2006 Indy Pro Series

Last updated
2006 Indy Pro Series season
Indy Pro Series
Season
Races12
Start dateMarch 26
End dateSeptember 9
Awards
Drivers' champion Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jay Howard
Teams' champion Flag of the United States.svg Sam Schmidt Motorsports
Rookie of the Year Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jay Howard
  2005
2007  

The 2006 IRL Indy Pro Series, was the fifth season of the developmental open-wheel racing series under the Indy Racing League ownership, and the 21st in Indy NXT combined history, as officially recognized by IndyCar. Both Menards and Nissan dropped their sponsorship of the series, which was renamed to Indy Pro Series for the following two years. It was the first season to include double-header races in road course races. All teams used Dallara IL-02 chassis, now with the unbranded TWR engines, as they would remain until the end of its use in 2014.

Contents

English rookie Jay Howard, driving for Sam Schmidt Motorsports narrowly won the championship by four points over American rookie Jonathan Klein of Andretti Green Racing, in a four-way battle for the title at the last round in Chicagoland Speedway that included the defending series champion Wade Cunningham and Bobby Wilson.

Following in the footsteps of Cunningham, Howard prevailed through sheer consistency rather than outright brilliance, with seven podium finishes and two wins at Nashville and Kentucky. All of his wins and pole positions came at oval events, which only comprised half of the schedule. [1]

Klein didn't manage to win a race, and only led a handful of laps during the year, but six podium finishes over the last seven races kept him in contention until the end. Cunningham, driving for Brian Stewart Racing, was also in contention at the final round despite missing the doubleheader at St. Petersburg due to an appendix removal. [2] Cunningham won three races, including the first of his three Freedom 100 victories, scored four pole positions and led the most laps in seven of the 10 races he contested, but couldn't overcome the 93-point deficit to Howard after St. Petersburg and fell 11 points short. Besides, his win over at Chicagoland over Klein allowed Howard to win the championship. An early crash took Bobby Wilson out of contention, finishing fourth in the standings with a win at Watkins Glen.

Seven different drivers won a race during the year, including Jeff Simmons, who left the series as the points leader after three races to drive in IndyCar, and rookie Alex Lloyd, with two road course wins at Indianapolis and Sonoma. Lloyd would miss three races due to funding issues, and finished seventh in points.

Two competitors from the Atlantic Championship made successful cameos during the year, with Brazilian rookie Raphael Matos sweeping the race weekend at St. Petersburg and Graham Rahal getting the pole position at the Liberty Challenge to finish second behind Lloyd, coming two laps short of winning in his only Indy Pro Series start. [3]

Vision Racing disbanded their Indy Pro Series programme after one year, but the series was bolstered by an increase of price money and a host of new teams, led by the expansion of the Andretti Green Racing programme and the debut of Cheever Racing and Guthrie Racing.

Other teams that expanded to a full-time effort were Michael Crawford Racing, AFS Racing and Dave McMillan Racing, although the latter scaled back during the year. The series had 16 to 18 cars at most of his rounds, with 19 starters at the Freedom 100, but only 11 at Milwaukee and 14 at the Sonoma races. 41 different drivers competed during the year, tying the all-time record from 1996 at the time, but only six drivers started all twelve races, with three others missing two or less events. Former Indy 500 starters Jon Herb and Tyce Carlson competed at the Freedom 100.

