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Now that the dust has settled, here are the final standings for the year.....

1}Dan Wheldon(Andretti-Green Racing) 628 pts.
2}Tony Kanaan(Andretti-Green Racing) 548 pts.
3)Sam Hornish, Jr.(Marlboro/Team Penske) 512 pts.
4)Dario Franchitti(Andretti-Green Racing) 498 pts.
5)Scott Sharp(Aguri Fernandez Racing) 444 pts.
6)Helio Castroneves(Marlboro/Team Penske) 440 pts.
7}Vitor Meira(Rahal-Letterman Racing) 422 pts.
8}Bryan Herta(Andretti-Green Racing) 397 pts.
9}Tomas Scheckter(Panther Racing) 390 pts.
10}Patrick Carpentier(Team Cheever) 376 pts.
11}Alex Barron(Team Cheever) 329 pts.
12}(R)Danica Patrick(Rahal-Letterman Racing) 325 pts.
13}Scott Dixon(Target/Ganassi Racing) 321 pts.
14}Kosuke Matsurra(Aguri Fernandez Racing) 320 pts.
15}Buddy Rice(Rahal-Letterman Racing) 295 pts.
16}(R)Tomas Enge(Panther Racing) 261 pts.
17}Roger Yasukawa(Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) 246 pts.
18}Ed Carpenter(Vision Racing) 244 pts.
19}(R)Ryan Briscoe(Target/Ganassi Racing) 232 pts.
20}A.J. Foyt, IV(A.J. Foyt Racing) 231 pts.
21}Darren Manning 186 pts.(#1)
22}Jimmy Kite(Ethanol Hemelgarn Racing) 163 pts.
23}Buddy Lazier 140 pts.(#2)
24}Jaques Lazier(Target/Ganassi Racing) 81 pts.
25}Jeff Bucknum 63 pts.(#3)
26}Giorgio Pantano 48 pts.(#4)
27}(R)Paul Dana 44 pts.(#5)
28}Sebastien Bourdais(Newman-Haas Racing) 18 pts.(I)
29}Adrian Fernandez(Aguri Fernandez Racing) 16 pts.(I)
30}(tie)Felipe Giaffone(A.J. Foyt Racing) 15 pts.(I)
Townsend Bell 15 pts.
32}Thiago Medieros(Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) 12 pts.
33}(tie)Richie Hearn(Sam Schmidt Mtrspts.) 10 pts.(I)
Kenny Brack(Rahal-Letterman Racing) 10 pts.(I/#6)
Jeff Ward(Vision Racing) 10 pts.(I)
Bruno Junquiera(Newman-Haas Racing) 10 pts.(I)
Marty Roth(Roth Racing) 10 pts.(I)
Larry Foyt(A.J. Foyt Racing) 10 pts.(I)

NOTES:(R)-Rookie
NOTE 1:released from Target/Ganassi Racing prior to Michigan
NOTE 2:drove 6 races(Indy, Nashville, Milwaukee, Michigan, Kentucky, and Chicagoland) for Panther Racing
NOTE 3:drove at Infineon and Watkins Glen for Foyt Racing
NOTE 4:drove at Infineon and Watkins Glen for Target/Ganassi Racing
NOTE 5:drove 3 races for Ethanol Hemelgarn Racing before being injured at Indy during a practice session; Jimmy Kite subbed for Dana the remainer of 2005
NOTE 6:substituted for Buddy Rice at Indy
NOTE:(I)-indicates one-off race at Indianapolis

With the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series season over, this thread will serve as the locale for off-season IRL & series-related news. This way, it will free up more room for the "Commentaries" thread and the "Silly Season-IRL" thread.

With that, here are the first two news items of the 2005-2006 off-season....

1}Mecachrome to enter IRL engine market? Last seen around the Formula 1 paddock with Renault, with their Supertec engines, representatives of the French-based company attended most of the IRL IndyCar Series races and have been in talks, according to autoracing1.com, to reenter the engine building business with a possible 3.0L normally-aspirated engine(with badging from another company...?) The news report mentioned that they were also in talks with officials from both the Barber Dodge Pro Series and the Star Mazda Series, probably in an effort to find a "badge" to present to IRL officials sometime in 2006. Whether anything positive happens.....stay tuned.

