Sam Hornish Jr. passed Scott Dixon late in the race to win at Kentucky Speedway and return to the top of the Drivers' Championship.
Sam Hornish Jr. of Marlboro Team Penske won the Meijer Indy 300 in 2006 after a late pass on Scott Dixon. Dixon finished second and Helio Castroneves third in the 200-lap race at Kentucky Speedway, which put Hornish Jr. back at the top of the standings.
The 2006 Meijer Indy 300 was won by Sam Hornish Jr. for Marlboro Team Penske, who passed Scott Dixon in the fourth turn on lap 196 and held on for the final four laps. Helio Castroneves had taken pole, but Hornish Jr. led the race at the end and retook the Drivers' Championship lead, seven points ahead of his team-mate.
Where and when was the Meijer Indy 300 held?
The race was held on 13 August 2006 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky. It was the twelfth of 14 scheduled open-wheel races in 2006 and the seventh edition of the event, which dates back to 2000. The 200 laps covered 300 miles (480 km) around a track that is 2.4 km (1.5 mi) long.
Kentucky Speedway is a four-turn asphalt tri-oval with 14-degree banking in the turns and 4 degrees on the back stretch. Castroneves said he expected the track's narrow shape to produce an exciting show for fans, because it allowed side-by-side racing.
A pit-stop error cost a leader the win, and a quick final stop gave the lead to the driver who had been chasing him all day.
Who led the championship going into Kentucky?
Castroneves led the Drivers' Championship with 376 points, and his teammate Hornish Jr. was second on 368. Target Chip Ganassi drivers Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon were third and fourth on 359 and 345 points, while Vitor Meira was fifth on 320. Scott Sharp was the defending race winner.
Castroneves had taken the championship lead with his win at the previous race, the Firestone Indy 400. Hornish Jr. described Kentucky as a difficult track because of its bumpy and slick surface, but he was determined to put his poor finish at Michigan behind him.
What changed for the Kentucky weekend?
Dreyer and Reinbold Racing used a different driver in its No. 5 car. Sarah Fisher had not raced in IndyCar since the 2004 Indianapolis 500, and she was chosen for the event after rumours that she would drive at the Firestone Indy 400 were shut down by team co-owner Dennis Reinbold.
Fisher's return meant that she and Danica Patrick were both in the race. It was the first time since the 2000 Indianapolis 500 that two women had taken part in an IndyCar race together, and Fisher said she was grateful for the support of her fans.
How did practice and qualifying set the grid?
Castroneves took pole with a time of 24.4037 seconds, the sixteenth of his career and his third in a row. Hornish Jr., his team-mate, was second, just 0.0023 seconds slower. Wheldon qualified third, ahead of Tony Kanaan, Dixon, Dario Franchitti and Kosuke Matsuura.
Two practice sessions of 90 minutes each were held on the Saturday, in hot and rising temperatures. Wheldon was fastest in the first session at 24.3720 seconds, and Dixon was quickest in the second at 24.3536 seconds, two-hundredths of a second ahead of Castroneves.
Scheckter and Carpenter were each limited to one timed lap. Scheckter had swapped engines after the second practice session, while Carpenter had failed pre-qualifying inspection.
The warm-up session on Sunday morning was another test of nerves. Dixon was fastest at 24.3062 seconds, but the session ended early after Meira swerved onto the infield grass to avoid Patrick. Both cars were damaged in the collision at turn three. Patrick's engine was changed at the request of Honda.
How did the race unfold?
Castroneves led at the start, but Hornish Jr. passed him five laps later. Castroneves drove back alongside to retake the lead, and Hornish Jr. passed him again a lap later. Wheldon tried to overtake Castroneves for second on the outside, but he could not complete the pass, and Andretti moved up to tenth at one stage.
Castroneves and Wheldon both passed Hornish Jr. early on, after he had struggled to get around Roth. Twenty-four laps later Carpenter made the first green-flag stop from fifth, and when the leaders pitted, Carpenter spun while exiting pit road and brought out the first caution on lap 56.
Wheldon regained the lead after Dixon's stop and led the field back to racing speed at the lap-65 restart. Dixon took the lead from him five laps later, and a second caution followed on lap 89 for debris in turn four. Meira took the lead from Dixon during the stops thanks to a quicker pit stop.
Hornish Jr. passed Meira on the lap-96 restart. A third caution came twenty-three laps later, when Matsuura spun up the track and hit the third-turn SAFER barrier. The repair to the barrier extended the yellow, and Patrick's team replaced her headrest padding while the cars waited.
Herta chose not to pit and led the lap-135 restart. Wheldon took the lead from him four laps later and fought side by side with Herta and Hornish Jr. until lap 144. Herta pitted on lap 160, and Hornish Jr. kept up his pursuit of Wheldon, passing him to lead briefly on two later laps.
The second round of green-flag stops began on lap 183. Wheldon overshot his pit stall, and his crew had to push his car into place, which cost him several seconds. Andretti slid into the grass entering pit road, and debris in his tyres forced another stop that left him three laps down.
Dixon reclaimed the lead, but a spin by Sharp in turn two brought out the fourth and final caution on lap 192. Dixon led the restart on lap 195, with Hornish Jr. alongside him, and Hornish Jr. drove past on the inside in turn four on lap 196. He held the lead for the final four laps.
Dixon finished 0.5866 seconds behind, and Castroneves was third. Wheldon finished fourth and Kanaan fifth. Matsuura's crash on the earlier caution had been the only retirement of the race.
Who finished where at Kentucky?
Hornish Jr. won ahead of Dixon, Castroneves, Wheldon and Kanaan. Meira, Scheckter, Patrick, Franchitti and Herta completed the top ten. Carpenter, Fisher, Bucknum and Simmons finished a lap down, while Rice and Sharp were two laps behind the leader.
| Finish | Driver | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Sam Hornish Jr. | Eighteenth career IndyCar win and fourth of 2006 |
| Second | Scott Dixon | 0.5866 seconds behind, frustrated by the restart |
| Third | Helio Castroneves | Started from pole and felt he had the fastest car |
| Fourth | Dan Wheldon | Led 66 laps and earned three bonus points |
| Fifth | Tony Kanaan | Team-mate of Franchitti at Andretti Green Racing |
| Sixth | Vitor Meira | Quick stop put him in the lead for a spell |
| Seventh | Tomas Scheckter | Limited to one timed lap in qualifying, but finished in the top ten |
| Eighth | Danica Patrick | Damaged in the warm-up collision with Meira |
| Ninth | Dario Franchitti | Admitted the team deserved better results |
| Tenth | Bryan Herta | Called his race a step in the right direction |
What did the result mean for the title race?
Hornish Jr. took back the Drivers' Championship lead with 418 points, while Castroneves fell to second on 411. Wheldon stayed third on 394 points, and Meira was fifth on 348. Kanaan was sixth in the standings, and with two races remaining, Hornish Jr., Castroneves, Wheldon, Dixon, Meira and Kanaan all had a mathematical chance of winning the title.
For Hornish Jr., the win made up for a tough run at Michigan, and it was his second victory at Kentucky. He thanked his team for quick pit stops, saying the car had been great and that the team had given him the chance to wait for the right moment.
What did the drivers say after the race?
Dixon said he had been pleased with second, but he was frustrated by the restart, where Hornish Jr. had cut him off and cost him a big gap. Castroneves felt his car had been the fastest of the day and was content with third place.
Wheldon accepted the blame for his lengthy pit stop, admitting that he had nearly driven into Hornish Jr.'s stall. Franchitti said the Andretti Green Racing team was working very hard but deserved better results at this stage of the year.