|| *Comments on the 2001 Indianapolis 500:* View the most recent comment <#29> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. nascarman posted: 01.30.2009 - 8:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Helio Castroneves' first win. 2. Darrell posted: 01.31.2009 - 3:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 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 3. RaceFanX posted: 01.31.2009 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Scott Goodyear's last race. Doing a one-off in Eddie Cheever's #52, he was injured in an early crash with Sarah Fisher and missed the remainder of the IROC season because of it. He went on to be a commentator for ESPN Polesitter Scott Sharp crashes out on the first lap. 4. Indycar1 posted: 02.04.2009 - 11:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) First one-two for Penske Racing in the Indy 500. Also first time that Roger Penske had cars in the Indy500 since 1994 when Al Unser Jr. won in the contravosial Mercedes-Benz Stock block engine. This race had a 10 minute rain delay with about 40 laps to go. 5. Wayne posted: 02.05.2009 - 3:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The top five were all drivers that were currently racing in CART. And it was the second time that Tony Stewart did the Indy-Charlotte double. He actually completed all 1100 miles that day successfully, as he finished 3rd in the Coca-Cola 600. 6. cartsucks posted: 02.07.2009 - 7:43 am Rate this comment: (3) (2) Helio should have been black flagged for blocking Robbie Buhl. 7. Steve posted: 02.08.2009 - 1:03 am Rate this comment: (3) (2) Why? Was Robbie really going to beat Helio and Team Penske? This day showed that CART were still the leader in open wheel racing. And perhaps you should learn more about American Championship Car Racing before proclaiming "cartsucks". 8. Ryan posted: 02.10.2009 - 8:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) This race had a lot of former champions and big name racers in the field from Helio, de Ferran, Andretti, Vasser, Stewart, Boat, Calkins, Luyendyk, Hornish, Ray, Lazier, R. Gordon (Baja), Cheever, Unser, Jr., Goodyear, Sharp... Looking back on the race it was more than a big deal. 9. RaceFanX posted: 02.27.2009 - 4:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Michael Andretti scores his best career IRL finish, 3rd, in his first start in the series. He was "ringer" coming over from CART for this event. Jimmy Vasser's best IRL finish to date, 4th 10. schraderfan posted: 04.14.2009 - 10:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Scott Sharp can't avoid the Compton Effect, first observed earlier that year at Talladega when Stacy Compton finished last after starting on the pole. Mark Dismore was leading when he suffered from mechanical problems. 11. Pacer posted: 04.21.2009 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The pace car for this Indy 500 wasn't a car, it was an Oldsmobile Bravada SUV 1997 IRL Champion Tony Stewart's last IRL race to date. CART drivers finished 1-2-3-4-5 with NASCAR driver Tony Stewart in 6th. The top IRL regular was Eliseo Salazar in 7th. 12. Unser1 posted: 11.13.2009 - 10:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jason Leffler's last IRL race to date 13. Anonymous posted: 11.13.2009 - 10:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) No it wasn't, that was 2000. By this point he was in NA$CAR 14. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 01.16.2010 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (3) (2) CART Sucked? So that is why their drivers got the top 5 for IRL at Tony George's castle(IMS). So how did some of the IRL's best drivers do. The GREAT Sam Hornish finished 14th. Your boy Robbie Buhl finished 15th. Two of the IRL's best at the time, Greg Ray and Buddy Rice, finished 17th and 18th. So then that brings us to Scott Sharp, Oh ya he crashed in turn 1 despite being the polesitter. 15. RaceFanX posted: 03.21.2010 - 2:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Chip Ganassi entered four cars in this race: two for his regular CART drivers at the time Bruno Junqueira and Nicolas Minassian (the latter's only IRL start) and two additional cars for his recently ex-CART driver Jimmy Vasser and NASCAR Winston Cup driver Tony Stewart. That might be a record for Ganassi entries in one race. I can't remember all the details off hand but I think he originally planned on just two cars for his CART drivers, both rookies at the time, and then decided instead for the more experienced Vassar and Stewart but then decided to just enter all of them because of his previous Indy offer to Junqueira and Minassian. 