2005 IndyCar Series season

2005 American Championship Car season
Series  : IndyCar
Champion : Dan Wheldon
Previous: 2004	Next: 2006

The 2005 IRL IndyCar Series season began on Sunday, March 6 and ended on Sunday, October 16. The season, which consisted of 17 races, was the 10th season of the IRL since it split from CART in 1995.

Dan Wheldon was the dominant driver in the series in 2005, winning six races, including the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500, setting the record for most victories in an IRL season. However, the big story of the season was that of Rahal Letterman Racing's Danica Patrick, the fourth woman to compete in the Indy 500 and the first to lead a lap. She would eventually wind up in fourth. Danica's presence was a boost to the IRL's television ratings. The Indy 500's ratings were up 40% from the year before and subsequent races also saw a boost in ratings.

The season was the first ever to introduce road courses and street circuits when the series held races at the Streets of St. Petersburg, Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen International, where the series previously known to have held events exclusively on oval tracks.

The season was also the last for Chevrolet in the series, who confirmed in August that they would not return to the IRL. At the start of the season, only Panther Racing's Tomas Scheckter and Tomáš Enge raced Chevrolet powered cars (although A. J. Foyt IV also started racing for Chevy beginning with the AMBER Alert Portal Indy 300 at Kentucky). The manufacturer situation within the IRL was the hot issue during the second half of the season and continued into the off-season. Toyota announced that they would leave the series shortly after the 2005 season ended, leaving Honda as the only remaining manufacturer in the IRL. Honda extended their engine supply contract through 2009 despite expressly saying that they did not wish to be the IRL's only supplier. The IRL announced that they extended their chassis supply contract with Panoz and Dallara through 2006.

2005 IndyCar Series schedule

Rnd	Date	Race Name	Track	Location	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most Laps Led	Winner
1	March 6	Toyota Indy 300	Homestead-Miami Speedway	Homestead, Florida	Tomas Scheckter	Buddy Rice	Dan Wheldon	Dan Wheldon
2	March 19	XM Satellite Radio Indy 200	Phoenix International Raceway	Phoenix, Arizona	Bryan Herta	Dario Franchitti	Dan Wheldon	Sam Hornish, Jr.
3	April 3	Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg	Streets of St. Petersburg	St. Petersburg, Florida	Bryan Herta	Dario Franchitti	Ryan Briscoe	Dan Wheldon
4	April 30	Indy Japan 300	Twin Ring Motegi	Motegi, Japan	Sam Hornish, Jr.	Dan Wheldon	Dario Franchitti	Dan Wheldon
5	May 29	89th Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	Tony Kanaan	Tony Kanaan	Sam Hornish, Jr.	Dan Wheldon
6	June 11	Bombardier Learjet 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas	Tomas Scheckter	Tomáš Enge	Tomas Scheckter	Tomas Scheckter
7	June 25	SunTrust Indy Challenge	Richmond International Raceway	Richmond, Virginia	Sam Hornish, Jr.	Kosuke Matsuura	Hélio Castroneves	Hélio Castroneves
8	July 3	Argent Mortgage Indy 300	Kansas Speedway	Kansas City, Kansas	Danica Patrick	Ryan Briscoe	Dan Wheldon	Tony Kanaan
9	July 16	Firestone Indy 200	Nashville Superspeedway	Lebanon, Tennessee	Tomas Scheckter	Scott Sharp	Tony Kanaan	Dario Franchitti
10	July 24	ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225	The Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin	Sam Hornish, Jr.	Tomas Scheckter	Sam Hornish, Jr.	Sam Hornish, Jr.
11	July 31	Firestone Indy 400	Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan	Bryan Herta	Townsend Bell	Bryan Herta	Bryan Herta
12	August 14	AMBER Alert Portal Indy 300	Kentucky Speedway	Sparta, Kentucky	Danica Patrick	Danica Patrick	Dan Wheldon	Scott Sharp
13	August 21	Honda Indy 225	Pikes Peak International Raceway	Fountain, Colorado	Hélio Castroneves	Dario Franchitti	Sam Hornish, Jr.	Dan Wheldon
14	August 28	Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix	Infineon Raceway	Sonoma, California	Ryan Briscoe	Tony Kanaan	Tony Kanaan	Tony Kanaan
15	September 11	Peak Antifreeze Indy 300	Chicagoland Speedway	Joliet, Illinois	Danica Patrick	Dario Franchitti	Dan Wheldon	Dan Wheldon
16	September 25	Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International	Watkins Glen, New York	Hélio Castroneves	Scott Dixon	Scott Dixon	Scott Dixon
17	October 16	Toyota Indy 400	California Speedway	Fontana, California	Dario Franchitti	Dan Wheldon	Tomas Scheckter	Dario Franchitti

