2005 IndyCar Series

American auto racing season February 2025 IndyCar 2005 File:IRL IndyCar Series.jpg IndyCar Series 17 March 6 October 16 GBR Dan Wheldon JPN Honda USA Danica Patrick GBR Dan Wheldon 2004 2006 right horizontal 300 Dan Wheldon 2.jpg Tony Kanaan 2008 Indy Japan 300.jpg Dan Wheldon (left) won the drivers champion in the Indianapolis 500, while Tony Kanaan (right) finished second in points. The 2005 IRL IndyCar Series 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 IndyCar Series 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. Dan Wheldon also became the first IndyCar driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series overall driver's title, respectively, in the same season since Jacques Villeneuve in the 1995 PPG IndyCar World Series season and also the first in the Indy Racing League era. The season was the first 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 was previously known to have held events exclusively on oval tracks since the IRL/CART split in 1996. Wheldon also became the series' first road/street course winner when he won in St. Petersburg. The season was also the last for Chevrolet in the series, who confirmed in August that they would not return to the IRL (Chevrolet returned in 2012). 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 IRL's only supplier. The IRL announced that they extended their chassis supply contract with Panoz and Dallara through 2006. Rule changes for 2005 A mandated switch to the single-point re-fueling systems used by some teams in 2004. The IRL only approved one type of fueling probe and buckeye, and these only work as a single-point system. In the approved system, two hoses coming from the storage tank combined at the fueling mechanism, handled by the fueler. The crew member previously responsible for the operation of the vent and jack was now free to operate only the jack. Cars raced on all ovals in the same configuration introduced at the 88th Indianapolis 500 in May 2004 with minimal aerodynamic changes. The changes were limited to specific areas of the underwing and sidepods. The IRL required teams to use the same engine cover as the previous year without modifications. thumb|Defending champion Tony Kanaan finished second in the championship. Teams were allowed to change engines prior to qualifying without penalty at the following events, which were scheduled to be three-day events: Homestead, St. Petersburg, Motegi, Texas, Milwaukee, Infineon, Watkins Glen, and California. The amount of methanol that teams were allowed to have in their trackside tanks was changed. Teams were allowed to carry 85 gallons for 187.5-mile races, 90 gallons for 200-mile events, 100 gallons for 225-mile events, 125 gallons for 260-mile races, 135 gallons for 300-mile events, 175 gallons for 400-mile events and 225 gallons for 500-mile events. The mandatory minimum weight of cars was 1,600 pounds, 75 pounds heavier than the oval minimum weight. The additional weight was attributed to the brake system, which consisted of an aluminum brake caliper, steel rotor and pad as specified by the IRL, as well as the limited slip differential in the gearbox. For the first time Firestone introduced the treaded rain tires only for road and street courses races if in case of rain weather. Confirmed entries TeamChassisEngineNoDriversRoundsA. J. Foyt EnterprisesDallaraPanozFoytPanoz N Used by A. J. Foyt IV in