2006 IndyCar Series

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2006 IndyCar season
IndyCar Series
Season
Races14
Start dateMarch 26
End dateSeptember 10
Awards
Drivers' championUnited States Sam Hornish Jr.
Rookie of the YearUnited States Marco Andretti
Indianapolis 500 winnerUnited States Sam Hornish Jr.
← 2005
2007 →
Sam Hornish Jr. (left) won his third Drivers' Championship while Dan Wheldon (right) finished second in the championship on tiebreaker because Hornish had four race wins compared to Wheldon who had two race wins.

The 2006 IRL IndyCar Series began on March 26 and concluded on September 10. Sam Hornish Jr. won his third IndyCar Series championship. Hornish also won the 90th Indianapolis 500, passing rookie Marco Andretti on the final lap less than 500 feet (150 m) from the finish line. The title chase was very dramatic between Penske drivers Hornish and Hélio Castroneves battling Ganassi drivers Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon. The four drivers occupied the first four positions in the final race at Chicagoland Speedway, with Wheldon leading Dixon home for a Ganassi 1–2, but Hornish finishing third, edging out reigning champion Wheldon on a tiebreak. Third would have been enough to catapult fourth-place finisher Castroneves to take the title, but he instead ended up two points behind Hornish and Wheldon. Dixon was also in strong title contention, finishing a mere 15 points adrift of the championship.

The season was marred by the death of Paul Dana during practice at Homestead.

Commentators[]

The official commentators were Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear, and Rusty Wallace, with pit reports from Jack Arute, Jerry Punch, Vince Welch, and Jamie Little, and pre race hosting from Brent Musburger.

ABC Television
Booth Announcers Pit/garage reporters

Host: Brent Musburger
Announcer: Marty Reid
Color: Scott Goodyear
Color: Rusty Wallace

 Jack Arute
Jerry Punch
Vince Welch
Jamie Little

Off season changes[]

2006 for the Indy Racing League was much different from 2005. The biggest change being the withdrawal of Chevrolet- and Toyota-powered cars from the series, leaving Honda as the only engine manufacturer. There was much speculation after this announcement that because there would not be nearly as much money provided to teams by engine providers as in previous years, many of them would scale back. To some extent, this was true: Ganassi Racing pared its team from three to two cars and Panther Racing and Cheever Racing from two to one. However, Tony George and Patrick Dempsey's Vision Racing added a car for displaced Tomas Scheckter. Honda also reduced the costs of both year-long and Indy-only engine leases, promised that all teams would be provided with identical engines and technical support, and that engines would last two races between scheduled rebuilds—all significant cost-cutting measures compared to previous years.

The chassis situation is little changed from 2005, the largest change being Ganassi Racing's switch from Panoz to Dallara for oval races. The full-season runners using the Panoz in 2006 were Rahal Letterman Racing's three cars and Delphi Fernandez Racing's Scott Sharp.

2006 also saw the elimination of three rounds of the championship from the 2005 season. The Phoenix International Raceway race was cancelled because of scheduling conflicts. The California Speedway round was not retained because the IRL wanted to move its date earlier in the season so as to not conflict with the NFL season, but a date that was available for both the speedway and the league could not be found. Both the IRL and California Speedway hope that a race there will return for 2007. The Pikes Peak International Raceway was eliminated from the 2006 schedule as the track was sold by its owners and subsequently closed. Further explanation for this new schedule was given by the league as being more "compact" and "exciting" and as a method of avoiding lost television ratings and race attendance by finishing their race season before the NFL season. Many critics viewed this shortened schedule as a definite setback for the series, not an improvement.

There were also a handful of significant driver moves, most important of which was 2005 series champion Dan Wheldon moving to Ganassi Racing from Andretti Green Racing, where he was replaced by Marco Andretti. Additionally, Tomas Scheckter moved from Panther Racing to a new car at Vision Racing and Vítor Meira moved from Rahal Letterman to Scheckter's seat at Panther. Paul Dana and his personal sponsor filled Meira's spot at Rahal Letterman. Eddie Cheever announced that he would return to the role of owner-driver of his single car team for the first four races, including the Indianapolis 500, and Michael Andretti announced he would return to the cockpit to drive alongside his son in the "500". A. J. Foyt IV, who left for NASCAR, was replaced by Felipe Giaffone in Foyt Enterprises' car, while Buddy Lazier returned to a full-time ride in the series by replacing the struggling Roger Yasukawa at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Hemelgarn Racing signed P. J. Chesson late in the offseason with backing from Carmelo Anthony to replace the outgoing Paul Dana.

