2001 Indy Lights season

2001 Indy Lights season
2001 Indy Lights season
PPG/Dayton Indy Lights Championship Powered by Buick
Season
Races	12
Start date	March 11
End date	November 4
Awards
Drivers' champion	Townsend Bell
Teams' champion	Dorricott Racing
Rookie of the Year	Dan Wheldon

The 2001 CART PPG/Dayton Indy Lights Championship Powered By Buick consisted of 12 races. It was dominated by Townsend Bell who captured six victories on his way to the championship. It was the last Indy Lights season, as the series organizer, CART, decided to drop the Indy Lights series and concentrate its efforts on the Toyota Atlantic Championship.^[2] 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, which ran in support of Indy Racing League events.

Team and driver chart

All teams utilized Lola T97/20 chassis with Buick V6 engines.

Team	No.	Drivers	Round(s)
Brian Stewart Racing	2	Larry Mason	2
Brian Stewart Racing	3	Andy Booth	2
Conquest Racing	11	Kristian Kolby	1–8
	11	Matt Halliday	12
	21	Matt Halliday	4–11
	21	Nilton Rossoni	1
Dorricott Racing	30	Townsend Bell	All
	31	Damien Faulkner	All
	32	Jon Fogarty	1–4, 10–11^[3]^[4]
	32	Geoff Boss	7–8
Indy Regency Racing	12	Cory Witherill	1–2, 4–12
Mexpro Racing	15	Rudy Junco Jr.	1–6, 8–9, 11–12
Mexpro Racing	16	Derek Higgins	All
PacWest Lights	1	Dan Wheldon	All
PacWest Lights	17	Mario Domínguez	All
Roquin Motorsports	64	Rolando Quintanilla	All
Roquin Motorsports	65	Luis Díaz	All

Schedule

Rd.	Date	Track	Location
1	March 11	R Fundidora Park	Monterrey, Mexico
2	April 8	R Long Beach street circuit	Long Beach, California
3	April 28	O Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas
4	June 3	O Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin
5	June 24	R Portland International Raceway	Portland, Oregon
6	July 8	O Kansas Speedway	Kansas City, Kansas
7	July 15	R Exhibition Place	Toronto, Canada
8	August 12	R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio
9	August 26	O Gateway International Raceway	Madison, Illinois
10	October 5	R Road Atlanta	Braselton, Georgia
11	October 14	R Laguna Seca Raceway	Monterey, California
12	November 4	O California Speedway	Fontana, California

Race results

Round	Circuit	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Race winner
Round	Circuit	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Driver	Team
1	Fundidora Park	Derek Higgins	Mario Domínguez	Derek Higgins	Derek Higgins	Mexpro Racing
2	Long Beach street circuit	Mario Domínguez	Townsend Bell	Dan Wheldon	Townsend Bell	Dorricott Racing
3	Texas Motor Speedway	Damien Faulkner	Jon Fogarty	Damien Faulkner	Damien Faulkner	Dorricott Racing
4	Milwaukee Mile	Townsend Bell^[a]	Townsend Bell	Townsend Bell	Townsend Bell	Dorricott Racing
5	Portland International Raceway	Townsend Bell	Townsend Bell	Damien Faulkner	Damien Faulkner	Dorricott Racing
6	Kansas Speedway	Mario Domínguez	Damien Faulkner	Townsend Bell	Kristian Kolby	Conquest Racing
7	Exhibition Place	Townsend Bell	Townsend Bell	Townsend Bell	Townsend Bell	Dorricott Racing
8	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Townsend Bell	Townsend Bell	Townsend Bell	Townsend Bell	Dorricott Racing
9	Gateway International Raceway	Townsend Bell^[a]	Dan Wheldon	Townsend Bell	Dan Wheldon	PacWest Lights
10	Road Atlanta	Townsend Bell	Jon Fogarty	Townsend Bell	Dan Wheldon	PacWest Lights
11	Laguna Seca Raceway	Townsend Bell	Luis Díaz	Townsend Bell	Townsend Bell	Dorricott Racing
12	California Speedway	Townsend Bell^[a]	Mario Domínguez	Townsend Bell	Townsend Bell	Dorricott Racing

Race summaries

Monterrey

March 11, 2001
Fundidora Park, Monterrey, Mexico
Pole position: Derek Higgins, 1:25.345, 88.750 mph (142.829 km/h)

