The 2009 IndyCar Series was the 14th season of the
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
. The 17-race season began on April 5, and its premier event, the
93rd Indianapolis 500 was held May 24. All races were broadcast on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
or
Versus in
high-definition. It represented the 98th recognized season of top-level
American open wheel racing
American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar.
Competitive events ...
.
On July 30, 2008, the 2009 schedule for the IndyCar Series was officially released. New to the schedule were
Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
and
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, with
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
having been removed to make way for the new events.
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
won his second IndyCar Series championship, putting a disappointing foray into NASCAR in 2008 behind him. Franchitti took his
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...
Dallara-Honda to victory at Long Beach, Iowa Speedway, Toronto and Infineon Raceway in a season long battle with his Chip Ganassi teammate
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
and
Team Penske
Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...
driver
Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...
. Dixon led the series heading into the final round, but Franchitti's win at the series finale at Homestead pushed the British driver eleven points clear at season's end.
Dixon, who took five wins, held second place by a solitary point over Briscoe. Briscoe, with three wins, had his best ever season leading Team Penske after
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...
's abbreviated start to the season from his tax-evasion trial. The Brazilian recovered by winning his third
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
before taking a win at Texas Motor Speedway a month later.
The Ganassi and Penske teams dominated the season, only two race victories were taken by drivers other than the four regulars from these two teams, and one of them, at Edmonton, was claimed by part-time Penske driver
Will Power
William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
. The only other winner was
Justin Wilson, scoring
Dale Coyne Racing
Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) is an American professional open-wheel racing team that currently competes in the IndyCar Series. The team was founded in 1984 and is owned by former driver Dale Coyne. From 1995 to 2000, the team was known as Payton-Coyn ...
's first victory at
Watkins Glen.
The
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti U ...
team had their first ever season without a win. Drivers
Danica Patrick,
Tony Kanaan
Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...
and
Hideki Mutoh
is a Japanese race car driver from Tokyo currently racing in Super GT.
Career
History
He began karting at age 12 in 1996 and quickly moved through the ranks, becoming a part of Honda's Formula Dream Project. He moved to Europe in 1998 t ...
each scored
podium
A podium (plural podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek ''πόδι'' (foot). In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be used ...
finishes, and Patrick finished fifth in the season points, setting a new record for highest points finish by a female driver.
Brazilian racer
Raphael Matos
Raphael Matos (born August 28, 1981) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He was the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights Series champion and the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Series champion. He lives in Miami.
Career highlights
Early career
Born in Bel ...
claimed rookie of the year honors for the
Luczo-Dragon Racing team, finishing thirteenth in the season point score, 29 points clear of
Robert Doornbos with a season best result of sixth at Milwaukee.
Originally
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
was supposed to end their
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
single engine supplier after 2009. But on September 23, 2009, it was confirmed that
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
renewed their single engine supplier until the
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
season.
2009 IndyCar Series schedule
Oval/Speedway
Road course/street circuit
Schedule details
*The
Detroit Indy Grand Prix
The Detroit Grand Prix (currently branded as the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear Corporation for sponsorship reasons) is an IndyCar Series race weekend held on a temporary circuit in Detroit, Michigan. The race has been held from ...
was cancelled for the 2009 season.
Confirmed entries
All entrants competed in
Dallara
Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...
IR5 chassis, powered by
Honda HI9R V8 engines, and utilize
Firestone Firehawk tires.
Series news
* 2009 started a 10-year TV deal with the
Versus TV network. Versus agreed to broadcast at least twelve
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
events a year in HD, as well as pre-race coverage, a one-hour preview show the day before each race including qualifying highlights, qualifications for the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
, a
Firestone Indy Lights
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...
weekly telecast, replays of all series races a week after original broadcast, and at least ten hours of ancillary programming.
Bob Jenkins
Robert F. Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC and later Versus/NBCSN. Jenkins was the radio "Voice of the Indianapoli ...
,
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
, and
Jon Beekhuis
Jon Beekhuis (; born March 31, 1960) is an American former race car driver. Beekhuis was born in Zurich, Switzerland while his American father was studying at ETH Zurich, and grew up in California. The 1988 ARS (Indy Lights) champion, Beekhuis d ...
made up the broadcast team along with
Jack Arute
Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...
,
Robbie Floyd, and
Lindy Thackston in the pits. Emmy Award-winning auto-racing producer
Terry Lingner produced the coverage. Versus will air commercials using
IndyCar Non-Stop. In 2011 Versus was renamed NBC Sports Network.
*Firestone supplied two sets of tire compounds beginning in 2009 on road and street courses for the IR5 chassis. Alternate tires would be marked with red sidewalls and would be made of a softer compound. They contain more grip and allow for faster times, but do not last as long as the regular tires. Each team received six sets of the regular tires ("the blacks") and three sets of the new alternate tires ("the reds") for the race weekend. The cars were required to run at least two green flag laps with the alternate tires during a race. Oval races used the primary tire only.
*A new private testing policy was put into place for team for 2009, provided they participate in the TEAM revenue-sharing program. Teams were permitted:
** or six days of testing, whichever comes first, along with eight sets of tires.
**Two-car teams may conduct of testing with 26 sets of tires.
**Additional team cars gained and four sets of tires per car.
**No testing at any track within seven days of a race.
**Teams could earn additional test days by providing opportunities to Firestone Indy Lights drivers.
*Bonus practice time for rookies and teams outside the Top 10 in points were added starting at Long Beach. The bonus session lasted from 30 to 45 minutes at each venue before the first practice sessions of the day for all cars. The policy was intended to promote competition, allowing teams a chance to close the gap on the Top 10 teams without paying for expensive private testing, and provided more opportunities for rookie drivers, particularly those moving up from Indy Lights.
*Slight changes were made to the points system in 2009, the number of points awarded for leading the most laps in a race was reduced from three to two. A point was awarded for winning pole for a race.
*On December 26, 2008, IndyCar Series introduced a new exhaust design to reduce noise of
Honda Indy V8
The Honda Indy V8 is a 3-litre and 3.5-litre, naturally-aspirated V8 racing engine, developed and produced by Honda Performance Development in partnership with Ilmor Engineering for IndyCar Seriesbr>Honda NewsroomThe V8 was a highly successful ...
engines.
*IndyCar Series officials have banned formerly optional 118 and 120 inch wheelbases, requiring teams to uniformly adopt 122 inch wheelbases. This will provide cost savings for the teams as well as greatly enhancing competition on the oval tracks.
*On July 28, 2009, the IRL approved "push to pass" buttons on all the cars. This gave a driver a 20 hp boost for 12 seconds with a 10-second recharge time. This was available for use only 20 times during a given race. This feature debuted at the event at
Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Before 2008 J ...
on August 1, 2009.
*Due to several IndyCar Series teams opting for Dallara IR5 chassis,
Panoz
Panoz is an American manufacturer of sports automobiles founded in 1989 as Panoz Auto Development by Dan Panoz, son of Don Panoz. Panoz products have included the Panoz Roadster and AIV Roadster, the Panoz Esperante, and the Panoz Avezzano.
Pan ...
discontinued their
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
involvement after the
2008 season.
*With the series undergoing a development freeze until the 2011 season, IndyCar Series teams carried over chassis and engine from 2008 season but modified due to new exhaust design. The series was concentrating on
2012 new car development to save costs.
Team and driver news
*
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...
:
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
Champion
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
returns from
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
's
Sprint Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...
and is driving the #10 entry in 2009, replacing
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series season, 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Autosport, Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indiana ...