There were also ongoing rumors during the offseason that Tony George and Champ Car principal Kevin Kalkhoven had been meeting and discussing a potential merger, or a new series that would re-unite open wheel racing in America. The two men have admitted to meeting and enjoying each other's company in skiing and golf, and in separate March 2006 interviews with the Los Angeles Times admitted that they were in fact discussing the prospects of combining the two series [1].

Mid-season changes[]

  • Following Paul Dana's death in a crash before the first race, Rahal-Letterman hired Jeff Simmons to drive the #17 car two races later at Motegi.
  • Roberto Moreno replaced an injured Ed Carpenter for round 2 only. Carpenter returned for all the remaining races.
  • Following an Indy 500 where both Hemelgarn cars crashed into each other and finished in the last two positions, Hemelgarn Racing, which had been running full-time with P. J. Chesson, ceased operations.
  • After the Kansas Speedway race, Cheever Racing ceased operations due to lack of sponsorship. Also, Foyt Enterprises replaced Felipe Giaffone with Jeff Bucknum.
  • Dreyer & Reinbold Racing announced that Ryan Briscoe, who drove their car to a third place at Watkins Glen, would drive their car in the remaining short oval and road course races instead of Buddy Lazier and that Sarah Fisher would race the car at the remaining 1.5-mile (2.4 km) tracks, Kentucky and Chicagoland.
  • Marty Roth returned to the series after crashing in Indy 500 practice and missing the race to drive his own Roth Racing machine in the final 3 oval races of the season (Michigan, Kentucky, and Chicagoland).

Team and driver chart[]

Team Chassis No Drivers Rounds
A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara 14 Brazil Felipe Giaffone 1–8
United States Jeff Bucknum 9–14
41 United States Larry Foyt  R  4
Andretti Green Racing Dallara 1 United States Michael Andretti 4
7 United States Bryan Herta All
11 Brazil Tony Kanaan All
26 United States Marco Andretti  R  All
27 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti 1–13
United States A. J. Foyt IV 14
Cheever Racing Dallara 51 United States Eddie Cheever 1–2, 4–8
Czech Republic Tomáš Enge 3
52 Italy Max Papis 4
Delphi Fernández Racing
Aguri Fernández Racing 		Panoz 8 United States Scott Sharp 2, 5, 13
Dallara 1, 3–4, 6–12, 14
55 Japan Kosuke Matsuura All
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara 5 United States Buddy Lazier 1–4, 6–8, 11
Australia Ryan Briscoe 5, 9–10, 13
United States Sarah Fisher 12, 14
31 United States Al Unser Jr. 4
Hemelgarn Racing Dallara 91 United States P. J. Chesson  R  1–4
92 United States Jeff Bucknum 4
Luyendyk Racing Panoz 61 Netherlands Arie Luyendyk Jr. 4
Marlboro Team Penske Dallara 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves All
6 United States Sam Hornish Jr. All
Panther Racing Dallara 4 Brazil Vítor Meira All
PDM Racing Panoz 18 Brazil Thiago Medeiros  R  4
Playa del Racing Panoz 12 United States Roger Yasukawa 4
21 United States Jaques Lazier 4
Rahal Letterman Racing Panoz[N 1]
Dallara 		15 United States Buddy Rice All
16 United States Danica Patrick All
17 United States Paul Dana  R  1
United States Jeff Simmons  R  3–14
Roth Racing Dallara 25 Canada Marty Roth  R  4, 11–12, 14
Sam Schmidt Motorsports Panoz 88 Brazil Airton Daré 4
Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara
Panoz[N 2] 		9 New Zealand Scott Dixon All
10 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon All
Team Leader Motorsports Panoz 97 France Stéphan Grégoire 4
98 United States P. J. Jones 4
Vision Racing Dallara 2 South Africa Tomas Scheckter All
20 United States Ed Carpenter 1, 3–14
Brazil Roberto Moreno 2
90 United States Townsend Bell 4
  • All IndyCar Series entries utilized Honda Indy V8 HI6R engines

Race summaries[]

Toyota Indy 300[]

Main article: 2006 Toyota Indy 300

This race held at Homestead-Miami Speedway was run on March 26 and covered by ABC. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole.