2}One last award for the lady. It didn't surprise anybody in the IRL paddock that series rookie award winner and fan-favorite driver Danica Patrick was honored with the IRL Most Popular Driver Award; unfortunately, she was unable to accept the award in person.(The reason for that is simple....she's busy preparing for her upcoming wedding, in mid-November, to fiance Paul Hospenthal.) In a statement she gave to the media prior to the award, she said that, "It has been quite a year. It means so much that (the fans) support me. I've been so blessed and I 'm so grateful to have such great fans." Accepting the award on Patrick's behalf was the Infiniti Pro Series' Most Popular Driver for 2005, Arie Luyendyk, Jr. Here, BTW, is a list of the previous MPD awards in both the IndyCar and Infiniti Series'....

1997:Arie Luyendyk, Sr.
1998:Arie Luyendyk, Sr.
1999:Scott Goodyear
2000:Al Unser, Jr.
2001:Sarah Fisher
2002:Sarah Fisher, A.J. Foyt, IV
2003:Sarah Fisher, Ed Carpenter
2004:Sam Hornish, Jr., Arie Luyendyk, Jr.
2005:Danica Patrick, Arie Luyendyk, Jr.

Well, with the season offically over, it is time to present(at least in my humble opinion!) the 2005 IRL awards for the year.

Driver of the Year: Dan Wheldon, Andretti-Green Racing. Who else? Let's see, 6 wins this year(including Indy), led almost 800 laps, led in 15 of 17 races, led 16 of the 17 rounds(including 15 in a row, tying Tony Stewart and Sam Hornish, Jr. for cons. wks. as pts. leader), etc. But it wasn't just him; the whole team contributed, from race engineer Eddie Jones to team owners Michael Andretti, Kim Green and Kevin Savoree. It was a well-earned and well-deserved award.

Rookie of the Year:Danica Patrick, Rahal-Letterman Racing. Granted, it wasn't the best of rookie seasons, but what did she accomplish? She led at Indy(first woman to do so), won over $1 million in prize money(another first) and she proved that, when pushed, that she can indeed push back.(Just ask Jaques Lazier about that!) Two questions surround her as the 2006 season hangs in the distance ahead....1]Can she win her first race? and 2]Will she break the seeming "sophomore jinx" that has bedeviled past ROYs'(the exception being Wheldon, 2003 ROY)? My guess....well, we'll just have to wait for 2006, now, shall we?

Team of the Year:Andretti-Green Racing. All four drivers in the top-10 in points, combined with a second-straight 1-2 finish in the points and 11 wins combined, and you have Ferrari-like dominance. The irony is that it's truly a team effort, and if they can sign all 4 of their guys for 2006, then it is possible we might see a three-peat from AGR.

Race of the Year:Indianapolis. Just read the thread for the 89th Indianapolis 500 for the reasons why. Trust me...it's well worth the read.

Surprise Race of the Year:(tie)St. Petersburg, Infineon and Watkins Glen. To all the critics who said that the IRL couldn't run road course races that would be good, they were wrong. All three were good, clean, hard-fought races worthy of viewing this year.

Scariest Moment of the Year. Without question, it was Ryan Briscoe's crash at Chicagoland. I guarantee you he saw his life flash before him during the crash, and it's a testament to the safety equipment that he walked away, albeit injured. Hopefully, we'll see him racing in 2006.

Disappointment of the Year, Driver:(tie)Buddy Rice, Rahal-Letterman Racing and Tomas Scheckter, Panther Racing. Normally, these two should ahve a couple of wins each, but crashes, mechanical woes and plain old bad luck conspired to stymie both of them this year.(At least Tomas won one race this year.)

Disappointment of the Year, Team: Rahal-Letterman Racing. In 2004, the team was AGR's biggest and toughest opponent; in 2005, except for a few flashes of brillance(thanks to Meira and Patrick) the team was seemingly snakebit with mechanical woes, crashes and more bad luck. Hopefully, next year will be better.

In the final analysis, it was an exciting, action-packed season that saw a continued dominance from AGR, but they weren't perfect. We saw the return of some old lions(Sharp and Dixon) to the fray, and we saw the first steps of a potential legend in the making(Patrick). In the 10 yrs. of the IRL IndyCar Season, this was the best season of the year. Hopefully, in my opinion, 2006 will continue in the same manner. One can only dream....

Eleven teams competed in the 2005 IRL IndyCar Series season and here, for your viewing, are the team rankings for the year.

Andretti-Green Racing. Near-perfection describes the team in 2005. They finished 1-2 in the points(Wheldon, Kanaan), all four drivers in the top 10, they won 11 of 17 races combined, led over 1800 of a possible 3150+ laps, and dominated the competition. They also became the first IRL team to finish 1-2-3-4 in a race(at St. Pete) and Wheldon turned the double of winning the Indy 500 and series title, the first to do so since 1995, when current Formula 1 driver(and 1997 WDC) Jacques Villeneuve did so.

