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2008 IndyCar Series season
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| 2008 IndyCar Series season |
 |
| Season |
| Races |
19 |
| Start date |
March 29 |
| End date |
October 26 |
| Drivers |
| Drivers' champion |
Season in progress |
| Teams' champion |
Season in progress |
| Rookie of the year |
Season in progress |
| Most popular driver |
Season in progress |
| Indy 500 winner |
 Scott Dixon |
| Chronology |
| Previous season |
Next season |
| 2007 |
2009 |
The 2008 IndyCar Series [1] season is the 13th season of the series. Its premier event was the 92nd Indianapolis 500 on May 25. The first race was held March 29 at Homestead. It is the 97th recognized season of top-level American open wheel racing.
All races will be televised on ESPN, ESPN2, or ABC. Beginning in 2008, all IndyCar Series broadcasts will be in HD and utilize the popular Side-By-Side format, which continues to show on-track action during commercial breaks via split-screen. Races will also be broadcast on the IMS Radio Network and XM.
On February 26, 2008, the managements of IRL and Champ Car came to an agreement to become one entity. The move effectively ended a twelve-year split and reunited American Open Wheel racing.[2][3].
2008 IndyCar Series schedule
Schedule details
- The original official 16-race schedule was announced September 19, 2007.[6] On February 26, 2008, it was announced that former Champ Car events at Long Beach, Edmonton, and Australia would be added to the 2008 schedule[7].
- As a result of the scheduling conflict between the Motegi race and Long Beach, IndyCar teams were competing in the Indy Japan 300, while some of the former Champ Car teams were racing at Long Beach using their 2007 Panoz DP01 chassis. However both races will count toward the 2008 title.
- All times are EDT and are subject to change.[8]
- Race names and sponsors are subject to change
- The Indy Japan 300 was scheduled for 12:00 a.m. EDT, but was delayed to 10:00 p.m. EDT. Persistent "weepers" due to earlier rain delayed the race a day in Japan.
- The Edmonton race was moved to Saturday instead of Sunday to avoid conflict with the NASCAR Allstate 400 at the Brickyard; the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has an agreement not to hold IRL races directly against the NASCAR race at their circuit.
- The Richmond race has been extended by 50 laps (37.5 miles), turning it from a 250-lap race to 300 laps.
Team and Driver Chart
| Team |
Chassis |
Engine |
No |
Drivers |
Sponsor(s) |
Notes |
 Team Penske |
Dallara |
Honda |
3 |
 Helio Castroneves |
Kodak/Mobil 1 |
Both cars appear with unbranded Marlboro colors and logos in accordance with the MSA. #77 car was also entered for the Indy 500 but did not appear. |
| 6 |
 Ryan Briscoe |
Kodak/Mobil 1 |
| Target Chip Ganassi Racing |
Dallara |
Honda |
9 |
Scott Dixon |
Target/Fujifilm/Polaroid |
|
| 10 |
 Dan Wheldon |
Target/Fujifilm/Polaroid |
|
| Andretti Green Racing |
Dallara |
Honda |
7 |
Danica Patrick |
Motorola/XM |
|
| 11 |
Tony Kanaan |
7-Eleven |
|
| 26 |
Marco Andretti |
NYSE/Meijer/Gillette/Blockbuster |
The car was painted with Indiana Jones livery at Indianapolis and Milwaukee |
| 27 |
 Hideki Mutoh (R) |
Panasonic/Formula Dream |
|
| Rahal Letterman Racing |
Dallara |
Honda |
16 |
Alex Lloyd |
Wii Fit |
Indy 500 only; run in conjunction with Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 17 |
Ryan Hunter-Reay |
Ethanol Promotion and Information Council |
| Panther Racing |
Dallara |
Honda |
4 |
Vitor Meira |
National Guard/Delphi |
The #83 car was also entered for the Indy 500 but did not appear |
| A.J. Foyt Racing |
Dallara |
Honda |
14 |
Darren Manning |
ABC Supply Company |
|
| 41 |
Jeff Simmons |
ABC Supply Company |
Indy 500 only |
| Vision Racing |
Dallara |
Honda |
2 |
A. J. Foyt IV |
Eli Lilly |
|
| 20 |
Ed Carpenter |
Menards |
|
| 22 |
Davey Hamilton |
HP |
Indy 500 only[9] |
| 22 |
 Paul Tracy |
Subway/Edmonton.com |
Edmonton only; run in conjunction with Walker Racing[10] |
| Dreyer & Reinbold Racing |
Dallara |
Honda |
15 |
Buddy Rice |
Jordache/Operation Homefront/Express Auto Delivery/Roll Coater |
|
| 23 |
 Milka Duno |
Citgo (Duno) |
Duno (11 races), Bell (6 races)[11] |
| Townsend Bell |
William Rast/Emu Australia/Rigid Building Systems |
| 99 |
Townsend Bell |
William Rast |
In addition to Bell's six races in the #23, he will run the Indy 500 in a third car, #99. |
