2001 Indianapolis 500
The 85th Indianapolis 500 (aka "the 2001 Indianapolis 500") was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 27, 2001. Race rookie Hélio Castroneves, a three-year veteran of the CART series, led the final 52 laps and won his first of four Indy 500 victories. Penske Racing swept 1st-2nd with Gil de Ferran the runner-up. Winning car owner Roger Penske scored his 11th victory at the Indianapolis 500, and his first-ever 1-2 finish in the race. It was a redemption from the team's previous attempt at Indy (1995) in which both of his cars failed to qualify; subsequently followed by a five-year absence (1996-2000) due to the open wheel "split".
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | Indy Racing League | ||||
| Season | 2001 IRL season | ||||
| Date | May 27, 2001 | ||||
| Winner | Hélio Castroneves | ||||
| Winning team | Penske Racing | ||||
| Average speed | 141.574 mph (228 km/h) | ||||
| Pole position | Scott Sharp | ||||
| Pole speed | 226.037 mph (364 km/h) | ||||
| Fastest qualifier | Scott Sharp | ||||
| Rookie of the Year | Castroneves | ||||
| Most laps led | Castroneves (52) | ||||
| Pre-race ceremonies | |||||
| National anthem | Steven Tyler | ||||
| "Back Home Again in Indiana" | Jim Nabors | ||||
| Starting command | Mari Hulman George | ||||
| Pace car | Oldsmobile Bravada | ||||
| Pace car driver | Elaine Irwin Mellencamp | ||||
| Starter | Bryan Howard | ||||
| Estimated attendance | 400,000 | ||||
| TV in the United States | |||||
| Network | ABC | ||||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Larry Rice, Jason Priestley | ||||
| Nielsen ratings | 5.8 / 17 | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
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The race was sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and was part of the 2001 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series season. The 2001 race was notable in that several top CART teams returned to Indy for the first time since 1995, despite the ongoing open wheel "split". IRL-based teams excelled in time trials, taking the front row, and the top four starting positions overall. However, the CART-based teams swept the top six finishing positions on race day.
The race experienced two rain delays, one lengthy yellow flag around the midway point, and one brief red flag period later in the day. The race, however, was run to its full 500-mile distance.
This race marked the final IndyCar race for the previous years championship runner-up Scott Goodyear. Goodyear would move to color commentary duties for ESPN the following season.