, who was re-signed by
Panther Racing
Panther Racing was an American open wheel auto racing team. It was one of the oldest continually operating teams in the IndyCar Series.
Four years in a row (2008–2011), the team finished second at the Indianapolis 500.
Formation
The team was ...
.
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
Firestone Indy Lights
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...
Champion
Alex Lloyd
Alex Lloyd (born 19 November 1974) is an Australian singer-songwriter. Four of his albums, ''Black the Sun'', '' Watching Angels Mend'', '' Distant Light'' and '' Alex Lloyd'', released between 1999 and 2005, made the top ten on the ARIA chart ...
competed in the Indianapolis 500 with
Sam Schmidt Motorsports
The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren (competing as Arrow McLaren due to sponsorship) is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports. After a series of partnerships and name ...
in partnership with Ganassi.
*
Penske Racing
Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the organiza ...
:
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...
signed a multi-year contract extension with Penske Racing. However, on October 2, 2008, Castroneves was faced with a federal
indictment
An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...
, and was charged with six counts of
tax evasion
Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...
. Castroneves went on hiatus from the team during the trial.
Will Power
William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
was named as a replacement, and drove the St. Petersburg race in the #3 car. With Castroneves being acquitted on all tax evasion charges later in the month, he returned to the #3 car starting at Long Beach, with the team running a third car, the #12 Penske Championship Racing machine for Will Power at Long Beach and the Indianapolis 500.
Roger Penske
Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937) is an American businessman and entrepreneur involved in professional auto racing and a retired professional auto racing driver. He is most famous for his ownership of Team Penske, DJR Team Penske, t ...
announced after the Indianapolis 500 that he would field a third car for Power at additional races in the 2009 season.
*
Andretti Green Racing
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti U ...
: All four drivers returned for 2009. The team will field a fifth car for
Franck Montagny
Franck Montagny (born 5 January 1978) is a retired French professional racing driver. He briefly raced for the Super Aguri Formula One team in 2006.
Early career
Born in Feurs, Loire, Montagny started racing karts there in 1988, winning the cade ...
at Sonoma.
*
HVM Racing
HVM Racing was an auto racing team owned by Keith Wiggins that competed in the IndyCar Series. It competed in the Champ Car World Series in 2007 as Minardi Team USA when it was co-owned by Paul Stoddart. It has a long history of changes of ownersh ...
: Driver
E. J. Viso
Ernesto José "E. J." Viso Lossada (born March 19, 1985) is a Venezuelan professional racing driver. He has raced in the 2005 and 2006 GP2 Series seasons, and has also driven the third car for Spyker MF1 Racing. In 2007 he competed in the GP2 Se ...
returned for 2009. The team tested
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became th ...
at
Sebring but ultimately signed Viso. The team prepared a second Indy-only entry for
Nelson Philippe
Nelson Philippe (born July 23, 1986 in Valence, Drôme) is a French race car driver.
Career
Early career
Philippe raced go-karts from 1998-2002. In 2003, he raced in the Barber Dodge Pro Series, finishing the season with one podium, and four ...
.
*
Panther Racing
Panther Racing was an American open wheel auto racing team. It was one of the oldest continually operating teams in the IndyCar Series.
Four years in a row (2008–2011), the team finished second at the Indianapolis 500.
Formation
The team was ...
:
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series season, 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Autosport, Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indiana ...
signed a multi-year contract replacing
Vítor Meira
Vítor Meira (born March 27, 1977) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He formerly competed in the IndyCar Series and has twice finished second in the Indianapolis 500.
IndyCar Series
2002
After participating in an open test for Panther Racing ...
in the #4 entry.
Scott Sharp
Scott Sharp (born February 14, 1968) is an American professional racing driver in the United SportsCar Championship. He is the son of six-time SCCA champion Bob Sharp. Sharp is best known for his years as a competitor in the Indy Racing League.
...
drove a second Indy-only entry, in a joint-effort with
Patrón Highcroft Racing.
*
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
A. J. Foyt Racing, officially and historically known as A. J. Foyt Enterprises, is an American racing team in the IndyCar Series and formerly NASCAR. It is owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, 1972 Daytona 500 winner, 1967 24 Hours of Le ...
:
Vítor Meira
Vítor Meira (born March 27, 1977) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He formerly competed in the IndyCar Series and has twice finished second in the Indianapolis 500.
IndyCar Series
2002
After participating in an open test for Panther Racing ...
replaced
Darren Manning
Darren Manning (born 30 April 1975) is a British motor racing driver who has raced in the IRL IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.
Career history
Early career
Manning was born in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, ...
in the #14 entry. Meira suffered two fractured vertebrae at Indianapolis will miss most of the remainder of the season.
Paul Tracy
Paul Anthony Tracy (born December 17, 1968) is a Canadian-American former professional auto racing driver who competed in CART, the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series. He is known by the nicknames "PT" and "the Thrill from West Hill" ...
was the replacement driver for Milwaukee. The team fielded the #41 driven by
A. J. Foyt IV in the Indianapolis 500. The #48 car was entered in the race but did not appear.
*
KV Racing:
Oriol Servia
Oriol () is a Catalan name, which can be found as a given name or a surname. It derives from the Latin word ''aureus'' (golden). It was originally just a surname, but started to be used as a given name in honour of Saint Joseph Oriol. It may refe ...
did not re-sign with the team and
Will Power
William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
left for Penske Racing.
Mario Moraes
Mario Ermirio de Moraes Filho (born December 20, 1988 in São Paulo)http://www.cbssports.com/autoracing/drivers/driverpage/1604847/mario-moraes is a Brazilian professional race car driving, driver. Moraes started his career in minor youth motors ...
signed with the team for 2009 and will be the team's sole full-season entry. In addition to Servia,
Paul Tracy
Paul Anthony Tracy (born December 17, 1968) is a Canadian-American former professional auto racing driver who competed in CART, the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series. He is known by the nicknames "PT" and "the Thrill from West Hill" ...
and GP2 driver
Lucas di Grassi
Lucas Tucci di Grassi (born 11 August 1984) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competes in the FIA Formula E World Championship for Mahindra Racing. He became the FIA Formula E Champion in 2016–2017, achieved three overall podium ...
also have been linked with a seat with the team. Team co-owner
Jimmy Vasser
James Vasser Jr. (born November 20, 1965) is an American former racing driver. Vasser won the 1996 CART IndyCar championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series. Vasser was the last American to win the CART champio ...
has stated that he is confident the team will have a deal in place to run a second car starting with the Indy 500. It was announced on April 17 that
Paul Tracy
Paul Anthony Tracy (born December 17, 1968) is a Canadian-American former professional auto racing driver who competed in CART, the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series. He is known by the nicknames "PT" and "the Thrill from West Hill" ...
will drive the #15 car for the team at the Indy 500, with additional races up to the rest of the season possible. A later release from the team confirmed Tracy would appear in the #15 at the Edmonton and Toronto races. A third car, the #8, was listed for the team on the Indianapolis 500 entry list, and was raced by
Townsend Bell
Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.
Early career
He spent ...
.
*
Vision Racing
Vision Racing was a racing team in the Indy Racing League founded in 2005 when Tony George purchased the assets of the defunct Kelley Racing and hired his stepson Ed Carpenter to be the driver. The team has previously raced in the Izod IndyCa ...
:
A. J. Foyt IV was replaced by
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became th ...