16. schraderfan posted: 08.20.2010 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I, for one, welcomed our new CART overlords. 17. Dan posted: 05.01.2011 - 2:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Castroneves and De Ferran did not have Marlboro logos on their cars for this race. Penske was forced to remove them after qualifying due to the MSA. 18. Schroeder51 posted: 06.12.2011 - 12:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) This race is partially well known for Steven Tyler's (of Aerosmith) botched version of the National Anthem, in which he sang "...the land of the FREEEE, and the home of the...INDIANAPOLIS 500!" Not to mention, the famous American rock band sponsered Jeff Ward's car for this race. 19. RaceFanX posted: 11.23.2011 - 9:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Did not Qualify: Didier Andre- #32 Galles Racing (Rick Galles) Tyce Carlson- #60 Tri-Star Racing (Tri-Star Racing) Brandon Erwin- #30 WorldBestBuy.com (Dennis McCormack) Jim Guthrie- #27 Blueprint Racing (Blueprint Racing) Memo Gidley- #61 Brayton Engineering (Lee Brayton) Roberto Guerrero- # 7 Tokheim / Jack K. Elrod Co. / NADA Guides (Dick Simon) Stephan Gregoire- # 7 Tokheim / Jack K. Elrod Co. / NADA Guides (Dick Simon) Richie Hearn- #60 Tri-Star Racing (Tri-Star Racing) Shigeaki Hattori- #55 Epson (Vertex-Cunningham Racing) Jimmy Kite- #30 WorldBestBuy.com (Dennis McCormack) Steve Knapp- #37 Brayton Engineering (Lee Brayton) Steve Knapp- #93 Hemelgarn Racing (Ron Hemelgarn) Stan Wattles #94 Hemelgarn Racing (Ron Hemelgarn) Casey Mears- #31 Sportsline.com (Rick Galles) John Paul, Jr.- #81 Zali Racing (Zali Racing) Richie Hearn almost got in the race anyway. On lap 107 as Michael Andretti led the race was red flagged for a rain delay, while it was certain the race would restart Tony Stewart wasn't sure if he should stay or head for Charlotte. Hearn was his backup driver in case this arose but Stewart stuck it out and completed the double. 20. Jacob posted: 02.19.2012 - 12:28 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) 1-5 is CART, 6th was a NASCAR driver. Way to show up IRL! 21. We need more Onion posted: 11.29.2013 - 9:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor update: #10 - Olympus Cameras/Cure Autism Now #6 - Epson #9 - Amvets #99 - Mi-Jack #84 - Harrah's #7 DNQ - Yellow Transportation #61 DNQ - Cure Autism Now #32 DNQ - PlayStation2 (This is for André's fulÅ? 2001 season) 22. FortiFord posted: 04.05.2015 - 7:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Only Indy 500 starts for Cory Witherill and Nicolas Minassian. Witherill became the first (and, to date, only) Native American to race in the Indy 500. 23. Paul posted: 04.05.2015 - 3:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdraw: #11 Jack Miller Sponsor: Olympus/Opalescence / Owner: Larry Cahill #17 Roberto Guerrero Sponsor: Dick Simon Racing / Owner: Dick Simon #18 Johnny Unser Sponsor: Truscelli Racing / Owner: Truscelli Team Racing #20 N/A Sponsor: N/A / Owner: Kelley Racing #23 N/A Sponsor: Dreyer & Reinbold Racing / Owner: Dreyer & Reinbold Racing #25 N/A Sponsor: Walker Racing Special / Owner: Derrick Walker #38 N/A Sponsor: Nienhouse Motorsports / Owner: Nienhouse Motorsports Source: http://beta.industrydocuments.library.ucsf.edu/docs/#id=rsdf0064 24. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 08.31.2016 - 12:59 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) First Indy 500 starts for Helio Castroneves, Bruno Junqueira, Felipe Giaffone, and Jon Herb. Only Indy 500 starts for Cory Witherill and Nicolas Minassian. Last Indy 500 starts for Tony Stewart, Eliseo Salazar, Buzz Calkins, Jeret Schroeder, Donnie Beechler, and Scott Goodyear. 25. RaceFanX posted: 05.16.2018 - 2:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Castroneves' historic first Indy 500 win was also his first major American open wheel win on an oval. All of his wins in CART and earlier Indy Lights before this were on street and road courses. 26. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 09.23.2018 - 9:09 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Rain would pummel the track off and on in the week leading up to the 500, but the race itself looked to be overcast but rain-free, with cool temperatures bringing up concerns about tire temperatures. The race would have it's narrowest speed gap between the 1st and 33rd place drivers ever. Scott Sharp would start on the pole, along with 1999 IRL champion Greg Ray in the middle and Robby Gordon on the outside. 