2011 IndyCar season | |
---|---|
IZOD IndyCar Series | |
Season | |
Races | 18 |
Start date | March 27 |
End date | October 16 |
Awards | |
Drivers' champion | Dario Franchitti |
Rookie of the Year | James Hinchcliffe |
Indianapolis 500 winner | Dan Wheldon |
Discipline champions | |
Oval champion | Scott Dixon |
Road course champion | Will Power |
The 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series was the 16th season of the IndyCar Series and the 100th recognized season of American open-wheel motor racing. The season was sanctioned by IndyCar and was part of the Mazda Road to Indy. The season began in March and concluded in October, consisting of seventeen events.
It was the final season running the Dallara IR-05 spec cars, which had been the series' sole chassis supplier since 2007. It was also the final season running the Honda Indy V8 naturally-aspirated engines, which had been the series' sole engine supplier since 2006. The events took place in twelve states of the United States, as well Canada, Brazil, and Japan. The schedule featured ten street/road courses and eight on oval tracks. The premier event was the 95th Indianapolis 500, won by Dan Wheldon.
Dario Franchitti claimed his fourth IndyCar Series Championship title. He went into the final race of the season leading Will Power by 18 points. However, the race and the season were both marred by a 15-car pile-up early in the race that claimed Wheldon's life. The race was abandoned after 12 completed laps and the final points total reverted to the previous event, with Franchitti winning the title.
Rookie of the Year honors went to Canadian James Hinchcliffe, who led American J. R. Hildebrand in the rookie standings by 6 points going into the final race. Hildebrand's season was highlighted by a nearly winning the Indianapolis 500. His 2nd-place finish at Indy earned him top rookie honors for the race.
This season marked the end of several drivers' IndyCar careers. After 11-seasons, this season would mark the end of two-time series runner up Davey Hamilton's career. Hamilton would later partner with Sam Schmidt to form Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports a team that would last for two seasons, before changing to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports from 2014 onwards. Vítor Meira was another who made 2011 his final season. In his career, Meira set the record for the most podiums without a win, with 15. Paul Tracy would make an attempt to find a car for 2012, but was unsuccessful in doing so, making 2011 his final season in IndyCar also. Bertrand Baguette would shift his focus to sports cars for 2012, racing in the World Endurance Championship. Raphael Matos would only race until the Indy 500 and for 2012 he would switch to Stock Car Brasil. Danica Patrick would head to NASCAR for 2011 leaving an open seat at Andretti Autosport. Two-Time race winner Tomas Scheckter would make his final starts of his career across several teams in 2011. Scheckter currently resides in the United Kingdom. Buddy Rice would be yet another to make 2011 his final season. Rice collected three wins in his IndyCar career. Finally 2005 Series Champion Dan Wheldon. Wheldon would sign a contract to race for Andretti Autosport for 2012 driving the number 27 car, replacing Danica Patrick. Unfortunately, Wheldon would be tragically killed in a horrific accident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that would also injure three other drivers, bringing an end to his 10-season career.
This would be the final season for Versus broadcasting IndyCar. Versus would be rebranded into NBC Sports for 2012, a name that has continued to this day (2024). ESPN would continue to also broadcast certain races as well.
As of 2024, Dario Franchitti remains the recent IndyCar Series driver to have won back-to-back driver's titles to date.