. The team would have prepared an additional car for the Indianapolis 500, the #22 entered by
Bryan Herta Autosport
Bryan Herta Autosport is an American auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and the Michelin Pilot Challenge. It is owned by former IndyCar driver Bryan Herta. The team won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with driver Dan Wheldon.
In 2016 ...
, but entry was later withdrawn.
*
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
Newman/Haas Racing was an auto racing team that competed in the CART and the IndyCar Series from 1983 to 2011. The team operations were based in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Newman/Haas Racing was formed as a partnership between actor, automotive ent ...
:
Justin Wilson did not return to the team in 2009. However,
Graham Rahal
Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winner ...
's option was picked up for 2009 and he returned. 2007 Champ Car Rookie of the Year
Robert Doornbos' signing was confirmed on February 20, 2009.
Milka Duno
Milka Duno (born April 22, 1972) is a Venezuelan race car driver who competed in the IndyCar Series and ARCA Racing Series. She is best known for holding the record of highest finish for a female driver in the 24 Hours of Daytona. She entered ...
tested with the team at Homestead, but the deal to run a third full-season car for her apparently fell apart as she lost her backing from
Citgo
Citgo Petroleum Corporation (or Citgo, stylized as CITGO) is a United States–based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. Headquartered in the Energy Corridor area o ...
according to a report.
*
Conquest Racing
Conquest Racing is an auto racing team that competed in the IndyCar Series and the Atlantic Championship. Formerly it competed in the Champ Car World Series.
History
It is owned by former series competitor Éric Bachelart. The team ran in Indy L ...
: A marketing brochure on the team's official site states that "Conquest Racing will field two cars in the 2009 IndyCar Series. With Alex Tagliani, the team will have a wily veteran with the experience and commitment to continue moving the team forward. Joining Tagliani will be a driver of equal gift and grit to round out a balanced driver package.". On February 16, the team announced that
Jaime Camara
Jaime Camara (born November 5, 1980 in Goiânia) is a Brazilian race car driver, who in 2008 competed in the IndyCar Series for Conquest Racing.
Motorsports career
Indy Racing League
Camara previously competed in the 2005 and 2006 seasons of the ...
will return to the #34 car for the Homestead test, but that its 2009 driver lineup had not been finalized. On a conference call on February 18, owner Eric Bachelart said the team's ambition was to remain a two-car team, but they may have to have two drivers share one car for the season. On April 1, Tagliani was confirmed as the team's sole driver at St. Pete. The team has announce a partnership with the former
Rubicon Race Team
FAZZT Race Team was an auto racing team started by Montreal entrepreneur Andre Azzi, race car driver Alex Tagliani, and former Kelley Racing co-owner Jim Freudenberg (thus Freudenberg, Azzi, Tagliani).
Team history
The team's history can be trac ...
to attempt to add additional sponsorship. A second car is listed for the team on the Indy 500 entry list and it will be driven by
Bruno Junqueira
Bruno Junqueira (born November 4, 1976) is a Brazilian race car driver who most recently competed in the IRL IndyCar Series. He is a former Formula 3000 champion and three-time runner-up in the Champ Car World Series.
Racing career
Early c ...
.
*
Sarah Fisher Racing
Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing was an auto racing team founded in January 2008 which competed in the Verizon IndyCar Series. The team was jointly owned by former driver Sarah Fisher, Fisher's husband Andrew O'Gara, and businessman Willis "Wink" E. H ...
: Owner/driver
Sarah Fisher
Sarah Marie Fisher (born October 4, 1980) is an American retired professional race car driver who competed in the IndyCar Series, Indy Racing League (IRL, now IndyCar Series) and the Indianapolis 500 intermittently from 1999 to 2010. She also ...
secured funding for six oval races with sponsorship from
Dollar General and
IUPUI.
*
Curb/Agajanian/Team 3G: Curb/Agajanian/Team 3G is a new team owned by
Beck Motorsports
Beck Motorsports was a team in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series owned by Greg Beck. At times in its history the team was partnered with Curb Agajanian Performance Group and 3G Racing owners Stanton Barrett and Steve Sudler.
IndyCar
1995 ...
owner
Greg Beck, NASCAR driver
Stanton Barrett
Stanton Thomas Barrett (born December 1, 1972) is an American professional stock car racing driver and Hollywood stuntman who last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro for Mike Harmon Racing, and pa ...
, Mike Curb and Cary Agajanian of
Curb Agajanian Motorsports
The Curb Agajanian Performance Group is an American motorsports team, currently competing as a co-entrant in IndyCar and IMSA. It is owned by record executive Mike Curb and racing personality Cary Agajanian; son of the late J. C. Agajanian, a ...
and sports marketer Steve Sudler. Barrett will drive a full-time entry for the new team in 2009. The team is working on a deal to possibly run a second car in 2009, perhaps with
Tomas Scheckter
Tomas Scheckter (born 21 September 1980) is a South African former racing driver best known for his time in the IndyCar Series.
Early years
Scheckter was born in Monte Carlo to 1979 Formula One World Champion Jody Scheckter and his first wife ...
or another driver.
*
Luczo-Dragon Racing: Luczo-Dragon has signed 2008
Firestone Indy Lights
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...
Champion
Raphael Matos
Raphael Matos (born August 28, 1981) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He was the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights Series champion and the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Series champion. He lives in Miami.
Career highlights
Early career
Born in Bel ...
to a multi-year contract. Matos will race a full-time entry for the team in 2009.
*
Roth Racing
Roth Racing was a race team owned by Canadian real estate magnate and racecar driver Marty Roth. It competed in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series.
2004-2005
The team was founded in 2004 when Marty Roth purchased the Indy Pro Series equip ...
: Roth Racing has closed its doors and will not return as a full-season. The equipment was put up for sale. The team's employees were used to assist Conquest Racing for the second car that was prepared for Junqueira. The team entered two cars, the #25 and #52, on the Indy 500 entry list, but neither appeared.
*
Rubicon Race Team
FAZZT Race Team was an auto racing team started by Montreal entrepreneur Andre Azzi, race car driver Alex Tagliani, and former Kelley Racing co-owner Jim Freudenberg (thus Freudenberg, Azzi, Tagliani).
Team history
The team's history can be trac ...
/
Pacific Coast Motorsports: Curt Cavin confirmed that Pacific Coast Motorsports and Rubicon had merged on January 23, and Rubicon's website updated listing PCM owner
Tyler Tadevic and
Panther Racing
Panther Racing was an American open wheel auto racing team. It was one of the oldest continually operating teams in the IndyCar Series.
Four years in a row (2008–2011), the team finished second at the Indianapolis 500.
Formation
The team was ...
co-founder Doug Boles as new co-owners.
Buddy Rice
Buddy Rice (born January 31, 1976) is an American former race car driver. He is best known for winning the 2004 Indianapolis 500 while driving for Rahal Letterman Racing, and the 2009 24 Hours of Daytona for Brumos Racing.
Career
Early years
...
was reported as in-line for the seat with the combined team and the team claimed to be close to funding for a full schedule. The team did not participate in any open test or race and on the team's
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
page they announced a name change to Rubicon Sports Agency. They formally announcing a partnership with
Conquest Racing
Conquest Racing is an auto racing team that competed in the IndyCar Series and the Atlantic Championship. Formerly it competed in the Champ Car World Series.
History
It is owned by former series competitor Éric Bachelart. The team ran in Indy L ...
.
*
Dale Coyne Racing
Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) is an American professional open-wheel racing team that currently competes in the IndyCar Series. The team was founded in 1984 and is owned by former driver Dale Coyne. From 1995 to 2000, the team was known as Payton-Coyn ...
