IndyCar Series 2008
The 2008 IndyCar Series season is the 13th season of the US IndyCar Series . Originally it was to be held in 16 races. Due to the short-term "merger" of the IndyCar Series and the Champ Car World Series in February 2008 ( ChampCar insolvency ), there were some changes. The season was supplemented by three former ChampCar events. The following races have been added to the calendar: Long Beach , Edmonton and Surfers Paradise . In Long Beach, however, only the old Champcar teams drove , while the day before the old IndyCar teams were out on the Twin Ring Motegi . The main reason for this was that the IRL couldn't get out of the contract originally signed by ChampCar and had to host a race. Points were awarded in full for both events. The race in Surfers Paradise took place at the end of the season; However, no points were awarded because Joliet had a written promise from Tony George that he could choose the master.
Teams and drivers
This season all riders again took a Dallara - Honda and unity tires Firestone . The exception was the race in Long Beach , in which only the old Champcar teams started with the Panoz-DP01 - Cosworth .
As of October 16, 2008
team | No. | driver | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
Vision racing | 2 | AJ Foyt IV | |
20th | Ed Carpenter | ||
22nd | Davey Hamilton | Indy 500 only | |
22nd | Paul Tracy | Edmonton only | |
Penske Racing | 3 | Helio Castroneves | |
6th | Ryan Briscoe | ||
Panther Racing | 4th | Vítor Meira | not Surfers Paradise |
4th | Dan Wheldon | only Surfers Paradise | |
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 23 | Milka Duno | 11 races (alternating with T. Bell, Indy both) |
23 | Townsend Bell | 7 races (alternating with M. Duno, Indy both, there as # 99) | |
15th | Buddy Rice | ||
Andretti Green Racing | 7th | Danica Patrick | |
11 | Tony Kanaan | ||
26th | Marco Andretti | ||
27 | Hideki Mutoh (R) | ||
Rahal Letterman Racing | 17th | Ryan Hunter-Reay | |
16 | Alex Lloyd | only Indy 500, car used together with Ganassi | |
Chip Ganassi Racing | 9 | Scott Dixon | |
10 | Dan Wheldon | not Surfers Paradise | |
10 | Dario Franchitti | only Surfers Paradise | |
AJ Foyt Enterprises | 14th | Darren Manning | not Surfers Paradise |
14th | Vítor Meira | only Surfers Paradise | |
41 | Jeff Simmons | Indy 500 only | |
41 | Franck Perera (R) | only chicagoland | |
Roth Racing | 25th | Marty Roth | in Nashville as # 24 |
24 | Jay howard (r) | all races to Kansas, Watkins Glen | |
24 | John Andretti | from Indy 500 up to and including Richmond | |
Newman / Haas / Lanigan Racing * | 06 | Graham Rahal (R) | from St. Pete |
02 | Justin Wilson (R) | ||
Conquest Racing * | 34 | Franck Perera (R) | Homestead, St. Pete and Long Beach |
34 | Jaime Camara (R) | from Kansas | |
36 | Enrique Bernoldi (R) | to Sonoma | |
36 | Alex Tagliani | from Detroit | |
KV Racing Technology * | 8th | Will Power (R) | |
5 | Oriol Servià | ||
12 | Jimmy Vasser | Long Beach only | |
Luzco Dragon Racing | 12 | Tomas Scheckter | Kansas, Indy 500, Texas, Sonoma, Detroit, and Chicagoland |
Sarah Fisher Racing | 67 | Sarah Fisher | Indy 500, Kentucky and Chicagoland |
Dale Coyne Racing * | 18th | Bruno Junqueira | |
19th | Mario Moraes (R) | ||
HVM Racing * | 33 | Ernesto Viso (R) | because of a mumps disease not present in Nashville |
Beck Motorsports | 77 | Roger Yasukawa | Motegi, Indy 500 (there as # 98 and failed in qualification) |
Sam Schmidt Motorsports | 44 | Max Papis | only Indy 500 (failed in qualification) |
Pacific Coast Motorsports * | 96 | Mario Domínguez | Irregular missions due to sponsorship problems |
29 | Alex Figge | Long Beach only | |
Hemelgarn Racing | 91 | Buddy Lazier | Indy 500 only |
American Dream Motorsport | 88 | Phil Giebler | Start at Indy 500 planned, but withdrawn after an accident in training |
*) Former ChampCar team that now drives in the IndyCar Series.