| Roth Racing |
Dallara |
Honda |
24 |
Jay Howard (R) |
|
Ran first 4 races and Watkins Glen, unclear if #24 team will return |
| John Andretti |
1-800-LAS-VEGAS |
Drove at Indy, Milwaukee, Texas, Iowa, and Richmond |
| 25 |
Marty Roth |
LIDS |
|
| KV Racing Technology |
Dallara |
Honda |
5 |
 Oriol Servià |
Angie's List/Plantronics |
Will work with Target Chip Ganassi Racing this season. Servià declared veteran driver by the IRL. |
| 8 |
Will Power (R) |
Aussie Vineyards |
| Conquest Racing |
Dallara |
Honda |
34 |
Jaime Camara (R) |
Sangari |
Perera raced first 3 races, replaced by Camara for rest of season [12] |
 Franck Perera (R) |
Opes Prime Group/Ares |
| 36 |
Enrique Bernoldi (R) |
Sangari |
|
| Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing |
Dallara |
Honda |
02 |
Justin Wilson (R) |
McDonald's[13] |
Will work with Rahal Letterman Racing this season |
| 06 |
Graham Rahal (R) |
Hole in the Wall Camps |
| Dale Coyne Racing |
Dallara |
Honda |
18 |
Bruno Junqueira |
Z-Line Designs |
Will work with Andretti Green Racing this season |
| 19 |
Mario Moraes (R) |
Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Q |
| HVM Racing |
Dallara |
Honda |
33 |
E. J. Viso (R) |
PDVSA |
Former Minardi Team USA in CCWS. Will run in all races with the exception of Nashville (illness). |
| Pacific Coast Motorsports |
Dallara |
Honda |
96 |
 Mario Dominguez (R) |
Mexico City Tourism Board |
Ran Long Beach and attempted Indianapolis, but failed to qualify at the 500.[14]
Planned to run full-time starting at Indy, but a team re-evaluation after Texas prompted them to focus on road and street courses only. Will run at Chicagoland Speedway before a full season attempt in 2009.
|
| Part time entries |
| Luczo Dragon Racing |
Dallara |
Honda |
12 |
 Tomas Scheckter |
Symantec |
Kansas, Indy 500, Texas, Infineon, and Chicagoland only. |
| Rubicon Race Team |
Dallara |
Honda |
44 |
 Max Papis |
LifeLock |
Indy 500 Only - Failed to qualify |
| Sarah Fisher Racing |
Dallara |
Honda |
67 |
Sarah Fisher |
Dollar General/text4cars.com |
Indy 500, Kentucky, and Chicagoland only [15] |
| CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports/Wellman Racing |
Dallara |
Honda |
77 |
Roger Yasukawa |
Interush |
Motegi Only[16] |
| 98 |
Curb Records/hhgregg/Real Power |
Indy 500 only[16] - Failed to qualify |
| American Dream Motorsports |
Panoz |
Honda |
88 |
Phil Giebler |
Gardner Trucking |
Indy 500 only - practiced for Indy but wrecked and failed to make a qualifying attempt; formerly Playa Del Racing. |
| Hemelgarn Johnson Racing |
Dallara |
Honda |
91 |
Buddy Lazier |
LifeLock, MDA |
Indy 500 only |
| PDM Racing |
Panoz |
Honda |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
Indy 500 only - did not appear |
| Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach only entries[17] |
| Forsythe/Pettit Racing |
Panoz |
Cosworth |
3 |
Paul Tracy |
INDECK |
|
| 7 |
Franck Montagny |
INDECK |
|
| 37 |
David Martínez |
INDECK |
[18] |
| Minardi Team USA/HVM Racing |
Panoz |
Cosworth |
4 |
Nelson Philippe |
Muermans Group |
|
| 14 |
Roberto Moreno |
Muermans Group |
|
| Rocketsports |
Panoz |
Cosworth |
9 |
Antonio Pizzonia |
Borla Exhaust |
|
| 10 |
 Juho Annala |
Pulp Agency/Rockstar Energy Drink |
|
| KV Racing Technology |
Panoz |
Cosworth |
12 |
Jimmy Vasser |
Plantronics/HP |
[19] |
| Walker Racing |
Panoz |
Cosworth |
15 |
Alex Tagliani |
CEC Wheels |
|
| Pacific Coast Motorsports |
Panoz |
Cosworth |
29 |
Alex Figge |
Imperial Capital Bank |
|
- All entries utilize Firestone tires
- On March 5, the IRL announced that former Champ Car teams would be paired with current IndyCar teams to aid their transition.[20]
Series news
- PEAK will be the official oil product of the Indy Racing League.[21]
- DirecTV will be the IndyCar Series presenting sponsor.[22]
- Coca-Cola will be the official soft drink sponsor of the IndyCar Series through 2010.[23]
- Raybestos will be the preferred competition brake friction through 2009, and sponsor the Raybestos Road and Street Course Challenge, awarding $5,000 to the winner of each road/street course race and $25,000 to the driver with the highest average finish on road and street courses at the end of the season.[24]
- Izod has signed a multi-year deal to be the official clothing supplier of the IndyCar Series[25]
Schedule development
