The 2001 Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) motor race held on June 17, 2001 at the Raceway at Belle Isle in Belle Isle Park, Michigan before 40,000 spectators. It was the seventh round of the 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series and the 20th running of the event (13th as a CART race). The 72-lap race was won by Team Penske driver Hélio Castroneves. Dario Franchitti finished second for Team Green, and Patrick Racing's Roberto Moreno clinched third.
The beginning of the race weekend was shrouded in controversy when CART introduced a spacer for the cars' engines two days before the race after Toyota accused Honda and Ford-Cosworth of applying less pressure on their pop-off valve to gain more turbocharger boost. Feeling that the spacer was implemented too suddenly to assess its ability, Honda and Ford-Cosworth's teams boycotted the first practice session, though both engine manufacturers eventually relented. The matter was not resolved until July 16, with all three manufacturers agreeing to use the spacer beginning in the Michigan 500.
Castroneves set the fastest lap time of qualifying and earned the pole position. He was initially challenged for the lead by Bruno Junqueira before his gearbox failed on lap 29. Junqueira was one of several drivers who experienced a mechanical issue or crashed out of the race because of the track's bumpy and deteriorating surface, notably in turn 12. Franchitti made an aggressive overtake on Patrick Carpentier for second place on the 66th lap, but never outpaced Castroneves, who earned his second win in Detroit and his fifth CART victory.
There were four caution flags and no lead changes during the course of the race. Because of his win, Castroneves shortened Kenny Bräck's lead in the Drivers' Championship, while Michael Andretti advanced from seventh to third. Reynard took the Constructors' Cup lead from Lola, and Honda widened their gap over Toyota in the Manufacturers' Cup standings with 14 races remaining in the season. The Detroit Grand Prix was dropped from CART's schedule after 2001 and became an IndyCar Series event in 2007.
Background
The 2001 Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit was the seventh of 21 scheduled open-wheel races in Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART)'s 2001 FedEx Championship Series. The race was confirmed to be included on the series' schedule in June 2000, despite a report from The Indianapolis Star claiming otherwise. It was the 20th annual edition of the event and the 13th under CART sanctioning; the race was previously part of the Formula One World Championship from 1982 to 1988. It was held on the Raceway at Belle Isle, a 14-turn, street circuit, in Belle Isle Park, Michigan, United States for the tenth successive year on Sunday, June 17, 2001.
Heading into the race, Kenny Bräck led the Drivers' Championship with 70 points, 23 more than second-place Hélio Castroneves. Cristiano da Matta, Paul Tracy, and Jimmy Vasser were all tied for third place with 40 points each. The Constructors' Cup standings were led by Lola with 98 points, while Reynard trailed by six points. As for the Manufacturers' Cup, Honda was first in the standings with 86 points; Toyota was two points behind in second, and third-place Ford-Cosworth was 13 points in arrears.
The positive momentum that Castroneves built at the beginning of the season, with wins in the Grand Prix of Long Beach and the Indy Racing League (IRL)-sanctioned Indianapolis 500, was derailed when he crashed on the first lap of the preceding Miller Lite 225 at the Milwaukee Mile. This, coupled with Bräck's two consecutive wins at Motegi and Milwaukee, allowed Bräck to dramatically widen his gap over Castroneves. Despite this, Castroneves expressed anticipation for the Grand Prix of Detroit, as he earned his first CART win in the race the year prior: "I hope to climb the fence again, since that is where the tradition started! Marlboro Team Penske is looking forward to returning to Detroit and trying to repeat what we did last year." Bräck said that he was focused on future races rather than dwelling on his past success to maintain his team's "good energy".
2001 was the last year of CART's contract with International Management Group (IMG), the Detroit Grand Prix promoter, and the future of the event was in serious doubt. The Belle Isle circuit was considered by fans to be the worst track on CART's schedule because very little passing occurred. Since a record-high 62,000 fans attended the race in 1994, the event's attendance rates experienced a steady decline. The drivers and teams also disliked the circuit because the paddock area was cramped and the track was too narrow. IMG president Bud Stanner explained that his company was struggling to afford hosting the event and paying CART, and revealed that a possible move to the Michigan State Fairgrounds Speedway was being considered in order to preserve CART's presence in Detroit.
