2001 CART season
The 2001 FedEx Championship Series season, the twenty-third in the CART era of U.S. open-wheel racing, consisted of 20 of the 21 originally scheduled races, beginning in Monterrey, Mexico on March 11 and concluding in Fontana, California on November 4. What would have been the third race in the season, the Firestone Firehawk 600 in Fort Worth, Texas was canceled after qualifying due to safety concerns. The FedEx Championship Series Drivers' Champion was Gil de Ferran, while the Rookie of the Year was Scott Dixon.
Off the track, the 2001 season was an unmitigated disaster for CART, featuring two race cancellations, a disastrous European tour that coincided with the September 11 attacks, infighting amongst engine manufacturers that saw litigation and the announced future departure of Honda and Toyota, the loss of the series' television contract, the loss of longtime tracks Michigan and Nazareth, and the withdrawal of Team Penske at the conclusion of the season.
Team Penske and Team Motorola joined Chip Ganassi Racing in having concurrent IRL teams to run in the 2001 Indianapolis 500, with Penske's Castroneves winning the race. In an unusual move, CART "sanctioned" the participation of teams in the race; This was an attempt to allow Penske's primary sponsor, Marlboro, to appear on cars in the 500 as they were prohibited from being in more than one racing series by the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. This legal maneuver was not successful, and Penske's cars ran without advertising.
Drivers and constructors
The following teams and drivers competed in the 2001 CART Championship Series season. All cars ran on Firestone Tires.Season summary
Schedule
| Rnd | Race Name | Circuit | City/Location | Date |
| 1 |  Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey | Fundidora Park | Monterrey, Mexico | March 11 |
| - |  Rio 200 | Autódromo de Jacarepaguá | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | March 25 |
| 2 |  Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach | Streets of Long Beach | Long Beach, California | April 8 |
| - | Firestone Firehawk 600 | Texas Motor Speedway | Fort Worth, Texas | April 29 |
| 3 | Lehigh Valley Grand Prix | Nazareth Speedway | Nazareth, Pennsylvania | May 6 |
| 4 |  Firestone Firehawk 500 | Twin Ring Motegi | Motegi, Japan | May 19 |
| 5 | Miller Lite 225 | Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wisconsin | June 3 |
| 6 |  Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit | The Raceway on Belle Isle Park | Detroit, Michigan | June 17 |
| 7 | Freightliner/G.I. Joe's 200 | Portland International Raceway | Portland, Oregon | June 24 |
| 8 | Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland | Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport | Cleveland, Ohio | July 1 |
| 9 |  Molson Indy Toronto | Exhibition Place | Toronto, Ontario | July 15 |
| 10 | Harrah's 500 | Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan | July 22 |
| 11 | Target Grand Prix of Chicago | Chicago Motor Speedway | Cicero, Illinois | July 29 |
| 12 | Miller Lite 200 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio | August 12 |
| 13 | Motorola 220 | Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin | August 19 |
| 14 | Molson Indy Vancouver | Streets of Vancouver | Vancouver, British Columbia | September 2 |
| 15 |  The American Memorial | EuroSpeedway Lausitz | Klettwitz, Germany | September 15 |
| 16 |  Rockingham 500 | Rockingham Motor Speedway | Corby, United Kingdom | September 22 |
| 17 | Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Houston | Streets of Houston | Houston, Texas | October 7 |
| 18 | Honda Grand Prix of Monterey | Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca | Monterey, California | October 14 |
| 19 |  Honda Indy 300 | Surfers Paradise Street Circuit | Surfers Paradise, Australia | October 28 |
| 20 | Marlboro 500 | California Speedway | Fontana, California | November 4 |
Oval/Speedway
Dedicated road course
Temporary street circuit
- The original calendar called for 22 races on five continents, by far the most ambitious calendar CART had ever attempted. With the race at Texas being canceled and the Rio 200 being dropped, the 2001 season ultimately had the same number of races as the previous year.
- For the first time, CART would race in the United Kingdom and Germany and also return to Mexico for the first time in almost twenty years.
- The original calendar released on August 5, 2000 had the first round of the season at Jacarepaguá in Brazil, but disagreements with the track owners several months later led to the event being dropped.
- The events at Homestead-Miami and Gateway were dropped after negotiations with the tracks owners failed; rival series Indy Racing League secured the contracts instead, and both tracks were featured in the 2001 Indy Racing League season.
- The removal of Gateway from the calendar meant that Memorial Day weekend would be empty, allowing several teams and drivers the opportunity to compete at the Indianapolis 500.
Race results
Final driver standings
[Chassis] Constructor's Cup
[Engine] Manufacturer's Cup
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United States
Sweden
Italy
United Kingdom
New Zealand
Spain
France
Germany