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.
Drivers and teams
All teams utilized Lola T97/20 chassis with Buick V6 engines.| Team | Drivers | Sponsor | Notes | |
 Brian Stewart Racing | 2 | Larry Mason | King Taco/Trench Shoring | Long Beach only |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 3 |  Andy Booth | Long Beach only | |
| Conquest Racing | 11 |  Kristian Kolby | Rounds 1–8 | |
| Conquest Racing | 11 | Matt Halliday | in No. 11 for Fontana | |
| Conquest Racing | 21 | Matt Halliday | Mi-Jack | Rounds 4–11 |
| Conquest Racing | 21 |  Nilton Rossoni | Monterrey only | |
| Dorricott Racing | 30 | Townsend Bell | DirecWay | |
| Dorricott Racing | 31 |  Damien Faulkner | ||
| Dorricott Racing | 32 | Jon Fogarty | Thomas Fogarty Winery | Suffered herniated disc before Portland round, returned at Road Atlanta & Laguna Seca |
| Dorricott Racing | 32 | Geoff Boss | Thomas Fogarty Winery | Injury replacement at Toronto & Mid-Ohio |
| Indy Regency Racing | 12 | Cory Witherill | WSA Healthcare, Casino Morongo | Missed Texas round |
 Mexpro Racing | 15 | Rudy Junco, Jr. | Starlight Diamonds | |
| Mexpro Racing | 16 | Derek Higgins | Starlight Diamonds | |
| PacWest Lights | 1 |  Dan Wheldon | Gemstart | |
| PacWest Lights | 17 | Mario Domínguez | del Valle, Corona | |
| Roquin Motorsports | 64 | Rolando Quintanilla | Telmex | |
| Roquin Motorsports | 65 | Luis Díaz | Telmex |
Calendar
Race summaries
Monterrey
- March 11, 2001
- Fundidora Park, Monterrey, Mexico
- Pole position: Derek Higgins, 1:25.345,
Long Beach
- April 8, 2001
- Long Beach street circuit, Long Beach, California
- Pole position: Mario Domínguez, 1:15.968,
Texas
- April 28, 2001
- Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas
- Pole position: Damien Faulkner, 0:29:060,
- The CART race that weekend was cancelled due to track incompatibility, so this was the only race completed that weekend.
Milwaukee
- June 3, 2001
- Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wisconsin
- Pole position: Townsend Bell
Portland
- June 24, 2001
- Portland International Raceway, Portland, Oregon
- Pole position: Townsend Bell, 1:04.991,
Kansas
- July 8, 2001
- Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kansas
- Pole position: Mario Domínguez, 0:30.252,
Toronto
- July 15, 2001
- Exhibition Place, Toronto, Ontario
- Pole position: Townsend Bell, 1:04.202,
Mid-Ohio
- August 12, 2001
- Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio
- Pole position: Townsend Bell, 1:13.809,
Gateway
- August 26, 2001
- Gateway International Raceway, Madison, Illinois
- Pole position: Townsend Bell
Road Atlanta
- October 5, 2001
- Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia
- Pole position: Townsend Bell, 1:14.883,
Laguna Seca
- October 14, 2001
- Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, California
- Pole position: Townsend Bell, 1:16.313,
Fontana
- November 4, 2001
- California Speedway, Fontana, California
- Pole position: Townsend Bell
- This was the last CART-sanctioned Indy Lights race.
Final points standings
Race 4 no additional point for the qualifying was awarded due to rain, starting grid were determined by championship points standing.
Race 9 no additional point for the qualifying was awarded due to rain, starting grid were determined by championship points standing.