: Mario Moraes left for KV Racing.
Justin Wilson tested one of the Coyne cars at Homestead. Wilson was confirmed as the driver of Coyne's single entry at St. Petersburg and has signed a full-season deal. The team is still looking at possibilities to field a second car starting with the Indy 500. The team has a second entry, the #19 listed for the Indy 500.
The team's primary entry was originally #19 but was changed by sponsor Z-Line Designs to #18 to match the
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
Nationwide Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
Toyota Camry
The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Camry ...
of
Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization owned and operated by former Washington Redskins (today the Washington Commanders) coach Joe Gibbs, which first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991. His s ...
cars they sponsor starting at Long Beach.
*
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an automotive racing organization that competes in the IndyCar Series and Nitro Rallycross. The team is owned by Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen, Mini, and Subaru dealer Dennis Reinbold.
Off the track, Dreyer ...
: The team announced
Mike Conway
Mike Conway (born 19 August 1983) is a British professional racing driver. He lives in Sevenoaks, Kent and is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing.
Biography
Conway who was born in Bromley, Lo ...
signed for the 2009 campaign. The team plans to run a second car. Driver
Roger Yasukawa
Roger Yasukawa (born October 10, 1977) is an American-born Japanese former auto racing driver. He was born in Los Angeles, California, but holds Japanese citizenship.
Yasukawa started karting in Southern California, winning the California State ...
will race with the team at Motegi. On April 1, 2009, it was confirmed that
Darren Manning
Darren Manning (born 30 April 1975) is a British motor racing driver who has raced in the IRL IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.
Career history
Early career
Manning was born in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, ...
would drive the #23 Dreyer & Reinbold entry at St. Petersburg; Manning continued in the seat at Long Beach. Milka Duno will return to the team run a limited schedule in the #23 starting at Kansas.
Davey Hamilton
David Jay "Davey" Hamilton (born June 13, 1962 in Nampa, Idaho) is a race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series and Stadium Super Trucks. He has made 56 series starts and while never winning a race, finished second thr ...
and
Kingdom Racing will also partner with the team to field an Indy 500 entry.
A fourth D&R entry at the Indianapolis 500 was announced on April 6, co-branded with
George Gillett's
Richard Petty Motorsports
Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded as a result of the merger between Gillett Evernham Motorsports (GEM) and Petty Enterprises, with ...
. That entry featured
John Andretti
John Andrew Andretti (March 12, 1963January 30, 2020) was an American race car driver. He won individual races in CART, IMSA GTP, Rolex Sports Car Series, and NASCAR during his career. He was the son of Aldo Andretti, older brother of racer Ada ...
with Window World as sponsor.
*
Rahal Letterman Racing
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is an auto racing team that has participated in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the IndyCar Series. Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana and Hilliard, Ohio, it is co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 win ...
: The team was unable to secure sponsorship for the full 2009 season due to
ApexBrasil's partnership with
Ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
as Ethanol fuel provider, but fielded an Indy-only effort for
Oriol Servia
Oriol () is a Catalan name, which can be found as a given name or a surname. It derives from the Latin word ''aureus'' (golden). It was originally just a surname, but started to be used as a given name in honour of Saint Joseph Oriol. It may refe ...
. Instead,
Rahal Letterman Racing
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is an auto racing team that has participated in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the IndyCar Series. Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana and Hilliard, Ohio, it is co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 win ...
to concentrate on the
American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The American Le Mans' hea ...
with
BMW M3 E92 GT2 machines.
*
De Ferran Motorsports
De Ferran Motorsports was a motor racing team that competed in the American Le Mans Series. The team was owned by the 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner Gil de Ferran. On August 7, 2009 de Ferran announced that he would retire from racing at the end of ...
: The
ALMS
Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of virtue or Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving, and it is a widespread p ...
team owned by
Gil de Ferran
Gil de Ferran (born November 11, 1967 in Paris, France) is a French-born Brazilian professional racing driver and team owner. De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion driving for Team Penske and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 5 ...
was contemplating adding an IndyCar program. It did not materialize in enough time for the 2009 Indy 500, but is expected full-time for 2010. According to
Speed Channel
Speed was an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as aut ...
's
Robin Miller, it may be a two car effort for former
BAR Honda F1 driver
Takuma Sato
, nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...
of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, and de Ferran's ALMS teammate
Simon Pagenaud
Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class ...
, who spent
one year in
Champ Car
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ( ...
after winning the
2006 Atlantic Championship. One of de Ferran's former
CART Championship rivals and fellow ALMS convert
Adrian Fernandez
Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water".
The Adria was until the 8th century BC the main ...
had been rumoured to join the series for 2010, but the team closed its doors at the end of October 2009.
*
Forsythe Racing
Forsythe/Pettit Racing was an American racing team that competed in the Champ Car World Series owned by Gerald Forsythe and Dan Pettit. The Champ Car effort ceased operations after the 2008 unification of North American open wheel racing.
Histor ...
: Former
Champ Car
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ( ...
team Forsythe Racing announced intentions to race in the
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
in 2009, and stated that they were close (95%) to finalizing programs according to team manager Ken Siweck in July 2008. Plans were also announced for a foray into the
ALMS
Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of virtue or Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving, and it is a widespread p ...
and a return to
Indy Lights
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...
. No Forsythe car has appeared in any of the three series, but a blurb on usatoday.com on April 23, 2009, mentioned the team was "mulling an IndyCar entry".
*
Hemelgarn Racing
Hemelgarn Racing is an American auto racing team owned by Ron Hemelgarn. The team debuted in 1985, and competed in the CART and Indy Racing League ranks until the team originally shut down in 2010. The team returned to competition in 2015, and cur ...
: The team entered the 2009 Indy 500 with
Buddy Lazier
Robert Buddy Lazier (born October 31, 1967) is an American auto racing driver, best known for winning the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and the 2000 Indy Racing League season championship.
Lazier began his career in the 1980s by competing in such s ...
, but failed to qualify.
Testing
The following open tests were held.
*February 24–25 at
Homestead
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
* Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
*Homestead principle, a legal concept t ...
(night)
*March 22–23 at
Barber Motorsports Park
Barber Motorsports Park is an multi-purpose racing facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built by George W. Barber, and includes the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum. It has been the site of the IndyCar Series' Grand Prix of Alabam ...
.
Race summaries
Round 1:
Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida. In most years since 2009, the race has served as the season opener (or at minimum, the first race held on U.S. soil). The race is held annually ...
*Report:
2009 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
*Sunday April 5, 2009 – 2:00 p.m.
EDT
*
Streets of St. Petersburg –
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
(1.8-mile temporary street course)
*Distance: 100 laps / 180 miles
*Race weather: 86 °F, sunny
*Television:
Versus (
Bob Jenkins
Robert F. Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC and later Versus/NBCSN. Jenkins was the radio "Voice of the Indianapoli ...
,
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
,
Jon Beekhuis
Jon Beekhuis (; born March 31, 1960) is an American former race car driver. Beekhuis was born in Zurich, Switzerland while his American father was studying at ETH Zurich, and grew up in California. The 1988 ARS (Indy Lights) champion, Beekhuis d ...
,
Jack Arute
Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...
,
Robbie Floyd,
Lindy Thackston)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 0.30
*Attendance: 140,000+ (estimated 3-day weekend attendance)
*Pole position winner: #02
Graham Rahal
Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winner ...