1990 and 1997 Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk would start outside row 2 in 6th. Tony Stewart would start his final Open Wheel race at inside row 3, in 7th. Defending IRL champion Buddy Lazier would start 10th, inside row 4. Sam Hornish Jr and Sarah Fisher would start 13th and 15th respectively in row 5. Al Unser Jr would start 19th. 1998 Indy 500 winner Eddie Cheever Jr would start 25th in row 9 alongside veteran Davey Hamilton. Eleizo Salazar would start 28th in row 10. One of the biggest headlines of the day would be the CART teams and drivers returning to the speedway after 6 year absence. After Juan Pablo Montoya led over 3/4ths of the 2000 Indy 500 it showed the CART teams that it would be very possible, if not easy, to win the Indy 500 as a one-off while continuing to focus on CART. Of the CART drivers, Gil De Ferran would start the highest of all CART migrants, 5th, leading the charge for Roger Penske. Helio Castroneves would start 11th, 1996 US 500 winner Jimmy Vasser would start 12th, Bruno Junqueira would start 20th, Michael Andretti would start 21st, and Nicholas Minassian would start 22nd. In addition to the return of the Andretti family and Roger Penske's team, 1997 IRL champion Tony Stewart would be participating in the Memorial Day Double Duty challenge, as he would attempt to run and win both the Indy 500 and NASCAR's Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the same day. On the other side of the world in Formula 1, Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello would just be putting the final touches on a 1-2 Ferrari finish at Monaco, where defending Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya DNFed early after damage from an early incident. The 85th Indianpolis 500 would start in a big way, as Scott Sharp would rocket into the lead in turn 1, only to spin on exit and hit the outside wall in the shortchute between 1 and 2, spin infront of the rest of the leaders, and then pancaking the outside wall again in turn 2 where he came to rest. Robby Gordon and Greg Ray would barely avoid hitting him, and Gordon would inherit the lead under the ensuing caution as defending CART champion Gil De Ferran would slide up into third. The race would resume on lap 7, with Robby Gordon running away from Ray in the lead. The caution would fall again on lap 8, as going through the apex of Turn 2 Sarah Fisher would spin and back her car into the outside wall on exit. At the exact same moment that she hit the wall, Scott Goodyear would hit her in the left rear, launching the back of her car into the air as she would perform a slow spin in the air, her front wing briefly grinding against the top of the wall before the car would land again, both cars totaled. Goodyear would complain of back pain after the incident. During the pitstop Lazier would pit, attempting to correct an issue that was causing him to lose a cylinder. Yellow would be the color of the day, as the event would attempt to go green on lap 18, only for Sam Hornish Jr to spin on cold tires below the white line like Sharp and Fisher did, this time on acceleration out of turn 4 while coming to the green. He would spin infront of the field, and while no one would hit him Al Unser Jr would take evasive manuvers...right into the outside wall, ending his day. Hornish wouldn't take any damage and would be able to continue. Michael Andretti would pit during this caution after cutting a tire down. On the lap 23 restart Greg Ray would shoot to Robby Gordon's inside at the S/F line, and complete the pass heading into Turn 1. Gordon would run an erratic line on the straightaways, not running even with the outside wall, which would eventually become the default racing line at Indianapolis in future years. De Ferran would hold steady in third, nearly two seconds out of the lead with Mark Dismore hounding him. Arie Luyendyke would start slowly hemorrhaging positions and slide out of the top 5. On lap 31 the lapped traffic as Lazier would hold up Gordon and allow De Ferran to overtake him, but Gordon would get him back a lap later, and roughly 9 laps later Dismore would also overtake De Ferran. Eddie Cheever Jr would begin green flag stops on lap 40, but an issue with his right rear tire would give him significant delay. Robby Gordon would pit the next lap, and troubles would hurt him as well as fuel wouldn't flow into the car for a long time, forcing a 30+ second stop. Dismore would pit on lap 42, and Ray would pit out of the lead on lap 45, allowing Tony Stewart to inherit the lead for a lap before he would pit as well, giving Arie the lead, only for him to pit the next lap and stall while pitting. At this point Michael Andretti would lead a Indy 500 for the first time in years. He would eventually pit at a later time due to running an alternate strategy, and Mark Dismore