  Oval/Speedway

  Road Course/Street Circuit

BOLD indicates a Superspeedways.

Team and Driver Chart

Team	Chassis	Engine	No	Drivers	Sponsor(s)	Notes
Panther Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	2	Tomáš Enge	ROCKSTAR	Missed 2 races due to injury at Nashville
				Buddy Lazier		Stood in for Enge at Milwaukee
				Townsend Bell		Stood in for Enge at Michigan
			4	Tomas Scheckter	Pennzoil
			95	Buddy Lazier	950 ESPN AM/Pennzoil	Indy 500, Nashville, Michigan, Kentucky and Chicagoland only
Marlboro Team Penske	Dallara	Toyota	3	Hélio Castroneves	Marlboro/Mobil 1
			6	Sam Hornish, Jr.	Marlboro/Mobil 1
/ Aguri-Fernández Racing	Panoz	Honda	5	Adrián Fernández	Investment Properties of America	Indy 500 Only
			8	Scott Sharp	Delphi
			55	Kosuke Matsuura	Panasonic/ARTA
Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda	7	Bryan Herta	XM Satellite Radio
			11	Tony Kanaan	7-Eleven
			26	Dan Wheldon	Klein Tools/Jim Beam
			27	Dario Franchitti	ArcaEx
Target Chip Ganassi Racing	Panoz	Toyota	9	Scott Dixon	Target	Dallara chassis used Motegi
			10	Darren Manning	Target	Lazier replaced Manning after he was released before Michigan; Pantano replaced Lazier on road courses
				Jacques Lazier
				Giorgio Pantano
			33	Ryan Briscoe	Target	Missed Milwaukee race due to practice crash. Was injured during Chicagoland race and missed final 2 races
A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara	Toyota	14	A. J. Foyt IV	Conseco/ABC Supply Company	Panoz chassis used St.Pete. Chevrolet engine used the last six races
		Chevrolet		Jeff Bucknum	ABC Supply Company	Sonoma and Watkins Glen only
		Toyota	41	Larry Foyt	ABC Supply Company	Indy 500 only
	Panoz		48	Felipe Giaffone	ABC Supply Company	Indy 500 only
			48	Scott Mayer		Failed to complete Indy 500 Rookie Orientation; replaced by Giaffone
Rahal Letterman Racing	Panoz	Honda	15	Buddy Rice	ArgentTemplate:Dn/Pioneer	Bräck replaced Rice for Indy 500 Only after he was injured in practice
				Kenny Brack
			16	Danica Patrick	ArgentTemplate:Disambiguation needed/Pioneer
			17	Vitor Meira	Centrix Financial/Menards/Johns Manville
Vision Racing	Dallara	Toyota	20	Ed Carpenter	United Auto Insurance
			22	Jeff Ward		Indy 500 Only
Playa del Racing	Panoz	Toyota	21	Jacques Lazier	Action Gaming	Indy 500 Only
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Dallara	Honda	24	Roger Yasukawa	Roll Coater
			44	Jeff Bucknum	Investment Properties of America	Motegi and Indy 500 only
				Thiago Medeiros	Roll Coater	Crashed in Practice at California; Did not Start
Roth Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	25	Marty Roth		Indy 500 Only
Newman/Haas Racing	Panoz	Honda	36	Bruno Junqueira	Centrix Financial	Indy 500 Only
			37	Sébastien Bourdais		Indy 500 Only
Cheever Racing	Dallara	Toyota	51	Alex Barron	Red Bull
			83	Patrick Carpentier
Sam Schmidt Motorsports	Panoz	Chevrolet	70	Richie Hearn	Meijer/Coca-Cola	Indy 500 Only
Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Toyota	91	Paul Dana	Ethanol/REMY/LifeFitness	Kite replaced Dana for the rest of the season after he fractured his spine in Indy 500 Practice
				Jimmy Kite	Ethanol
CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports	Dallara	Chevrolet	98	Arie Luyendyk, Jr.	CURB Records	Failed to qualify for Indy 500

