2001 Indianapolis 500

2001 Indianapolis 500

The 85th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 27, 2001. Race rookie Hélio Castroneves led the final 52 laps and won his first Indy 500. Winning car owner Roger Penske scored his 11th victory at Indianapolis, a redemption from the team's previous attempt at Indy (1995) in which both of his cars failed to qualify.

The race was sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and was part of the 2001 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series season. The 2001 race was notable in that several top CART teams returned to Indy for the first time since 1995, despite the ongoing open wheel "split." IRL-based teams excelled in time trials, taking the front row, and the top four starting positions overall. However, the CART-based teams swept the top six finishing positions on race day.

The race experienced two rain delays, one lengthy yellow flag around the midway point, and one brief red flag period later in the day. The race, however, was run to its full 500-mile distance.