Top Five Finishers
Fin. Pos	St. Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Points
1	1	16	Derek Higgins	Mexpro Racing	35	54:48.128	35	22
2	3	30	Townsend Bell	Dorricott Racing	35	+0.179	0	16
3	5	32	Jon Fogarty	Dorricott Racing	35	+5.799	0	14
4	4	17	Mario Domínguez	PacWest Lights	35	+6.334	0	12
5	10	1	Dan Wheldon	PacWest Lights	35	+9.437	0	10
Race average speed: 80.625 mph (129.753 km/h)
Lead changes: 0
Cautions: 0

Long Beach

April 8, 2001
Long Beach street circuit, Long Beach, California
Pole position: Mario Domínguez, 1:15.968, 93.260 mph (150.087 km/h)

Top Five Finishers
Fin. Pos	St. Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Points
1	6	30	Townsend Bell	Dorricott Racing	38	57:13.430	5	20
2	3	1	Dan Wheldon	PacWest Lights	38	+3.775	33	17
3	5	16	Derek Higgins	Mexpro Racing	38	+5.342	0	14
4	1	17	Mario Domínguez	PacWest Lights	38	+5.862	0	13
5	7	11	Kristian Kolby	Conquest Racing	38	+12.326	0	10
Race average speed: 78.412 mph (126.192 km/h)
Lead changes: 1 between 2 drivers
Cautions: 3 for 11 laps

Texas

April 28, 2001
Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas
Pole position: Damien Faulkner, 0:29:060, 183.593 mph (295.464 km/h)
The CART race that weekend was cancelled due to track incompatibility, so this was the only race completed that weekend.

Top Five Finishers
Fin. Pos	St. Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Points
1	1	31	Damien Faulkner	Dorricott Racing	67	39:35.632	65	22
2	4	16	Derek Higgins	Mexpro Racing	67	+0.349	1	16
3	3	11	Kristian Kolby	Conquest Racing	67	+0.529	0	14
4	7	65	Luis Díaz	Roquin Motorsports	67	+0.737	0	12
5	10	64	Rolando Quintanilla	Roquin Motorsports	67	+1.127	0	10
Race average speed: 150.491 mph (242.192 km/h)
Lead changes: 3 between 3 drivers
Cautions: 2 for 8 laps

Milwaukee

June 3, 2001
Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wisconsin
Pole position: Townsend Bell (qualifying rained out; grid determined by championship points)

Top Five Finishers
Fin. Pos	St. Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Points
1	1	30	Townsend Bell	Dorricott Racing	100	43:27.503	100	21
2	6	17	Mario Domínguez	PacWest Lights	99	-1 lap	0	16
3	5	1	Dan Wheldon	PacWest Lights	98	-2 laps	0	14
4	9	65	Luis Díaz	Roquin Motorsports	97	-3 laps	0	12
5	8	15	Rudy Junco Jr.	Mexpro Racing	97	-3 laps	0	10
Race average speed: 142.481 mph (229.301 km/h)
Lead changes: none
Cautions: 1 for 4 laps

Portland

June 24, 2001
Portland International Raceway, Portland, Oregon
Pole position: Townsend Bell, 1:04.991, 109.067 mph (175.526 km/h)

Top Five Finishers
Fin. Pos	St. Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Points
1	3	31	Damien Faulkner	Dorricott Racing	38	58:58.791	16	21
2	8	15	Rudy Junco Jr.	Mexpro Racing	38	+16.134	0	16
3	7	13	Derek Higgins	Mexpro Racing	38	+20.501	0	14
4	10	21	Matt Halliday	Conquest Racing	38	28.936	0	12
5	9	64	Rolando Quintanilla	Roquin Motorsports	38	+28.936	0	10
Race average speed: 76.116 mph (122.497 km/h)
Lead changes: 1 between 2 drivers
Cautions: 3 for 8 laps

Kansas

July 8, 2001
Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kansas
Pole position: Mario Domínguez, 0:30.252, 180.881 mph (291.100 km/h)

Top Five Finishers
Fin. Pos	St. Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Points
1	6	11	Kristian Kolby	Conquest Racing	67	40:25.322	19	20
2	7	31	Damien Faulkner	Dorricott Racing	67	+0.001	0	16
3	4	1	Dan Wheldon	PacWest Lights	67	+0.213	0	14
4	3	21	Matt Halliday	Conquest Racing	67	+0.962	3	12
5	2	30	Townsend Bell	Dorricott Racing	67	+0.017‡	27	11
Race average speed: 151.323 mph (243.531 km/h)
Lead changes: 9 between 4 drivers
Cautions: 2 for 7 laps

‡Townsend Bell was penalized two positions for aggressive driving.