, 1:02.4110 sec,
*Race Summary: On the opening lap, polesitter
Graham Rahal
Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winner ...
was involved in light contact with
Tony Kanaan
Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...
, which damaged his nosecone, and dropped him deep in the standings. With 20 laps to go, defending IndyCar champion
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
crashed out after contact with
Hideki Mutoh
is a Japanese race car driver from Tokyo currently racing in Super GT.
Career
History
He began karting at age 12 in 1996 and quickly moved through the ranks, becoming a part of Honda's Formula Dream Project. He moved to Europe in 1998 t ...
. With 14 laps to go,
Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...
took the lead from
Justin Wilson on a restart. Briscoe held off
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became th ...
to secure the victory.
Round 2: 35th
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It wa ...
*Report:
2009 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
*Sunday April 19, 2009 – 12:30 p.m.
PDT / 3:30 p.m.
EDT
*
Streets of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It ...
–
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
(1.968-mile temporary street course)
*Distance: 85 laps / 167.28 miles
*Race weather: 96 °F, sunny
*Television:
Versus (
Bob Jenkins
Robert F. Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC and later Versus/NBCSN. Jenkins was the radio "Voice of the Indianapoli ...
,
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
,
Jon Beekhuis
Jon Beekhuis (; born March 31, 1960) is an American former race car driver. Beekhuis was born in Zurich, Switzerland while his American father was studying at ETH Zurich, and grew up in California. The 1988 ARS (Indy Lights) champion, Beekhuis d ...
,
Jack Arute
Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...
,
Robbie Floyd,
Lindy Thackston)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 0.52
*Attendance: 65,000+ (estimated race day), 175,000 (estimated 3-day weekend)
*Pole Position winner: #12
Will Power
William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
, 1:09.7107 sec,
*Race Summary: At the start,
Will Power
William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
took the lead from the pole position and led the first 16 laps.
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
and
Danica Patrick both pitted early on lap 16, and benefitted from a full-course caution. Over the next 30 laps, the lead traded between
Tony Kanaan
Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...
,
Marco Andretti
Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American auto racing driver who drives the No. 98 car for Bryan Herta Autosport, Andretti Herta Autosport part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the third generation of the famous Andretti racin ...
, and
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
. Pitting early once more,
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
and
Danica Patrick again benefitted. Moments later,
Mike Conway
Mike Conway (born 19 August 1983) is a British professional racing driver. He lives in Sevenoaks, Kent and is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing.
Biography
Conway who was born in Bromley, Lo ...
spun into the tire barrier in turn 8, bringing out the full course caution again. Most of the leaders pit under the yellow, while Franchitti stayed out to take the lead. Franchitti pulled away and held the lead to the finish, taking the victory. It was his first
IndyCar
INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...
win since
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, having spent 2008 racing in
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
.
Round 3:
RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300
The RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas was an IndyCar Series race held at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The IRL Indycar Series debuted the race in 2001.
The first Indy/Championship races in the Kansas City area city took place in 1922 ...
*Report:
2009 RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300
The 2009 RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 was the third round of the 2009 IndyCar Series season, held on April 26, 2009 at the Kansas Speedway. The race was won by Scott Dixon, who led 134 of the 200 laps to move up into fourth place in the championsh ...
*Sunday April 26, 2009 – 3:00 p.m.
CDT / 4:00 p.m.
EDT
*
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 2011 ...
–
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...
(1.52 mile oval)
*Distance: 200 laps / 304 miles
*Race weather: 78F, cloudy
*Television:
Versus (
Bob Jenkins
Robert F. Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC and later Versus/NBCSN. Jenkins was the radio "Voice of the Indianapoli ...
,
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
,
Jon Beekhuis
Jon Beekhuis (; born March 31, 1960) is an American former race car driver. Beekhuis was born in Zurich, Switzerland while his American father was studying at ETH Zurich, and grew up in California. The 1988 ARS (Indy Lights) champion, Beekhuis d ...
,
Jack Arute
Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...
,
Robbie Floyd,
Lindy Thackston)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 0.15
*Attendance:
*Pole Position winner: #02
Graham Rahal
Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winner ...
, 1:43.5819 sec, (4-lap)
*Race Summary:
Round 4: 93rd Indianapolis 500
*Report:
2009 Indianapolis 500
*Sunday May 24, 2009 – 12:12 p.m.
CDT / 1:12 p.m.
EDT
*
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...
–
Speedway, Indiana
Speedway is a town in Wayne Township, Marion County, Indiana, United States. The population was 11,812 at the 2010 U.S. Census. Speedway, which is an enclave of Indianapolis, is the home of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
History
Speedway was ...
(2.5 mile oval)
*Distance: 200 laps / 500 miles
*Race weather: 83 °F, sunny
*Television:
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
(
Marty Reid,
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear (born December 20, 1959) is a Canadian former race car driver. He ran the Indy Racing League and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994.
Goodyear qualified for eleven runnings of th ...
,
Eddie Cheever
Edward McKay "Eddie" Cheever Jr. (born January 10, 1958) is an American former racing driver who raced for almost 30 years in Formula One, sports cars, CART, and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 Formula One World Championshi ...
,
Jack Arute
Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...
,
Jamie Little
Jamie Little (born April 9, 1978) is an American pit reporter for NASCAR coverage on Fox. Little is a former pit reporter for ESPN/ABC coverage of the Indy Racing League, although she returned to her pit reporting duty for the 2007 and 2008 I ...
,
Brienne Pedigo
Brienne Pedigo is an American auto racing pit reporter, formerly employed by ESPN and ESPN on ABC for the Indy Racing League and currently working for the Motor Racing Network as pit reporter.
Career
In 2007, Pedigo took over as a pit reporter fo ...
, Vince Welch)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 4.2
*Attendance: TBA
*Pole Position winner: #3
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...
, 2:40.0967 sec, (4-lap)
*Race Summary:
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
made the move at the start, passing
Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...
on the first lap and polesitter
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...
at a restart on the eighth lap.
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
and
Tony Kanaan
Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...
, starting fifth and sixth made short work of
Graham Rahal
Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winner ...
and joined the top three. Castroneves lost out to Briscoe and Dixon in the first round of stops. Briscoe, now second took the lead from Franchitti on lap 53.
Graham Rahal
Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winner ...
crashed from sixth on lap 56 which brought out the caution. Another poor stop for Castroneves got him behind Kanaan as well, while the two Ganassi cars of Dixon and Franchitti switched places. The race turned green on lap 64, and it was evident that Briscoe had a bad set of tires. He lost many places immediately, and Castroneves also lost out to
Raphael Matos
Raphael Matos (born August 28, 1981) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He was the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights Series champion and the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Series champion. He lives in Miami.
Career highlights
Early career
Born in Bel ...
and
Danica Patrick. Meanwhile, Briscoe had to pit again, and rejoined 24th. The top three pulled away, while Castroneves passed Patrick on lap 81. During the third round of stops (after another caution), Franchitti got ahead of Dixon, and Castroneves got in front of Matos. There was the green flag on lap 91, and Dixon used Franchitti's slipstream to take the lead. Kanaan, running third on lap 98 had a huge impact with the wall at Turn 3 after a mechanical failure. He was okay except for some bruises, and the caution was brought out again leading to the fourth round of stops. The top two retained order, while third placed Castroneves again lost out, this time to
Will Power
William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
and Matos.
Danica Patrick had a bad stop as well, dropping from sixth to tenth. During the next restart, Castroneves made short work of Matos, and had a go at Power, but Power kept the place. The order remained the same until lap 131, when
Nelson Philippe
Nelson Philippe (born July 23, 1986 in Valence, Drôme) is a French race car driver.