St. Petersburg and by Felipe Giaffone.ToyotaChevroletFoytChevy N Used from Kentucky onwards.14USA A. J. Foyt IV1–13, 15, 17USA Jeff Bucknum (R)14, 1641USA Larry Foyt (R)548BRA Felipe GiaffoneGiaffone N Replaced Scott Mayer, who failed to pass his rookie test.5Aguri-Fernández RacingDelphi Fernández RacingPanozHonda5MEX Adrián Fernández58USA Scott SharpAll55JPN Kosuke MatsuuraAllAndretti Green RacingDallaraHonda7USA Bryan HertaAll11BRA Tony KanaanAll26GBR Dan WheldonAll27GBR Dario FranchittiAllCheever RacingDallaraToyota51USA Alex BarronAll83CAN Patrick CarpentierAllCURB/Agajanian/Beck MotorsportsDallaraChevrolet98NLD Arie Luyendyk Jr. (R)5Dreyer & Reinbold RacingDallaraHonda24USA Roger YasukawaAll44USA Jeff Bucknum (R)4–5BRA Thiago Medeiros (R)17Hemelgarn RacingDallaraToyota91USA Paul Dana (R)1–2, 4USA Jimmy Kite5–13, 15, 17Marlboro Team PenskeDallaraToyota3BRA Hélio CastronevesAll6USA Sam Hornish Jr.AllNewman/Haas RacingPanozHonda36BRA Bruno Junqueira537FRA Sébastien Bourdais5Panther RacingDallaraChevrolet 2CZE Tomáš Enge (R) 1–9, 12–17USA Buddy Lazier 10USA Townsend Bell 11 4ZAF Tomas Scheckter All95USA Buddy Lazier5, 9, 11–12, 15Playa del RacingPanozToyota21USA Jaques Lazier5Rahal Letterman RacingPanozHonda 15USA Buddy Rice 1–4, 6–17SWE Kenny Bräck 5 16USA Danica Patrick (R) All 17BRA Vítor Meira AllRoth RacingDallaraChevrolet25CAN Marty Roth (R)5Sam Schmidt MotorsportsPanozChevrolet70USA Richie Hearn5Target Chip Ganassi RacingDallaraToyota9NZL Scott Dixon4Panoz1–3, 5–1710GBR Darren Manning1–10USA Jaques Lazier11–13, 15, 17ITA Giorgio Pantano (R)14, 1633AUS Ryan Briscoe (R)1–15Vision RacingDallaraToyota 20USA Ed Carpenter All22USA Jeff Ward5 Schedule Icon Legend white O silver Oval/Speedway lightblue R silver Road course peachpuff S silver Street circuit RndDateRace NameTrackLocation1March 6Toyota Indy 300white O silver Homestead-Miami SpeedwayHomestead, Florida2March 19XM Satellite Radio Indy 200white O silver Phoenix International RacewayPhoenix, Arizona3April 3Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburgpeachpuff S silver Streets of St. PetersburgSt. Petersburg, Florida4April 30Indy Japan 300white O silver Twin Ring MotegiMotegi, Japan5May 2989th Indianapolis 500white O silver Indianapolis Motor SpeedwaySpeedway, Indiana6June 11Bombardier Learjet 500white O silver Texas Motor SpeedwayFort Worth, Texas7June 25SunTrust Indy Challengewhite O silver Richmond International RacewayRichmond, Virginia8July 3Argent Mortgage Indy 300white O silver Kansas SpeedwayKansas City, Kansas9July 16Firestone Indy 200white O silver Nashville SuperspeedwayLebanon, Tennessee10July 24ABC Supply Company A. J. Foyt 225white O silver The Milwaukee MileWest Allis, Wisconsin11July 31Firestone Indy 400white O silver Michigan International SpeedwayBrooklyn, Michigan12August 14AMBER Alert Portal Indy 300white O silver Kentucky SpeedwaySparta, Kentucky13August 21Honda Indy 225white O silver Pikes Peak International RacewayFountain, Colorado14August 28Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prixlightblue R silver Infineon RacewaySonoma, California15September 11Peak Antifreeze Indy 300white O silver Chicagoland SpeedwayJoliet, Illinois16September 25Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix lightblue R silver Watkins Glen InternationalWatkins Glen, New York17October 16Toyota Indy 400white O silver California SpeedwayFontana, CaliforniaSource:Oreowicz John