2001 Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit

Did You Know?

• The race was the 20th annual edition of the event and the 13th under CART sanctioning; it was previously part of the Formula One World Championship from 1982 to 1988.
• Jimmy Vasser was fastest in the Sunday morning warm-up session at 1 minute 16.015 seconds.
• Christian Fittipaldi damaged his car in the warm-up and had to use a backup car for the race.

Practice

Toyota complained to CART that Honda and Ford-Cosworth were exploiting a loophole to lower pop-off valve pressure and gain more turbocharger boost. CART responded by implementing a 3⁄4-inch spacer extension to the manifold pressure relief valve, which had been tested at Michigan International Speedway on June 12. Honda and Ford-Cosworth claimed they were only informed of the change via a bulletin on Friday morning, just before the first practice session.

They ordered their teams to boycott the session while meeting with CART officials, arguing that even small mechanical changes could greatly affect engine performance. Toyota's teams did not join the boycott, having already tested the spacer at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 13, which led to rumors that Toyota had developed the spacer earlier—rumors Toyota denied. Ford-Cosworth relented with 15 minutes left in the 90-minute session, allowing their teams to practice; Honda drivers never took the track.

The session, delayed 15 minutes by oil from a support race, was led by Jimmy Vasser with a lap of 1 minute 16.305 seconds. Dario Franchitti caused the only stoppage when he hit a tire barrier in turn 12.

Qualifying

Qualifying took place on Saturday afternoon, 75 minutes long, two and a half hours after the final practice. The 26 drivers were split into two groups, with championship leaders and the two fastest qualifiers from the previous road course race in the second group; each group had 30 minutes on track with a 15-minute interval. Humidity was slightly lower than Friday. Hélio Castroneves took his third pole of the season and seventh of his career with a lap of 1 minute 13.499 seconds on his final lap.

Bruno Junqueira was 0.082 seconds behind in second, splitting the Team Penske drivers and relegating Gil de Ferran to third. Jimmy Vasser and Roberto Moreno took fifth and seventh, the team's best qualifying of the season, separated by sixth-place Patrick Carpentier, fastest among Ford-Cosworth drivers. Christian Fittipaldi did not record a lap in the final 76 seconds due to a car problem but started eighth. Kenny Bräck qualified 10th, citing understeer and oversteer.

Race

The race began at 2:05 p.m. local time before about 44,000 spectators. Hélio Castroneves led from the start, with Patrick Carpentier moving from sixth to fourth on the first lap. On lap three, Michel Jourdain and Alex Zanardi collided in turn three, bringing out the first caution and ending Jourdain's 200th CART race for Bettenhausen Racing. Castroneves resumed the lead at the restart on lap seven, pressured by Bruno Junqueira. Dario Franchitti's engine cut out on lap ten, allowing Jimmy Vasser past, but Franchitti retook fifth by lap 20. On lap 29, Junqueira's gearbox lost power, dropping him to fifth and allowing Castroneves to extend his lead to 7.8 seconds. Castroneves made his first pit stop on lap 32 and retained the lead. Paul Tracy inherited second until pitting on lap 36, hoping for cautions to save fuel. There were four caution flags and no lead changes.

Post-race

Hélio Castroneves climbed the catch fence in his traditional victory celebration, calling the race a dream come true and attributing the win to his pit crew and Firestone tires. Dario Franchitti, who finished second, described his pass on Patrick Carpentier as nearly going awry when he carried too much speed onto marbles, but he managed to complete the move. Roberto Moreno, third, was glad to earn a podium after a tough start to the season. Paul Tracy, who retired, said his team's fuel strategy gamble did not pay off.

Jimmy Vasser admitted he 'flat blew it' while warming his tires, losing the car on marbles and sand. Alex Zanardi criticized Michel Jourdain's overtaking attempt as 'a little late,' while Jourdain blamed Zanardi for turning across him. The controversy over the engine spacer was not resolved until July 16, when all three manufacturers agreed to use the spacer starting with the Michigan 500. The Detroit Grand Prix was dropped from CART's schedule after 2001 and became an IndyCar Series event in 2007.