would inherit the top spot. Behind him though, the Penske drivers would start putting down quick laps and cutting their way into the top 5 and a battle for 2nd for Helio and De Ferran respectively. Robby Gordon would begin the second round of green flag stops on lap 72. Dismore would pit on lap 74, allowing Greg Ray to hold a small lead over De Ferran, and Dismore's day would come crashing down as he would lose 5th and 6th gear. Ray and De Ferran would pit at almost exact same time, and just as Tony Stewart would come in to pit Minnassian would find his car slowing as his gear box broke, but no caution would be thrown as he would pull it off circuit. Michael Andretti would wait as long as he could until it was obvious no caution would fall, and then he would pit out of the lead. Dismore would take the lead again, but his car would be forced to run in 4th gear all around the track, putting an immense strain on the engine, while Gil De Ferran would slot into 2nd and Jeff Ward would also slot into third, ahead of Greg Ray. Dismore would force a caution period as his gearbox would die after he would try and mash it into 5th gear, ending his day out of the lead. The caution would come 10 laps before the halfway mark. Dark stormclouds would surround the track and threaten rain, just as the event would go green again on lap 97. Greg Ray would lead Michael Andretti at the front of the field, ad Andretti would begin putting heavy pressure on the 1999 IRL champion. At the exact halfway point Ray would only have a two car-length lead over Andretti, but Michael would be unable to overtake the leader despite being faster. The race would be official at the 101 lap mark, and reports of rain would begin to crop up. On lap 102, Greg Ray would push his car too hard coming out of turn 3 and brush the outside wall. He would let out of the throttle for a split second, and Michael Andretti would charge into the lead, with rain less then a mile from the track. 27. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 09.23.2018 - 10:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Greg Ray would continue to hemorrhage positions rapidly after his brush with the wall, suspension pieces being bent out of place by the incident. On lap 106 John Herb would crash out in turn 1 at the exact same time that the yellow would fall for precipitation on the track. Herb was unable to avoid the slower car of Greg Ray, and ended up turning himself right into the outside wall after making contact. Michael Andretti, Gil De Ferran, and Helio Castroneves would all stay out while the other five lead lap cars would pit. Alas, the rain would move away from the track, and due to his alternate strategy caused by an earlier punched tire Andretti would pit out of the lead on lap 108, giving De Ferran the lead. On the lap 119 restart, only 7 drivers would be on the lead lap. De Ferran, Helio Castroneves, Michael Andretti, Greg Ray, Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart, Jimmy Vasser, and Robbie Buhl. The two Penske drivers would pace themselves slowly away from the rest of the field, and eventually start whittling down the already small lead-lap group as Robby Gordon would also a lap down. Despite being laps down, Sam Hornish Jr would be on a mad charge through the lead pack, trying to race his way back onto the lead lap. Michael Andretti would throw conservation to the wind and start pushing hard in 5th gear to chase the Penskes. Cory Witherill would spin on lap 134, forcing another caution and providing a huge break for the Penskes, who were planning to pit within the next three laps. While under the caution the leaders would pit, and while Helio and De Ferran would battle nose-to-nose to the pit lane exit Stewart would get run into the back of by Michael Andretti, damaging Andretti's front wing. Helio and De Ferran would be penalized for their 'games' on pit lane, and Stewart would be given the lead. Stewart would run off on lap 60, but the Penske drivers would quickly attempt to run him down, and Michael Andretti would be on a faster pace then all of them, overtaking De Ferran within two laps of the restart. Robbie Buhl would be the lone IRL regular on the lead lap, running the finalized version of the specialized Infiniti engine, and he would eventually overtake De Ferran and even tackle Michael Andretti. All the while, Helio would be content to stalk Stewart, while Robbie Gordon and Bruno Junqueira would be able to race their way back onto the lead lap. Rain would again begin to crop up with 56 laps to go in the race, and on lap 147 Donnie Beechler would blow his engine and spew oil onto the track. Stewart would come in for a