2001 Harrah's 500 (CART)
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Race 11 of 21 in the 2001 CART season | |
| Date | July 22, 2001 |
| Official name | 2001 Harrah's 500 Presented by Toyota |
| Location | Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.000 mi / 3.219 km |
| Distance | 250 laps 500.000 mi / 804.672 km |
| Weather | Partly cloudy |
| Pole position | |
| Driver | Kenny Bräck (Team Rahal) |
| Time | Field set by practice times; 31.330 |
| Fastest lap | |
| Driver | Patrick Carpentier (Forsythe Racing) |
| Time | 32.547 (on lap 130 of 250) |
| Podium | |
| First | Patrick Carpentier (Forsythe Racing) |
| Second | Dario Franchitti (Team Green) |
| Third | Michel Jourdain Jr. (Bettenhausen Racing) |
The 2001 Michigan 500 was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) race held on July 22, 2001, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan, before a crowd of 40,000 spectators. Branded as the 2001 Harrah's 500 Presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons, it was the 11th round of the 2001 CART season, the 32nd running of the event, and the last time the event was held to CART rules as it became an Indy Racing League (IRL) race in 2002. Forsythe Racing's Patrick Carpentier won the 250-lap event by 0.243 seconds over Dario Franchitti of Team Green and Bettenhausen Racing's Michel Jourdain Jr. was third.
The season points leader going into the race, Kenny Bräck, was awarded the pole position when qualifying was cancelled due to rain. The starting grid was determined by the fastest lap times from the third practice session. Bräck led until his teammate Max Papis overtook him on lap six. Papis and Bräck exchanged the lead for six laps, which ended when Bräck strengthened his hold on the position. The lead changed 60 times among ten different drivers, with Papis leading the most laps (83). On lap 248, Carpentier moved to the lead, and held it until Franchitti and Jourdain overtook him on the final lap. Carpentier's lapped teammate Alex Tagliani passed Franchitti and Jourdain to provide Carpentier with drafting assistance at the exit of turn four, allowing Carpentier to achieve his first CART victory.
Bräck still led the Drivers' Championship with 83 points, but he failed to finish after a collision with his teammate Papis on the 233rd lap. Franchitti moved from fourth to second and lowered Bräck's lead to three points. Hélio Castroneves kept third, while Michael Andretti fell to fourth after his engine failed. His teammate Cristiano da Matta overtook Gil de Ferran for fifth. Honda increased its Manufacturers' Championship lead over Toyota to 20 points, while Ford Cosworth kept third with ten races left in the season.