A season-opening IRL race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, shadowed by the death of rookie Paul Dana in the warm-up, ended with one of the closest finishes in series history.
Dan Wheldon won the 2006 Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 26, 2006, finishing 0.0147 seconds ahead of Helio Castroneves. The race was the first of 14 scheduled IRL rounds that season and was held after a warm-up crash that killed rookie Paul Dana.
The 2006 Toyota Indy 300 was an IRL IndyCar Series race held on March 26, 2006, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida, and it opened the season. Dan Wheldon won the 200-lap event for Chip Ganassi Racing, while the two Team Penske drivers, Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish Jr., completed the podium.
What was the 2006 Indy 300 and where was it held?
The race was the eleventh edition of the event and the sixth held under Indy Racing League sanctioning. It was the first of 14 scheduled races for 2006 and the fifth consecutive year that the race opened the season.
The track was the Homestead-Miami Speedway, a 1.5 mi (2.4 km) intermediate oval in Homestead, Florida. The race was contested over 200 laps and 300 miles (480 km), and the defending winner was Dan Wheldon.
The race was confirmed on the Indy Racing League schedule in September 2005. It arrived in a season that marked the ten-year anniversary of the series, which made the opener a milestone as well as a result.
A 0.0147-second finish on the last corner, from a weekend that began with a fatal crash in warm-up.
What changed in the field for 2006?
Several drivers changed teams before the season. The biggest storyline was Wheldon's move from the reigning championship to the #10 entry of Target Chip Ganassi Racing, and the team also switched from Toyota engines and Panoz chassis to Honda and Dallara.
With the #26 Andretti Green Racing entry vacant, rookie Marco Andretti, son of team owner Michael Andretti, was given the car full-time. Paul Dana, who had been injured in a practice crash for the 2005 Indianapolis 500, announced in January that he would return with Rahal Letterman Racing.
Eddie Cheever also had a limited programme in view, covering the opening four races and the Indianapolis 500 that year.
Chevrolet and Toyota both left the series in the off-season, which made Honda the only engine supplier. Teams therefore had to learn a new engine, and the testing programme reflected that.
How did the Honda engines perform in testing?
Two pre-season tests were held, and the first took place at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, on January 24 and 25. Teams took to the track on the first day, and Tony Kanaan set the fastest lap at 20.6161 seconds.
On the second day, Wheldon ran a time of 20.1700 seconds at 178.483 mph, the only driver to pass the 178 mph mark in that session. His form came despite the change of team, which made him a strong early contender for the season.
The second test was held at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with the road course used on the first two days and the oval on the third. Castroneves swept both road course days with a best lap of 1 minute and 10.5683 seconds, and Wheldon's oval lap of 24.5088 seconds beat the track record set by Buddy Rice in 2004.
Testing also suggested a close field, and that set expectations for the season opener.
Who set the pace in practice?
Three practice sessions were held before the race, two on Friday and one on Saturday. The first Friday session began at 10:30 AM and lasted 60 minutes, while the second began at 2:00 PM and lasted 90 minutes.
Scott Dixon led the first session at 24.8974 seconds, ahead of Sam Hornish Jr., Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves and Bryan Herta. Dan Wheldon was fastest in the Friday afternoon session at 24.8004 seconds, with Dixon, Castroneves, Hornish Jr. and Kanaan completing the top five.
The only significant incident came in the Friday session, three minutes after the start, when Vitor Meira spun into the SAFER barrier in turn four after a suspension failure. He was unhurt, but the damage to the right side and rear of the car meant he had to switch to a spare car before timed running.
On Saturday morning Castroneves was quickest at 24.5736 seconds, with Hornish Jr., Tomas Scheckter and Dario Franchitti following in the next places.
Who won the pole and how did qualifying go?
Sam Hornish Jr. took pole with a time of 24.4625 seconds, his seventh career pole and a new record at the track. Qualifying was held on Saturday at 2:45 PM, and the ambient temperature was 77 degrees F (25 degrees C), which was reported as quite warm.
Each driver ran two laps, and the best of them set the starting position. Hornish Jr.'s pole speed was 218.539 mph, which broke the 2004 track record that Buddy Rice had set.
Castroneves, Hornish Jr.'s teammate, lined up beside him at the front. Scott Dixon and Danica Patrick were among the next names, followed by Kanaan, Rice, Franchitti, Wheldon, Dana and Giaffone in the top ten.
Lazier was limited to one lap because of a gear change, the only driver in the session who was not allowed a second. Hornish Jr. described afterwards how he had run with a conservative set-up in practice and then removed as much downforce as he could for the lap.
What happened in the warm-up session?
A violent crash in the warm-up session, held several hours before the race, claimed the life of rookie driver Paul Dana. The planned warm-up began on Sunday at 10:00 AM and was scheduled to last 30 minutes.
Ed Carpenter set the fastest warm-up lap at 25.9465 seconds, ahead of Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, Buddy Rice and Bryan Herta. About three minutes into the session, at 10:03 AM, Carpenter spun in turn two and made heavy contact with the SAFER barrier.
As the caution lights came on and drivers began to slow, Dana continued at an estimated 176 mph (283 km/h) and struck the rear left of Carpenter's car. Dana's car split in two and rose about six feet before landing upright, and Carpenter was briefly unconscious before he was found to be awake and alert.
