A 2-hour, 30-minute rain delay, Vitor Meira's race-leading laps and a late charge from Castroneves gave Penske its first Michigan win since 1991.
Helio Castroneves won the 2006 Firestone Indy 400 from pole at Michigan International Speedway on 30 July 2006, his 11th IndyCar win. Vitor Meira led 75 laps and finished second, and Dan Wheldon was third in a race that began after a 2 hour, 30 minute rain delay.
The 2006 Firestone Indy 400 was won by Helio Castroneves on 30 July 2006, after a long rain delay. He took his 11th IndyCar win, and his fourth of the season, at Michigan International Speedway. Vitor Meira finished second after leading a race-high 75 laps, and Dan Wheldon was third.
The race was also a turning point in the championship. Castroneves took the Drivers' Championship lead, eight points ahead of his teammate Sam Hornish Jr. after the race.
What was the 2006 Firestone Indy 400?
The Firestone Indy 400 was an IndyCar Series race held on 30 July 2006 in Brooklyn, Michigan. It was the 11th of 14 scheduled open-wheel races for the 2006 season, and the fifth edition of the event since 2002. The race covered 200 laps, which is 400 miles (640 km), on the track's 2-mile (3.2 km) tri-oval.
The track features banking of 18 degrees in the turns, 12 degrees on the front stretch and 5 degrees on the back stretch. Those characteristics allowed drivers to race on several different lines, which Castroneves compared with the layouts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway.
A late charge from the points leader, a 75-lap race leader who finished second and a rain delay that stretched the afternoon into a Penske victory.
What was the championship picture before the race?
Sam Hornish Jr. led the Drivers' Championship with 356 points before the race. Scott Dixon was second on 331 points, Castroneves was third on 326 and Dan Wheldon fourth, just two points behind him. Tony Kanaan and Vitor Meira were tied for fifth on 277 points each, and Bryan Herta was the defending race champion.
Hornish Jr. was determined to win at Michigan, where he had been born in northwest Ohio, and Meira hoped to add to his season-long consistency at the track. Kanaan had won the preceding ABC Supply / A. J. Foyt Indy 225, and he said his team had used information from a recent test at Michigan.
Were there any new entries?
Roth Racing made its season debut at this race. The team, owned by driver Marty Roth, had sold its Indy Pro Series equipment in April and planned to compete full time in the IndyCar Series, starting with the Indianapolis 500. Roth crashed during qualifying for that race, which kept him out of several events.
Buddy Lazier replaced Ryan Briscoe in the No. 5 Dreyer and Reinbold Racing entry. Lazier said the deal was arranged at the last minute, and it was his first start for the team since the Kansas Lottery Indy 300.
What happened in practice and qualifying?
Three 60-minute practice sessions were held on Saturday. Castroneves was fastest in the first at 33.3964 seconds, and Hornish Jr. led the second at 33.3155 seconds. Hornish Jr. also topped the final session, with a time of 33.3964 seconds, and that session ended four minutes early when Rice ran out of fuel.
In qualifying, Castroneves took his fifteenth career pole with a time of 33.2138 seconds. Hornish Jr. was alongside him on the front row, four hundredths of a second slower, and he had held the pole until Castroneves' lap. Kanaan qualified third, and Ed Carpenter started fourth in his career-best position.
Dixon, Meira, Dario Franchitti, Tomas Scheckter, Wheldon and Buddy Rice completed the top ten. The rest of the grid was made up of Danica Patrick, Herta, Sharp and the others, down to Marco Andretti.
How did the rain delay affect the start?
The race was scheduled to begin at 3:30 pm EDT. Heavy rain reached the track at around 2:50 pm, and pre-race activity was halted for 2 hours and 30 minutes. The delay meant that the race was moved from ABC to its sister networks ESPN and ESPN2, with Marty Reid, Rusty Wallace and Scott Goodyear providing commentary.
When the track was dry, the air was 25 C (77 F) and the track was 37 C (98 F). Firestone's OEM president Mike Martini gave the command to start engines, and Johnny Rutherford drove the pace car. The field ran two laps under caution because the track surface was still moist.
How did the race unfold?
Early on, Hornish Jr. moved up the track and got past Castroneves on the back straight. Castroneves stayed in his teammate's wake to save fuel for 37 laps, while Wheldon moved into third and Kanaan, Scheckter, Carpenter and Meira fought over fourth.
Green-flag pit stops came next, with Hornish Jr. and Castroneves stopping a lap later, which handed the lead to Wheldon. Roth ran out of fuel on the back straight and brought out a second caution. Dixon suffered the same problem one lap later as he and Wheldon made their way into pit road, and he was towed into his stall and lost two laps.
Meira took the lead from Herta on lap 54 and built a lead of 2.2 seconds over the next 34 laps. Hornish Jr. made pit stops, but he retired after persistent engine issues, and he had been running with an overheating engine earlier in the race. Castroneves closed the gap to Meira by lap 105 but could not pass him.
Once the pit cycle ended, Castroneves was in front and Meira had dropped to second. Castroneves widened his gap to 4.3 seconds before his final pit stop on lap 168. Meira closed to within 1.5 seconds late in the race, but Castroneves held the lead for the final 13 laps.
Who finished where?
Castroneves won his 11th career IndyCar race and his fourth of the season. Marlboro Team Penske's win was its first at Michigan since 1991. Castroneves also earned $125,800 for the win.
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Race date | 30 July 2006 |
| Race length | 200 laps, 400 miles (640 km) |
| Winner | Helio Castroneves, from pole |
| Pole time | 33.2138 seconds |
| Second | Vitor Meira, his seventh career second-place finish |
| Third | Dan Wheldon |
| Fourth and fifth | Tony Kanaan and Tomas Scheckter |
| Meira's laps led | 75 over three spells, the most of any driver |
| Rain delay | 2 hours and 30 minutes |
| Cautions and lead changes | Two cautions, fifteen lead changes among seven drivers |
| Average speed | 312.168 km/h (193.972 mph), the fastest American open-wheel race at Michigan |
How did the drivers react?
Castroneves climbed the front-stretch catch fence in his usual celebration before driving into victory lane. He said he had driven like a maniac in the final ten laps when he saw Meira in his mirror, and he credited the whole team for believing.
Meira said Panther Racing had given everything that day and that the team was doing the same at every track and with every aero package. Wheldon thanked his teammate Dixon for helping him at the end of the race. Kanaan had a heated discussion with Wheldon after the race and said that Chip Ganassi had put Dixon between him and Wheldon.
Patrick ran out of fuel with two laps remaining and was furious with her finish. She had dealt with telemetry issues for most of the race. Hornish Jr. said his retirement was a shame, but that was how things went sometimes.
What did the result do to the standings?
After the race Castroneves led, eight points clear of Hornish Jr. on 368. Wheldon was third with 359, Dixon fourth with 345 and Meira fifth with 320, which broke his tie with Kanaan.
With three races left, the 56-point gap between Castroneves and Meira was the closest between the top five drivers since 2001. Castroneves was in control, but the championship was still open.