Da Matta took the win in the CART season finale at California Speedway, where the distance was cut twice and the lead changed hands a record 73 times.
Cristiano da Matta took the 2001 finale at California Speedway. Papis and Tagliani filled the next two places in a race that featured a record 73 lead changes and a distance cut to 220 laps.
Cristiano da Matta won the 2001 Marlboro 500 at California Speedway, closing out the CART season on 4 November. The distance was cut twice, first for fading daylight and then after a crash, and the lead changed hands a record 73 times among 19 drivers. Max Papis finished second and Alex Tagliani third.
Who won the 2001 Marlboro 500?
Cristiano da Matta of Newman/Haas Racing won the race, starting from second on the grid. It was his third win of the 2001 season and the fourth of his CART career. He earned $1 million for the victory, and he held off Max Papis at the start-finish line after a caution period ended the racing.
Papis led more laps than any other driver, 54 in total, but da Matta led 16 times for 53 laps. Tagliani, who had taken pole, finished third, with Junqueira fourth and Kanaan fifth.
A record 73 lead changes, two cuts for daylight and a $1 million win that settled the 2001 CART finale at Fontana.
What was the season situation going into the finale?
Gil de Ferran had already clinched the championship at the previous round, the Honda Indy 300, and he held a 28-point lead over Kenny Brack in second. Helio Castroneves and Michael Andretti were tied on 141 points for third, with da Matta fifth on 120. Honda had already taken the Manufacturers' Championship on 332 points.
Toyota stood second on 288 points, eight ahead of Ford Cosworth. The race was the 21st and final scheduled round of the year, and it was held on the 2 mi (3.2 km) D-shaped oval at Fontana, where the race had been held for five consecutive years.
Several drivers still had goals. Papis had climbed from 16th to eighth in the standings after a win at Laguna Seca and a second place in Germany, and he hoped to win his first 500-mile race. Junqueira was keen to take a second win of the year.
De Ferran said he was confident his team could be competitive without worrying about the title, which he had already secured. Da Matta said his team had learned a great deal from the previous superspeedway race, which he believed would help at California. Papis had not finished a superspeedway race in 2001, and he was keen to change that.
How did practice and qualifying set the grid?
Three practice sessions were held, lasting 105, 75 and 60 minutes. The first session was held in fog that lifted later in the day. Junqueira was fastest in the opening session at 31.948 seconds, while Brack led the second and third sessions, the latter at 31.219 seconds.
Qualifying lasted one hour, with each driver limited to two timed laps. Alex Tagliani took his second pole of the season and the third of his career with a time of 31.935 seconds. Cristiano da Matta joined him on the front row, and Brack qualified third, Bryan Herta fourth and Christian Fittipaldi fifth.
Papis, Michel Jourdain Jr., Junqueira, Jimmy Vasser and Scott Dixon completed the top ten. Gidley was the fastest driver outside the top ten, five-tenths of a second off Tagliani's pace, and Casey Mears lost power on his second warm-up lap and was allowed only one timed attempt.
Dario Franchitti and Moreno qualified 22nd and 23rd, Castroneves took 24th and Carpentier 25th. Adrian Fernandez started at the back in 26th after his engine switched off on the backstretch during a warm-up lap. The warm-up had been shortened after rain, and Nakano was fastest in it.
The warm-up began at 12:10 local time for a 15-minute session, although it was due to run for 30 minutes. Light rain delayed it at first, and Barron ended it early when fluid leaked from his car on the way into pit road. Nakano was fastest at 32.280 seconds, with Brack second and Herta third. Barron had made a pit stop to have his electronics box changed, so he started from the back of the field.
How did the race start?
Around 75,000 people attended the event, and the start was delayed to 1.27 p.m. after more rain fell. Tagliani held the lead into the first turn, but da Matta went around the outside to take it and Herta then got ahead of him on the first lap.
Tracy moved from 12th to second by the sixth lap, and da Matta regained the lead by lap 10 with Papis, Tracy and Franchitti running close behind. Papis took the lead from Herta early on, and he held it for a stretch before the first pit stops.
Franchitti had moved up into fourth by then, 0.6 seconds ahead of Gidley in fifth.
