The 2001 zMax 500 was the 3rd round of the 2001 Indy Racing League season. The race was held on April 28, 2001, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. Greg Ray won the race. Scott Sharp finished 2nd, and Buzz Calkins finished 3rd. Sam Hornish Jr. and Eliseo Salazar rounded out the top five, and Buddy Lazier, Jeff Ward, Shigeaki Hattori, Airton Daré, and Felipe Giaffone rounded out the top ten.
This race is notable for a crash that occurred on lap 53 which involved eleven drivers. Jack Miller, who was among the eleven drivers involved, suffered injuries that led him to retire from Indy Racing League Competition. This race also marked Greg Ray's final win in the Indy Racing League, and the final time that the Indy Racing League ever raced at Atlanta.
Cory Witherill, who made his IRL debut in this race and finished 22nd, became the first Native American driver to race in the Indy Racing League.
Entry list
KeyMeaningRookiePast winner
Driver Team Chassis Engine 2 Greg Ray Team Menard Dallara Chevrolet 3 Al Unser Jr. Galles Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 4 Sam Hornish Jr. Panther Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 6 Jon Herb Tri-Star Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile 7 Stéphan Grégoire Dick Simon Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 8 Scott Sharp Kelley Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 9 Jeret Schroeder PDM Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 10 Robby McGehee Cahill Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 11 Jack Miller Cahill Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 12 Buzz Calkins Bradley Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile 14 Eliseo Salazar A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara Oldsmobile 15 Sarah Fisher Walker Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 16 Cory Witherill Indy Regenecy Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 21 Felipe Giaffone Treadway-Hubbard Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 24 Robbie Buhl Dreyer & Reinbold Racing G-Force Infiniti 28 Mark Dismore Kelley Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 30 Brandon Erwin McCormack Motorsports G-Force Oldsmobile 31 Casey Mears Galles Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 32 Didier André Galles Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 35 Jeff Ward Heritage Motorsports G-Force Oldsmobile 51 Eddie Cheever Team Cheever Dallara Infiniti 55 Shigeaki Hattori Vertex-Cunningham Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 88 Airton Daré Team Xtreme G-Force Oldsmobile 91 Buddy Lazier Hemelgarn Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 92 Stan Wattles Hemelgarn Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 98 Billy Boat Curb-Agajanian-Beck Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile 99 Davey Hamilton Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile Source:
Qualifying Qualifying was held on April 27, 2001. Greg Ray won the pole, the eleventh of his career.
Qualifying classification DriverTeamChassisEngineTime12 Greg Ray Team MenardDallaraChevrolet24.7411235 Jeff WardHeritage MotorsportsG-ForceOldsmobile24.9832351 Eddie CheeverTeam CheeverDallaraInfiniti25.0263428 Mark DismoreKelley RacingDallaraOldsmobile25.1094555 Shigeaki HattoriVertex-Cunningham RacingDallaraOldsmobile25.249564 Sam Hornish Jr.Panther RacingDallaraOldsmobile25.2816714 Eliseo SalazarA. J. Foyt EnterprisesDallaraOldsmobile25.3087812 Buzz CalkinsBradley MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobile25.3128991 Buddy LazierHemelgarn RacingDallaraOldsmobile25.31591010 Robby McGeheeCahill RacingDallaraOldsmobile25.411101188 Airton DaréTeam XtremeG-ForceOldsmobile25.412111299 Davey HamiltonSam Schmidt MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobile25.41412138 Scott Sharp Kelley RacingDallaraOldsmobile25.42213143 Al Unser Jr.Galles RacingG-ForceOldsmobile25.459141521 Felipe Giaffone Treadway-Hubbard RacingG-ForceOldsmobile25.466151692 Stan WattlesHemelgarn RacingDallaraOldsmobile25.466161798 Billy BoatCurb-Agajanian-Beck MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobile25.468171815 Sarah FisherWalker RacingDallaraOldsmobile25.478181924 Robbie BuhlDreyer & Reinbold RacingG-ForceInfiniti25.526192032 Didier André Galles RacingG-ForceOldsmobile25.64320217 Stéphan GrégoireDick Simon RacingDallaraOldsmobile25.70421229 Jeret SchroederPDM RacingG-ForceOldsmobile25.789222311 Jack MillerCahill RacingDallaraOldsmobile25.790232416 Cory Witherill Indy Regenecy RacingG-ForceOldsmobile25.79324256 Jon Herb Tri-Star MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobile25.799252630 Brandon ErwinMcCormack MotorsportsG-ForceOldsmobile26.066262731 Casey Mears Galles RacingG-ForceOldsmobile26.09427 Source:
Race An estimated 40,000 fans attended the race. The grand marshal was Regina Kauffman, a U.S. Navy lieutenant. The race was held back thirty minutes due to rain showers prior to the race.