https://archive.org/details/indianapolis500i0000jere Autocourse: Indianapolis 500 & Indy Racing League IndyCar Series Official Yearbook 2004 Phillips David Cleary Matt Davidson Donald Bignotti Mendez Mary Hazleton Publishing 2005 1-903135-46-X London, England 176 2005 IRL IndyCar Series Schedule registration Internet Archive Donald Davidson (historian) Results Rd.RacePole positionFastest lapMost laps ledRace winnerDriverTeamChassisEngine1HomesteadZAF Tomas ScheckterUSA Buddy RiceGBR Dan WheldonGBR Dan WheldonAndretti Green RacingDallaraHonda2PhoenixUSA Bryan HertaGBR Dario FranchittiGBR Dan WheldonUSA Sam Hornish Jr.Team PenskeDallaraToyota3St. PetersburgUSA Bryan HertaGBR Dario FranchittiAUS Ryan BriscoeGBR Dan WheldonAndretti Green RacingDallaraHonda4MotegiUSA Sam Hornish Jr.GBR Dan WheldonGBR Dario FranchittiGBR Dan WheldonAndretti Green RacingDallaraHonda5IndianapolisBRA Tony KanaanBRA Tony KanaanUSA Sam Hornish Jr.GBR Dan WheldonAndretti Green RacingDallaraHonda6TexasZAF Tomas ScheckterCZE Tomáš EngeZAF Tomas ScheckterZAF Tomas ScheckterPanther RacingDallaraChevrolet7RichmondUSA Sam Hornish Jr.JPN Kosuke MatsuuraBRA Hélio CastronevesBRA Hélio CastronevesTeam PenskeDallaraToyota8KansasUSA Danica PatrickAUS Ryan BriscoeGBR Dan WheldonBRA Tony KanaanAndretti Green RacingDallaraHonda9NashvilleZAF Tomas ScheckterUSA Scott SharpBRA Tony KanaanGBR Dario FranchittiAndretti Green RacingDallaraHonda10MilwaukeeUSA Sam Hornish Jr.ZAF Tomas ScheckterUSA Sam Hornish Jr.USA Sam Hornish Jr.Team PenskeDallaraToyota11MichiganUSA Bryan HertaUSA Townsend BellUSA Bryan HertaUSA Bryan HertaAndretti Green RacingDallaraHonda12KentuckyUSA Danica PatrickUSA Danica PatrickGBR Dan WheldonUSA Scott SharpFernández RacingPanozHonda13Pikes PeakBRA Hélio CastronevesGBR Dario FranchittiUSA Sam Hornish Jr.GBR Dan WheldonAndretti Green RacingDallaraHonda14SonomaAUS Ryan BriscoeBRA Tony KanaanBRA Tony KanaanBRA Tony KanaanAndretti Green RacingDallaraHonda15ChicagolandUSA Danica PatrickGBR Dario FranchittiGBR Dan WheldonGBR Dan WheldonAndretti Green RacingDallaraHonda16Watkins GlenBRA Hélio CastronevesNZL Scott DixonNZL Scott DixonNZL Scott DixonChip Ganassi RacingPanozToyota17CaliforniaGBR Dario FranchittiGBR Dan WheldonZAF Tomas ScheckterGBR Dario FranchittiAndretti Green RacingDallaraHonda 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 26- Dan Wheldon 6- Sam Hornish Jr. 11- Tony Kanaan 17- Vítor Meira 3- Hélio Castroneves 10- Darren Manning 83- Patrick Carpentier 51- Alex Barron 14- A. J. Foyt IV 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. This would be the last time IndyCar would compete at Phoenix until the race was revived in 2016. Top Ten Results 6- Sam Hornish Jr. 3- Hélio Castroneves 11- Tony Kanaan 27- Dario Franchitti 8- Scott Sharp 26- Dan Wheldon 7- Bryan Herta 10- Darren Manning 83- Patrick Carpentier 55- Kosuke Matsuura Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg On April 3, the Honda Grand Prix 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 26- Dan Wheldon 11- Tony Kanaan 27- Dario Franchitti 7- Bryan Herta 17- Vítor Meira 9- Scott Dixon 15- Buddy Rice 83- Patrick Carpentier 10- Darren Manning 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 26- Dan Wheldon 8- Scott Sharp 15- Buddy Rice 16- Danica Patrick 7- Bryan Herta 11- Tony Kanaan 6- Sam Hornish Jr. 10- Darren Manning 55- Kosuke Matsuura 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 26- Dan Wheldon 