The race was marred by a violent crash in the final practice session. Paul Dana was killed in the crash and teammates Danica Patrick and Buddy Rice withdrew from the race to honor his memory. He was the third driver to lose his life in the IRL. Ed Carpenter was also injured and would miss this race plus the next race.

Top ten results

  1. 10- Dan Wheldon 200 laps
  2. 3- Hélio Castroneves +0.0147 (9th closest finish in IRL history)
  3. 6- Sam Hornish Jr. +0.4744
  4. 27- Dario Franchitti +0.9401
  5. 9- Scott Dixon +1.1989
  6. 55- Kosuke Matsuura +2 laps
  7. 8- Scott Sharp +2 laps
  8. 14- Felipe Giaffone +2 laps
  9. 2- Tomas Scheckter +3 laps
  10. 51- Eddie Cheever +4 laps

IRL Video Synopsis of the Race

Annotated Video of Race Summary

Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg[]

Main article: 2006 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

The Streets of St. Petersburg race was held on April 2 and covered by ESPN. Dario Franchitti won the pole, but was knocked out early due to mechanical failure. The race finished under the yellow flag after Tomas Scheckter and Buddy Rice hit the barrier with 4 laps to go. Roberto Moreno replaced Ed Carpenter for this race as Ed recovered from his injury's but finished 18th due to steering issues.

Top ten results

  1. 3- Hélio Castroneves 100 laps
  2. 9- Scott Dixon +0.1386
  3. 11- Tony Kanaan +0.6284
  4. 7- Bryan Herta +0.7813
  5. 4- Vítor Meira +2.5995
  6. 16- Danica Patrick +3.0433
  7. 55- Kosuke Matsuura +52.7172
  8. 6- Sam Hornish Jr. +1 lap
  9. 14- Felipe Giaffone +1 lap
  10. 8- Scott Sharp +1 lap

Indy Japan 300[]

The Twin Ring Motegi, Japan race was run on April 22 and covered (via tape delay) by ESPN. Qualifying was rained out and the field was set by entrant points. As a result, Hélio Castroneves sat on pole, and for the second race running, Castroneves won the race. This race also saw the return of Ed Carpenter after the accident at Homestead. Rahal Letterman Racing also returned the #17 car to competition after sitting out a second race, as Indy Pro Series driver Jeff Simmons moved up to the seat. While Simmons has two IndyCar Series races to his experience (one the 2004 Indianapolis 500), he is eligible for the Bombardier series Rookie of the Year contest for 2006. However, on lap 42, Simmons was involved in a crash with Scott Sharp and P. J. Chesson which resulted in Simmons sliding along the track upside down. Simmons was uninjured.

Top ten results

  1. 3- Hélio Castroneves 200 laps
  2. 10- Dan Wheldon +6.3851
  3. 11- Tony Kanaan +8.6163
  4. 6- Sam Hornish Jr. +9.0011
  5. 15- Buddy Rice +9.7491
  6. 7- Bryan Herta +13.8972
  7. 55- Kosuke Matsuura +14.7633
  8. 16- Danica Patrick +15.4456
  9. 9- Scott Dixon +1 lap
  10. 4- Vítor Meira +1 lap

90th Indianapolis 500[]

Main article: 2006 Indianapolis 500

The Indy 500 was run on May 28 and covered by ABC. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole with a 4-lap average of 228.985 mph (2:37.2155). It was Hornish's 10th pole of his short, but yet outstanding career. Hornish then went on to win the race, beating Marco Andretti in the second-closest finish in Indy 500 history. Dan Wheldon led most laps with 148.