Career
Early career
Philippe raced go-karts from 1998-2002. In 2003, he raced in the Barber Dodge Pro Series, finishing the season with one podium, and four ...
crashed, bringing out the fifth caution. This led to another round of stops. While Dixon maintained his lead, Franchitti had a slow stop, dropping from second to eighth, and Castrineves got the jump on power. The order after the stops is Dixon from Castroneves, Power,
Paul Tracy
Paul Anthony Tracy (born December 17, 1968) is a Canadian-American former professional auto racing driver who competed in CART, the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series. He is known by the nicknames "PT" and "the Thrill from West Hill" ...
and
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series season, 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Autosport, Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indiana ...
. The green flag came out on lap 142, and it was Castroneves who immediately was on sond, taking the lead from Dixon even before they had reached the first turn. Tracy started dropping back, quickly passed by Wheldon and
Townsend Bell
Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.
Early career
He spent ...
. Franchitti, frustrated after his bad stop, further dropped down to 12th after running wide when trying to pass
Ed Carpenter. On lap 159, Power passed Dixon for second. The next caution came after
Justin Wilson crashed. This led to one more round of stops. Power and Dixon, running second and third had bad stops, and
Danica Patrick got in front of
Townsend Bell
Townsend Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.
Early career
He spent ...
during this time.
Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...
did not stop, and was in second. There were no changes at the restart. There was one more caution, during which Briscoe pitted from second. He rejoined 16th. At the last restart with twenty laps to go, Patrick had a go at Wheldon but Wheldon defended well. Castroneves pulled away and won, with Wheldon, Patrick, Bell and Power making the top 5.
Round 5:
ABC Supply Company A. J. Foyt 225
The ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest Presented by the Metro Milwaukee Honda Dealers was an IndyCar Series race held at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.
History
Open wheel racing at the track dates back to 1937. AAA sa ...
*Report:
2009 ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225
*Sunday May 31, 2009 – 2:50 p.m.
CDT / 3:50 p.m.
EDT
*
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectato ...
–
West Allis, Wisconsin
West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census.
Histo ...
(1.015 mile oval)
*Distance: 225 laps / 228.375 miles
*Race weather: 57 °F, partially cloudy
*Television:
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
(
Marty Reid,
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear (born December 20, 1959) is a Canadian former race car driver. He ran the Indy Racing League and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994.
Goodyear qualified for eleven runnings of th ...
,
Jack Arute
Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...
,
Brienne Pedigo
Brienne Pedigo is an American auto racing pit reporter, formerly employed by ESPN and ESPN on ABC for the Indy Racing League and currently working for the Motor Racing Network as pit reporter.
Career
In 2007, Pedigo took over as a pit reporter fo ...
, Vince Welch)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 0.72
*Attendance:
*Pole Position winner: #6
Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...
, 1:26.7966 sec, (4-lap)
*Race Summary: Polesitter
Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...
overcame a bad start to pass
Tony Kanaan
Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...
and
Graham Rahal
Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winner ...
to lead. He led until lap 200, when
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
took advantage of backmarker Tomas Scheckter to pass him on the inside of Turn 2. Dixon went on to win ahead of Briscoe and
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
.
Round 6:
Bombardier Learjet 550
The race last ran as XPEL 375 is an NTT IndyCar Series event held at Texas Motor Speedway near Fort Worth, Texas since 1997. The races have had a variety of different entitlement sponsors and distances over the years and therefore has had many di ...
*Report:
2009 Bombardier Learjet 550
*Saturday June 6, 2009 – 8:40 p.m.
CDT / 9:40 p.m.
EDT
*
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24° ...
–
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
(1.455 mile oval)
*Distance: 228 laps / 331.74 miles
*Race weather: 89 °F, fair
*Television:
Versus (
Bob Jenkins
Robert F. Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC and later Versus/NBCSN. Jenkins was the radio "Voice of the Indianapoli ...
,
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
,
Jon Beekhuis
Jon Beekhuis (; born March 31, 1960) is an American former race car driver. Beekhuis was born in Zurich, Switzerland while his American father was studying at ETH Zurich, and grew up in California. The 1988 ARS (Indy Lights) champion, Beekhuis d ...
,
Jack Arute
Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...
,
Robbie Floyd,
Lindy Thackston)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 0.63
*Attendance: 90,000 (estimated)
*Pole Position winner: #10
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
, 1:37.6725 sec, (4-lap)
*Race Summary: Ryan Briscoe passed polesitter
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
at a restart on lap 10, and as there were no cautions for the next 140 laps, Briscoe built up a 15-second lead over second placed
Marco Andretti
Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American auto racing driver who drives the No. 98 car for Bryan Herta Autosport, Andretti Herta Autosport part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the third generation of the famous Andretti racin ...
. A caution for debris on lap 151 took away the lead. Three laps after the restart,
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...
passed Andretti for second. A crash for
A. J. Foyt IV brought out the yellow flag again, and led to the final round of stops. A quicker stop for Castroneves got him ahead of Briscoe. Castroneves held off Briscoe for the win, with
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
, Andretti and Franchitti making up the top 5.
Round 7: Iowa Corn Indy 250
*Report:
2009 Iowa Corn Indy 250
*Sunday June 21, 2009 – 12:28 p.m.
CDT / 1:28 p.m.
EDT
*
Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretch ...
–
Newton, Iowa
Newton is the county seat of, and most populous city in, Jasper County, Iowa, United States. Located east of Des Moines, Newton is in Central Iowa. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 15,760. It is the home of Iowa Speedway, Maytag Da ...
(0.894 mile oval)
*Distance: 250 laps / 223.5 miles
*Race weather: 75 °F, overcast
*Television:
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
(
Marty Reid,
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear (born December 20, 1959) is a Canadian former race car driver. He ran the Indy Racing League and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994.
Goodyear qualified for eleven runnings of th ...
,
Jack Arute
Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...
,
Brienne Pedigo
Brienne Pedigo is an American auto racing pit reporter, formerly employed by ESPN and ESPN on ABC for the Indy Racing League and currently working for the Motor Racing Network as pit reporter.
Career
In 2007, Pedigo took over as a pit reporter fo ...
, Vince Welch)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 0.8
*Attendance: 42,000
*Pole Position winner: #3
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...
(qualifying cancelled; field set by owner points)
*Race Summary:
Round 8:
SunTrust Indy Challenge
The Indy Richmond 300 (formally known as the ''SunTrust Indy Challenge'') is an IndyCar Series race held at Richmond Raceway near Richmond, Virginia from 2001 to 2009,. From 2001–2007, the race was scheduled for 250 laps (187.5 miles); from 200 ...
*Report:
2009 SunTrust Indy Challenge
*Saturday June 27, 2009 – 7:45 p.m.
CDT / 8:45 p.m.
EDT
*
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Known as ...
–
Henrico County, Virginia
Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is incl ...
(0.75 mile oval)
*Distance: 300 laps / 225 miles
*Race weather: 76 °F, partly cloudy
*Television:
Versus (
Bob Jenkins
Robert F. Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC and later Versus/NBCSN. Jenkins was the radio "Voice of the Indianapoli ...
,
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
,
Jon Beekhuis
Jon Beekhuis (; born March 31, 1960) is an American former race car driver. Beekhuis was born in Zurich, Switzerland while his American father was studying at ETH Zurich, and grew up in California. The 1988 ARS (Indy Lights) champion, Beekhuis d ...
,
Jack Arute
Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...
