Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) and was the third round of the 2001CARTseason. It was scheduled for 248 laps around the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) oval track...
times qualified 2nd, etc. 2001 Indianapolis 500 2001 Indy Lights season2001CARTseason2001 Toyota Atlantic Championship season http://www.champcarstats...
Isle in Detroit, Michigan for the final time for CART. It was the seventh race of the 2001CARTseason. The race was won for the second consecutive year...
Porsche Supercup The 2001 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 55th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2001 Formula One World...
The 2001CART PPG/Dayton Indy Lights Championship Powered By Buick consisted of 12 races. It was dominated by Townsend Bell who captured six victories...
Speedway in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, USA. It was the 4th round of the 2001CARTseason. Rookie Scott Dixon won the race by just four tenths of a second over...
Long Beach, California, USA. It was the 2nd round of the 2001CART FedEx Championship Series season. Team Penske driver Hélio Castroneves led all 82 laps...
or very near the end of the season. From 1989 to 1996, it served as the CARTseason finale. It was once again the season finale when it returned in 2019...
open-wheel car racing, Andretti won the 1991 CART championship, and amassed 42 race victories, the most in the CART era and fourth-most all time. Since his...
German 500 (kilometer, not miles) and the Rockingham 500, rounds of the 2001CARTseason (Championship Auto Racing Teams) FedEx Championship Series. After the...
Northamptonshire, England before 38,000 people. It was the 17th race of the 2001CARTseason, the second (and final) event of the year to be held in Europe, and...
America circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. It was the 14th race of the 2001CARTseason, and the 19th annual edition of the event. Chip Ganassi Racing's Bruno...
The 2001 Toyota Atlantic Championship season was contested over 12 rounds. The CART Toyota Atlantic Championship Drivers' Champion was Hoover Orsi driving...
sanctioned by CART held at EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany in 2001 and 2003. The German 500 was put on the schedule for the 2001CARTseason and it was the...
Speedway, in Fontana, California. It was the 21st and final round of the 2001CARTseason and the fifth annual edition of the Marlboro 500 at California Speedway...
races throughout the season. Dodge returned to the sport for the first time since 1985 after DaimlerChrysler spent six years in the CART FedEx Championship...
minor league outright after the 2001season. By this time, the Toyota Atlantic series was equally effective in providing CART with new drivers. In addition...
the 2001CARTseason. In the lead-up to this event, Honda would announce that they would withdraw from CART at the conclusion of the 2002 season, in a...
Global Information
Gil de Ferran
Reynard
Honda
Scott Dixon