Top ten results

  1. 6- Sam Hornish Jr. 200 laps
  2. 26- Marco Andretti +0.0635
  3. 1- Michael Andretti +1.0087
  4. 10- Dan Wheldon +1.2692
  5. 11- Tony Kanaan +1.6456
  6. 9- Scott Dixon +3.0566
  7. 27- Dario Franchitti +5.6249
  8. 16- Danica Patrick +5.7263
  9. 8- Scott Sharp +11.1252
  10. 4- Vítor Meira +17.9554

Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix presented by Tissot[]

The Watkins Glen International race was run on June 4 and covered by ABC. Qualifying was cancelled due to fog and the field was set based on Friday practice speeds. Hélio Castroneves sat on pole. The race was shortened to 55 laps from the scheduled 60 due to the 2 hour time limit. The race also made history as the first ever IRL race to be run in wet conditions. Scott Dixon won from Panther Racing's Vítor Meira and Australia's Ryan Briscoe, of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

As of 2020 it was the last-ever IndyCar Series victory for Panoz chassis to date.

Top ten results

  1. 9- Scott Dixon 55 laps
  2. 4- Vítor Meira +2.3311
  3. 5- Ryan Briscoe +2.7999
  4. 15- Buddy Rice +9.2284
  5. 14- Felipe Giaffone +11.4811
  6. 20- Ed Carpenter +12.4427
  7. 3- Hélio Castroneves +13.0455
  8. 16- Danica Patrick +13.3289
  9. 8- Scott Sharp +16.6462
  10. 2- Tomas Scheckter +48.4872

Video Synopsis of Race

  1. Annotated Version of IRL Race Summary

Bombardier Learjet 500[]

The Texas race was run on June 10 and covered by ESPN. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole. Hélio Castroneves captured his second Texas win and third win of the season. Dan Wheldon had led most of the race and looked in control only for a short delay on his final pit stop to drop him back to third.

Top ten results

  1. 3- Hélio Castroneves 200 laps
  2. 9- Scott Dixon +0.2402
  3. 10- Dan Wheldon +0.2981
  4. 6- Sam Hornish Jr. +14.5389
  5. 8- Scott Sharp +14.5895
  6. 4- Vítor Meira +15.9294
  7. 11- Tony Kanaan +16.1398
  8. 55- Kosuke Matsuura +22.3327
  9. 20- Ed Carpenter +22.9791
  10. 2- Tomas Scheckter +1 lap

IRL Race Summary

  1. Annotated Race Summary Video

SunTrust Indy Challenge[]

The Richmond International Raceway race was run on June 24 and covered by ESPN. Qualifying was rained out and Hélio Castroneves won the pole based on combined practice speeds. Sam Hornish Jr. has won the race, leading 212 of 250 laps. The race finished in yellow flag at 4 laps to go due a blown tire from Hélio Castroneves which dropped him to 10th place.

Top Ten Results

  1. 6- Sam Hornish Jr. 250 laps
  2. 4- Vítor Meira +0.3907
  3. 27- Dario Franchitti +1.5895
  4. 26- Marco Andretti +6.5400
  5. 8- Scott Sharp +6.6677
  6. 7- Bryan Herta +10.9217
  7. 2- Tomas Scheckter +1 lap
  8. 20- Ed Carpenter +1 lap
  9. 10- Dan Wheldon +1 lap
  10. 3- Hélio Castroneves +1 lap

Kansas Lottery Indy 300[]

The Kansas Speedway race was run on July 2 and covered by ABC. Dan Wheldon won the pole. Sam Hornish Jr. won the race taking the lead from Wheldon with two laps to go. This was the 50th IRL race where 1st and 2nd were separated by less than a second.

Top ten results

  1. 6- Sam Hornish Jr. 200 laps
  2. 10- Dan Wheldon +0.0793
  3. 4- Vítor Meira +5.3892
  4. 9- Scott Dixon +5.5158
  5. 11- Tony Kanaan +5.7762
  6. 3- Hélio Castroneves +7.0432
  7. 2- Tomas Scheckter +9.6925
  8. 55- Kosuke Matsuura +9.9881
  9. 26- Marco Andretti +1 lap
  10. 17- Jeff Simmons +1 lap

Firestone Indy 200[]

The Nashville Superspeedway race was run on July 15 and covered by ESPN. Dan Wheldon won the pole. Scott Dixon won his second race of the season and captured his first win on an oval since 2003.