Marlboro-Team Penske. The only team that seriously challenged AGR during the year, the team garnered 4 wins(3 from Hornish and 1 from Castroneves) and did it all with a Toyota-engine. Although it wasn't the best of years for the Captain and his team, expect them to rebound for 2006.

Rahal-Letterman Racing. They barely edged out Panther Racing and Aguri Fernandez Racing, and were the best "second-tier" team in the IndyCar Series this year. There were a few accomplishments to speak of....Vitor Meira had a couple of podium finishes(2nd at Indy, 3rd at Kansas, 2nd at Kentucky), Danica Patrick had two 4ths(Motegi, Indy), along with 3 poles and ROY honors, and even Buddy Rice made the podium as well(2nd-Infineon). What felled the team this year? Mechanical woes, the occasional crash or two, and just plain bad luck. They'll be back for 2006.

4th:Panther Racing. The last full-time Chevrolet-powered team gave as good as they got in 2005, and Tomas Scheckter finally had a decent season, garnering 2 poles(Texas, Pikes Peak), and a win(at Texas). While teammate Tomas Enge struggled occasionally, Scheckter it seems has finally figured out how to consistently finish races, which promises better results for 2006.

5th:Aguri-Fernandez Racing. Scott Sharp, at the end of 2004, had been contemplating retirement; at the close of the 2005 campaign, he's contemplating how to challenge for a series title next year. He was one of two old lions(Dixon being the other) to win in '05, and was the lone none-AGR Honda-powered driver to visit Victory Lane during the year(at Kentucky).

Now.....the rest of the teams.

6th:Target-Ganassi Racing. For a team that won 4 cons. CART titles and an IRL title in 2003, it was a bad year, indeed. One driver was fired(Manning), another got punched in the face(J. Lazier) and a third was injured in a crash(Briscoe). 28 Panoz cars saw the junkyard, but Scott Dixon's win at Watkins Glen did bring a spark of joy to the Chipster's face. Hopefully, we'll see them back in the top-tiers of the IRL in 2006.

As for 7th-11th(Vision Racing, Ethanol Hemelgarn Racing, A.J. Foyt Racing, Dreyer & Reinbold, and Team Cheever)....there's wasn't anything that distinguished one from the other, thus, they are all ranked in the same grouping.

Here are the links in case anyone's interested....
www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/formulaone/20461/
www.grandprix.com/ns/ns15869.html

According to multiple, credible sources, 2005 IRL IndyCar Series champion Dan Wheldon may be headed for F1 next year. His current contract ends Tuesday, Nov. 1st with Andretti-Green Racing, and unless things change drastically, Wheldon is expected to sign a contract with Williams for 2006. The proposed contract would have Wheldon serve in a testing role for the London-based F1 team, which hasn't had a British driver onboard since Damon Hill in the mid-to-late 1990's. In a conversation with Speed Channel's Robin Miller, Wheldon all but admitted he was F1-bound, saying that,

I have not signed a deal with anybody. My agent (Julian Jakobi) and I have had conversations with F1 teams, that's no secret.

When asked if it was Williams in specific, he replied,

That's not true. But you're on the right track.

All I can say is that this is definitely a story worth following over the next couple of days. Stay tuned.....

As has been expected in the IndyCar paddock, Marlboro-Team Penske will switch from Toyota to Honda for the 2006 campaign. With TRD departing after 2006, Penske's move may spark a full-scale exodus from Toyota(currently, only Team Cheever and Target/Ganassi Racing run TRD-built engines). Indeed, the Captain's crew, piloted by Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish, Jr., have won 5 of TRD's 6 wins since the end of 2003(the lone exception being Scott Dixon's win for TGR at the Glen this year). Here are some quotes from the prinicples involved....

Roger Penske, Owner, Marlboro-Team Penske:

Honda's long-term commitment to the IndyCar series was an absolute factor in our decision. As it became clear that Toyota was reallocating its resources, we had to look beyond 2006 to make our best decision for our future.

Robert Clarke, Director, Honda Performance Division:

With the departure of General Motors in the IndyCar Series, we had expected to expand our lineup for next year and adding Team Penske is certainly an impressive way to begin. We had a very successful relationship with them in CART, and look forward to renewing our parternship in the IndyCar Series.

NOTE: The reference Clarke mentions is that, when Penske was still in CART, his team used Honda engines from 1999 to 2001, winning two consecutive CART titles with driver Gil de Ferran. When Penske switched series, the team used Chevy power in 2002, then went to TRD for the past 3 yrs.