Race Summaries

Toyota Indy 300

On March 6, at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Dan Wheldon led 158 of 200 laps to get the victory. Tomas Scheckter sat on the pole.

Top Ten Results

1. 26- Dan Wheldon
2. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
3. 11- Tony Kanaan
4. 17- Vitor Meira
5. 3- Hélio Castroneves
6. 10- Darren Manning
7. 83- Patrick Carpentier
8. 51- Alex Barron
9. 14- A. J. Foyt IV
10. 91- Paul Dana

XM Satellite Radio Indy 200

On March 19, at Phoenix International Raceway, Sam Hornish, Jr. won his first race of the season. Bryan Herta sat on the pole.

Top Ten Results

1. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
2. 3- Hélio Castroneves
3. 11- Tony Kanaan
4. 27- Dario Franchitti
5. 8- Scott Sharp
6. 26- Dan Wheldon
7. 7- Bryan Herta
8. 10- Darren Manning
9. 83- Patrick Carpentier
10. 55- Kosuke Matsuura

Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

On April 3 on the Streets of St. Petersburg (Florida) marked the first non-oval event for the Indycar Series. Dan Wheldon won his second race of the year. Bryan Herta sat on the pole. Andretti Green Racing drivers swept the top 4 finishing positions.

Top Ten Results

1. 26- Dan Wheldon
2. 11- Tony Kanaan
3. 27- Dario Franchitti
4. 7- Bryan Herta
5. 17- Vitor Meira
6. 9- Scott Dixon
7. 15- Buddy Rice
8. 83- Patrick Carpentier
9. 10- Darren Manning
10. 51- Alex Barron

Indy Japan 300

On April 30, at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi, Japan, Dan Wheldon won his third race of the season. Sam Hornish, Jr. sat on the pole.

Top Ten Results

1. 26- Dan Wheldon
2. 8- Scott Sharp
3. 15- Buddy Rice
4. 16- Danica Patrick
5. 7- Bryan Herta
6. 11- Tony Kanaan
7. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
8. 10- Darren Manning
9. 55- Kosuke Matsuura
10. 4- Tomas Scheckter

89th Indianapolis 500

On May 29, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Dan Wheldon won his first Indy 500 and his fourth race of the season. However, the focus of the race was on Danica Patrick who led 19 laps, the first time a woman has ever led a lap at Indy. Tony Kanaan sat on the pole.

Top Ten Results

1. 26- Dan Wheldon
2. 17- Vitor Meira
3. 7- Bryan Herta
4. 16- Danica Patrick
5. 95- Buddy Lazier
6. 27- Dario Franchitti
7. 8- Scott Sharp
8. 11- Tony Kanaan
9. 3- Hélio Castroneves
10. 33- Ryan Briscoe

Bombardier Learjet 500

On June 11, at Texas Motor Speedway, Tomas Scheckter won his first race of the season, sitting on the pole and leading for 119 of 200 laps.

