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2001 Indianapolis 500
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The 85th Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 27, 2001. Race rookie Hélio Castroneves led the final 52 laps and won his first Indy 500.
he seventh year of the IRL/CART split, Team Penske and Andretti Green Racing broke ranks and returned to race at Indianapolis. Ganassi, who had returned in 2000, entered as well. After one year of retirement, two-time winner Arie Luyendyk returned to the cockpit. CART did not schedule any races the weekend of Indy 500 pole qualifying, nor the race itself, to allow teams the opportunity to participate without penalty.
After an expirimental two-week schedule was used for the Indy 500 from 1998-2000, the Speedway reverted back to the more traditional three-week schedule for practice, time trials, and the race.
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Encyclopedia
The 85th Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 27, 2001. Race rookie Hélio Castroneves led the final 52 laps and won his first Indy 500.
Changes for 2001
In the seventh year of the IRL/CART split, Team Penske and Andretti Green Racing broke ranks and returned to race at Indianapolis. Ganassi, who had returned in 2000, entered as well. After one year of retirement, two-time winner Arie Luyendyk returned to the cockpit. CART did not schedule any races the weekend of Indy 500 pole qualifying, nor the race itself, to allow teams the opportunity to participate without penalty.
After an expirimental two-week schedule was used for the Indy 500 from 1998-2000, the Speedway reverted back to the more traditional three-week schedule for practice, time trials, and the race. Rookie orientation was held April 13-14. Time trials were set at three days.
Due to the MSA, tobacco brand sponsorship was a issue during the month of May. Penske Racing drivers Hélio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran were sponsored by Marlboro full-time in the CART series. The MSA, however, allows brand sponsorship in only one sport per season. To skirt the regulations, CART sanctioned the participation of its teams in the race. The Penske cars practiced and qualified with Marlboro logos during the first week of activity. By mid-month, however, they were required to remove the logos when the state attorneys general objected to their use.
Practice
IRL regular Greg Ray led practice speeds for four of the first six days. Casey Mears, Eliseo Salazar, and Stan Wattles suffered crashes during the week. On Fast Friday, Indy 500 rookie Hélio Castroneves brushed the wall in turn one, but continued. The car suffered minor damage. Later that evening, Castroneves joked around with track workers, and helped them repaint the retaining wall which he had hit.
Time trials
Tony Stewart led the speed chart for morning practice on pole day, but IRL regular Scott Sharp won the battle for the pole position. Greg Ray, who had been among the fastest cars all week, qualified second. Robby Gordon, driving an Indy-only entry for Team Menard, rounded out the front row.
The highest of the CART qualifiers was Gil de Ferran (5th). Former Indy 500 winners Arie Luyendyk, Buddy Lazier, and Al Unser, Jr. also made the field on pole day.
On the second day of qualifying, veterans Michael Andretti and Eddie Cheever made the field, while rookie Bruno Junqueira was the fastest of the day.
On bump day, Billy Boat was the first car to complete a qualifying attempt, and the field was subsequently filled to 33 cars. Six cars were bumped during the afternoon, and Boat dropped to the bubble spot as of 5:07 p.m. Over the final 53 minutes Boat survived 12 attempts to be bumped from the field. Eight cars waved off, and four were too slow. With 10 seconds to go before the 6 o'clock gun, Memo Gidley was the final driver to make a qualifying attempt. He missed bumping his way into the field by 0.242 seconds.
Race Recap
Start
Race morning was overcast with rain in the forecast. Cool temperatures caused problems at the start, as pole sitter Scott Sharp crashed in the first turn on the first lap. Greg Ray and Robby Gordon barely avoided the crash, and slipped by the lead the field around for the first several laps.
On the 6th lap, the green came out, but less than 2 laps later, another crash occurred. Sarah Fisher spun in turn two, and collected Scott Goodyear. Both cars were heavily damaged, and Goodyear suffered a broken back. Goodyear would retire after the race due to the injury.
After a lengthly yellow, the green came out on lap 18. During the restart, however, cold tires caused yet another crash, as Sam Hornish, Jr. spun in turn four. Hornish did not hit anything, but Al Unser, Jr. moved high to avoid the crash, and brushed along the outside wall on the mainstretch.
Mid-race
The race finally got going on lap 22, with Robby Gordon and Greg Ray dominating the early going. A long stretch of green flag racing saw the leaders cycle through two green flag pit stops.
First rain delay
On lap 107, Jon Herb crashed in turn 3. During the yellow, rain began to fall around the track, and the caution was extended until lap 119. Michael Andretti led when the rain fell, but pitted soon after. Gil de Ferran inherted the lead, Team Penske teammate Hélio Castroneves second.