Thanks, mlittle, for the detailed rundown of the IRL Season!

I'm wondering, because you list your interest in Cosworth on your sign off, what's your reading of the Engine & Chassis performance this year in IRL?

Did engine packages, that is, affect driver's standings this year?

Was Danica Patrick's performance heartening --or did she not do well enough?

I'm only asking because the word I'm hearing is that she had the best possible package and should have done more with it?

And I'm not sure that's fair.

What would you say?

Thanks,

Jim Watt
[I live in Indianapolis!]

So many parts, so little time......here goes.

1}As far as the engines go, Jim, Honda and Chevy were the clear winners there. Granted, the "bow-tie" squad only won 1 race(Scheckter at Texas) but it wasn't for lack of effort, especially on Cosworth's part, since it was their engine with the Chevy badge on it. As far as the chassis'...Dallara's still the best but Panoz is getting better.

2}They did, indeed. While Scheckter was the only Chevy driver in the top-10, there were three TRD-supplied drivers there as well, albeit two of the three carried Penske's colors this year. Honda was just the class of the field this year.

3}As far as Patrick....to paraphrase Ty Cobb's reference to Babe Ruth, "She did great for a rookie." She had some good performances this year(3 poles, 2 4ths' at Motegi and Indy, fast lap of the race at Kentucky) and some not so good performances(3 crashes, struggled at some races, and the general woes that accompany a rookie driver). If there was one thing her team needs to figure out before 2006, it's this: figure out how, once Danica qualifies at the front for a race, to keep her at the front. Now, some drivers prefer to fall back at the start and make their way to the front over the course of a race, but she's too good of a driver to depend on that strategy forever. You're right in one respect; other than AGR, Rahal-Letterman had probably the best chassis-engine package in the IRL and yet the whole team was just snakebit at times. Hopefully 2006 will be tetter, not just for her but for the team as a whole.

I hope this answers your questions, Jim. Thanks for asking!

Remember "the punch heard around the world?" Well, according to Autoweek, IRL President Brian Barnhart still does. (If you're not sure as to what I'm referring to, read the IRL forum thread on the race at Fontana for more info.) However, based on the story and other supporting evidence, it appears as though neither Danica Patrick nor Jaques Lazier will be blamed for whatever happened. All I can say is... Barnhart, let it go. The season's over already.

mlittle wrote:Here are the links in case anyone's interested....
www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/formulaone/20461/
www.grandprix.com/ns/ns15869.html

According to multiple, credible sources, 2005 IRL IndyCar Series champion Dan Wheldon may be headed for F1 next year. His current contract ends Tuesday, Nov. 1st with Andretti-Green Racing, and unless things change drastically, Wheldon is expected to sign a contract with Williams for 2006. The proposed contract would have Wheldon serve in a testing role for the London-based F1 team, which hasn't had a British driver onboard since Damon Hill in the mid-to-late 1990's. In a conversation with Speed Channel's Robin Miller, Wheldon all but admitted he was F1-bound, saying that,

I have not signed a deal with anybody. My agent (Julian Jakobi) and I have had conversations with F1 teams, that's no secret.

When asked if it was Williams in specific, he replied,

That's not true. But you're on the right track.

All I can say is that this is definitely a story worth following over the next couple of days. Stay tuned.....

Its' been about two weeks, and the "Wheldon Watch" continues, with no news to speak of,.....except, now the rumor mill has it that the F1 team interested in Wheldon is BMW(formerly Sauber). If anything's changes, I'll report on it......my guess, though, it's either Williams or AGR in 2006 for the Brit.

The rumour mill here has him heading for Target team Ganassi. That started with a news report broadcast by an Indy TV station. It is coupled to team target changing to honda engines, and Andretti Green cutting back to 3 cars.Supposedly Ganassi is offering far more than F1 teams, or AGR. Further to that Ganassi would cut back to 2 cars with NZedder Scott Dixon teamed with Wheldon. That would leave briscoe out in the cold, but the rumour mill has it that he will replace Vasser at PKV Racing
Aspirin time again

Julian Mayo wrote:The rumour mill here has him heading for Target team Ganassi. That started with a news report broadcast by an Indy TV station. It is coupled to team target changing to honda engines, and Andretti Green cutting back to 3 cars.Supposedly Ganassi is offering far more than F1 teams, or AGR. Further to that Ganassi would cut back to 2 cars with NZedder Scott Dixon teamed with Wheldon. That would leave briscoe out in the cold, but the rumour mill has it that he will replace Vasser at PKV Racing
Aspirin time again

Couple of parts......