,
Robbie Floyd,
Lindy Thackston)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 0.22
*Attendance:
*Pole Position winner: #10
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
, 1:04.5488 sec, (4-lap)
*Race Summary:
Round 9:
Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen
The Grand Prix at The Glen was an IndyCar Series race held at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. American open wheel racing at the circuit dates back to 1979.
Following a five-year hiatus, Watkins Glen was added back to the sc ...
*Report:
2009 Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen
*Sunday July 5, 2009 – 1:26 p.m.
EDT
*
Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...
–
Watkins Glen, New York
Watkins Glen is a village and census-designated place in and the county seat of Schuyler County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,829. Watkins Glen lies within the towns of Dix and Reading. To the southwest o ...
(3.37 mile road course)
*Distance: 60 laps / 202.2 miles
*Race weather: 71 °F, fair
*Television:
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
(
Marty Reid,
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear (born December 20, 1959) is a Canadian former race car driver. He ran the Indy Racing League and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994.
Goodyear qualified for eleven runnings of th ...
,
Jack Arute
Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...
,
Brienne Pedigo
Brienne Pedigo is an American auto racing pit reporter, formerly employed by ESPN and ESPN on ABC for the Indy Racing League and currently working for the Motor Racing Network as pit reporter.
Career
In 2007, Pedigo took over as a pit reporter fo ...
, Vince Welch)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 0.9
*Attendance:
*Pole Position winner: #6
Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...
, 1:28.5970 sec,
*Race Summary:
Justin Wilson dominated most of the event, en route to victory, the first-ever
Indy car
INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...
win for
Dale Coyne Racing
Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) is an American professional open-wheel racing team that currently competes in the IndyCar Series. The team was founded in 1984 and is owned by former driver Dale Coyne. From 1995 to 2000, the team was known as Payton-Coyn ...
. Late in the race, Wilson was carrying the optional red tires. A late-race caution bunched the field for a sprint to the finish. Wilson got the jump on the restart, and pulled out to over a 4-second lead to preserve the win. It was the first race all season, and the first since the 2008 Detroit event, which saw neither
Ganassi nor
Penske
Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president.
Holding ...
in victory lane.
Round 10:
Honda Indy Toronto
The Grand Prix of Toronto (known for sponsorship reasons as the Honda Indy Toronto) is an annual Indy Car race, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Molson Indy Toronto, it was part of the Champ Car World Series from 1986 t ...
*Report:
2009 Honda Indy Toronto
*Sunday July 12, 2009 – 1:16 p.m.
EDT
*
Streets of Toronto –
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
(1.755 mile temporary street course)
*Distance: 85 laps / 149.175 miles
*Race weather: 72 °F, partly cloudy
*Television:
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
(
Marty Reid,
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear (born December 20, 1959) is a Canadian former race car driver. He ran the Indy Racing League and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994.
Goodyear qualified for eleven runnings of th ...
,
Jack Arute
Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...
,
Brienne Pedigo
Brienne Pedigo is an American auto racing pit reporter, formerly employed by ESPN and ESPN on ABC for the Indy Racing League and currently working for the Motor Racing Network as pit reporter.
Career
In 2007, Pedigo took over as a pit reporter fo ...
, Vince Welch)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 1.0
*Attendance:
*Pole Position winner: #10
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
, 1:01.0249 sec,
*Race Summary:
Round 11:
Rexall Edmonton Indy
The Edmonton Indy was a round of the IndyCar Series held at a temporary circuit set up at the Edmonton City Centre Airport near the downtown area of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was formerly called the ''Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton'' and was ...
*Report:
2009 Rexall Edmonton Indy
*Sunday July 26, 2009 – 3:50 p.m.
MDT / 5:50 p.m.
EDT
*
Rexall Speedway –
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
(1.973 mile temporary airport course)
*Distance: 95 laps / 187.435 miles
*Race weather: 77 °F, partly cloudy
*Television:
Versus (
Bob Jenkins
Robert F. Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC and later Versus/NBCSN. Jenkins was the radio "Voice of the Indianapoli ...
,
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
,
Jon Beekhuis
Jon Beekhuis (; born March 31, 1960) is an American former race car driver. Beekhuis was born in Zurich, Switzerland while his American father was studying at ETH Zurich, and grew up in California. The 1988 ARS (Indy Lights) champion, Beekhuis d ...
,
Kevin Lee,
Robbie Floyd,
Lindy Thackston)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 0.24
*Attendance:
*Pole Position winner: #12
Will Power
William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
, 1:01.0133 sec,
*Race Summary:
Penske Racing
Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the organiza ...
cars started 1–2–3 for the first time since
Mid-Ohio
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regi ...
in
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
.
* * Race finished under caution.
Round 12:
Meijer Indy 300
The Kentucky Indy 300 was an IndyCar Series race held at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky.
The IRL IndyCar Series debuted the race in 2000. In the 2002 race, Sarah Fisher won the pole position, the first such by a female driver in major o ...
*Report:
2009 Meijer Indy 300
*Saturday August 1, 2009 – 8:30 p.m.
EDT
*
Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, which has hosted ARCA, NASCAR and Indy Racing League racing annually since it opened in 2000. The track is currently owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Before 2008 J ...
–
Sparta, Kentucky
Sparta is a home rule-class city in Gallatin and Owen counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 231 at the 2010 census.
Sparta is home to Kentucky Speedway.
Geography
Sparta is located in southwestern Gallatin County at (38.6 ...
(1.48 mile oval)
*Distance: 200 laps / 296 miles
*Race weather: 76 °F, overcast
*Television:
Versus (
Bob Jenkins
Robert F. Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC and later Versus/NBCSN. Jenkins was the radio "Voice of the Indianapoli ...
,
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
,
Jon Beekhuis
Jon Beekhuis (; born March 31, 1960) is an American former race car driver. Beekhuis was born in Zurich, Switzerland while his American father was studying at ETH Zurich, and grew up in California. The 1988 ARS (Indy Lights) champion, Beekhuis d ...
,
Kevin Lee,
Robbie Floyd,
Lindy Thackston)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 0.14
[https://www.webcitation.org/5iodXHg5P?url=http://thescore.ibj.com/content/?m=200908 ]
*Attendance: 48,000
*Pole Position winner: #9
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
(qualifying cancelled; field set by owner points)
*Race Summary: Series officials implemented a mid-season rules change on oval races to encourage increased competition. A push-to-pass system was added to the cars, along with various aerodynamic enhancements. The changes were well-received, and the race became the most competitive oval race on the circuit in almost two years. In the final 50 laps,
Ed Carpenter of
Vision Racing
Vision Racing was a racing team in the Indy Racing League founded in 2005 when Tony George purchased the assets of the defunct Kelley Racing and hired his stepson Ed Carpenter to be the driver. The team has previously raced in the Izod IndyCa ...
led
Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...
and
Tony Kanaan
Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...
, with
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona with Wa ...
lurking amongst the top 5. In the final ten laps, Carpenter and Briscoe raced side by side, swapping the lead several times each lap. On the final turn, Briscoe edged ahead, and denied Carpenter his first career victory by 0.0162 seconds. The race's average speed, only slowed by a single caution flag for a second straight race, was over 200 mph, making it the second fastest IndyCar Series race held.
Round 13:
Honda 200
The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio is an IndyCar Series race held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Professional open wheel races at the facility date back to 1970. The U.S. Formula 5000 series ran from 1970 to 1976, and the revived ...
*Report:
2009 Honda 200
*Sunday August 9, 2009 – 1:56 p.m.