Second half
On lap 134, Cory Witherill spun exiting turn four. The leaders all headed to the pits.
Castroneves and de Ferran were both penalized for exiting out of the pits incorrectly, giving Tony Stewart the lead for the first time of the day.
Second rain delay
Stewart led until rain fell again on lap 149. After Stewart pitted, Hélio Castroneves retook the lead. Rain began falling harder on lap 155, and the red flag was displayed. After about 10 minutes, the sun came out, and the track quickly dried. After a 17-minute red flag, the cars were refired.
Finish
Hélio Castroneves led Robbie Buhl on the restart. Buhl attempted to take the lead on lap 159, but was blocked. Trailing by less than a half-second on lap 166, Buhl suddenly spun exiting turn 2, and tapped the inside wall.
The green came back out on lap 171, with Castroneves still leading, and de Ferran back to second. Castroneves held off his teammate by 0.4838 seconds, and won his first Indy 500. The finish marked Roger Penske's 11th Indy 500 triumph, and his first 1-2 finish. It was the second rookie winner in a row (following Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000).
On the victory lap, Castroneves stopped at the finish line, climbed from his car, and proceeded to engage in his customary celebration of climbing the catchfence, much to the delight of the fans. Several crew members from Team Penske joined him on the fence.
Tony Stewart and the Double
Tony Stewart attempted the Indy/Charlotte "Double" for the second time in his racing career. Criticized by members of the media as being overweight and unfit for the grueling task, Stewart undertook a month-long fitness and dietary program with a personal trainer. Stewart, still driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in NASCAR, signed with Chip Ganassi Racing, part of a four driver effort at Indy.
He qualified 7th at Indy and 12th at Charlotte. Due to the new television package on FOX, the start of the Coca-Cola 600 was moved up. A strict schedule was put into place, and regardless if the race was not over at Indy, Stewart was allegedly required to get out of the car at 4:00 p.m. to fly to Charlotte on time. During a 17-minute red flag, he had to visit first aid for a cramping leg. Relief driver Richie Hearn almost took over, but Stewart got back in the car.
The race was eventually resumed, and Stewart continued. The race was completed, and he finished 6th, on the lead lap. Immediately he flew to Lowe's Motor Speedway, and made the start of the race on time. He was moved to the back of the pack during the pace lap for missing the drivers' meeting. On the second lap, Stewart spun while running last, in an incident he claimed was unrelated to fatigue. As the race wore on, he steadily climbed the standings, and finished 3rd on the lead lap. He became the first driver ever to complete all , and finish in the top five for both races in the same day. Feeling that he proved his critics wrong, Stewart called them "idiots."
National anthem controversey
For the pre-race ceremonies, the Speedway invited Steven Tyler of Aerosmith to perform "The Star-Spangled Banner." At the time, Aerosmith was kicking off their Just Push Play Tour, and in the days leading up to the race, struck a deal with Heritage Motorsports to sponsor Jeff Ward's car during the race. The performance was widely regarded by observers as one of the worst and most controversial renditions of the U.S. national anthem ever.
The national anthem performer at the Indianapolis 500 is normally backed-up by the Purdue All-American Marching Band, however, the band was only allowed to play the opening chorus. Tyler began the song with a harmonica solo, then tossed the instrument into the crowd. He finished the song a cappella. Tyler took artistic license to the extreme, and altered the last line of the song from "...the home of the brave" to "...the home of the Indianapolis 500.". The crowd, television and radio commentators, along with military Medal of Honor recipients in attendance due to the Memorial Day holiday, had a largely negative response to the performance. Tyler apologized and stated he meant no disrespect. Said Tyler, "I'm very proud to be an American, and live in the home of the brave."
Speedway president Tony George released a statement the following Tuesday citing "While we are certainly sorry that some were offended, it was neither our intention nor that of Mr. Tyler to be disrespectful. All of us have the utmost respect for the sacrifice our veterans have made for us."