Some of the former ChampCar teams competed again in Long Beach. There were some duplications in the start numbers.
team | No. | driver |
---|---|---|
Rocket sports | 9 | Antonio Pizzonia |
10 | Juho Annala | |
Minardi Team USA | 4th | Nelson Philippe |
14th | Roberto Moreno | |
Forsythe / Pettit Racing | 37 | David Martínez |
3 | Paul Tracy | |
7th | Franck Montagny | |
Walker Racing | 15th | Alex Tagliani |
Race results
Homestead-Miami Speedway
As expected, there were "two worlds" at the opening race in Miami. While the "old" IndyCar teams were relatively close together, the former ChampCar teams largely formed the end of the field. However, three of the experienced IndyCar drivers had to start from behind: Vision drivers Ed Carpenter and AJ Foyt IV because of irregularities on the rear wing and Dan Wheldon, because he had to start in the replacement car after an accident. Graham Rahal did not even start because of an accident during the test in Sebring, after a new car could not be rebuilt. The comparatively uneventful race was won by Scott Dixon; only four drivers were in the lead in the end.
Saint Petersburg
The second race in Florida started under yellow after heavy rain and there were a lot of incidents in the further course, so that the race was ended after the 2-hour rule. The ChampCar teams were absolutely competitive here, so that Graham Rahal even won one of them - his first IndyCar race ever.
Twin Ring Motegi
The Japan race was also accompanied by a lot of rain, which meant that there was no qualifying practice and the race itself had to be postponed. The starting grid was therefore based on the championship status, with only the established IndyCar teams at the start. Guest starter was Roger Yasukawa for Beck Motorsports , who was, however, consistently the slowest. The former ChampCar teams, however, held their farewell race one day later. Full points were awarded for both races. Danica Patrick won the race with a clever pit strategy. In order to save another pit stop, she had consciously accepted significantly worse lap times. While she was "only" half a lap behind the leaders, everyone else had to stop again, which cost at least a full lap.
Long Beach
The farewell race of the ChampCars took place one day after the Japan race only with the former ChampCar teams. Since there were also a few teams at the start that did not compete in the IndyCar season, a field of 20 vehicles was created; more than most of the time at the end of the ChampCar series. Will Power won the race, which was carried out entirely according to the old rules.
Kansas Speedway
The race in Kansas was largely uneventful. Here, too, the established teams dominated again, with the gap slowly narrowing. The winner was Dan Wheldon. In preparation for the Indy 500, Tomas Scheckter and Luzco Dragon Racing competed for the first time.
Indy 500
see Indianapolis 500 2008
Milwaukee Mile
In Milwaukee, a week after the Indy 500, as in Kansas, 27 cars were at the start, which required some adjustments in the pit lane; the route is actually only designed for 26 IndyCars. This time the guest starter was Mario Domínguez for Pacific Coast Motorsports . The race itself ended under yellow due to a collision between Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter and Vitor Meira shortly before the end and was won by Ryan Briscoe, who was the fourth driver in the seventh race to celebrate his first ever IndyCar win. Overall, this was the 300th victory for Penske Racing across all racing series combined.
Texas Motor Speedway
In Texas, the field grew again to 28 cars; Scheckter and Dominguez as guest starters. The television broadcast on ESPN2 was the most successful that the station had with the IndyCar Series to date. This race also ended under yellow after an accident with Marco Andretti; this time he had clashed with Ryan Hunter-Reay. The winner was Scott Dixon.
Iowa Speedway
In Iowa it had rained very heavily for the entire week before the race, so qualifying training had to be canceled. The rather small grandstand was still sold out. During the race, a thunderstorm moved in the direction of the racetrack, so that a constant crash had to be expected, but this did not happen. For a long time Tony Kanaan looked like the sure winner until he landed in the wall. The race was won by Dan Wheldon
Richmond International Raceway
The race in Richmond had a comparatively large number of incidents, but only of minor importance for the outcome of the race. One of the most noteworthy moments was a few laps in the lead by Jamie Camara, who was even able to defend himself against the eventual winner Tony Kanaan at times in the Conquest car, which is otherwise more common for the last rows of the grid. Oriol Servia is the first and so far only driver of one of the former ChampCar teams to achieve a top 5 result on an oval.
Watkins Glen
The race on the traditional track saw mostly unhappy top drivers. Castroneves had technical problems, Wheldon collided with Darren Manning and fell out (Manning, however, was second), Dixon picked up second Briscoe while in the lead in a spin, Vitor Meira ended after he was pinched by EJ Viso, in the tire wall and AJ Foyt IV had similar bad luck with Milka Duno. There were also various departures from ex-Formula 1 driver Enrique Bernoldi. In the end, Ryan Hunter-Reay (the season's fifth premier winner) won ahead of Darren Manning and Tony Kanaan.
Nashville
The bumpy concrete oval in Nashville had its last IndyCar race in mid-July. After just a few laps, Marco Andretti got to know the bumps and picked up Ryan Briscoe. Aside from an accident involving Ryan Hunter-Reay, however, the weather was more of an interruption. Initially, the race between laps 139 and 152 was neutralized due to rain and then stopped after 171 laps. Scott Dixon was the lucky winner; he was the only one who had not made the pit stop during the last interruption due to a communication error. If the race had been restarted, Dixon would have had no chance. With only 24 starters, the race had the smallest field of the season: The second Roth Racing car has not been at the start since this race and HVM had to take a break due to Ernesto Viso's mumps.
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
In Mid-Ohio, most of the field went on wet tires for the first few laps after it had rained heavily hours earlier. But after just a few corners it was clear that the rain tires were only partially suitable for the quickly drying track and up to lap six all drivers switched to slick tires. When restarting after a yellow light phase, triggered by a spin by Milka Duno on lap 39, Mario Dominguez touched Justin Wilson's rear wheel, which triggered a chain reaction in which Dan Wheldon, Marco Andretti and AJ Foyt IV were involved. At the front, Ryan Briscoe was able to extend his leading position and finally won seven seconds ahead of his teammate Hélio Castroneves.
Edmonton
In Canada, Scott Dixon won ahead of Hélio Castroneves, but the real star of the race was a guest starter. Paul Tracy was at the start with a third Vision car and Subway as sponsor and took an impressive fourth place; the other two cars in the team, however, ended up in 12th and 13th place.
Kentucky Speedway
During the oval race in Kentucky, Vitor Meira, who was able to work his way up to the top, caught the eye for a long time. The lead alternated several times between various top drivers, but in the end the result from Edmonton was repeated: Dixon ahead of Castroneves. Behind them Marco Andretti, Meira and Oriol Servia. Guest starter was Sarah Fisher in her own team, with whom she has already competed in the Indy.
Infineon Raceway
The race in Sonoma would have been the first chance for Scott Dixon to win the championship. Penske Racing, whose driver Hélio Castroneves is the only serious competitor, had also lost an entire truck with equipment and two vehicles in a fire. However, the two Penske cars dominated both qualifying training and the race impressively: 1st and 2nd place on the grid and a double victory. Dixon, on the other hand, failed with rank 12.
Detroit
Dixon, who started from pole position, did not look happy after an early pit stop in Detroit either, but ended up fifth. Hélio Castroneves dominated the race, but had to let Justin Wilson pass shortly before the end due to a controversial decision by the race management, as he had blocked it. Wilson was the sixth premiere winner of the season. It was the last Newman / Haas / Lanigan Racing win that Paul Newman could experience himself.
Chicagoland Speedway
At the season finale again 28 cars were at the start, including Scheckter, Fisher and Frank Perera (for Foyt). Castroneves was stripped of qualifying time after he was the only one to cross the white line on the inside and thus shortened it. This meant he had to start from the very back, but was able to work his way up to the front very quickly in the race. The race developed extremely closely, so Castroneves, Brisoe and Wheldon drove three laps side by side for three laps with time intervals in the range of 1/1000 of a second. Castroneves and Wheldon continued this together for some time; sometimes with four or five leadership changes in one round. In the places behind it was hardly any different, practically the entire field drove in rows of two and three. At the end there was a fitting photo finish: Castroneves won with a margin of 0.0033 seconds over Dixon in the second closest finish of all time.
Surfers Paradise
The race in Australia had to do without championship points; the starting field was still full, with the exception of Marty Roth, who has since closed his team. In addition, Vitor Meira, Dan Wheldon and NASCAR returnees Dario Franchitti already drove for their new teams, for which they will also be at the start in 2009. All training sessions were dominated by Will Power - at times he was over a second faster than the rest of the field. The race began in a similar way, in which Power had a lead of four seconds on Ryan Briscoe. However, he later made a driving mistake that damaged the suspension and failed. As a result, Briscoe won the race ahead of Scott Dixon. In addition to the three "locals", two drivers in particular made a positive impression: Dario Franchitti with fourth place in qualifying training and a few laps in the lead and Alex Tagliani, who achieved the best result of the team in the entire season with fourth place and also a few laps in the lead - apart from two successes at the beginning of the season was otherwise 14th place the highest.
Tabular
* Carried out by former Champ-Car teams with Champ-Cars, but the full points will be awarded to the teams that take part in the IndyCar Series.
** No points were awarded in this race because Joliet had the promise to hold the end of the season.
Driver ranking
space | driver | team | HOM |
STP |
MOT |
LBE |
KAN |
IND |
Mil |
TEX |
IOW |
RIC |
WAT |
NAS |
MID |
EDM |
KEN |
SON |
DET |
CHI |
Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 50 | 12 | 38 | - | 38 | 53 | 43 | 50 | 32 | 35 | 19th | 50 | 35 | 50 | 53 | 18th | 30th | 40 | 646 |
2 | Helio Castroneves | Penske Racing | 32 | 40 | 40 | - | 32 | 32 | 30th | 43 | 19th | 40 | 14th | 35 | 40 | 43 | 40 | 53 | 43 | 53 | 629 |
3 | Tony Kanaan | Andretti Green Racing | 24 | 35 | 30th | - | 40 | 10 | 35 | 30th | 12 | 53 | 35 | 35 | 26th | 22nd | 24 | 35 | 35 | 32 | 513 |
4th | Dan Wheldon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 35 | 18th | 32 | - | 50 | 18th | 32 | 32 | 50 | 32 | 12 | 40 | 13 | 26th | 30th | 32 | 12 | 28 | 492 |
5 | Ryan Briscoe | Penske Racing | 12 | 12 | 22nd | - | 26th | 12 | 50 | 35 | 26th | 15th | 21st | 12 | 53 | 28 | 26th | 40 | 22nd | 35 | 447 |
6th | Danica Patrick | Andretti Green Racing | 28 | 20th | 50 | - | 12 | 12 | 22nd | 20th | 28 | 28 | 16 | 30th | 18th | 12 | 19th | 30th | 14th | 20th | 379 |
7th | Marco Andretti | Andretti Green Racing | 43 | 10 | 12 | - | 30th | 35 | 12 | 12 | 35 | 22nd | 30th | 12 | 10 | 13 | 35 | 16 | 12 | 24 | 363 |
8th | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Rahal Letterman Racing | 26th | 13 | 26th | - | 12 | 28 | 15th | 12 | 24 | 14th | 50 | 12 | 20th | 24 | 22nd | 12 | 28 | 22nd | 360 |
9 | Oriol Servià | KV Racing | 18th | 26th | - | 30th | 19th | 19th | 28 | 10 | 14th | 30th | 12 | 14th | 30th | 30th | 18th | 15th | 32 | 13 | 358 |
10 | Hideki Mutoh | Andretti Green Racing | 12 | 28 | 19th | - | 28 | 26th | 18th | 28 | 40 | 17th | 22nd | 16 | 22nd | 10 | 12 | 17th | 19th | 12 | 346 |
11 | Justin Wilson | Newman / Haas / Lanigan Racing | 15th | 22nd | - | 12 | 22nd | 10 | 26th | 10 | 18th | 26th | 10 | 12 | 19th | 35 | 12 | 22nd | 50 | 19th | 340 |
12 | Will power | KV Racing | 10 | 24 | - | 53 | 10 | 17th | 16 | 17th | 22nd | 10 | 15th | 19th | 32 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 24 | 30th | 331 |
13 | Vítor Meira | Panther Racing | 20th | 12 | 14th | - | 12 | 40 | 12 | 26th | 15th | 12 | 12 | 28 | 28 | 12 | 32 | 26th | 13 | 10 | 324 |
14th | Darren Manning | AJ Foyt Enterprises | 17th | 17th | 24 | - | 12 | 22nd | 17th | 10 | 12 | 18th | 40 | 22nd | 24 | 20th | 12 | 12 | 18th | 26th | 323 |
15th | Ed Carpenter | Vision racing | 30th | 12 | 28 | - | 20th | 30th | 12 | 22nd | 12 | 19th | 13 | 24 | 15th | 17th | 28 | 12 | 16 | 10 | 320 |
16 | Buddy Rice | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 19th | 15th | 18th | - | 12 | 24 | 20th | 24 | 12 | 12 | 32 | 26th | 12 | 19th | 20th | 19th | 12 | 10 | 306 |
17th | Graham Rahal | Newman / Haas / Lanigan Racing | - | 53 | - | 17th | 18th | 10 | 10 | 19th | 20th | 12 | 24 | 18th | 14th | 10 | 10 | 24 | 17th | 12 | 288 |
18th | Ernesto Viso | HVM Racing | 13 | 32 | - | 22nd | 16 | 10 | 24 | 16 | 17th | 20th | 20th | - | 12 | 15th | 17th | 28 | 12 | 12 | 286 |
19th | AJ Foyt IV | Vision racing | 22nd | 19th | 15th | - | 24 | 12 | 13 | 18th | 30th | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 18th | 12 | 12 | 20th | 17th | 280 |
20th | Bruno Junqueira | Dale Coyne Racing | 12 | 12 | - | 18th | 15th | 12 | 12 | 15th | 5 | 12 | 28 | 15th | 17th | 16 | 16 | 13 | 26th | 12 | 256 |