17- Vítor Meira 7- Bryan Herta 16- Danica Patrick 95- Buddy Lazier 27- Dario Franchitti 8- Scott Sharp 11- Tony Kanaan 3- Hélio Castroneves 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. This was the last victory for Chevrolet engine in the series before the temporary withdrawal until 2011. Top Ten Results 4- Tomas Scheckter 6- Sam Hornish Jr. 11- Tony Kanaan 8- Scott Sharp 3- Hélio Castroneves 26- Dan Wheldon 55- Kosuke Matsuura 27- Dario Franchitti 17- Vítor Meira 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 3- Hélio Castroneves 27- Dario Franchitti 83- Patrick Carpentier 4- Tomas Scheckter 26- Dan Wheldon 51- Alex Barron 2- Tomáš Enge 7- Bryan Herta 55- Kosuke Matsuura 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 Vítor Meira. Danica Patrick won her first career IndyCar Series pole. Top Ten Results 11- Tony Kanaan 26- Dan Wheldon 17- Vítor Meira 27- Dario Franchitti 4- Tomas Scheckter 8- Scott Sharp 10- Darren Manning 3- Hélio Castroneves 16- Danica Patrick 15- Buddy Rice Firestone Indy 200 On July 16 at Nashville Superspeedway, Dario Franchitti won, leading 74 of 200 laps. Tomas Scheckter sat on the pole. Tomas Enge fractured his back in a lap 27 crash in turn 1 and would miss the next 2 races. Top Ten Results 27- Dario Franchitti 6- Sam Hornish Jr. 83- Patrick Carpentier 8- Scott Sharp 3- Hélio Castroneves 9- Scott Dixon 16- Danica Patrick 33- Ryan Briscoe 95- Buddy Lazier 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 6- Sam Hornish Jr. 27- Dario Franchitti 4- Tomas Scheckter 11- Tony Kanaan 26- Dan Wheldon 7- Bryan Herta 83- Patrick Carpentier 51- Alex Barron 17- Vítor Meira 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 7- Bryan Herta 26- Dan Wheldon 4- Tomas Scheckter 11- Tony Kanaan 6- Sam Hornish Jr. 15- Buddy Lazier 8- Scott Sharp 27- Dario Franchitti 83- Patrick Carpentier 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 Vítor 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. Tomas Enge returned from injury to finish 11th. Top Ten Results 8- Scott Sharp 17- Vítor Meira 26- Dan Wheldon 51- Alex Barron 3- Hélio Castroneves 95- Buddy Lazier 6- Sam Hornish Jr. 55- Kosuke Matsuura 14- A. J. Foyt IV 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. However, plans failed and the track was sold for testing purposes, but cannot be used for competition per ISC regulations. Top Ten Results 26- Dan Wheldon 6- Sam Hornish Jr. 11- Tony Kanaan 3- Hélio Castroneves 17- Vítor Meira 2- Tomáš Enge 27- Dario Franchitti 16- Danica Patrick 8- Scott Sharp 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 11- Tony Kanaan 15- Buddy Rice 51- Alex Barron 83- Patrick Carpentier 2- Tomáš Enge 55- Kosuke Matsuura 9- Scott Dixon 27- Dario Franchitti 17- Vítor Meira 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 originally won the pole but was disqualified for a technical infraction and sent to the back of the grid. The pole winner after this became Danica Patrick for her third (and final) IndyCar pole. Briscoe's weekend got significantly worse as he 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 26- Dan Wheldon 3- Hélio Castroneves 6- Sam Hornish Jr. 4- Tomas Scheckter 11- Tony Kanaan 16- Danica Patrick 17- Vítor Meira 8- Scott Sharp 83- Patrick Carpentier 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-wheel race at Watkins Glen since 1981 and Dixon's first road course victory. As of 2024, this was the final