As the race began, Jeff Ward took the lead from pole sitter Greg Ray and led the first two laps before Ray took back the lead. On lap 5, the first caution came out after Brandon Erwin crashed in turn 3. After the caution, Ray grew a sizable lead over the rest of the field. Mark Dismore and Eddie Cheever, both of whom qualified inside the top 5, retired early due to engine issues. The second caution came out on lap 46 after oil was reported in turn 2. The race went back to green on lap 51, with Sam Hornish Jr. in hot pursuit of Greg Ray.
On lap 53, Cory Witherill's car slowed in turn 4 due to an engine problem. Al Unser Jr., who slammed the brakes to avoid Witherill, was hit from behind, which sparked a fiery eleven-car pileup. While most drivers suffered minor, if any, injuries, Jack Miller suffered a concussion and was taken to Atlanta Medical Center for further evaluation. He later withdrew his entry in the Indianapolis 500 and retired from racing in IRL. The remaining drivers drove under caution for 22 laps as track workers cleaned up the debris. After pit stops finally began, Buddy Lazier's left-front tire was not properly secured, causing it to come off of Lazier's car. As it happened, Lazier is heard on the radio, bluntly saying: "Oh, shit."
During the caution, Ray lost the lead to Jeff Ward again, though Ray quickly passed him on the restart. The fourth and final caution came out on lap 91, as Jon Herb's car lost power in turn 2. Under the caution, Jeff Ward went to pit road for a battery issue. He returned to the track 1 lap down, a lap that he never regained.
After the caution, Greg Ray would continue dominating. He briefly gave up the lead to Scott Sharp on lap 147 during green-flag pit stops, though he regained the lead five laps later. As the race wound down, Sam Hornish Jr. was again in hot pursuit of Greg Ray. However, Hornish's chances of winning were thwarted when he was forced to pit for a splash of fuel with 10 laps to go. Greg Ray, who slowed down over 20 mph in the closing laps, managed to stretch his fuel and earn his 5th Indy Racing League win, tying him with Scott Sharp for the most wins in the series.
Race classification Driver Team Chassis Engine Laps Time/Retired Grid LapsLed 1 2 Greg Ray Team MenardDallaraChevrolet 200 2:14:40.989 1 184 52 2 8 Scott Sharp Kelley RacingDallaraOldsmobile 200 +19.857 13 5 40 3 12 Buzz Calkins Bradley MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobile 200 +24.890 8 0 35 4 4 Sam Hornish Jr. Panther Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 199 +1 Lap 6 1 32 5 14 Eliseo Salazar A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara Oldsmobile 199 +1 Lap 7 0 30 6 91 Buddy Lazier Hemelgarn Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 199 +1 Lap 9 0 28 7 35 Jeff Ward Heritage Motorsports G-Force Oldsmobile 199 +1 Lap 2 10 26 8 55 Shigeaki Hattori Vertex-Cunningham Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 198 +2 Laps 5 0 24 9 88 Airton Daré Team Xtreme G-Force Oldsmobile 197 +3 Laps 11 0 22 10 21 Felipe Giaffone Treadway-Hubbard Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 182 +18 Laps 15 0 20 11 15 Sarah Fisher Walker Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 178 +22 Laps 18 0 19 12 92 Stan Wattles Hemelgarn Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 147 +53 Laps 16 0 18 13 32 Didier André Galles Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 139 Clutch 20 0 17 14 98 Billy Boat Curb-Agajanian-Beck Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile 109 +91 Laps 17 0 16 15 7 Stéphan Grégoire Dick Simon Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 95 Mechanical 21 0 15 16 6 Jon Herb Tri-Star Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile 77 Engine 25 0 14 17 3 Al Unser Jr. Galles Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 52 Crash 14 0 13 18 99 Davey Hamilton Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile 52 Crash 12 0 12 19 9 Jeret Schroeder PDM Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 52 Crash 22 0 11 20 24 Robbie Buhl Dreyer & Reinbold Racing G-Force Infiniti 52 Crash 19 0 10 21 10 Robby McGehee Cahill Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 52 Crash 10 0 9 22 16 Cory Witherill Indy Regenecy Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 51 Crash 24 0 8 23 31 Casey Mears Galles Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 51 Crash 27 0 7 24 51 Eddie Cheever Team Cheever Dallara Infiniti 34 Engine 3 0 6 25 11 Jack Miller Cahill Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 28 Crash 23 0 5 26 28 Mark Dismore Kelley Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 15 Engine 4 0 4 27 30 Brandon Erwin McCormack Motorsports G-Force Oldsmobile 3 Crash 26 0 3Fastest lap: Greg Ward (Team Menard) – 25.0331 (lap 155) Source:
Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Driver Points1 Sam Hornish Jr. 1362 Eliseo Salazar 105 (–31) 13 Scott Sharp 96 (–40) 14 Jeff Ward 82 (–54) 25 Felipe Giaffone 80 (–56) Source:
References