O Oval/Speedway
R Road/Street course
Podium Finishers | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Led | |
1 | 2 | 10 | Dario Franchitti | Chip Ganassi Racing | 100 | 2:00:59.6886 | 94 | |
2 | 1 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | 100 | +7.1612 | 6 | |
3 | 8 | 82 | Tony Kanaan | KV Racing Technology–Lotus | 100 | +16.1045 | 0 | |
Race average speed: 89.260 mph (143.650 km/h) | ||||||||
Lead changes: 3 between 2 drivers | ||||||||
Cautions: 5 for 13 laps |
Podium Finishers | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Led | |
1 | 1 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | 90 | 2:14:42.9523 | 90 | |
2 | 3 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 90 | +3.3828 | 0 | |
3 | 7 | 10 | Dario Franchitti | Chip Ganassi Racing | 90 | +15.5243 | 0 | |
Race average speed: 92.194 mph (148.372 km/h) | ||||||||
Lead changes: None | ||||||||
Cautions: 6 for 20 laps |
Podium Finishers | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Led | |
1 | 3 | 27 | Mike Conway | Andretti Autosport | 85 | 1:53:11.1000 | 14 | |
2 | 12 | 6 | Ryan Briscoe | Team Penske | 85 | +6.3203 | 35 | |
3 | 7 | 10 | Dario Franchitti | Chip Ganassi Racing | 85 | +6.7163 | 0 | |
Race average speed: 88.676 mph (142.710 km/h) | ||||||||
Lead changes: 7 between 6 drivers | ||||||||
Cautions: 3 for 12 laps |
Podium Finishers | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Led | |
1 | 1 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | 55 | 2:04:05.2964 | 32 | |
2 | 5 | 38 | Graham Rahal | Chip Ganassi Racing | 55 | +4.6723 | 0 | |
3 | 4 | 6 | Ryan Briscoe | Team Penske | 55 | +7.9037 | 0 | |
Race average speed: 67.442 mph (108.537 km/h) | ||||||||
Lead changes: 2 between 2 drivers | ||||||||
Cautions: 6 for 21 laps |
Top Three Finishers | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fin. Pos |
St. Pos |
Car No. |
Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Laps Led | |
1 | 6 | 98 | Dan Wheldon | Bryan Herta Autosport | 200 | 2:56:11.7267 | 1 | |
2 | 12 | 4 | J. R. Hildebrand | Panther Racing | 200 | +2.1086 | 7 | |
3 | 29 | 38 | Graham Rahal | Chip Ganassi Racing | 200 | +5.5949 | 6 | |
Race average speed: 170.265 mph (274.015 km/h) | ||||||||
Lead changes: 23 between 10 drivers | ||||||||
Cautions: 7 for 40 laps |
Race One – Top Three Finishers | Race Two – Top Three Finishers | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fin. Pos |
St. Pos |
Car No. |
Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Laps Led |
Fin. Pos |
St. Pos |
Car No. |
Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Laps Led |
1 | 2 | 10 | Dario Franchitti | Chip Ganassi Racing | 114 | 54:47.2787 | 110 | 1 | 3 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | 114 | 48:08.9739 | 68 |
2 | 7 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 114 | +0.0527 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 114 | +0.9466 | 1 |
3 | 3 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | 114 | +0.2064 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 6 | Ryan Briscoe | Team Penske | 114 | +4.6524 | 3 |
Race average speed: 181.649 mph (292.336 km/h) | Race average speed: 206.693 mph (332.640 km/h) | ||||||||||||||
Lead changes: 6 between 5 drivers | Lead changes: 8 between 6 drivers | ||||||||||||||
Cautions: 1 for 10 laps | Cautions: None |
Top Three Finishers | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fin. Pos |
St. Pos |
Car No. |
Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Laps Led | |
1 | 1 | 10 | Dario Franchitti | Chip Ganassi Racing | 225 | 1:56:43.5877 | 161 | |
2 | 12 | 38 | Graham Rahal | Chip Ganassi Racing | 225 | +1.4271 | 0 | |
3 | 10 | 2 | Oriol Servià | Newman/Haas Racing | 225 | +2.7703 | 0 | |
Race average speed: 117.390 mph (188.921 km/h) | ||||||||
Lead changes: 5 between 3 drivers | ||||||||
Cautions: 6 for 62 laps |
Top Three Finishers | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fin. Pos |
St. Pos |
Car No. |
Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Laps Led | |
1 | 17 | 26 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Autosport | 250 | 1:53:00.1074 | 42 | |
2 | 3 | 82 | Tony Kanaan | KV Racing Technology–Lotus | 250 | +0.7932 | 25 | |
3 | 23 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 250 | +1.1067 | 0 | |
Race average speed: 118.671 mph (190.982 km/h) | ||||||||
Lead changes: 9 between 5 drivers | ||||||||
Cautions: 5 for 72 laps |
Podium Finishers | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Led | |
1 | 3 | 10 | Dario Franchitti | Chip Ganassi Racing | 85 | 1:56:32.1501 | 30 | |
2 | 2 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 85 | +0.7345 | 0 | |