- The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will return through at least 2013. This was announced April 6th of 2008..[26]
- The Milwaukee Mile will host the race the weekend immediately following the Indy 500 through at least 2009.[27]
- Michigan International Speedway has been removed from the schedule for 2008.[28]
- Iowa Speedway has been renewed through 2009.[29]
- Texas Motor Speedway signed a two-year contract extension through 2009.[30]
- Detroit will be held August 31, 2008, part of Labor Day weekend along with ALMS.[31]
- Mid-Ohio signed a three-year deal through 2009.
- The following were reported possibilities for schedule expansion in 2008. However, none were part of the official announcement on September 19.
- Following a feasibility test in September 2006, and an open test on January 31-February 1, 2007, the IndyCar Series is still considering Daytona International Speedway.[33]
- The IndyCar Series is exploring the possibility of holding new races at Biloxi, Estoril, Palm Springs, and Denver.[34]
- A possible event has been considered at Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina.[35] The track was auctioned off on October 2, 2007, and was purchased by former Indy 500 starter Andy Hillenburg, who promptly reopened the track that held an ARCA race May 4, 2008.
- A return to Phoenix is under consideration. It it appears questionable for 2009.[36]
- A replacement for Michigan was to be announced by the league to maintain a 17-race schedule. League officials had confirmed only that it would be in the United States, and would be a new venue[37] in California.[38][39] Rumors suggested a street circuit at Dodger Stadium.[40] It never came to fruition.
- On October 12, 2007, the IndyCar Series conducted an open test at Barber Motorsports Park. Track officials indicated they are exploring a race for 2009.[41]
Unification with Champ Car
On January 23, 2008, Robin Miller reported that Tony George had offered to Champ Car management a proposal that included free cars and engine leases to Champ Car teams willing to run the entire 2008 IndyCar Series schedule in exchange for adding Champ Car's dates at Long Beach, Toronto, Edmonton, Mexico City, and Australia to the IndyCar Series schedule, effectively reuniting American open wheel racing.[42] The offer was initially made in November 2007.[42] On February 10, 2008, Tony George, along with IRL representatives Terry Angstadt and Brian Barnhart, plus former Honda executive Robert Clarke, traveled to Japan to discuss moving the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi.[43] Moving that race, or postponing it, would be required in order to accommodate the Long Beach Grand Prix, which is scheduled for the same weekend.[43] Optimism following the meeting was high.[44]
On February 19, 2008, Robin Miller reported on SPEED[2] and Curt Cavin blogged on IndyStar.com[45] that the managements of Indy Racing League and Champ Car have come to an agreement to become one entity. The move would effectively end a 12-year split and reunite American Open Wheel racing. Meanwhile, Brian Barnhart announced that Tony George is negotiating the unification, and an inventory of available IndyCar chassis and equipment for the Champ Car teams is underway.[45] On February 22, Cavin initially reported that no deal had been reached between the IRL and CCWS in a lengthy dinner meeting between George and CCWS president Kevin Kalkhoven the previous evening. Later in the day, however, it was reported that the merger deal had been completed, confirmed by George, and that it would be formally announced at a press conference the following week.[46]
Driver & Team news
- Penske Racing: Sam Hornish, Jr. will not race in the 2008 season because of his departure to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Ryan Briscoe has been announced as the full time driver for the second Penske Car. [47]
- Andretti Green Racing: The team will retain four cars, with Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, and Danica Patrick scheduled to return.[48] Dario Franchitti has left IndyCar to join Ganassi in 2008 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.[49] On October 31, AGR announced that they had signed Autobacs Racing Team Aguri driver and 2007 Indy Pro Series runner up Hideki Mutoh to drive the #27 car in 2008, replacing Franchitti.[50]
- Panther Racing: Vitor Meira said on Racefanradio.com[51] that he will return to Panther Racing for 2008.
