The 2001 Firestone Firehawk 500 was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) motor race held on May 19, 2001 at Twin Ring Motegi in Tochigi, Japan. It was the 5th round of the 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series season. Team Rahal driver Kenny Bräck scored his first career win in CART despite not starting on the front row for the first time that season. Polesitter Hélio Castroneves finished 2nd and Tony Kanaan took 3rd.
Bräck's win moved him five spots into 1st place in the drivers' standings, where he would remain for much of the season. It was Team Rahal's first win of the season and their first since 2000 at Miami-Homestead. Castroneves' podium put him at 2nd place overall in the standings; he and Bräck would continue to battle for 1st place for much of the season. Kanaan's podium was his first since his win at the 1999 U.S. 500 in Michigan and would be his and Mo Nunn Racing's only podium in 2001.
The race was a testament to Bräck and Castroneves' blistering race pace, as both were the only ones still on the lead lap at the end of the race; this was partially the result of the long, uninterrupted stretch of green-flag running between Laps 8 and 194. Throughout the race Brack was the last of the leaders to pit during each round of stops. He thus needed less fuel at his final pit stop and saved enough time to leap from third to first place. The race also saw heavy attrition, as almost half of the entrants ultimately retired with a variety of issues. Points leader Cristiano da Matta was taken out on Lap 1 by rookie Bruno Junqueira, who spun coming out of Turn 2. This dropped the points leader into a tie for 3rd in the standings.
Qualifying May 18, 2001 - Qualifying Speeds Rank Driver Time Leader Speed (mph) Team1 Hélio Castroneves25.849—215.591Team Penske2 Dario Franchitti25.991 +0.142214.413Team Green3 Gil de Ferran25.993 +0.144214.396Team Penske4 Tony Kanaan26.022 +0.173214.157Mo Nunn Racing5 Bruno Junqueira (R)26.035 +0.186214.050Chip Ganassi Racing6 Kenny Bräck26.044 +0.195213.976Team Rahal7 Michel Jourdain Jr.26.057 +0.208213.870Bettenhausen Racing8 Alex Zanardi26.088 +0.239213.615Mo Nunn Racing9 Adrian Fernández26.097 +0.248213.542Fernandez Racing10 Patrick Carpentier26.147 +0.298213.132Forsythe Racing11 Michael Andretti26.215 +0.366212.581Team Motorola12 Cristiano da Matta26.274 +0.425212.103Newman-Haas Racing13 Shinji Nakano26.280 +0.431212.055Fernandez Racing14 Christian Fittipaldi26.366 +0.517211.363Newman-Haas Racing15 Nicolas Minassian (R)26.378 +0.529211.267Chip Ganassi Racing16 Paul Tracy26.432 +0.583210.835Team Green17 Max Papis26.452 +0.603210.676Team Rahal18 Oriol Servià26.528 +0.679210.072Sigma Autosport19 Alex Tagliani26.530 +0.681210.057Forsythe Racing20 Scott Dixon (R)26.587 +0.738209.606PacWest Racing21 Jimmy Vasser26.600 +0.751209.504Patrick Racing22 Bryan Herta26.786 +0.937208.049Forsythe Racing23 Roberto Moreno26.800 +0.951207.940Patrick Racing24 Tora Takagi (R)26.840 +0.991207.630Walker Motorsport25 Maurício Gugelmin26.860 +1.011207.476PacWest Racing
Race Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/retired Grid Points18 Kenny BräckTeam Rahal2011:44:48.888178.113 mph62023 Hélio CastronevesTeam Penske201 +3.650118355 Tony KanaanMo Nunn Racing200 +1 Lap414411 Christian FittipaldiNewman-Haas Racing200 +1 Lap1412540 Jimmy VasserPatrick Racing200 +1 Lap211067 Max PapisTeam Rahal200 +1 Lap178766 Alex ZanardiMo Nunn Racing199 +2 Laps86852 Shinji NakanoFernandez Racing199 +2 Laps135918 Scott Dixon (R)PacWest Racing198 +3 Laps2041020 Roberto MorenoPatrick Racing198 +3 Laps2331116 Michel Jourdain Jr.Bettenhausen Racing197 +4 Laps721217 Maurício GugelminPacWest Racing197 +4 Laps251131 Gil de FerranTeam Penske194 Oil line3—1422 Oriol ServiàSigma Autosport191 +7 Laps18—1512 Nicolas Minassian (R)Chip Ganassi Racing190Contact15—1651 Adrian FernándezFernandez Racing148Electrical9—1727 Dario FranchittiTeam Green126Header2—1826 Paul TracyTeam Green77Gearbox16—1932 Patrick CarpentierForsythe Racing54Oil tank10—205 Tora Takagi (R)Walker Motorsport51Throttle24—2177 Bryan HertaForsythe Racing50Header22—2233 Alex TaglianiForsythe Racing40Gearbox19—2339 Michael AndrettiTeam Motorola33Gearbox11—244 Bruno Junqueira (R)Chip Ganassi Racing1Contact5—256 Cristiano da MattaNewman-Haas Racing0Contact12— – Includes two bonus points for leading the most laps and being the fastest qualifier.
Race statistics Lead changes: 9 among 5 drivers
Lap Leaders Laps Leader1–50 Helio Castroneves51-54 Kenny Bräck55 Scott Dixon56-84 Helio Castroneves85-96 Kenny Bräck97 Dario Franchitti98-104 Kenny Bräck105-144 Tony Kanaan145-149 Helio Castroneves150-201 Kenny Bräck
Total laps led Leader Laps Helio Castroneves 84 Kenny Bräck 75 Tony Kanaan 40 Scott Dixon 1 Dario Franchitti 1
Cautions: 2 for 13 laps Laps Reason1-8 Junqueira and da Matta crash194-200 Minassian hits the wall in Turn 4
Standings after the race
Drivers' standings Pos+/-DriverPoints1 5 Kenny Bräck492 3 Hélio Castroneves473 2 Cristiano da Matta40— 1 Paul Tracy40— Jimmy Vasser40
Constructors' standings Pos +/– Constructor Points 1 1 Lola 77 — Reynard 77
Manufacturer's Standings Pos +/- Manufacturer Points 1 Honda 71 2 Toyota 70 3 Ford-Cosworth 52 4 Phoenix 0
References