Top ten results:

  1. 9- Scott Dixon 200 laps
  2. 10- Dan Wheldon +0.1176
  3. 4- Vítor Meira +1.2756
  4. 16- Danica Patrick +2.5019
  5. 3- Hélio Castroneves +3.5647
  6. 27- Dario Franchitti +11.9449
  7. 17- Jeff Simmons +1 lap
  8. 26- Marco Andretti +1 lap
  9. 5- Ryan Briscoe +1 lap
  10. 20- Ed Carpenter +2 laps

ABC Supply Company A. J. Foyt 225[]

The Milwaukee Mile race was run on July 23 and covered by ESPN. Hélio Castroneves won the pole. Tony Kanaan led most of the race and gave Andretti Green Racing its first win of the season.

Top ten results

  1. 11- Tony Kanaan 225 laps
  2. 6- Sam Hornish Jr. +1.8276
  3. 2- Tomas Scheckter +2.0114
  4. 16- Danica Patrick +8.4708
  5. 26- Marco Andretti +10.2611
  6. 27- Dario Franchitti +11.2373
  7. 7- Bryan Herta +14.1195
  8. 10- Dan Wheldon +1 lap
  9. 17- Jeff Simmons +2 laps
  10. 9- Scott Dixon +2 laps

Firestone Indy 400[]

The Michigan International Speedway race was run on July 30 and covered by ABC. The race start was delayed almost 3 hours and the race was aired tape delayed on ESPN2. Hélio Castroneves got his fourth race win of the season from the pole.

Top ten results:

  1. 3- Hélio Castroneves 200 laps
  2. 4- Vítor Meira +1.6229
  3. 10- Dan Wheldon +6.2259
  4. 11- Tony Kanaan +6.9874
  5. 2- Tomas Scheckter +27.9005
  6. 8- Scott Sharp +28.5560
  7. 20- Ed Carpenter +1 lap
  8. 26- Marco Andretti +1 lap
  9. 55- Kosuke Matsuura +1 lap
  10. 17- Jeff Simmons +1 lap

Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Secret[]

The Kentucky Speedway race was run on August 13 and covered by ABC. Hélio Castroneves won the pole. Sam Hornish Jr. captured his 4th win of the year and re-took the points lead. This was also the second IRL race with two female drivers in the field, the first was the 2000 Indianapolis 500.

Top ten results:

  1. 6- Sam Hornish Jr. 200 laps
  2. 9- Scott Dixon +0.5866
  3. 3- Hélio Castroneves +0.6511
  4. 10- Dan Wheldon +1.8913
  5. 11- Tony Kanaan +2.3049
  6. 4- Vítor Meira +2.5191
  7. 2- Tomas Scheckter +2.8124
  8. 16- Danica Patrick +3.2408
  9. 27- Dario Franchitti +4.7070
  10. 7- Bryan Herta +4.7966

Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma[]

The Infineon Raceway race was run on August 27 and covered by ESPN. Scott Dixon won the pole. Marco Andretti became the youngest winner of a major open wheel race and the first new IRL winner since Adrian Fernandez in 2004.

Top ten results:

  1. 26- Marco Andretti 80 laps
  2. 27- Dario Franchitti +0.6557
  3. 4- Vítor Meira +10.6535
  4. 9- Scott Dixon +11.1867
  5. 3- Hélio Castroneves +12.5049
  6. 10- Dan Wheldon +13.4493
  7. 17- Jeff Simmons +13.8754
  8. 16- Danica Patrick +15.7417
  9. 6- Sam Hornish Jr. +16.3369
  10. 7- Bryan Herta +18.5571

Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 presented by Mr. Clean[]

The Chicagoland Speedway race was run on September 10 and covered by ABC. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole and clinched the championship by finishing third. Dan Wheldon won the race and tied Hornish in season points, but lost the title due to the tiebreaker (most wins).