Top Ten Results

1. 4- Tomas Scheckter
2. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
3. 11- Tony Kanaan
4. 8- Scott Sharp
5. 3- Hélio Castroneves
6. 26- Dan Wheldon
7. 55- Kosuke Matsuura
8. 27- Dario Franchitti
9. 17- Vitor Meira
10. 7- Bryan Herta

SunTrust Indy Challenge

On June 25, at Richmond International Raceway, Hélio Castroneves won his first race of the season. Sam Hornish, Jr. sat on the pole.

Top Ten Results

1. 3- Hélio Castroneves
2. 27- Dario Franchitti
3. 83- Patrick Carpentier
4. 4- Tomas Scheckter
5. 26- Dan Wheldon
6. 51- Alex Barron
7. 2- Tomáš Enge
8. 7- Bryan Herta
9. 55- Kosuke Matsuura
10. 16- Danica Patrick

Argent Mortgage Indy 300

On July 3, at Kansas Speedway, Tony Kanaan won by a fraction of a second over Dan Wheldon and Vitor Meira. Danica Patrick won her first pole.

Top Ten Results

1. 11- Tony Kanaan
2. 26- Dan Wheldon
3. 17- Vitor Meira
4. 27- Dario Franchitti
5. 4- Tomas Scheckter
6. 8- Scott Sharp
7. 10- Darren Manning
8. 3- Hélio Castroneves
9. 16- Danica Patrick
10. 15- Buddy Rice

Firestone Indy 200

On July 16 at Nashville Speedway, Dario Franchitti won, leading 74 of 200 laps. Tomas Scheckter sat on the pole.

Top Ten Results

1. 27- Dario Franchitti
2. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
3. 83- Patrick Carpentier
4. 8- Scott Sharp
5. 3- Hélio Castroneves
6. 9- Scott Dixon
7. 16- Danica Patrick
8. 33- Ryan Briscoe
9. 95- Buddy Lazier
10. 20- Ed Carpenter

ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225

On July 24 at The Milwaukee Mile, Sam Hornish, Jr. won from the pole, leading 123 of 225 laps.

Top Ten Results

1. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
2. 27- Dario Franchitti
3. 4- Tomas Scheckter
4. 11- Tony Kanaan
5. 26- Dan Wheldon
6. 7- Bryan Herta
7. 83- Patrick Carpentier
8. 51- Alex Barron
9. 17- Vitor Meira
10. 8- Scott Sharp

Firestone Indy 400

On July 31 at Michigan International Speedway, Bryan Herta won from the pole, leading 159 of 200 laps.

Top Ten Results

1. 7- Bryan Herta
2. 26- Dan Wheldon
3. 4- Tomas Scheckter
4. 11- Tony Kanaan
5. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
6. 15- Buddy Lazier
7. 8- Scott Sharp
8. 27- Dario Franchitti
9. 83- Patrick Carpentier
10. 33- Ryan Briscoe

AMBER Alert Portal Indy 300

On August 14 at Kentucky Speedway, Scott Sharp won for the first time since 2003 at Twin Ring Motegi, holding off Vitor Meira for the last laps to win. Danica Patrick sat on the pole for the second time in the season after rain washed out qualifying and the starting grid was determined by the fastest times in practice.

Top Ten Results

1. 8- Scott Sharp
2. 17- Vitor Meira
3. 26- Dan Wheldon
4. 51- Alex Barron
5. 3- Hélio Castroneves
6. 95- Buddy Lazier
7. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
8. 55- Kosuke Matsuura
9. 14- A. J. Foyt IV
10. 91- Jimmy Kite

Honda Indy 225

On August 21 at Pikes Peak International Raceway, Penske Racing teammates Hélio Castroneves and Sam Hornish, Jr. started 1-2. Dan Wheldon won his fifth race of the season, tying Sam Hornish Jr.'s record for most victories in a season. This was the final IRL race at PPIR as the track was sold to International Speedway Corporation for intent to be shut down as ISC looked for a new Denver-area circuit, but plans failed and the track was sold for testing but cannot be used for competition per ISC regulation.