Toronto

July 15, 2001
Exhibition Place, Toronto, Ontario
Pole position: Townsend Bell, 1:04.202, 98.408 mph (158.372 km/h)

Top Five Finishers
Fin. Pos	St. Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Points
1	1	30	Townsend Bell	Dorricott Racing	43	51:18.593	43	22
2	1	17	Mario Domínguez	PacWest Lights	43	+7.002	0	16
3	4	31	Damien Faulkner	Dorricott Racing	43	?	0	14
4	9	21	Matt Halliday	Conquest Racing	43	+8.333	0	12
5	6	65	Luis Díaz	Roquin Motorsports	43	+10.658	0	10
Race average speed: 88.959 mph (143.166 km/h)
Lead changes: none
Cautions: 3 for 6 laps

Mid-Ohio

August 12, 2001
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio
Pole position: Townsend Bell, 1:13.809, 110.133 mph (177.242 km/h)

Top Five Finishers
Fin. Pos	St. Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Points
1	1	30	Townsend Bell	Dorricott Racing	34	50:19.940	34	22
2	2	1	Dan Wheldon	PacWest Lights	34	+0.235	0	16
3	3	31	Damien Faulkner	Dorricott Racing	34	+0.466	0	14
4	4	11	Kristian Kolby	Conquest Racing	34	+1.771	0	12
5	5	21	Matt Halliday	Conquest Racing	34	+2.148	0	10
Race average speed: 91.518 mph (147.284 km/h)
Lead changes: none
Cautions: 3 for 9 laps

Gateway

August 26, 2001
Gateway International Raceway, Madison, Illinois
Pole position: Townsend Bell (qualifying rained out; grid determined by championship points)

Top Five Finishers
Fin. Pos	St. Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Points
1	3	1	Dan Wheldon	PacWest Lights	80	43:31.081	11	20
2	4	17	Mario Domínguez	PacWest Lights	80	+23.822	0	16
3	8	21	Matt Halliday	Conquest Racing	80	+624.573	0	14
4	5	16	Derek Higgins	Mexpro Racing	79	-1 lap	0	12
5	2	31	Damien Faulkner	Dorricott Racing	79	-1 lap	0	10
Race average speed: 140.080 mph (225.437 km/h)
Lead changes: 1 between 2 drivers
Cautions: 1 for 6 laps

Road Atlanta

October 5, 2001
Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia
Pole position: Townsend Bell, 1:14.883, 122.110 mph (196.517 km/h)

Top Five Finishers
Fin. Pos	St. Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Points
1	6	1	Dan Wheldon	PacWest Lights	29	42:57.299	1	20
2	1	30	Townsend Bell	Dorricott Racing	29	+0.256	28	18
3	3	31	Damien Faulkner	Dorricott Racing	29	+2.536	0	14
4	5	17	Mario Domínguez	PacWest Lights	29	+4.780	0	12
5	2	32	Jon Fogarty	Dorricott Racing	29	+5.791	0	10
Race average speed: 102.889 mph (165.584 km/h)
Lead changes: 1 between 2 drivers
Cautions: 1 for 4 laps

Laguna Seca

October 14, 2001
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, California
Pole position: Townsend Bell, 1:16.313, 105.576 mph (169.908 km/h)

Top Five Finishers
Fin. Pos	St. Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Points
1	1	30	Townsend Bell	Dorricott Racing	34	44:34.521	34	22
2	2	32	Jon Fogarty	Dorricott Racing	34	+2.963	0	16
3	4	65	Luis Díaz	Roquin Motorsports	34	+9.974	0	14
4	6	31	Damien Faulkner	Dorricott Racing	34	+16.433	0	12
5	5	1	Dan Wheldon	PacWest Lights	34	+17.532	0	10
Race average speed: 102.423 mph (164.834 km/h)
Lead changes: none
Cautions: none

Fontana

November 4, 2001
California Speedway, Fontana, California
Pole position: Townsend Bell (qualifying rained out; grid determined by championship points)
This was the last CART-sanctioned Indy Lights race.

