2006 Meijer Indy 300
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1.500 mi / 2.414 km
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Race 12 of 14 in the 2006 IndyCar season
| |||
 | |||
| Date | August 13, 2006 | ||
| Official name | Meijer Indy 300 Presented by Coca-Cola and Secret | ||
| Location | Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Kentucky | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.500 mi / 2.414 km | ||
| Distance | 200 laps 300.000 mi / 482.803 km | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver |  Hélio Castroneves (Marlboro Team Penske) | ||
| Time | 24.4037 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Bryan Herta (Andretti Green Racing) | ||
| Time | 24.3154 (on lap 48 of 200) | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Sam Hornish Jr. (Marlboro Team Penske) | ||
| Second |  Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing) | ||
| Third | Hélio Castroneves (Marlboro Team Penske) | ||
The 2006 Meijer Indy 300 was an IndyCar Series motor race held on August 13, 2006, in Sparta, Kentucky at Kentucky Speedway. It was the twelfth round of the 2006 IndyCar Series and the seventh running of the event. Sam Hornish Jr., driving for Marlboro Team Penske, won the 200-lap race. Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon finished second and Hornish Jr.'s teammate Hélio Castroneves finished third.
Castroneves earned the pole position after posting the fastest lap of qualifying. He and Hornish Jr. swapped the lead five times before making their first pit stops on lap 54. After a caution was flown, the Marlboro Team Penske drivers were relegated back in the field as Wheldon and his teammate Scott Dixon took control of the race. Hornish Jr. climbed back up to the lead on lap 96 and held it until Wheldon reclaimed the first position shortly after a lap-135 restart. Wheldon and Hornish Jr. then engaged in a fierce battle for the lead, which ended after Wheldon slipped up in his final pit stop on lap 185. Hornish Jr. passed Dixon on a restart and led the final five laps to earn his eighteenth IndyCar victory and fourth of the season.
As a result of the race, Hornish Jr. retook the first position in the Drivers' Championship, leading second-place driver Castroneves by seven points. Wheldon remained third, ahead of Dixon and Vítor Meira (who finished sixth), with two races left in the season.
The Meijer Indy 300 was the 12th of 14 scheduled open-wheel races for the 2006 IndyCar Series and the seventh edition of the event dating back to 2000.[1][2] It was held on August 13, 2006, in Sparta, Kentucky, United States, at Kentucky Speedway, a four-turn 1.5 mi (2.4 km) asphalt tri-oval track which features 14-degree banking in the turns and 4-degree banking in the back stretch, and contested over 200 laps and 300 miles (480 km).[3] Heading into the race, Marlboro Team Penske driver Hélio Castroneves led the Drivers' Championship with 376 points, and teammate Sam Hornish Jr. was second with 368. Target Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon were third and fourth with 359 and 345 points, respectively, and Vítor Meira of Panther Racing was fifth with 320.[4] Scott Sharp was the race's defending champion.[5]
Castroneves, who had taken the championship lead with his win in the preceding Firestone Indy 400, expected the race at Kentucky to be "an exciting show for the fans" because of the track's slimness, which allowed for side-by-side racing.[6] Hornish Jr. considered Kentucky to be a difficult track because of its bumpy and slick surface, but looked forward to putting his poor finish at Michigan International Speedway behind him.[6] After several misfortunes befell Wheldon and Dixon in the past two races, both drivers were determined to win races and the championship.[7] Meira believed he could continue the success that Panther Racing had achieved at Kentucky due to his consistency throughout the season.[8]
One team made a driver change for the race. Sarah Fisher, who had not competed in an IndyCar race since the 2004 Indianapolis 500, was chosen to drive the No. 5 car for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing at Kentucky.[9] It was previously rumored that Fisher would drive the car in the Firestone Indy 400, though team co-owner Dennis Reinbold shut them down.[10] Fisher expressed excitement for her return to the IndyCar Series and was grateful for her fans' support.[11] Fisher and Danica Patrick's participation in the race marked the first time since the 2000 Indianapolis 500 in which two female drivers took part in an IndyCar race.[12]
Practice and qualifying
Two practice sessions preceded the race on Sunday, both of which were held on Saturday, lasted for 90 minutes, and divided into two groups of drivers who received equal track time.[3] Weather conditions during the practice sessions were warm and grew hotter as the day went on.[13] Wheldon had the fastest time of the first practice session at 24.3720 seconds, three-hundredths of a second faster than Castroneves in second. Hornish Jr. was third, ahead of Scott Sharp and Meira.[14] Dixon outperformed Wheldon's lap during the second practice session with a time of 24.3536 seconds. He was two-hundredths of a second quicker than Castroneves; Hornish Jr., Wheldon, and Kosuke Matsuura took the remaining top-five positions.[15]
During qualifying, each driver was required to complete two timed laps, and the starting order was determined by the competitor's fastest lap time.[13] Castroneves earned his 16th career and third consecutive pole position with a time of 24.4037 seconds. He was joined on the grid's front row by teammate Hornish Jr., who was 0.0023 seconds slower and had the pole position until Castroneves' lap.[16] Castroneves later said he was happy with the result and aimed to win the race in order to protect his championship lead.[17] Wheldon qualified third, ahead of Kanaan in fourth and Dixon fifth. Dario Franchitti, Matsuura, Ed Carpenter, Meira, and Sharp rounded out the top-ten starting positions, and Patrick, Fisher, Bryan Herta, Buddy Rice, Jeff Simmons, Jeff Bucknum, Tomas Scheckter, Marco Andretti, and Marty Roth completed the starting grid.[12][18] Scheckter and Carpenter were each limited to one timed lap—Scheckter for swapping engines after the second practice session, and Carpenter for failing pre-qualifying inspection.[13]
Qualifying classification
Warm-up
The drivers took to the track on Sunday morning for a thirty-minute warm-up session under hot weather.[20] Dixon had the fastest time of the session at 24.3062 seconds, besting Hornish Jr., Matsuura, Wheldon, and Castroneves.[21] The session came to a premature end after Meira swerved to the infield grass to avoid Patrick, who turned left into the blend line, but collided into her, spinning out both drivers in turn three.[22] The incident damaged Meira's suspension and Patrick's suspension and radiator; Patrick's engine was also changed at the request of Honda.[23]