1=If Wheldon is returning to the IRL next year, then he's basically been blowin' smoke up AGR's tailpipe about going to F1(which can't make Mikey happy, considering his one yr. in F1!).
2=As for Ganassi, who isn't switching to Honda next year? I've got him listed with 2-3 cars for 2006, with Dixon in one car, and who knows whom in the other(s).
3=Briscoe's part of the "shootout" at PKV Racing for the second seat(currently held by Da Matta), along with Ryan Dalziel, Michael Valiante, Timo Glock, and a couple of others. The first seat(Vasser's), however, is the one everyone's watching, for, if everything goes as planned, by 2007 at the latest, Katherine Legge will most likely be in the #12 car.

Officials at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced today what the schedule for the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500, slated for Sunday, May 28, 2006. According to IMS President Joie Chitwood, the schedule will essentially follow 2005's layout, adding that.....

(The) changes we introduced to the 2005 schedule helped to create one of the most memorable months of May in Indianapolis Motor Speedway history. Fans and competitors were very enthusiatic about the new format, so it makes sense to maintain a similar schedule as we celebrate the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500.

Here is the event schedule as presented to the press today.
(NOTE: Times TBA)

Rookie Orientation Program:May 7 and May 8, 2006
Week 1 Practice Session(s):May 9 through May 12, 2006
Pole Day Qualifying Session:May 13, 2006(for positions 1-11)
Second Day Qualifying Session:May 14, 2006(for positions 12-22)
Week 2 Practice Session(s):May 17 through May 19, 2006
Third Qualifying Session:May 20, 2006(for positions 23-33)
Bump Day Qualifying Session:May 21, 2006
Final Practice Session(Carb Day):May 26, 2006
90th Indianapolis 500:May 28, 2006

The IRL's Infiniti Pro Series will also race during the May at the Brickyard, with practice and qualifying for the American Freedom 100 on May 25, and the American Freedom 100 the next day on May 26. As in 2005, only the positions listed in each of the first three qualifying sessions are "locked" in after each session; in addition, if no qualifying attempts are being made during the sessions, teams may send drivers out for additional practice time.

According to two sources(a1gp.com and paddocktalk.com), sources within A1 Team USA have said the team, run by former IRL Kelley Racing co-owner Rick Weidinger and managed by current IRL racer Scott Sharp, may be close to deciding whether to run in the 90th Indianapolis 500. If the team decides to do so, it would be a benefit to both the IRL and the A1 Grand Prix series. A1 would benefit from the experience of being at the world's largest spectator event, giving it some needed exposure(especially since there's still a lot of spectator animosity towards F1 over the USGP fiasco back in mid-June). The IRL would benefit by giving the Indy 500 at least one OR two new cars for the race, and it could potentially give some up-and-coming drivers in the States' a chance at a 500 grid spot. If it does happen, expect their car(s) to be decked out in the same livery that it has for the A1GP, the "stars and stripes".

To the shock and bewilderment of those who follow AOWR, Panther Racing, one of the most-successful privateer teams in the Indy Racing League, shuttered its' shop doors today as team co-owner Mike Griffin admitted the obvious....the team's broke and looking for any sponsorship help.

We've never, ever, laid anyone off before, but when you don't have any income what else can you do? We wanted to be upfront and honest about our situation. It's not like we shut things down, it's just that we don't have an operating budget right now.

He also added that,

With our situation with Pennzoil, there's simply not enough money to sustain 50 people and right now there's nothing for them to do anyway. We understand the consequences of letting guys go because they've got to look out for their families so we know they're out looking for jobs. But, hopefully, we'll be calling people up to come back in a few weeks if the sponsorship deals come through.

The team, which has featured drivers such as Roberto Guerrero, Scott Goodyear, Sam Hornish, Jr., Buddy Lazier, and current drivers Tomas Scheckter and Tomas Enge, had a "double whammy" of sorts hit them this year. Not only were they set to lose Pennzoil and Rockstar Energy Drink as sponsors, but with Chevrolet leaving as engine supplier, they were looking at paying nearly $1.8 million in leasing fees to HPD or TRD next year. Not easy when Scheckter's contract was set to pay him over $2 million in 2006. Fellow team co-owner Doug Boles alluded to that when he told reporters that "we've informed Tomas (Scheckter) that if he can find a better deal elsewhere to take it." In essence, scratch him and/or Enge from your silly season sheets as of today.

Unfortunately, Panther's not the only IRL team to cutback recently. Eddie Cheever let go a dozen mechanics from Team Cheever around Halloween, and Target/Ganassi cut nine jobs from their payroll when they dropped from three cars to two.