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2006 IndyCar Series
The 2006 IRL IndyCar Series was the 95th season of premier American open-wheel car racing and the 11th season of the IndyCar Series as sanctioned by the Indy Racing League (IRL), running alongside the rivaling 2006 Champ Car World Series. The season featured 14 rounds between March 26 and September 10. Sam Hornish Jr. of Marlboro Team Penske won the series' premier event, the 90th Indianapolis 500, and the Drivers' Championship.
Dan Wheldon entered the season as the defending Drivers' Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner. In the off-season, Wheldon left Andretti Green Racing, the team with which he won the title in 2005, to drive for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. The season began under slight tumultuousness as three tracks (Phoenix Raceway, Auto Club Speedway, and Pikes Peak International Raceway) were taken off the schedule and Chevrolet and Toyota withdrew from IndyCar, leaving Honda as the sole engine provider. To make matters worse, rookie driver Paul Dana was killed in crash during a warm-up session for the opening round at Homestead–Miami Speedway.
Throughout the 2006 season, Hornish Jr. faced stiff competition from teammate Hélio Castroneves and Target Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Wheldon and Scott Dixon. The four drivers' battle persisted into the season finale, the Peak Antifreeze Indy 300, which ended with Hornish Jr. and Wheldon tied for the championship. Hornish Jr. was awarded the championship on account of earning more wins in the season than Wheldon.
The following teams and drivers took part in the 2006 IndyCar Series. All entries competed with Honda engines, Firestone tires, and chassis supplied by Dallara and Panoz.
R Eligible for Rookie of the Year
Every time that competed full-time in the IndyCar Series in 2005 returned for the new season. Target Chip Ganassi Racing (TCGR) and Fernández Racing's Scott Sharp switched to Dallara-built chassis for the oval tracks and reverted to the Panoz chassis on road courses. Beginning with the Bombardier Learjet 500, Rahal Letterman Racing (RLR) also began fielding Dallara chassis and only resorted to the Panoz chassis in the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. Sharp's teammate Kosuke Matsuura ran the Dallara chassis for the entire season.
Several significant driver changes occurred prior to the season. After winning the 89th Indianapolis 500 and Drivers' Championship in 2005, Dan Wheldon chose not to renew his contract with Andretti Green Racing (AGR), causing rumors to spread about his possible shift to Formula One. These rumors proved to be unfounded as Wheldon joined Target Chip Ganassi Racing for 2006. Wheldon was then replaced by Marco Andretti, a debutant in the IndyCar Series and the son of AGR co-owner Michael Andretti who had announced his one-off return from retirement in the 90th Indianapolis 500. Other Indy car racing veterans who competed in the 90th Indianapolis 500 include Al Unser Jr. (with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) and Eddie Cheever (with Cheever Racing), the latter of whom also planned to participate in the first three races of the season leading up to the Indianapolis 500.
As famed actor Patrick Dempsey took on a co-owner role at Vision Racing, the team expanded to two full-time entries which were driven by the returning Ed Carpenter and former Panther Racing driver Tomas Scheckter. Conversely, Panther Racing was forced to scale back to a single full-time entry due to their tightening budget, let go Tomáš Enge in the process, and hired Vítor Meira to replace Scheckter for the season. Meira's seat at RLR was filled by Paul Dana, who raced for Hemelgarn Racing prior to his season-ending crash during practice for the 2005 Indianapolis 500. Hemelgarn Racing replaced Dana with P. J. Chesson, a popular driver in the World of Outlaws, and announced their partnership with NBA player Carmelo Anthony.
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2006 IndyCar Series AI simulator
(@2006 IndyCar Series_simulator)
2006 IndyCar Series
The 2006 IRL IndyCar Series was the 95th season of premier American open-wheel car racing and the 11th season of the IndyCar Series as sanctioned by the Indy Racing League (IRL), running alongside the rivaling 2006 Champ Car World Series. The season featured 14 rounds between March 26 and September 10. Sam Hornish Jr. of Marlboro Team Penske won the series' premier event, the 90th Indianapolis 500, and the Drivers' Championship.
Dan Wheldon entered the season as the defending Drivers' Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner. In the off-season, Wheldon left Andretti Green Racing, the team with which he won the title in 2005, to drive for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. The season began under slight tumultuousness as three tracks (Phoenix Raceway, Auto Club Speedway, and Pikes Peak International Raceway) were taken off the schedule and Chevrolet and Toyota withdrew from IndyCar, leaving Honda as the sole engine provider. To make matters worse, rookie driver Paul Dana was killed in crash during a warm-up session for the opening round at Homestead–Miami Speedway.
Throughout the 2006 season, Hornish Jr. faced stiff competition from teammate Hélio Castroneves and Target Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Wheldon and Scott Dixon. The four drivers' battle persisted into the season finale, the Peak Antifreeze Indy 300, which ended with Hornish Jr. and Wheldon tied for the championship. Hornish Jr. was awarded the championship on account of earning more wins in the season than Wheldon.
The following teams and drivers took part in the 2006 IndyCar Series. All entries competed with Honda engines, Firestone tires, and chassis supplied by Dallara and Panoz.
R Eligible for Rookie of the Year
Every time that competed full-time in the IndyCar Series in 2005 returned for the new season. Target Chip Ganassi Racing (TCGR) and Fernández Racing's Scott Sharp switched to Dallara-built chassis for the oval tracks and reverted to the Panoz chassis on road courses. Beginning with the Bombardier Learjet 500, Rahal Letterman Racing (RLR) also began fielding Dallara chassis and only resorted to the Panoz chassis in the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. Sharp's teammate Kosuke Matsuura ran the Dallara chassis for the entire season.
Several significant driver changes occurred prior to the season. After winning the 89th Indianapolis 500 and Drivers' Championship in 2005, Dan Wheldon chose not to renew his contract with Andretti Green Racing (AGR), causing rumors to spread about his possible shift to Formula One. These rumors proved to be unfounded as Wheldon joined Target Chip Ganassi Racing for 2006. Wheldon was then replaced by Marco Andretti, a debutant in the IndyCar Series and the son of AGR co-owner Michael Andretti who had announced his one-off return from retirement in the 90th Indianapolis 500. Other Indy car racing veterans who competed in the 90th Indianapolis 500 include Al Unser Jr. (with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) and Eddie Cheever (with Cheever Racing), the latter of whom also planned to participate in the first three races of the season leading up to the Indianapolis 500.
As famed actor Patrick Dempsey took on a co-owner role at Vision Racing, the team expanded to two full-time entries which were driven by the returning Ed Carpenter and former Panther Racing driver Tomas Scheckter. Conversely, Panther Racing was forced to scale back to a single full-time entry due to their tightening budget, let go Tomáš Enge in the process, and hired Vítor Meira to replace Scheckter for the season. Meira's seat at RLR was filled by Paul Dana, who raced for Hemelgarn Racing prior to his season-ending crash during practice for the 2005 Indianapolis 500. Hemelgarn Racing replaced Dana with P. J. Chesson, a popular driver in the World of Outlaws, and announced their partnership with NBA player Carmelo Anthony.