Drivers and teams

TeamNo.DriversRounds
Brian Stewart Racing 1 Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham 1, 4–12
Flag of the United States.svg Geoff Dodge 2–3
331, 4, 7
3 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Brett Van Blankers 1–9
Flag of New Zealand.svg Daniel Gaunt 10–11
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Veronica McCann 12
Dave McMillan Racing 2 Flag of New Zealand.svg Matthew Hamilton 1–5
Flag of the United States.svg C. R. Crews 12
22 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Éric Paradis 6
Roth Racing 4 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Marty Roth 1–3
Guthrie Racing 4 Flag of the United States.svg Phil Giebler 4
Flag of the United States.svg Logan Gomez 6
Flag of the United States.svg C. R. Crews 9
Flag of the United States.svg Micky Gilbert 10–11
Flag of the United States.svg Tom Wieringa 12
Flag of the United States.svg Sean Guthrie 5
414, 7, 9, 12
Flag of the United States.svg Travis Gregg 1
Flag of Brazil.svg Raphael Matos 2–3, 5–6
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Scott Mansell 10–11
Racing Professionals 6 Flag of the United States.svg Jon Herb 1–6
Sam Schmidt Motorsports 7 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jay Howard All
38 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Justice 10–11
77 Flag of the United States.svg Travis Gregg 9
Flag of Japan.svg Akihira Okamoto 12
Michael Crawford Motorsports 8 Flag of the United States.svg Mishael Abbott 1, 4–5
Flag of the United States.svg Rocco DeSimone 2–3
Flag of the United States.svg C. R. Crews 6
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Scott Mansell 7
Flag of the United States.svg P. J. Abbott 8, 10–11
Flag of the United States.svg Ben Petter 9, 12
9 Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Wilson 1–3
Flag of the United States.svg Tom Wieringa 4
Flag of the United States.svg C. R. Crews 5
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Scott Mansell 6
Flag of the United States.svg Travis Gregg 7
Flag of the United States.svg Michael Crawford 8
Flag of Japan.svg Shinji Kashima 9–12
Andretti Green Racing 11 Flag of Brazil.svg Jaime Camara All
27 Flag of the United States.svg Jonathan Klein All
Kenn Hardley Racing 24 Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Simmons 1–3
Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Wilson 4–12
42 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Tom Wood 4, 7–9, 12
Flag of the United States.svg Phil Giebler 5
Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal 6
AFS Racing 25 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Arie Luyendyk Jr. 1–3, 5, 7, 12
Flag of the United States.svg Tyce Carlson 4
Flag of the United States.svg Phil Giebler 6
26 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Lloyd 2–7, 9–12
Flag of Brazil.svg Thiago Medeiros 8
Cheever Racing 51 Flag of the United States.svg Chris Festa 1–7, 9, 12
Flag of Brazil.svg Hoover Orsi 8
52 Flag of the United States.svg Nick Bussell All
Part Sourcing International 76 Flag of the United States.svg James Chesson 4, 7
Flag of the United States.svg Mike Potekhen 6, 9–12

Schedule

The schedule downsized from 14 to 12 races, as the series moved to a 50-50 proportion on ovals and road courses. The ovals at Phoenix, Pikes Peak and Fontana were removed after their IndyCar events were discontinued, along with Texas Motor Speedway. In turn, the races at St. Petersburg and Sonoma were turned into doubleheaders, the first of their kind in the combined history of Indy Lights. Homestead-Miami continued as the venue for the season opener, while Chicagoland inherited the season finale slot from California Speedway.

Rd.DateRace nameTrackLocation
1March 26 Miami 100  O  Homestead–Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida
2April 1–2 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg  R  Streets of St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, Florida
3
4May 26 Freedom 100  O  Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana
5June 4 Corning 100  R  Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen, New York
6July 1 Liberty Challenge  R  Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course Speedway, Indiana
7July 15 Sun Belt Rentals 100  O  Nashville Superspeedway Lebanon, Tennessee
8July 22 Milwaukee 100  O  Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin
9August 13 Kentucky 100  O  Kentucky Speedway Sparta, Kentucky
10August 26–27 Carneros 100  R  Infineon Raceway Sonoma, California
11 Valley of the Moon 100
12September 9 Chicagoland 100  O  Chicagoland Speedway Joliet, Illinois
O Oval/Speedway
R Road/Street course

Race results

RoundRace Pole position Fastest lap Most laps ledRace Winner
DriverTeam
1 Homestead–Miami Speedway Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jay Howard Flag of the United States.svg Jon Herb Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jay Howard Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Simmons Kenn Hardley Racing
2 Streets of St. Petersburg Flag of Brazil.svg Raphael Matos Flag of Brazil.svg Raphael Matos Flag of Brazil.svg Raphael Matos Flag of Brazil.svg Raphael Matos Guthrie Racing
3 Flag of the United States.svg Chris Festa [lower-alpha 1] Flag of Brazil.svg Raphael Matos Flag of Brazil.svg Raphael Matos Flag of Brazil.svg Raphael Matos Guthrie Racing
4 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jay Howard Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Brian Stewart Racing
5 Watkins Glen International Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Wilson Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Wilson Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Wilson Kenn Hardley Racing
6 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Lloyd Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Lloyd AFS Racing
7 Nashville Superspeedway Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jay Howard Sam Schmidt Motorsports
8 Milwaukee Mile Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Flag of Brazil.svg Jaime Camara Andretti Green Racing
9 Kentucky Speedway Flag of the United States.svg Jonathan Klein Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Wilson Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jay Howard Sam Schmidt Motorsports
10 Infineon Raceway Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Lloyd Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Brian Stewart Racing
11 Flag of the United States.svg Mike Potekhen [lower-alpha 1] Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Lloyd Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Lloyd AFS Racing
12 Chicagoland Speedway Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jay Howard Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Tom Wood Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham Brian Stewart Racing