3 | 8 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | 85 | +6.0144 | 0 | |
Race average speed: 76.805 mph (123.606 km/h) | ||||||||
Lead changes: 3 between 3 drivers | ||||||||
Cautions: 8 for 32 laps |
Podium Finishers | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fin. Pos |
St. Pos |
Car No. |
Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Laps Led | |
1 | 2 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | 80 | 1:57:22.5177 | 57 | |
2 | 9 | 3 | Hélio Castroneves | Team Penske | 80 | +0.8089 | 1 | |
3 | 4 | 10 | Dario Franchitti | Chip Ganassi Racing | 80 | +1.1735 | 2 | |
Race average speed: 90.949 mph (146.368 km/h) | ||||||||
Lead changes: 6 between 5 drivers | ||||||||
Cautions: 2 for 8 laps |
Top Three Finishers | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fin. Pos |
St. Pos |
Car No. |
Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Laps Led | |
1 | 1 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 85 | 1:48:46.9509 | 50 | |
2 | 3 | 10 | Dario Franchitti | Chip Ganassi Racing | 85 | +7.6508 | 4 | |
3 | 5 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | 85 | +9.0784 | 0 | |
Race average speed: 105.861 mph (170.367 km/h) | ||||||||
Lead changes: 7 between 5 drivers | ||||||||
Cautions: 2 for 9 laps |
Top Three Finishers | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fin. Pos |
St. Pos |
Car No. |
Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Laps Led | |
1 | 5 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | 215 | 1:58:01.5843 | 71 | |
2 | 2 | 2 | Oriol Servià | Newman/Haas Racing | 215 | +0.2361* | 0 | |
3 | 7 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 215 | +1.4839 | 2 | |
* Under caution | ||||||||
Race average speed: 112.030 mph (180.295 km/h) | ||||||||
Lead changes: 7 between 6 drivers | ||||||||
Cautions: 6 for 66 laps |
Top Three Finishers | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fin. Pos |
St. Pos |
Car No. |
Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Laps Led | |
1 | 1 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | 75 | 1:47:29.7619 | 71 | |
2 | 2 | 3 | Hélio Castroneves | Team Penske | 75 | +3.2420 | 0 | |
3 | 3 | 6 | Ryan Briscoe | Team Penske | 75 | +6.4494 | 4 | |
Race average speed: 96.408 mph (155.154 km/h) | ||||||||
Lead changes: 4 between 2 drivers | ||||||||
Cautions: 1 for 3 laps |
Top Three Finishers | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fin. Pos |
St. Pos |
Car No. |
Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Laps Led | |
1 | 1 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | 75 | 2:02:19.4998 | 70 | |
2 | 14 | 2 | Oriol Servià | Newman/Haas Racing | 75 | +10.2096 | 0 | |
3 | 27 | 82 | Tony Kanaan | KV Racing Technology–Lotus | 75 | +10.8557 | 0 | |
Race average speed: 75.046 mph (120.775 km/h) | ||||||||
Lead changes: 7 between 5 drivers | ||||||||
Cautions: 2 for 16 laps |
Top Three Finishers | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fin. Pos |
St. Pos |
Car No. |
Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Laps Led | |
1 | 1 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 63 | 1:56:41.0107 | 62 | |
2 | 2 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | 63 | +3.4375 | 1 | |
3 | 10 | 26 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Autosport | 63 | +4.4782 | 0 | |
Race average speed: 96.635 mph (155.519 km/h) | ||||||||
Lead changes: 2 between 2 drivers | ||||||||
Cautions: 3 for 8 laps |
Top Three Finishers | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Led | |
1 | 4 | 67 | Ed Carpenter | Sarah Fisher Racing | 200 | 1:42:02.7825 | 8 | |
2 | 11 | 10 | Dario Franchitti | Chip Ganassi Racing | 200 | +0.0098 | 143 | |
3 | 7 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 200 | +0.1048 | 0 | |
Race average speed: 174.039 mph (280.089 km/h) | ||||||||
Lead changes: 7 between 4 drivers | ||||||||
Cautions: 3 for 32 laps |
Further information: List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems |
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NQ After qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 had concluded, Bruno Junqueira was replaced by Ryan Hunter-Reay, who did not qualify for the 500. Junqueira received full qualifying points for a 19th place qualification.
1 At the Las Vegas Indy 300, Dan Wheldon died from injuries sustained in a 15-car crash on lap 11. The race was abandoned, the results were stricken from the record book, and the statistics did not count.
2 Simona de Silvestro was awarded with 5 points at Iowa as a 'non starter', but her withdrawal on medical grounds before the start of practice meant that she did not compete in any of the official sessions.
