2006 IndyCar Series

The 2006 IRL IndyCar Series began on March 26 and concluded on September 10. <a href="/facts/Sam_Hornish_Jr./pNIzQcDU">Sam Hornish Jr.</a> won his third <a href="/facts/IndyCar_Series/zAcUanaU">IndyCar Series</a> championship. Hornish also won the <a href="/facts/2006_Indianapolis_500/hLulPtrc">90th Indianapolis 500</a>, passing rookie <a href="/facts/Marco_Andretti/pUeFps1E">Marco Andretti</a> on the final lap less than 500 feet (150 m) from the finish line. The title chase was very dramatic between <a href="/facts/Team_Penske/N2CCheJQ">Penske</a> drivers Hornish and <a href="/facts/H%25C3%25A9lio_Castroneves/m2pdq052">Hélio Castroneves</a> battling <a href="/facts/Chip_Ganassi_Racing/R5SUFmtY">Ganassi</a> drivers <a href="/facts/Dan_Wheldon/QYwsmeD9">Dan Wheldon</a> and <a href="/facts/Scott_Dixon/gkq3TcVr">Scott Dixon</a>. The four drivers occupied the first four positions in the final race at <a href="/facts/Chicagoland_Speedway/hB77vGww">Chicagoland Speedway</a>, with Wheldon beating Dixon for a Ganassi 1–2 finish, followed by Hornish finishing third, edging out reigning champion Wheldon on a tiebreaker. Third place would have been enough to catapult fourth-place finisher Castroneves to 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 <a href="/facts/Paul_Dana/jubHeKLc">Paul Dana</a> during a practice session at Homestead.
2006 was also the final season for <a href="/facts/Panoz/8JXjMsh5">Panoz</a> as an official chassis manufacturer in the series.

2006 IndyCar Series open-in-new

2006 IndyCar Series