Results
| Finish | Start | No | Name | Qual | Rank | C | E | Laps | Led | Status | Entrant |
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| 1 | 11 | 68 | Hélio Castroneves (R) | 224.142 | 13 | D | O | 200 | 52 | Running | Team Penske |
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| 2 | 5 | 66 | Gil de Ferran | 224.406 | 6 | D | O | 200 | 27 | Running | Team Penske |
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| 3 | 21 | 39 | Michael Andretti | 223.441 | 16 | D | O | 200 | 16 | Running | Team Green |
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| 4 | 12 | 44 | Jimmy Vasser | 223.455 | 15 | G | O | 200 | 0 | Running | Chip Ganassi Racing |
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| 5 | 20 | 50 | Bruno Junqueira (R) | 224.209 | 11 | G | O | 200 | 0 | Running | Chip Ganassi Racing |
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| 6 | 7 | 33 | Tony Stewart | 224.248 | 8 | G | O | 200 | 13 | Running | Chip Ganassi Racing |
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| 7 | 28 | 14 | Eliseo Salazar | 223.740 | 14 | D | O | 199 | 0 | Running | A.J. Foyt Enterprises |
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| 8 | 30 | 88 | Airton Daré | 222.236 | 25 | G | O | 199 | 0 | Running | TeamXtreme |
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| 9 | 32 | 98 | Billy Boat | 221.528 | 33 | D | O | 199 | 0 | Running | CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports |
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| 10 | 33 | 21 | Felipe Giaffone (R) | 221.879 | G | O | 29 | 199 | 0 | Running | Treadway Racing |
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| 11 | 14 | 10 | Robby McGehee | 222.607 | 21 | D | O | 199 | 0 | Running | Cahill Racing |
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| 12 | 24 | 12 | Buzz Calkins | 222.467 | 24 | D | O | 198 | 0 | Running | Bradley Motorsports |
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| 13 | 6 | 5 | Arie Luyendyk (W) | 224.257 | 7 | G | O | 198 | 1 | Running | Treadway Racing |
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| 14 | 13 | 4 | Sam Hornish, Jr. | 223.333 | 17 | D | O | 196 | 0 | Running | Panther Racing |
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| 15 | 9 | 24 | Robbie Buhl | 224.213 | 10 | G | I | 196 | 0 | Running | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing |
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| 16 | 4 | 28 | Mark Dismore | 224.964 | 4 | D | O | 195 | 29 | Running | Kelley Racing |
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| 17 | 2 | 2 | Greg Ray | 225.194 | D | O | 2 | 192 | 40 | Running | Team Menard |
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| 18 | 10 | 91 | Buddy Lazier (W) | 224.190 | 12 | D | O | 192 | 0 | Running | Hemelgarn Racing |
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| 19 | 31 | 16 | Cory Witherill (R) | 221.621 | 31 | G | O | 187 | 0 | Running | Indy Regency Racing |
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| 20 | 23 | 9 | Jeret Schroeder | 222.785 | 20 | D | O | 187 | 0 | Running | PDM Racing |
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| 21 | 3 | 41 | Robby Gordon | 224.994 | 3 | D | O | 184 | 22 | Running | A.J. Foyt Enterprises |
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| 22 | 17 | 77 | Jaques Lazier | 222.145 | 27 | G | O | 183 | 0 | Running | Johanthan Byrd/TeamXtreme |
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| 23 | 26 | 99 | Davey Hamilton | 221.696 | 30 | D | O | 182 | 0 | Engine | Sam Schmidt Motorsports |
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| 24 | 8 | 35 | Jeff Ward | 224.222 | 9 | G | O | 168 | 0 | Running | Heritage Motorsports |
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| 25 | 27 | 84 | Donnie Beechler | 224.449 | 5 | D | O | 160 | 0 | Running | A.J. Foyt Enterprises |
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| 26 | 25 | 51 | Eddie Cheever (W) | 222.152 | 26 | D | I | 108 | 0 | Electrical | Team Cheever |
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| 27 | 18 | 6 | Jon Herb (R) | 222.015 | 28 | D | O | 104 | 0 | Accident | Tri-Star Racing |
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| 28 | 29 | 36 | Stéphan Grégoire | 222.888 | 19 | G | O | 86 | 0 | Oil Leak | Heritage Motorsports |
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| 29 | 22 | 49 | Nicolas Minassian (R) | 223.006 | 18 | G | O | 74 | 0 | Gearbox | Chip Ganassi Racing |
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| 30 | 19 | 3 | Al Unser, Jr. (W) | 221.615 | 32 | G | O | 16 | 0 | Accident | Galles Racing |
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| 31 | 15 | 15 | Sarah Fisher | 222.548 | D | O | 22 | 7 | 0 | Accident | Walker Racing |
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| 32 | 16 | 52 | Scott Goodyear | 222.529 | 23 | D | I | 7 | 0 | Accident | Team Cheever |
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| 33 | 1 | 8 | Scott Sharp | 226.037 | 1 | D | O | 0 | 0 | Accident | Kelley Racing |
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(W) = Former Indianapolis 500 winner; (R) = Indianapolis 500 rookie
*C Chassis: D=Dallara, G=G-Force
*E Engine: O=Oldsmobile, I=Infiniti
Failed to Qualify:
#07 Roberto Guerrero
#32 Didier Andre
#94 Stan Wattles
#60 Tyce Carlson
#30 Jimmy Kite
#55 Shigeaki Hattori
#25 Casey Mears
#37 Memo Gidley
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