Pos | Driver | STP | ALA | LBH | SAO | INDY | TXS | MIL | IOW | TOR | EDM | MDO | NHA | SNM | BAL | MOT | KTY | LSV1 | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
R1 | R2 | |||||||||||||||||||
1 | #10 Chip Ganassi Racing | 1* | 3 | 3 | 4 | 129 | 1* | 7 | 1* | 5* | 1 | 3 | 2 | 20* | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2* | C | 573 |
2 | #12 Team Penske | 2 | 1* | 10 | 1* | 145 | 3 | 1* | 4 | 21 | 24* | 1* | 14 | 5 | 1* | 1* | 2 | 19 | C | 555 |
3 | #9 Chip Ganassi Racing | 16 | 2 | 18 | 12 | 5*2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 23 | 1* | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1* | 3 | C | 518 |
4 | #2 Newman/Haas Racing | 9 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 63 | 21 | 15 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 22 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 6 | C | 425 |
5 | #82 KV Racing Technology | 3 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 423 | 11 | 5d | 19 | 2 | 26 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 28 | 3 | 17 | 17 | C | 366 |
6 | #6 Team Penske | 18 | 21 | 2* | 3 | 2727 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 3 | 14 | 20 | 8 | C | 364 |
7 | #26 Andretti Autosport | 24 | 4 | 26 | 14 | 928 | 13 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 7 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 3 | 27 | C | 337 |
8 | #28 Andretti Autosport | 21 | 14 | 23 | 18 | DNQ | 19 | 9 | 26 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 24 | 5 | C | 335 |
9 | #38 Chip Ganassi Racing | 17 | 18 | 13 | 2 | 330 | 9 | 30 | 2 | 15 | 13 | 25 | 24 | 26 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | C | 320 |
10 | #7 Andretti Autosport | 12 | 17 | 7 | 23 | 1026 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 9 | 21 | 6 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 10 | C | 314 |
11 | #3 Team Penske | 20 | 7 | 12 | 21 | 1716 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 17 | 2 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 17 | 22 | 29 | C | 312 |
12 | #77 Sam Schmidt Motorsports | 6 | 15 | 5 | 19 | 281 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 16 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 19 | 20 | 7 | 4 | 14 | C† | 312 |
13 | #06 Newman/Haas Racing | 24 | 4 | 9 | 2913 | 20 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 20 | 4 | 7 | 24 | 15 | 4 | C | 302 | |
14 | #5 KV Racing Technology | 5 | 16 | 21 | 8 | 3310 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 15 | C | 297 |
15 | #4 Panther Racing | 11 | 13 | 17 | 10 | 212 | 23 | 18 | 21 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 25 | 21 | 23 | 19 | 7 | 20 | C | 296 |
16 | #14 A. J. Foyt Enterprises | 8 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 1511 | 8 | 11 | 24 | 18 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 9 | 25 | 16 | C | 287 |
17 | #19 Dale Coyne Racing | DNS | 11 | 27 | 26 | 1931 | 14 | 24 | 22 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 6 | 28 | 6 | 26 | C | 273 |
18 | #22 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 10 | 19 | 22 | 7 | 1620 | 17 | 21 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 5 | 13 | 23 | 17 | 26 | 16 | 11 | C | 268 |
19 | #27 Andretti Autosport | 23 | 22 | 1 | 6 | DNQ | 24 | 17 | 12 | 24 | 22 | 8 | 26 | 25 | 16 | 23 | 9 | 18 | C | 260 |
20 | #59 KV Racing Technology | 19 | 23 | 25 | 13 | 3218 | 7 | 10 | 20 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 21 | 23 | C | 241 |
21 | #78 HVM Racing | 4 | 9 | 20 | 20 | 3124 | 26 | 27 | 25 | DNP2 | 10 | 24 | 12 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 25 | C | 240 |
22 | #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 14 | 8 | 19 | 24 | 2133 | 22 | 22 | 17 | 23 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 24 | C | 236 |
23 | #83 Chip Ganassi Racing | 22 | 10 | 24 | 16 | 1329 | 30 | 23 | 14 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 11 | 9 | 26 | 21 | 23 | 13 | C | 233 |
24 | #34 Conquest Racing | 13 | 26 | 14 | 11 | DNQ | 28 | 29 | 23 | 20 | 25 | 16 | 27 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 26 | 28 | C | 198 |
25 | #18 Dale Coyne Racing | 15 | 25 | 15 | 15 | DNQ | 25 | 28 | 15 | 25 | 18 | 18 | 23 | 18 | 19 | 27 | 13 | 21 | C | 189 |
26 | #67 Sarah Fisher Racing | 118 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 11 | 22 | 11 | 25 | 20 | 1 | C | 175 | |||||||
27 | #17 AFS / Sam Schmidt Motorsports | 7 | 20 | 11 | 25 | DNQ | 18 | 12 | 11 | 18 | 7 | C | 154 | |||||||
Pos | Driver | STP | ALA | LBH | SAO | INDY | R1 | R2 | MIL | IOW | TOR | EDM | MDO | NHA | SNM | BAL | MOT | KTY | LSV1 | Pts |
TXS |