2001 zMax 500
| Race details | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3rd round of the 2001 Indy Racing League season
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| Date | April 28, 2001 | ||||
| Official name | zMax 500 | ||||
| Location | Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.54 mi / 2.478 km | ||||
| Distance | 200 laps 308 mi / 495.678 km | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Greg Ray (Team Menard) | ||||
| Time | 24.741 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver | Greg Ray (Team Menard) | ||||
| Time | 25.0331 (on lap 155 of 200) | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Greg Ray (Team Menard) | ||||
| Second | Scott Sharp (Kelley Racing) | ||||
| Third | Buzz Calkins (Bradley Motorsports) | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
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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.