The first caution came on the following lap after Brack spun into the outside wall in turn two. The leaders all pitted for fuel. Papis held the lead on the restart on lap 45 before Gidley moved ahead, while Herta retired on lap 55 with a voltage regulator problem that cut out his engine.
Kanaan moved into the lead by lap 50, but Papis took it back on the outside of turn one. Gidley then passed Papis on the inside of the first turn to lead, with Castroneves running close behind in the leading group.
How did the lead change hands so often?
The race was a constant duel of drafting and position changes, with the leaders reluctant to take the front because it burned extra fuel. Most drivers chose to run just behind the leader to save fuel, which produced frequent changes at the head of the field.
Tracy's day ended on lap 64 when his engine lost power on the backstraight. Vasser took the lead from Papis on the 72nd lap, but Franchitti lost engine power soon afterwards and had to stop, bringing out the second caution. Castroneves later retired with an engine failure after a restart.
Papis retook the lead on the 86th lap, and da Matta and Papis then traded the first position over several laps. The leaders kept swapping places through the middle of the event.
Michael Andretti briefly led on lap 110 before Papis reclaimed the position on the following lap, a reminder of how quickly the order could change.
Mears briefly took the front on lap 87, only to hand it back to Papis two laps later. Carpentier, who had been a lap down, moved into the lead on lap 105, but Papis took it back the following lap. Da Matta and Mears each held the place for a couple of laps before Papis took it back on lap 109.
Fernandez was back in front on lap 150, with a 0.7-second margin over da Matta, and da Matta was three-tenths of a second clear of Papis.
The third caution came on lap 155 when Gugelmin's engine failed on the front straight. Moreno's car billowed smoke on lap 160, and a fourth caution on lap 176 followed when part of his front wing came off. Officials then cut the distance because the daylight was fading, reducing the race from 250 laps to 230.
Chief Steward Chris Kneifel made the announcement during that caution, and the leaders made pit stops for fuel. Most teams told their drivers to conserve fuel in the hope of reaching the finish, and da Matta gained the lead for the restart on lap 167.
Why was the race cut again?
Moreno's engine failed on lap 188 and brought out the fifth caution. Fernandez then veered into the turn three entrance wall on the restart, which removed a section of his front wing and his wheel. That sixth caution led officials to take a further ten laps off the race, which was then set at 220 laps.
The seventh and final caution came on lap 216, when Dixon steered right in turn three, hit the outside wall and lost his right-rear wheel. Da Matta battled Papis for the lead under that yellow and held it for the last four laps to take the chequered flag. The final caution came with four laps remaining, so the order at that moment was the order that counted, and da Matta kept his place through the flag.
The 73 lead changes were a CART record, and 19 different drivers reached the front during the race. Only 16 of the 26 starters finished, which highlighted the attrition in a race where the pace was high.
What were the final results?
Cristiano da Matta won from Max Papis and Alex Tagliani. Junqueira finished fourth and Kanaan fifth, with De Ferran sixth, Andretti seventh and Mears eighth. Barron and Carpentier completed the top ten.
| Position | Driver | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano da Matta | Newman/Haas Racing; led 53 laps; $1 million |
| 2 | Max Papis | Team Rahal; led a race-high 54 laps |
| 3 | Alex Tagliani | Forsythe Racing; pole sitter |
| 4 | Bruno Junqueira | Fourth place after a late caution |
| 5 | Tony Kanaan | Fifth place |
How did the drivers react?
Da Matta said he had been confident in the car and could go flat out to the end. He said he did not want to lead with two laps remaining because of the draft, and he expected a bigger battle for the victory.
Papis said his team would plan a new strategy after the distance was reduced. Tagliani said he had lifted in fifth gear on the back straight to save fuel and avoid incidents, and he described the race before the final ten laps as boring.
Junqueira felt he could have won had there been no caution. Franchitti was disappointed not to finish and said the car had been running well and in the draft. Tracy called his engine failure a disappointment that summed up a season of frustration.
What did the race mean for the championship?
De Ferran ended the 2001 season with 199 points, 36 ahead of Brack in second. Andretti moved up to third, Castroneves dropped to fourth after his retirement, and da Matta finished fifth after a countback with Castroneves on 141 points.
Honda finished the year 33 points ahead of Toyota, with Ford Cosworth third.
