2001 Indy Lights season explained

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.^[1] 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		Drivers	Round(s)
Brian Stewart Racing	2	Larry Mason	2
Brian Stewart Racing	3	Andy Booth	2
Conquest Racing	11	nowrap	Kristian Kolby	1–8
nowrap rowspan=2	11	Matt Halliday	12
21	4–11
21	nowrap	Nilton Rossoni	1
Dorricott Racing	30	Townsend Bell	All
	31	Damien Faulkner	All
	32	Jon Fogarty	1–4, 10–11^[2] ^[3]
	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	Fundidora Park	Monterrey, Mexico
2	April 8	Long Beach street circuit	Long Beach, California
3	April 28	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas
4	June 3	Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin
5	June 24	Portland International Raceway	Portland, Oregon
6	July 8	Kansas Speedway	Kansas City, Kansas
7	July 15	Exhibition Place	Toronto, Canada
8	August 12	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio
9	August 26	Gateway International Raceway	Madison, Illinois
10	October 5		Braselton, Georgia
11	October 14	Laguna Seca Raceway	Monterey, California
12	November 4	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	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	Dan Wheldon	Townsend Bell	Dan Wheldon	PacWest Lights
10		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	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, 88.75mi/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
align=center colspan=9	Race average speed: 80.625mi/h
align=center colspan=9	Lead changes: 0
align=center colspan=9	Cautions: 0

Long Beach

April 8, 2001
Long Beach street circuit, Long Beach, California
Pole position: Mario Domínguez, 1:15.968, 93.26mi/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
align=center colspan=9	Race average speed: 78.412mi/h
align=center colspan=9	Lead changes: 1 between 2 drivers
align=center colspan=9	Cautions: 3 for 11 laps

Texas

April 28, 2001
Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas
Pole position: Damien Faulkner, 0:29:060, 183.593mi/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
align=center colspan=9	Race average speed: 150.491mi/h
align=center colspan=9	Lead changes: 3 between 3 drivers
align=center colspan=9	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
align=center colspan=9	Race average speed: 142.481mi/h
align=center colspan=9	Lead changes: none
align=center colspan=9	Cautions: 1 for 4 laps

Portland

June 24, 2001
Portland International Raceway, Portland, Oregon
Pole position: Townsend Bell, 1:04.991, 109.067mi/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
align=center colspan=9	Race average speed: 76.116mi/h
align=center colspan=9	Lead changes: 1 between 2 drivers
align=center colspan=9	Cautions: 3 for 8 laps

Kansas

July 8, 2001
Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kansas
Pole position: Mario Domínguez, 0:30.252, 180.881mi/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
align=center colspan=9	Race average speed: 151.323mi/h
align=center colspan=9	Lead changes: 9 between 4 drivers
align=center colspan=9	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, 98.408mi/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
align=center colspan=9	Race average speed: 88.959mi/h
align=center colspan=9	Lead changes: none
align=center colspan=9	Cautions: 3 for 6 laps

Mid-Ohio

August 12, 2001
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio
Pole position: Townsend Bell, 1:13.809, 110.133mi/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
align=center colspan=9	Race average speed: 91.518mi/h
align=center colspan=9	Lead changes: none
align=center colspan=9	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
align=center colspan=9	Race average speed: 140.08mi/h
align=center colspan=9	Lead changes: 1 between 2 drivers
align=center colspan=9	Cautions: 1 for 6 laps

Road Atlanta

October 5, 2001
Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia
Pole position: Townsend Bell, 1:14.883, 122.11mi/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
align=center colspan=9	Race average speed: 102.889mi/h
align=center colspan=9	Lead changes: 1 between 2 drivers
align=center colspan=9	Cautions: 1 for 4 laps

Laguna Seca

October 14, 2001
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, California
Pole position: Townsend Bell, 1:16.313, 105.576mi/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
align=center colspan=9	Race average speed: 102.423mi/h
align=center colspan=9	Lead changes: none
align=center colspan=9	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
align=center colspan=9	Race average speed: 182.334mi/h
align=center colspan=9	Lead changes: none
align=center colspan=9	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	MDO	GAT	ATL	LAG	FON	Points
1	Townsend Bell	2	1	8	1*¹	6	5*	1*	1*	9*¹	2*	1*	1*¹	193
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		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	MDO	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
*\|style="background:#F2F2F2;" align=center\|Led most race laps (1 point)\|-\| align="center" style="background:#F2F2F2;" \|¹\| align="center" style="background:#F2F2F2;" \|Qualifying cancelled no bonus point awarded\|} Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes. \|}\|} See also 2001 CART season 2001 Formula Atlantic season External links 2001 season data from Motorsport.com

Notes and References

News: CART to drop Indy Lights, focus on Atlantic . September 10, 2001 . Press release . . June 10, 2011.
News: Jon Fogarty out for remainder of 2001. August 13, 2001. Press release. Dorricott Racing. June 10, 2011.
News: Dorricott Racing season finale Fontana preview. November 1, 2001. Press release. Dorricott Racing. June 10, 2011.