IndyCar Series victory for Toyota engine to date. Top Ten Results 9- Scott Dixon 11- Tony Kanaan 27- Dario Franchitti 10- Giorgio Pantano 26- Dan Wheldon 55- Kosuke Matsuura 6- Sam Hornish Jr. 7- Bryan Herta 8- Scott Sharp 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. IndyCar would not return to this track until 2012. Last competition victory for Honda in the series until 2012 Indianapolis 500. Top Ten Results 27- Dario Franchitti 11- Tony Kanaan 17- Vítor Meira 8- Scott Sharp 6- Sam Hornish Jr. 26- Dan Wheldon 4- Tomas Scheckter 2- Tomáš Enge 3- Hélio Castroneves 9- Scott Dixon Points standings List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems PosDriverHOMPHXSTPMOTINDYTMSRICKANNSSMILMISKENPPRSONCHIWGLCALPts1GBR Dan Wheldon1*6*111652*21523*1181*566282BRA Tony Kanaan33268319119*442031*522 548 3USA Sam Hornish Jr.2115723*2181221*572*173755124GBR Dario Franchitti224317*6824128187812314985USA Scott Sharp13518274176410719128944446BRA Hélio Castroneves522011951*851621542121294407BRA Vítor Meira411515292031691425971834228USA Bryan Herta147453108152261*191213148113979ZAF Tomas Scheckter11171710201*4517332114164207*39010CAN Patrick Carpentier798132116314379121049101537611USA Alex Barron8131019131461315811418321171432912USA Danica Patrick Yellow RY silver151512441310971920168206161832513NZL Scott Dixon1612621241122186131923167191*1032114JPN Kosuke Matsuura121013917792014111681362361932015USA Buddy Rice192273 Wth2111101817221411213191229516CZE Tomáš Enge Orange R silver212016DNS19197112311652013826117USA Roger Yasukawa171811181815162211151817151115151624618USA Ed Carpenter181619161120121710122322191517142024419AUS Ryan Briscoe Orange R silver201914*12101221218 Wth101320192223220USA A. J. Foyt IV914211428181416122112921112123121GBR Darren Manning68982917157202018622USA Jimmy Kite322213191314131017181316323USA Buddy Lazier5918661014024USA Jaques Lazier161715 Wth16178125USA Jeff Bucknum Orange R silver222210116326ITA Giorgio Pantano Orange R silver1444827USA Paul Dana Orange R silver102120 Wth4428FRA Sébastien Bourdais121829MEX Adrián Fernández141630USA Townsend Bell151531BRA Felipe Giaffone151532BRA Thiago Medeiros Orange R silver Wth1233USA Richie Hearn251034SWE Kenny Bräck261035USA Jeff Ward271036BRA Bruno Junqueira301037CAN Marty Roth Orange R silver311038USA Larry Foyt Orange R silver3310—NLD Arie Luyendyk Jr. Orange R silverDNQ0—USA Scott Mayer Orange R silver Wth0PosDriverHOMPHXSTPMOTINDYTMSRICKANNSSMILMISKENPIKSONCHIWGLCALPtsColorResultGoldWinnerSilver2nd placeBronze3rd placeGreen4th & 5th placeLight Blue6th–10th placeDark BlueFinished(Outside Top 10)PurpleDid not finish(Ret)RedDid not qualify(DNQ)BrownWithdrawn(Wth)BlackDisqualified(DSQ)WhiteDid not start(DNS)BlankDid notparticipate(DNP)Not competingIn-line notationBoldPole positionItalicsRan fastest race lap*Led most race laps(3 points)DNSAny driver who qualifiesbut does not start (DNS),earns all the pointshad they taken part.Yellow RY silver Rookie of the YearOrange R silver Rookie 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. See also 2005 Indianapolis 500 2005 Infiniti Pro Series season 2005 Champ Car season 2005 Toyota Atlantic Championship season Footnotes N References External links IndyCar.com – official site Indianapolis 500 – official site https://web.archive.org/web/20120204113005/http://www.indy500.com/ February 4, 2012 Indy Racing League Category:IndyCar Series seasons IndyCar Series