Top Ten Results

1. 26- Dan Wheldon
2. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
3. 11- Tony Kanaan
4. 3- Hélio Castroneves
5. 17- Vitor Meira
6. 2- Tomáš Enge
7. 27- Dario Franchitti
8. 16- Danica Patrick
9. 8- Scott Sharp
10. 83- Patrick Carpentier

Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix

On August 28 at the circuit's inaugural race at Infineon Raceway, Tony Kanaan won the race, taking the lead on lap 52 from points leader Dan Wheldon, who was hampered by fuel problems all day and finished out of the race in 18th. Ryan Briscoe sat on the pole, but caused a three-car accident on lap 20 that also eliminated Hélio Castroneves and Danica Patrick from the race.

Top Ten Results

1. 11- Tony Kanaan
2. 15- Buddy Rice
3. 51- Alex Barron
4. 83- Patrick Carpentier
5. 2- Tomáš Enge
6. 55- Kosuke Matsuura
7. 9- Scott Dixon
8. 27- Dario Franchitti
9. 17- Vitor Meira
10. 14- Jeff Bucknum

Peak Antifreeze Indy 300

On September 11 at Chicagoland Speedway, Dan Wheldon won his sixth race, breaking the all-time record for most wins in an IRL season. Ryan Briscoe was involved in a fiery crash with Alex Barron on lap 20. Briscoe was taken by helicopter to a Chicago-area hospital with head and back pain, but was alert. He suffered a concussion, two broken collarbones, a bruised lung and contusions to his arms and legs. The accident resulted in a 16-minute red flag.

Top Ten Results

1. 26- Dan Wheldon
2. 3- Hélio Castroneves
3. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
4. 4- Tomas Scheckter
5. 11- Tony Kanaan
6. 16- Danica Patrick
7. 17- Vitor Meira
8. 8- Scott Sharp
9. 83- Patrick Carpentier
10. 95- Buddy Lazier

Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix

On September 25 at Watkins Glen International, Scott Dixon won his first race since his 2003 IndyCar Series Championship season. Hélio Castroneves sat on the pole. This was the first major open-wheeled race at Watkins Glen since 1981.

Top Ten Results

1. 9- Scott Dixon
2. 11- Tony Kanaan
3. 27- Dario Franchitti
4. 10- Giorgio Pantano
5. 26- Dan Wheldon
6. 55- Kosuke Matsuura
7. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
8. 7- Bryan Herta
9. 8- Scott Sharp
10. 83- Patrick Carpentier

Toyota Indy 400

On October 16 at California Speedway, Dario Franchitti won his second race of the year over Tony Kanaan by 0.111 s. Chevrolet powered cars finished 7th and 8th in their final IRL race while Toyota powered cars had a best finish of 5th in theirs.

Top Ten Results

1. 27- Dario Franchitti
2. 11- Tony Kanaan
3. 17- Vitor Meira
4. 8- Scott Sharp
5. 6- Sam Hornish, Jr.
6. 26- Dan Wheldon
7. 4- Tomas Scheckter
8. 2- Tomáš Enge
9. 3- Hélio Castroneves
10. 9- Scott Dixon