Top Five Finishers
Fin. Pos	St. Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Points
1	1	30	Townsend Bell	Dorricott Racing	44	29:22.667	44	21
2	5	1	Dan Wheldon	PacWest Lights	44	+0.051	0	16
3	7	11	Matt Halliday	Conquest Racing	44	+17.354	0	14
4	8	16	Derek Higgins	Mexpro Racing	44	+17.356	0	12
5	9	17	Mario Domínguez	PacWest Lights	44	+17.361	0	10
Race average speed: 182.334 mph (293.438 km/h)
Lead changes: none
Cautions: 1 for 3 laps

Championship standings

Drivers' championship

Scoring system

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th
Points	20	16	14	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

The driver who qualifies on pole is awarded one additional point.
An additional point is awarded to the driver who leads the most laps in a race.

Pos	Driver	MTY	LGB	TEX	MIL	POR	KAN	TOR	MOH	GAT	ATL	LAG	FON	Points
1	Townsend Bell	2	1	8	1*¹	6	5*	1*	1*	9*¹	2*	1*	1*¹	192
2	Dan Wheldon	5	2*	10	3	10	3	7	2	1	1	5	2	149
3	Damien Faulkner	7	13	1*	7	1*	2	3	3	5	3	4	7	141
4	Mario Domínguez	4	4	6	2	11	10	2	6	2	4	10	5	120
5	Derek Higgins	1*	3	2	DNS	3	11	9	12	4	6	6	4	113
6	Matt Halliday				9	4	4	4	5	3	8	7	3	89
7	Luis Díaz	11	9	4	4	9	7	5	11	6	7	3	6	88
8	Kristian Kolby	6	5	3	6	8	1	10	4					80
9	Rudy Junco Jr.	8	8	7	5	2	9		7	7		9	8	67
10	Rolando Quintanilla	10	11	5	8	5	8	8	9	8	9	8	9	62
11	Jon Fogarty	3	12	9	10						5	2		48
12	Cory Witherill	9	7		11	7	6	11	8	10	10	11	10	44
13	Geoff Boss							6	10					11
14	Andy Booth		6											8
15	Larry Mason		10											3
16	Nilton Rossoni	12												1
Pos	Driver	MTY	LGB	TEX	MIL	POR	KAN	TOR	MOH	GAT	ATL	LAG	FON	Points

Color	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	4th & 5th place
Light Blue	6th–10th place
Dark Blue	Finished (Outside Top 10)
Purple	Did not finish
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Brown	Withdrawn (Wth)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
Blank	Did not participate (DNP)
Blank	Not competing

In-line notation
Bold	Pole position (1 point)
Italics	Ran fastest race lap
*	Led most race laps (1 point)
¹	Qualifying cancelled no bonus point awarded

Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes.

Footnotes

^ ^a ^b ^c Qualifying was cancelled due to rain. The grid was set by entrant points entering the race.

References

^ "Dan Wheldon wins Rookie of the Year award". Press release. DanWheldon.com. November 5, 2001. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
^ "CART to drop Indy Lights, focus on Atlantic". Press release. CART. September 10, 2001. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
^ "Jon Fogarty out for remainder of 2001". Press release. Dorricott Racing. August 13, 2001. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
^ "Dorricott Racing season finale Fontana preview". Press release. Dorricott Racing. November 1, 2001. Retrieved June 10, 2011.

External links

2001 season data from Motorsport.com

[Q_Cancelled-5] Qualifying was cancelled due to rain. The grid was set by entrant points entering the race.

[1] "Dan Wheldon wins Rookie of the Year award". Press release. DanWheldon.com. November 5, 2001. Retrieved June 10, 2011.

[2] "CART to drop Indy Lights, focus on Atlantic". Press release. CART. September 10, 2001. Retrieved June 10, 2011.

[3] "Jon Fogarty out for remainder of 2001". Press release. Dorricott Racing. August 13, 2001. Retrieved June 10, 2011.

[4] "Dorricott Racing season finale Fontana preview". Press release. Dorricott Racing. November 1, 2001. Retrieved June 10, 2011.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[a]

Indy NXT seasons
USAC Mini-Indy Series	1977 1978 1979 1980
CART American Racing Series	1986 1987 1988 1989 1990
CART Firestone/Dayton Indy Lights	1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
IRL Infiniti/Indy Pro Series	2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Firestone Indy Lights Series	2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Indy Lights Series presented by Cooper Tire	2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 ~~2020~~ 2021 2022
Firestone Indy NXT Series	2023 2024 2025