Top ten results:

  1. 10- Dan Wheldon 200 laps
  2. 9- Scott Dixon +0.1897
  3. 6- Sam Hornish Jr. +0.2323
  4. 3- Hélio Castroneves +2.6913
  5. 20- Ed Carpenter +1 lap
  6. 4- Vítor Meira +1 lap
  7. 11- Tony Kanaan +1 lap
  8. 17- Jeff Simmons +1 lap
  9. 8- Scott Sharp +1 lap
  10. 2- Tomas Scheckter +1 lap

Season summary[]

Schedule[]

Rnd Date Race Name Track City
1 March 26 Toyota Indy 300  O  Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida
2 April 2 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg  S  Streets of St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, Florida
3 April 22 Indy Japan 300  O  Twin Ring Motegi Motegi, Japan
4 May 28 90th Indianapolis 500  O  Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana
5 June 4 Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix presented by Tissot  R  Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen, New York
6 June 10 Bombardier Learjet 500  O  Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas
7 June 24 SunTrust Indy Challenge  O  Richmond International Raceway Richmond, Virginia
8 July 2 Kansas Lottery Indy 300  O  Kansas Speedway Kansas City, Kansas
9 July 15 Firestone Indy 200  O  Nashville Superspeedway Lebanon, Tennessee
10 July 23 ABC Supply Company A. J. Foyt 225  O  The Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin
11 July 30 Firestone Indy 400  O  Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan
12 August 13 Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Secret  O  Kentucky Speedway Sparta, Kentucky
13 August 27 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma  R  Infineon Raceway Sonoma, California
14 September 10 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 presented by Mr. Clean  O  Chicagoland Speedway Joliet, Illinois

 O  Oval/Speedway
 R  Road course
 S  Temporary street circuit
BOLD indicates Superspeedways.

Race results[]

Rnd Date Race Name Pole position Fastest lap Most Laps Led Winner Winning chassis
1 March 26 Toyota Indy 300 United States Sam Hornish Jr. New Zealand Scott Dixon United States Sam Hornish Jr. United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Dallara
2 April 2 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Brazil Tony Kanaan Brazil Hélio Castroneves Brazil Hélio Castroneves Dallara
3 April 22 Indy Japan 300 Brazil Hélio Castroneves New Zealand Scott Dixon Brazil Hélio Castroneves Brazil Hélio Castroneves Dallara
4 May 28 90th Indianapolis 500 United States Sam Hornish Jr. New Zealand Scott Dixon United Kingdom Dan Wheldon United States Sam Hornish Jr. Dallara
5 June 4 Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix
presented by Tissot 		Brazil Hélio Castroneves United States Marco Andretti United Kingdom Dan Wheldon New Zealand Scott Dixon Panoz
6 June 10 Bombardier Learjet 500 United States Sam Hornish Jr. United Kingdom Dan Wheldon United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Brazil Hélio Castroneves Dallara
7 June 24 SunTrust Indy Challenge Brazil Hélio Castroneves Brazil Hélio Castroneves United States Sam Hornish Jr. United States Sam Hornish Jr. Dallara
8 July 2 Kansas Lottery Indy 300 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Brazil Hélio Castroneves United States Sam Hornish Jr. United States Sam Hornish Jr. Dallara
9 July 15 Firestone Indy 200 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon United Kingdom Dan Wheldon United Kingdom Dan Wheldon New Zealand Scott Dixon Dallara
10 July 23 ABC Supply Company A. J. Foyt 225 Brazil Hélio Castroneves South Africa Tomas Scheckter Brazil Tony Kanaan Brazil Tony Kanaan Dallara
11 July 30 Firestone Indy 400 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Japan Kosuke Matsuura Brazil Vítor Meira Brazil Hélio Castroneves Dallara
12 August 13 Meijer Indy 300
presented by Coca-Cola and Secret 		Brazil Hélio Castroneves United States Bryan Herta United Kingdom Dan Wheldon United States Sam Hornish Jr. Dallara
13 August 27 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma New Zealand Scott Dixon Brazil Tony Kanaan New Zealand Scott Dixon United States Marco Andretti Dallara
14 September 10 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300
presented by Mr. Clean 		United States Sam Hornish Jr. United States Sam Hornish Jr. United Kingdom Dan Wheldon United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Dallara

Final driver standings[]