Final driver standings

Pos Driver HMS PHX STP MOT INDY TXS RIR KAN NSH MIL MIS KTY PIK SNM CHI WGL FON Pts 1 Dan Wheldon 1* 6* 1 1 1 6 5 2* 21 5 2 3* 1 18 1* 5 6 628 2 Tony Kanaan 3 3 2 6 8 3 19 1 19* 4 4 20 3 1* 5 2 2 548 3 Sam Hornish, Jr. 2 1 15 7 23* 2 18 12 2 1* 5 7 2* 17 3 7 5 512 4 Dario Franchitti 22 4 3 17* 6 8 2 4 1 2 8 18 7 8 12 3 1 498 5 Scott Sharp 13 5 18 2 7 4 17 6 4 10 7 1 9 12 8 9 4 444 6 Hélio Castroneves 5 2 20 11 9 5 1* 8 5 16 21 5 4 21 2 12 9 440 7 Vitor Meira 4 11 5 15 2 9 20 3 16 9 14 2 5 9 7 18 3 422 8 Bryan Herta 14 7 4 5 3 10 8 15 22 6 1* 19 12 13 14 8 11 397 9 Tomas Scheckter 11 17 17 10 20 1* 4 5 17 3 3 21 14 16 4 20 7* 390 10 Patrick Carpentier 7 9 8 13 21 16 3 14 3 7 9 12 10 4 9 10 15 376 11 Alex Barron 8 13 10 19 13 14 6 13 15 8 11 4 18 3 21 17 14 329 12 Danica Patrick 15 15 12 4 4 13 10 9 7 19 20 16 8 20 6 16 18 325 13 Scott Dixon 16 12 6 21 24 11 22 18 6 13 19 23 16 7 19 1* 10 321 14 Kosuke Matsuura 12 10 13 9 17 7 9 20 14 11 16 8 13 6 23 6 19 320 15 Buddy Rice 19 22 7 3 21 11 10 18 17 22 14 11 2 13 19 12 295 16 Tomáš Enge 21 20 16 DNS 19 19 7 11 23 11 6 5 20 13 8 261 17 Roger Yasukawa 17 18 11 18 18 15 16 22 11 15 18 17 15 11 15 15 16 246 18 Ed Carpenter 18 16 19 16 11 20 12 17 10 12 23 22 19 15 17 14 20 244 19 Ryan Briscoe 20 19 14* 12 10 12 21 21 8 DNS 10 13 20 19 22 232 20 A. J. Foyt IV 9 14 21 14 28 18 14 16 12 21 12 9 21 11 21 231 21 Darren Manning 6 8 9 8 29 17 15 7 20 20 186 22 Jimmy Kite 32 22 13 19 13 14 13 10 17 18 13 163 23 Buddy Lazier 5 9 18 6 6 10 140 24 Jacques Lazier 16 17 15 DNS 16 17 81 25 Jeff Bucknum 22 22 10 11 63 26 Giorgio Pantano 14 4 48 27 Paul Dana 10 21 20 44 28 Sébastien Bourdais 12 18 29 Adrián Fernández 14 16 30 Townsend Bell 15 15 31 Felipe Giaffone 15 15 32 Thiago Medeiros DNS 12 33 Richie Hearn 25 10 34 Kenny Brack 26 10 35 Jeff Ward 27 10 36 Bruno Junqueira 30 10 37 Marty Roth 31 10 38 Larry Foyt 33 10 — Arie Luyendyk, Jr. DNQ 0 Pos Driver HMS PHX STP MOT INDY TXS RIR KAN NSH MIL MIS KTY PIK SNM CHI WGL FON 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 all the points had they taken part. Rookie of the Year Rookie

In every race, points are awarded to drivers on the following basis:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33
Points	50	40	35	32	30	28	26	24	22	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10

• 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.

Engine manufacturers

Pos.	Manufacturer	Points	Gap
1	Honda	153	Leader
2	Toyota	125	-28
3	Chevrolet	96	-57

Chassis manufacturers

Pos.	Manufacturer	Points	Gap
1	Dallara	164	Leader
2	Panoz	125	-39

See also

• 2005 Indianapolis 500
• 2005 Infiniti Pro Series season
• 2005 Champ Car season
• 2005 Toyota Atlantic Championship season

External links

• IndyCar.com - official site
• Indianapolis 500 - official site

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