Championship standings

Drivers' Championship

Scoring system
Position 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  10th  11th  12th  13th  14th  15th  16th  17th  18th  19th 
Points50403532302826242220191817161514131211
PosDriver HMS STP INDY WGL IMS NAS MIL KTY SNM CHI Points
1 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jay Howard  RY 3*3226181711053390
2 Flag of the United States.svg Jonathan Klein  R 1555653332432386
3 Flag of New Zealand.svg Wade Cunningham 101*2*165*2*3*1*41*379
4 Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Wilson  R 5867197475217343
5 Flag of the United States.svg Nick Bussell 2410101556563138319
6 Flag of Brazil.svg Jaime Camara 1112133413211471416298
7 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Lloyd  R 1035171DNS1621*4294
8 Flag of the United States.svg Chris Festa 1668i41415985205
9 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Brett Van Blankers  R 89111471710815179
10 Flag of Brazil.svg Raphael Matos  R 1*1*134154
11 Flag of the United States.svg Jon Herb 61391988126
12 Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Simmons 124122
13 Flag of the United States.svg Mike Potekhen  R 111066i7121
14 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Tom Wood 949129116
15 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Arie Luyendyk Jr. 4DNS11116105
16 Flag of New Zealand.svg Matthew Hamilton  R 14771310105
17 Flag of the United States.svg Geoff Dodge  R 71113812104
18 Flag of the United States.svg Sean Guthrie  R 1116851899
19 Flag of the United States.svg C. R. Crews  R 96111386
20 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Scott Mansell  R 141411777
21 Flag of the United States.svg Phil Giebler 163775
22 Flag of Japan.svg Shinji Kashima  R 1312111272
23 Flag of the United States.svg Travis Gregg 1213467
24 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Marty Roth 9141256
25 Flag of the United States.svg P. J. Abbott 11131254
26 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Justice  R 8848
26 Flag of the United States.svg Mishael Abbott 13171248
28 Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal  R 2*43
29 Flag of the United States.svg Micky Gilbert  R 91042
29 Flag of the United States.svg Ben Petter  R 91042
31 Flag of New Zealand.svg Daniel Gaunt  R 14938
32 Flag of the United States.svg Tom Wieringa 121533
33 Flag of the United States.svg Rocco DeSimone  R 151431
34 Flag of Brazil.svg Thiago Medeiros 628
35 Flag of the United States.svg Michael Crawford  R 1020
35 Flag of the United States.svg Logan Gomez  R 1020
37 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Veronica McCann  R 1119
37 Flag of the United States.svg James Chesson 18DNS19
39 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Éric Paradis  R 1218
40 Flag of Japan.svg Akihira Okamoto  R 1416
41 Flag of the United States.svg Tyce Carlson 1515
Flag of Brazil.svg Hoover Orsi DNSWth
PosDriver HMS STP INDY WGL IMS NAS MIL KTY SNM CHI Points
ColorResult
GoldWinner
Silver2nd place
Bronze3rd place
Green4th & 5th place
Light Blue6th–10th place
Dark BlueFinished
(Outside Top 10)
PurpleDid not finish
RedDid not qualify
(DNQ)
BrownWithdrawn
(Wth)
BlackDisqualified
(DSQ)
WhiteDid not start
(DNS)
BlankDid not
participate
(DNP)
Not competing
In-line notation
Bold Pole position
(1 point)
ItalicsRan fastest race lap
*Led most race laps
(2 points)
iPartially-inverted field
no bonus point awarded
Rookie of the Year
Rookie
  • Ties in points broken by
    number of wins, or best
    finishes.

Footnotes

    1. 1 2 In doubleheader weekends, no qualifying was held for Race 2. The grid was decided by the results of Race 1, with the top 6 finishers in reverse order, and no bonus point was awarded for pole position.

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    References

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    2. "IPS: St. Pete: Friday practice notes". Motorsport.com . 2006-01-04. Archived from the original on 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
    3. "IRL Lloyd beats heat & Rahal ." Racecar.com. 2006-07-03. Retrieved 2019-02-13.