# 2001 Indy Lights season

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. 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 |
| Conquest Racing | 11 | Matt Halliday | 12 |
| Conquest Racing | 21 | Matt Halliday | 4–11 |
| Conquest Racing | 21 | Nilton Rossoni | 1 |
| Dorricott Racing | 30 | Townsend Bell | All |
| Dorricott Racing | 31 | Damien Faulkner | All |
| Dorricott Racing | 32 | Jon Fogarty | 1–4, 10–11 |
| Dorricott Racing | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 |
| * | Led most race laps (1 point) |
| $^1$ | Qualifying cancelled no bonus point awarded |