Further information: List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems
Pos Driver HMS STP MOT INDY WGL TXS RIR KAN NSH MIL MIS KTY SNM CHI Pts
1 United States Sam Hornish Jr. 3* 8 4 1 12 4 1* 1* 14 2 19 1 9 3 475
2 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon 1 16 2 4* 15* 3* 9 2 2* 8 3 4* 6 1* 475
3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves 2 1* 1* 25 7 1 10 6 5 14 1 3 5 4 473
4 New Zealand Scott Dixon 5 2 9 6 1 2 11 4 1 10 16 2 4* 2 460
5 Brazil Vítor Meira 16 5 10 10 2 6 2 3 3 15 2* 6 3 6 411
6 Brazil Tony Kanaan 11 3 3 5 11 7 18 5 12 1* 4 5 11 7 384
7 United States Marco Andretti  RY  15 15 12 2 16 14 4 9 8 5 8 17 1 18 325
8 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti 4 19 11 7 14 13 3 12 6 6 12 9 2 311
9 United States Danica Patrick DNS 6 8 8 8 12 15 11 4 4 17 8 8 12 302
10 South Africa Tomas Scheckter 9 12 13 27 10 10 7 7 15 3 5 7 17 10 298
11 United States Bryan Herta 13 4 6 20 13 11 6 13 11 7 11 10 10 15 289
12 United States Scott Sharp 7 10 16 9 9 5 5 18 17 12 6 16 14 9 287
13 Japan Kosuke Matsuura 6 7 7 15 18 8 12 8 13 17 9 19 13 11 273
14 United States Ed Carpenter DNS 20 11 6 9 8 16 10 16 7 11 12 5 252
15 United States Buddy Rice DNS 13 5 26 4 18 13 17 16 11 13 15 15 13 234
16 United States Jeff Simmons  R  18 23 19 15 19 10 7 9 10 14 7 8 217
17 Brazil Felipe Giaffone 8 9 15 21 5 16 17 19 142
18 United States Buddy Lazier 14 14 14 12 19 16 15 15 122
19 United States Eddie Cheever 10 11 13 17 17 14 14 114
20 United States Jeff Bucknum 32 18 13 14 13 18 17 97
21 Australia Ryan Briscoe 3 9 18 16 83
22 United States P. J. Chesson  R  12 17 17 33 54
23 Canada Marty Roth  R  DNQ 18 18 19 36
24 United States Michael Andretti 3 35
25 United States Sarah Fisher 12 16 32
26 United States A. J. Foyt IV 14 16
27 Italy Max Papis 14 16
28 United States Roger Yasukawa 16 14
29 United States Jaques Lazier 17 13
30 Brazil Roberto Moreno 18 12
31 Brazil Airton Daré 18 12
32 Czech Republic Tomáš Enge 19 12
33 United States P. J. Jones 19 12
34 United States Townsend Bell 22 12
35 United States Al Unser Jr. 24 12
36 Netherlands Arie Luyendyk Jr. 28 10
37 France Stéphan Grégoire 29 10
38 United States Larry Foyt  R  30 10
39 Brazil Thiago Medeiros  R  31 10
40 United States Paul Dana  R  DNS† 6
— United States Jon Herb Wth 0
Pos Driver HMS STP MOT INDY WGL TXS RIR KAN NSH MIL MIS KTY SNM CHI Pts
Color Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green 4th & 5th place
Light Blue 6th–10th place
Dark Blue Finished
(Outside Top 10)
Purple Did not finish
(Ret)
Red Did not qualify
(DNQ)
Brown Withdrawn
(Wth)
Black Disqualified
(DSQ)
White Did not start
(DNS)
Blank Did not
participate
(DNP)
Not competing
In-line notation
Bold Pole position
Italics Ran fastest race lap
* Led most race laps
(3 points)
DNS Any driver who qualifies
but does not start (DNS),
earns half the points
had they taken part.
† Fatal accident
Rookie of the Year  RY 
Rookie  R 
  • Ties in points broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc., and then by number of pole positions, followed by number of times qualified 2nd, etc.
  • † Paul Dana collided with Ed Carpenter's disabled car in the practice session at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Dana was transported to a hospital, where he died due to complications from his injuries sustained in the crash. He was 30 years old.

See also[]

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ Used from Homestead to Watkins Glen, and at Sonoma.
  2. ^ Used in the road courses.

External links[]

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