splash-n-go, giving Helio the race lead. Michael Andretti would also pit to get service and totally swap out the front wing. Eventually a red flag would be issue for the rain that would crop up again under this caution. During the red flag Tony Stewart, who had a backup driver in the form of Robbie Buhl, would tear out of the car and and cause much confusion as everyone would wonder if he was rushing to try and prepare for an early departure to Charlotte for the Coke 600, but it would end up being for him to stretch out a right-foot cramp and an attempt to relieve pressure in his hamstrings after sitting in place for the entire day. The drivers would be called back to the cars shortly afterwards, leading to another frenzy as everyone tried to figure out where Stewart was until he got back to his car. The race would finally go underway again lap 159, with Robbie Buhl looking high and low against Castroneves, but unable to get momentum built up to get by the Indy 500 rookie. Buhl would do it again on the front-stretch on the very next lap, Buhl would calm down a bit on lap 160, more focused on keeping De Ferran behind him rather then tackling Helio. Alas, Buhl's extreme aggression against the Penske drivers would prove to be too much, and he would spin out of second, giving De Ferran a super-close moment as Buhl would through a smoke-screen over turn 2 before sliding rear-end first into the inside wall. He would be able to continue, albeit three laps down. The field would make their final expected pitstops on this caution, and while Helio would hold the top spot, Stewart and Vasser would both stall and lose time. This would move Michael Andretti up into third. The race would go green for the final time on lap 171. De Ferran would charge to the outside of Castroneves going into turn 1 and hold side-by-side into the short-chute, but Helio would have the faster line and would slot back in front. Robbie Gordon's day would end short as his engine would blow with 15 laps to go, and he would quickly pull off circuit, keeping the event green. As the race wrapped up, De Ferran would loose time to his teammate, but would still be fast enough to hold off Andretti to the race's end. Farther back CART and Indy 500 rookie Bruno Junqueira would cycle up into 5th, and 1996 CART champion Jimmy Vasser would end up fourth. With CART drivers locking out the top 5, Tony Stewart would be the best non-CART driver in 6th, and the only non-CART driver to finish on the lead lap. Eliseo Salazar would be the highest finishing IRL regular, a lap down in 7th. Helio Castroneves would lead the last 52 laps (most laps of the race), and together with Gil De Ferran would give Roger Penske a 1-2 finish and his 11th Indy 500 victory. It would mean that Penske had won back-to-back Indy 500's when his drivers did qualify (Both of his drivers failed to qualify for the 1995 Indy 500, but had won the 1994 event with Al Unser Jr). It would also be the first year since 1994 that the winner of the Grand Prix of Long Beach and the Indy 500 in the same year. Finally Helio's victory coupled with Montoya's the year prior would be the first time since 1926 and 1927 that rookies won the Indy 500 in back-to-back years. Helio would also continue his tradition of climbing fences after winning, this time being joined by his entire team at the fence on the fronstretch. Sam Hornish Jr would overcome his early race woes somewhat, and come from being 7 laps down to finishing the race just 4 laps down. Hornish ran among the leaders all day, and easily could have had a win-challenging car. However, considering his biggest rival in the points only finished 7th his points lead would not be under much threat, and the IRL would leave Indianapolis with Hornish holding a 21 point lead over Salazar. Everyone else third and back had more then 50 points to make up on Hornish Jr. In the world of NASCAR, Tony Stewart would have roughly 5 and a half minutes from the end of the race until he had to board his helicopter to Charlotte. He would make it, but his run in the Coca Cola 600 would be a mixed bag, as he would finish third, but that would be after clawing his way back from a spin in the opening laps of the event. 28. SweetRich posted: 02.26.2020 - 12:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Commentators For The Race Were Bob Jenkins, Larry Rice And Jason Priestley. The Pit Road Reporters Were Jerry Punch, Jack Arute, Leslie Gudel And Vince Welch. 29. Rich posted: 12.23.2020 - 6:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The studio host was Al Michaels. The pre-race analysts were Jason Priestley and Arie Luyendyk. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: