Dan Wheldon won six races and the 89th Indianapolis 500, while Danica Patrick's run at Indy and the first road course events gave the IRL a busy and newsworthy year.
Dan Wheldon won the 2005 IRL IndyCar Series title with six wins, including the 89th Indianapolis 500. The season brought the first road and street course races to the series, record-setting victories for Wheldon and a busy year for Danica Patrick, whose Indy 500 run drew attention to the race.
The 2005 IRL IndyCar Series ran 17 races from 6 March to 16 October and was the 10th season of the series since its split from CART in 1995. Dan Wheldon won six races, including the 89th Indianapolis 500, setting a new benchmark for wins in one IRL season and becoming the first driver to win the Indy 500 and the series title in the same year since Jacques Villeneuve in 1995.
The season also brought the series its first road and street course races, a major push for Danica Patrick and the end of Chevrolet's time in the series. Honda was left as the only remaining engine manufacturer, a situation that drew attention throughout the second half of the year. Honda had said it did not want to be the sole supplier, yet it extended its deal anyway.
What changed in the 2005 season?
The most visible change was the return of road and street courses. The engine picture mattered as much, because the IRL had extended its chassis contract with Panoz and Dallara through 2006, while Honda's engine supply deal ran through 2009. The three new venues were the street circuit at St. Petersburg, Infineon Raceway and Watkins Glen, which gave the series its first real change of pace since the split from CART. Wheldon won at St. Petersburg and became the first road or street course winner in the series' history, and Firestone introduced treaded rain tyres for those events.
The rulebook also tightened. Single-point refuelling systems became mandatory, and cars raced on the ovals in the same configuration used in 2004. Teams could change engines without penalty at several three-day events. Trackside methanol limits were set by race length, from 85 gallons for the shortest events up to 225 gallons for 500-mile races. The minimum weight for road and street cars was 1,600 pounds, 75 pounds above the oval minimum, because of the heavier brake system and limited-slip differential.
Dan Wheldon's six wins in one IRL season set a record, and his Indianapolis 500 win confirmed a title-and-500 double not seen since 1995.
Who was the dominant driver?
Dan Wheldon was the story of the year. The early rounds set the pattern. Sam Hornish Jr. won the Phoenix race on 19 March from a pole sitter in Bryan Herta, and that was the last IndyCar race at Phoenix until 2016. At St. Petersburg Andretti Green Racing drivers swept the top four places behind Wheldon, and Motegi followed on 30 April with Hornish on pole and Wheldon winning again. Richmond, on 25 June, saw Helio Castroneves win from a pole taken by Hornish. He won the opener at Homestead, leading 158 of the 200 laps, and then added wins at St. Petersburg and Motegi. His fourth win of the year came at the Indianapolis 500, where he beat a field that included Danica Patrick, who led 19 laps and was the first woman to lead a lap at the race. Patrick finished fourth, and she was the fourth woman to compete in the 500. Tony Kanaan had started from pole, and the finishing order behind Wheldon was Vitor Meira second, Bryan Herta third, Patrick fourth and Buddy Lazier fifth. Television ratings for the race were up 40% on the year before, a sign of how much the Patrick story had helped.
Wheldon's run peaked in September at Chicagoland, where he took his sixth win, breaking the all-time record for victories in an IRL season. He added a fifth win at Pikes Peak, tying the season record that Sam Hornish Jr. had set before him.
| Date | Race | Winner | Notable detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 March | Homestead | Dan Wheldon | Led 158 of 200 laps |
| 19 March | Phoenix | Sam Hornish Jr. | Last IndyCar race there until 2016 |
| 3 April | St. Petersburg | Dan Wheldon | First road course win in the series |
| 30 April | Motegi | Dan Wheldon | Third win of the year |
| 29 May | Indianapolis 500 | Dan Wheldon | Patrick led 19 laps |
| 11 June | Texas | Tomas Scheckter | Led 119 of 200 laps |
| 25 June | Richmond | Helio Castroneves | First win of the season |
| 3 July | Kansas | Tony Kanaan | Margin of a fraction of a second |
| 16 July | Nashville | Dario Franchitti | Led 74 of 200 laps |
| 24 July | Milwaukee | Sam Hornish Jr. | Led 123 of 225 laps from pole |
| 31 July | Michigan | Bryan Herta | Led 159 of 200 laps from pole |
| 14 August | Kentucky | Scott Sharp | First win since 2003 |
| 21 August | Pikes Peak | Dan Wheldon | Fifth win, tying the season record |
| 28 August | Infineon | Tony Kanaan | Inaugural race at the circuit |
| 11 September | Chicagoland | Dan Wheldon | Sixth win, an all-time IRL record |
| 25 September | Watkins Glen | Scott Dixon | First road course win |
| 16 October | California | Dario Franchitti | Won by 0.111 seconds over Kanaan |
How did the mid-season races play out?
Texas was won by Tomas Scheckter, who took pole and led 119 of 200 laps. It was the last victory for a Chevrolet engine in the series until 2011. Richmond went to Helio Castroneves, his first win of the season, and Kansas produced a finish decided by a fraction of a second, with Tony Kanaan getting the win. Patrick took her first career IndyCar pole at Kansas, which was a notable step for her season.
Nashville was Franchitti's race, with 74 of 200 laps led. Sam Hornish Jr. then took the Milwaukee race from pole, leading 123 of 225 laps, and Bryan Herta won at Michigan from pole after leading 159 of 200 laps. Scott Sharp won at Kentucky on 14 August, holding off Vitor Meira over the final laps. It was his first win since 2003.
What happened in the late season?
At Kentucky, rain washed out qualifying, so the starting grid was set by the fastest practice times, and Patrick sat on pole for the second time that season. The Pikes Peak round on 21 August was the last IRL race held at that circuit. Wheldon won it, his fifth victory, which matched the season record. The track had been sold to International Speedway Corporation with the aim of closing it, and a later sale was for testing purposes only. At Infineon, the first race at the new circuit was won by Tony Kanaan, while Wheldon finished 18th after fuel problems. Ryan Briscoe, who had taken pole, was involved in a three-car accident on lap 20 that also eliminated Helio Castroneves and Danica Patrick.
Chicagoland on 11 September was the high point of Wheldon's year. Briscoe originally won pole, but was disqualified for a technical infraction. The race was stopped for 16 minutes after a crash involving Briscoe, who was taken to hospital with head and back pain and was later diagnosed with a concussion, two broken collarbones and a bruised lung. Wheldon won the race for his sixth win, a record for the series.
The season closed at Watkins Glen on 25 September with Scott Dixon's first road course win, the first major open-wheel race there since 1981. It was Dixon's first road course victory, and it came at a track that had only recently joined the schedule. The finale at California on 16 October was won by Dario Franchitti, who beat Kanaan by 0.111 seconds. Chevrolet's engine ran its final race in the series that day, and Honda's victory was its last until the 2012 Indianapolis 500.
What were the final standings?
Wheldon finished the year as champion with six wins, and his title was the first in the IRL era to come in the same year as an Indianapolis 500 win. Points ties were broken by wins, then second places, third places and poles.
Why does the 2005 season matter?
The 2005 season was a turning point. It introduced road and street course racing, it set the record for victories in a single IRL season, and it brought a new level of attention to Danica Patrick and to the Indianapolis 500. The departure of Toyota and Chevrolet left Honda as the sole manufacturer, which shaped the engine picture for the following years.