Both drivers were airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Dana was pronounced dead shortly before noon, and Carpenter was listed in stable condition and kept in hospital for further evaluation. The session was ended at 11:00 AM.
How was Dana's death announced and handled?
Indy Racing League president Brian Barnhart announced the death at 12:45 PM local time. It was the first death in the IRL since Tony Renna died after a test crash at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October 2003.
Rahal Letterman Racing withdrew all three of its entries out of respect for Dana. Buddy Rice and Danica Patrick, his Rahal teammates, were withdrawn with him.
Officials discussed postponing or cancelling the race, but they decided to go ahead as scheduled after consulting track president Curtis Gray.
Did the race go ahead as planned?
Yes. The race began at 3:45 PM local time on Sunday, March 26, and ABC broadcast it live, with Marty Reid on play-by-play. A moment of silence was held for Dana during the pre-race invocation.
Fifteen of the sixteen remaining drivers started the race. Herta had no fuel pressure, so his car was pushed to his pit stall, and he rejoined five laps later after the team fixed the problem.
How did the race unfold?
Pole sitter Hornish Jr. jumped to an early lead over his teammate Castroneves. Andretti was penalized on the first lap for starting before the line, and he was given a drive-through penalty.
The first yellow flag came on lap 10, when Meira's car began trailing smoke, and he retired. During pit stops Andretti reported a broken driveshaft and left his car, and Lazier's car caught fire as he left pit road, which made him the third retiree.
Castroneves was pushed back to sixth on the restart on lap 21, because he had been one of the few leaders to enter pit road. Wheldon took over second position.
Hornish Jr. led the first 57 laps and stretched his advantage to 2.2924 seconds over Wheldon. He gave up the lead to Castroneves on lap 58 during the first round of green-flag pit stops.
Hornish Jr. regained the lead after Matsuura pitted. A second caution, for debris in turn four, came when he was more than five seconds ahead of Wheldon, and he kept the lead by exiting pit road first.
Hornish Jr. led another large section of laps and was about two tenths of a second ahead of Castroneves when he pitted at the end of lap 160 for four tires and fuel. Kanaan, who had been in the lead pack all day, tried to enter pit road behind him, veered left and hit the inside pit wall, which ended his race. Chesson's car also stalled as it left pit road.
Castroneves exited pit road first after the stops. Hornish Jr. had been placed a lap down by the caution, but he earned the lap back because he was ahead of Castroneves when the caution came out. He was then the last car on the lead lap and stuck behind three lapped cars.
Wheldon entered pit road just after the caution had closed and was given a drive-through penalty. On the restart on lap 170, a fourth caution followed Herta's collision with another driver in turn one, sending Herta into the outside barrier. He was unhurt, and his race was over.
The green flag came out on lap 178, and Wheldon passed Dixon in turn four and Franchitti in turn one on the next lap to take second. He then used Castroneves' draft and battled him for the lead with the closing laps.
Wheldon first led on lap 183 and extended his advantage to just over two hundredths of a second two laps later. Castroneves cleared him for the lead on lap 190, but struggled to break Wheldon's draft over the final ten laps, when the widest gap was 0.0932 seconds.
Who won the 2006 Toyota Indy 300?
Dan Wheldon won the race by 0.0147 seconds over Helio Castroneves, a finish that was the ninth-closest in IRL history at the time. Wheldon pounced on the final lap on the backstretch, and gained enough on the final corner to take the win.
| Finish | Driver | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Wheldon, Chip Ganassi Racing | Tenth IndyCar win, first of 2006 |
| 2 | Helio Castroneves, Team Penske | 0.0147 seconds behind the winner |
| 3 | Sam Hornish Jr., Team Penske | Led a race-high 145 laps |
Wheldon's victory was his tenth IndyCar win and his first of the 2006 season, and it was his second straight win at Homestead. Franchitti and Dixon completed the top five, and Matsuura, Sharp, Giaffone, Scheckter and Cheever finished in the top ten.
Wheldon earned $109,800 in race winnings, and he led the drivers' championship after the opening round with 50 points. Castroneves was second on 40 points, and Hornish Jr. was third on 38.
How did the drivers respond after the race?
Wheldon stayed humble in victory lane and dedicated his thoughts to the Dana family, calling it a very sad day despite a race he felt had been competitive. Castroneves said the loss of a colleague was hard, and he noted that drivers knew the risks of the sport when they chose to race.
Hornish Jr. said that the decision to race had been made before the severity of the crash was known, and Franchitti said he was still in shock and felt for Dana's family. Giaffone said he had thought about Dana during the race.
Johnny Rutherford and A. J. Foyt also gave their views. Rutherford spoke about the risks in sprint car and midget racing and how a long run without injuries can make drivers feel safe, while Foyt said drivers have to put such events out of their minds to do their jobs.
David Letterman, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Racing, sent his condolences to the Dana family on his talk show, which aired the day after the death.
What happened to Ed Carpenter and the Rahal team afterwards?
Carpenter was released from hospital on Monday, March 27, with bruised lungs. He issued a statement of sympathy and said he had been able to speak to Dana's brother while in hospital.
Carpenter sat out the next race at St. Petersburg, and veteran driver Roberto Moreno served as his fill-in driver that weekend. The Mahaffey Theater hosted a memorial service for Dana on Thursday, March 30, ahead of the St. Petersburg event.