21st | Mario Moraes | Dale Coyne Racing | 14th | 14th | - | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 26th | 20th | 12 | 12 | 13 | 20th | 15th | 12 | 244 |
22nd | Enrique Bernoldi | Conquest Racing | 12 | 30th | - | 32 | 10 | 15th | 14th | 12 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 14th | 12 | 12 | - | - | 220 |
23 | Jaime Camara | Conquest Racing | - | - | - | - | 12 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 14th | 12 | 10 | 12 | 174 |
24 | Marty Roth | Roth Racing | 12 | 5 | 13 | - | 10 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 12 | - | 17th | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 14th | 166 |
25th | Milka Duno | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 12 | - | - | - | 14th | 12 | - | 13 | 12 | - | 12 | 13 | 12 | - | 12 | - | 12 | 16 | 140 |
26th | Townsend Bell | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | - | 12 | 20th | - | - | 20th | 19th | - | - | 24 | - | - | - | 10 | - | 12 | - | - | 117 |
27 | Mario Domínguez | Pacific Coast Motorsports | - | - | - | 35 | - | - | 10 | 12 | - | - | 17th | - | 12 | 12 | - | 14th | - | - | 112 |
28 | Jay Howard | Roth Racing | 12 | 16 | 17th | - | 17th | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 72 |
29 | Franck Perera | Conquest Racing | 16 | 12 | - | 28 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 15th | 71 |
30th | John Andretti | Roth Racing | - | - | - | - | - | 14th | 12 | 14th | 19th | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 71 |
31 | Tomas Scheckter | Luzco Dragon Racing | - | - | - | - | 12 | 12 | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 12 | 10 | 66 |
32 | Alex Tagliani | Conquest Racing | - | - | - | 26th | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | 18th | 56 |
33 | Paul Tracy | Vision racing | - | - | - | 19th | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 32 | - | - | - | - | 51 |
34 | Sarah Fisher | Sarah Fisher Racing | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 15th | - | - | 12 | 37 |
35 | Roger Yasukawa | Beck Motorsports | - | - | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 16 |
36 | Davey Hamilton | Vision racing | - | - | - | - | - | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 16 |
37 | Buddy Lazier | Hemelgarn Racing | - | - | - | - | - | 13 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 13 |
38 | Alex Lloyd | Rahal Letterman Racing | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |
39 | Jeff Simmons | AJ Foyt Racing | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |
40 | Franck Montagny | Forsythe / Pettit Racing | - | - | - | 0 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
1 Franck Montagny finished second on Long Beach but received no points because he was not a regular driver in the 2008 Indy Car Series.
Rule changes
In the 2008 season there will be new qualification systems for the oval races as well as on the city and circuit tracks. The traditional Indianapolis rule has been adopted on the oval courses. The calculation is now based on the average of four flying laps in a row, which ultimately decide on the starting grid. On all circuits and city races, two groups will fight for the fastest times for 20 minutes on Saturday afternoon. The best six in each group move into the second segment, all others are sorted based on their best lap time from 13th place. The remaining twelve vehicles take part in a 15-minute second session. After the time has run out, the top six have qualified for the last ten-minute qualifying section, in which the pole position is determined.