The 2001 Indy Racing Northern Light Series saw the addition of five races and loss of one to bring the total to 13. Chip Ganassi Racing returned to the Indy 500 with four cars and were joined on the grid by Penske Racing and Team Kool Green. Sam Hornish Jr. won 3 races on his way to the championship while the less consistent Buddy Lazier won four races on his way to second place in his title defense.

Confirmed entries

All drivers and teams used Firestone Tires.

Season Summary

Schedule

Race results

Note: All races running on Oval/Speedway.

Race summaries

Pennzoil Copper World Indy 200

This race was held March 18 at Phoenix International Raceway. Greg Ray won the pole. Top ten results

Inaugural Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami

This race was held April 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Jeff Ward won the pole. Sarah Fisher's second place was the highest finish in an Indy car race by a female driver at the time. Top ten results

zMax 500

This race was held April 28 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Greg Ray won the pole. Top ten results

85th Indianapolis 500

The 85th running of the Indianapolis 500 was held May 27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Scott Sharp sat on pole. Top ten results

Casino Magic 500

This race was held June 9 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mark Dismore won the pole. Top ten results

Radisson Indy 200

This race was held June 17 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Greg Ray won the pole. Top ten results

Inaugural SunTrust Indy Challenge

This race was held June 30 at Richmond International Raceway. Jaques Lazier won the pole. Top ten results

Ameristar Casino Indy 200

This race was held July 8 at Kansas Speedway. Scott Sharp won the pole. Top ten results

Inaugural Harrah's 200

This race was held July 21 at Nashville Superspeedway. Greg Ray won the pole. Top ten results

Belterra Resort Indy 300

This race was held August 12 at Kentucky Speedway. Scott Sharp won the pole. Top ten results

Inaugural Gateway Indy 250

This race was held August 26 at Gateway International Raceway. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole. Top ten results

Inaugural Delphi Indy 300

This race was held September 2 at Chicagoland Speedway. Jaques Lazier won the pole. Top ten results

Chevy 500

This race was originally scheduled for September 16th at Texas Motor Speedway but was postponed in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. The race was eventually held October 6. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole. Top ten results

Final points standings