EDT
*
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regio ...
–
Lexington, Ohio
Lexington is a village along the Clear Fork River in Troy Township and Washington Township in Richland County in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is part of the Mansfield, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,822 at the 2010 cen ...
(2.258 mile road course)
*Distance: 85 laps / 191.930 miles
*Race weather: 91 °F, partly cloudy
*Television:
Versus (
Bob Jenkins
Robert F. Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC and later Versus/NBCSN. Jenkins was the radio "Voice of the Indianapoli ...
,
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
,
Jon Beekhuis
Jon Beekhuis (; born March 31, 1960) is an American former race car driver. Beekhuis was born in Zurich, Switzerland while his American father was studying at ETH Zurich, and grew up in California. The 1988 ARS (Indy Lights) champion, Beekhuis d ...
,
Jack Arute
Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...
,
Robbie Floyd,
Lindy Thackston)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 0.2
*Attendance:
*Pole Position winner: #6
Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...
, 1:06.6814 sec,
*Race Summary:
Round 14:
Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma
The Indycar Grand Prix of Sonoma was an IndyCar Series race held at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. The USAC Championship Car circuit raced at the circuit in 1970. In 2005, American open wheel racing returned to the circuit with an IndyCa ...
*Report:
2009 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma
*Sunday August 23, 2009 – 2:50 p.m.
PDT / 5:50 p.m.
EDT
*
Infineon Raceway
Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern ...
–
Sonoma, California
Sonoma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Sonoma is one of the principal cities of California's Wine Country and the center of the Sonoma Valley AVA. Sonoma's p ...
(2.303 mile road course)
*Distance: 75 laps / 172.725 miles
*Race weather: 69 °F, fair
*Television:
Versus (
Bob Jenkins
Robert F. Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC and later Versus/NBCSN. Jenkins was the radio "Voice of the Indianapoli ...
,
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
,
Jon Beekhuis
Jon Beekhuis (; born March 31, 1960) is an American former race car driver. Beekhuis was born in Zurich, Switzerland while his American father was studying at ETH Zurich, and grew up in California. The 1988 ARS (Indy Lights) champion, Beekhuis d ...
,
Jack Arute
Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...
,
Robbie Floyd,
Lindy Thackston)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 0.25
*Attendance:
*Pole Position winner: #10
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
, 1:16.7987 sec,
*Race Summary:
Round 15: Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300
*Report:
2009 Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300
*Saturday August 29, 2009 – 9:00 p.m.
CDT / 10:00 p.m.
EDT
*
Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the IndyC ...
–
Joliet, Illinois
Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the cit ...
(1.52 mile oval)
*Distance: 200 laps / 304 miles
*Race weather: 60 °F, fair
*Television:
Versus (
Bob Jenkins
Robert F. Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC and later Versus/NBCSN. Jenkins was the radio "Voice of the Indianapoli ...
,
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
,
Jon Beekhuis
Jon Beekhuis (; born March 31, 1960) is an American former race car driver. Beekhuis was born in Zurich, Switzerland while his American father was studying at ETH Zurich, and grew up in California. The 1988 ARS (Indy Lights) champion, Beekhuis d ...
,
Jack Arute
Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...
,
Robbie Floyd,
Lindy Thackston)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 0.24
*Attendance:
*Pole Position winner: #6
Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...
, 1:41.6327 sec, (4-lap)
*Race Summary:
Round 16:
Indy Japan 300
The Indy Japan 300 presented by Bridgestone was an Indy Racing League IndyCar Series race held at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan. The 2008 race marked the historic first ever win for a woman driver in American open wheel racing when Danica Pat ...
*Report:
2009 Indy Japan 300
*Saturday September 19, 2009 – 12:00 p.m.
JST / Friday September 18, 2009 – 11:00 p.m.
EDT
*
Twin Ring Motegi
Mobility Resort Motegi (モビリティリゾートもてぎ) is a motorsport race track located at Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Originally named Twin Ring Motegi (ツインリンクもてぎ), the circuit's name came from the facility hav ...
–
Motegi, Tochigi
is a town located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 11,777 in 4503 households, and a population density of 68 persons per km2. The total area of the town is .
Geography
Motegi is located on the far easter ...
(1.52 mile oval)
*Distance: 200 laps / 304 miles
*Race weather: 76 °F, cloudy
*Television:
Versus (
Bob Jenkins
Robert F. Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC and later Versus/NBCSN. Jenkins was the radio "Voice of the Indianapoli ...
,
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
,
Jon Beekhuis
Jon Beekhuis (; born March 31, 1960) is an American former race car driver. Beekhuis was born in Zurich, Switzerland while his American father was studying at ETH Zurich, and grew up in California. The 1988 ARS (Indy Lights) champion, Beekhuis d ...
,
Jack Arute
Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...
)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 0.14,
197,000 viewers
*Attendance:
*Pole Position winner: #9
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
, 1:48.3400 sec, (4-lap)
*Race Summary: Ryan Briscoe's solo incident with the pit road wall allowed the championship to continue to Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Round 17:
Firestone Indy 300
The Grand Prix of Miami refers to an intermittent series of American open wheel races held in South Florida dating back to 1926. AAA held one board track race in 1926, and then the facility was destroyed by a hurricane. The popular CART IndyCar ...
*Report:
2009 Firestone Indy 300
*Saturday October 10, 2009 – 5:00 p.m.
EDT
*
Homestead-Miami Speedway –
Homestead, Florida
Homestead is a city within Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida, between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. The population was 80,737 as of the 2020 census. Homestead is primarily a Miami sub ...
(1.485 mile oval)
*Distance: 200 laps / 297 miles
*Race weather: 89 °F, fair
*Television:
Versus (
Bob Jenkins
Robert F. Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/ABC and later Versus/NBCSN. Jenkins was the radio "Voice of the Indianapoli ...
,
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
,
Jon Beekhuis
Jon Beekhuis (; born March 31, 1960) is an American former race car driver. Beekhuis was born in Zurich, Switzerland while his American father was studying at ETH Zurich, and grew up in California. The 1988 ARS (Indy Lights) champion, Beekhuis d ...
,
Jack Arute
Jack Arute III ( ; born September 28, 1950) is an American former sportscaster for the NFL and college sports for Sirius XM Radio. He used to be an auto racing pit reporter and college football sideline reporter for ESPN and ABC, and covered the ...
,
Robbie Floyd,
Lindy Thackston)
*
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
: 0.24
*Attendance:
*Pole Position winner: #10
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
, 1:40.5378 sec, (4-lap)
*Race Summary: The championship battle came down to a three-man race between
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
,
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
(5 points behind), and
Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...
(8 points behind). In what became the series' first oval race to run caution-free the full distance, the three title contenders dominated and were the only cars to finish on the lead lap. In the final 50 laps, fuel strategy became key, as Dixon and Briscoe ran 1st–2nd, with Franchitti trailing some 25 seconds in third. Both Dixon and Briscoe were forced to pit for fuel in the final 8 laps, while Franchitti stayed out and stretched his fuel to the finish. Franchitti's race victory clinched his second IndyCar Series title.
Season Summary
Race results
Final driver standings
* Ties in points broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc., and then by number of pole positions, followed by number of times qualified 2nd, etc.
See also
*
2009 Indianapolis 500
*
2009 Indy Lights season
*
2009 Atlantic Championship season
References
External links
IndyCar.com – official siteIndianapolis 500 – official siteIndianapolis Star
{{DEFAULTSORT:2009 Indycar Series Season
IndyCar Series seasons
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...