Practice
Friday, June 15
Honda and Ford-Cosworth boycott In the lead-up to the Detroit Grand Prix, Toyota complained to CART that they were at a competitive disadvantage because a Toyota employee who previously worked for Honda revealed that Honda and Ford-Cosworth were both exploiting a loophole in the series' rules which allowed them to lower the pressure of the pop-off valve and gain more turbocharger boost. To negate Honda and Ford-Cosworth's advantage, CART implemented a 3⁄4 in (19 mm) spacer extension to the base of the manifold pressure relief valve. The spacer had previously been used in a test conducted at Michigan International Speedway on June 12 which aimed to reduce speeds on the superspeedways with an altered Handford device. During the test, CART stated that all three engine manufacturers were made aware that the spacer would be introduced at the Grand Prix of Detroit. However, Honda and Ford-Cosworth claimed in separate press releases that they were only informed of the decision when CART issued a bulletin on Friday morning, prior to the first practice session.
Taken aback by the rule change, Honda and Ford-Cosworth ordered the teams that used their engines to boycott the session while their representatives met with CART officials to resolve the issue. Both manufacturers explained that even the smallest mechanical changes can greatly affect an engine's performance. Toyota's teams did not take part in the boycott because they had already tested the spacer at a road course, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, on June 13. This led to rumors that Toyota had created and assessed the spacer long before the Michigan and Mid-Ohio tests, which Toyota swiftly denied. Ford-Cosworth eventually relented and allowed their teams to practice with 15 minutes remaining in the session, whereas Honda drivers never took to the track. The 90-minute session, which was delayed by 15 minutes because of an oil spray left by a car in a support race, was led by Vasser with a lap time of 1 minute and 16.305 seconds. Christian Fittipaldi, da Matta, Roberto Moreno, and Maurício Gugelmin were second- through fifth-quickest. Dario Franchitti prompted the only stoppage of the session when he slammed into a tire barrier with the left side of his car in turn 12.
The second practice session on Friday afternoon also lasted 90 minutes. Honda advised their teams to sit out the session, but permitted them to practice if they so desired, which all of them eventually did. Ford-Cosworth also allowed their drivers to partake in the session because they did not want to disappoint Ford's supporters at their home race. The session was held under humid conditions, and many teams struggled to find an ideal racing setup. Franchitti was the quickest driver at 1 minute and 14.838 seconds, besting the times of Patrick Carpentier, Bruno Junqueira, Gugelmin, and Castroneves. The red flag was issued three times: the first was for a dislodged manhole cover that spread debris on-track, the second was for Kanaan spinning into a tire barrier in turn three, and the third was for Castroneves losing control of his car at the same corner.
Failed Honda protest On Friday evening, Honda and three of their teams filed a protest against CART to cancel the Detroit Grand Prix because of the sudden implementation of the spacer. Honda Performance Development (HPD) general manager Robert Clarke said of the protest: "If CART gets away with this, the series will be run on a 'rule du jour' basis. Who's to say when we show up at Portland it won't be something else different, a one inch spacer, let's say." A three-man judicial panel heard and denied the protest because, according to CART, "the judges concluded that there was no basis under the rules for granting HPD's protest". HPD was permitted to appeal the denied protest within three business days.
Saturday, June 16 The third and final practice session on Saturday morning was 75 minutes long and ran without any boycotts from Honda or Ford-Cosworth. Gil de Ferran was fastest in the session with a 1 minute, 14.043 second-lap; his Team Penske teammate Castroneves, Franchitti, Fittipaldi, and Moreno rounded out the session's top five drivers. Fittipaldi caused the first of three stoppages in the session when he spun and stalled his engine in turn 11. Franchitti later skidded into a tire wall in turn 12 with the left side of his car. Finally, Michel Jourdain Jr. spun out and stalled in the 11th turn.
Qualifying
The qualifying session was held for 75 minutes on Saturday afternoon, two and a half hours after the final practice session ended. During qualifications, the 26 drivers were split into two groups, with the leading drivers in the championship standings and the fastest two qualifiers of the previous road course race being placed in the second group. Each group was allotted 30 minutes of track time, with a 15-minute interval separating the two groups. The humidity of Friday's practice sessions had slightly decreased by the time the qualifying session began. With a time of 1 minute and 13.499 seconds that recorded on his last lap, Castroneves earned his third pole position of the season and the seventh of his career. Junqueira trailed Castroneves by 0.082 seconds and joined him on the grid's front row, splitting the Team Penske pair and relegating de Ferran to third place. After qualifying, de Ferran stated that his Honda engine's performance had improved from Friday, but was still flawed. Patrick Racing drivers Vasser and Moreno respectively took fifth and seventh place, the best qualifying result for the team in the season thus far, only being separated by sixth-placed Carpentier, who was the fastest of the Ford-Cosworth drivers. Fittipaldi did not record a lap time in the final 76 seconds of the session due to a problem with his car, but still started in eighth. Behind Shinji Nakano in ninth, Bräck was 10th because of a car which he said was understeering and oversteering.