- Chip Ganassi Racing: Alex Lloyd has signed as a development driver for Ganassi Racing and is expected to compete in selected IndyCar events.[52]
- Roth Racing: Jay Howard has been signed to drive a second car, joining team owner Marty Roth who confirmed that he will return in the first car.[53]
- Rahal Letterman Racing: On November 28, 2007, Rahal Letterman informed the media that they had filed suit against driver Scott Sharp and his sponsor Patrón for breach of contract, indicating that Sharp intends to race elsewhere in 2008 while the team believes he is under contract to race for them.[54]
- All Nine Champ Car teams attended an introductory meeting with the IRL on February 26. Newman/Hass/Lanigan Racing, Walker Racing, and Conquest Racing have signed paperwork to receive IRL cars.[55]
- The following Champ Car teams have fielded 2008 entries.[2].
- Former Champ Car team Walker Racing announced on March 9 that it would not compete in the IndyCar Series besides Long Beach in 2008 due to lack of sponsorship. Craig Gore has taken the Team Australia sponsorship and driver Will Power to KV Racing.[58]. However, Vision & Walker Racing are fielding Paul Tracy at the Edmonton Indy in a joint effort, with the deal possibly extending to other races.
- Former Champ Car team Minardi Team USA only competed at the Long Beach Grand Prix and not run any other IndyCar Series races. Keith Wiggins's HVM racing will continue on and only Paul Stoddart and the "Team Minardi" will be leaving. [59]
- Rocketsports did not make the transition due to Enrique Bernoldi signing with Conquest Racing. Bernoldi was set to drive Rocketsports' entry in Champ Car.
- Former Champ Car team Forsythe Racing only competed in the Long Beach Grand Prix due to lack of sponsorship.[60]
Rule changes
- Full-time IndyCar Series entries will begin utilizing mandatory paddle shifters in 2008. Paddle shifters for Indianapolis 500-only entries will be optional.[39]
- The cars will be fitted with a "Zylon" synthetic-fiber intrusion barrier.[39]
- For the oval track events, qualifying will change from single-lap to four-lap average speed, similar to that used at Indianapolis in most years since 1920.[61]
- Fuel mixture adjustment control will be reinstated for 2008.[61]
- Due to the added cars brought by unification, the road and street course qualifying procedure will be altered to a knockout qualifying format, beginning with a pair of preliminary sessions, each composed of half of the field, the six fastest drivers from each preliminary session will go to a third session and the six fastest drivers from that session will compete for the pole in the Firestone Fast Six.[62]
Revenue sharing
In an effort to enhance full-time participation, the IndyCar Series announced a revenue sharing plan entitled IndyCar TEAM (Team Enhancement and Allocation Matrix) for 2008.[63] The details are as follows:
- Teams will receive a minimum of $1.2 million for each car competing in the full schedule.
- Race purses will be eliminated for all events except for the Indianapolis 500.
- The top five finishers in each race are eligible for special cash bonuses.
- The total purse for the 2008 Indianapolis 500 will increase with the winner receiving $2.5 million, 33rd place paying no less than $270,000. Indy-only entries will be eligible for the $270,000 minimum along with the full-season entries. The entire race purse will total at least $13.4 million, not including contingency awards.[64] In 2007, race winner Dario Franchitti received $1,645,233, and last place Roberto Moreno won $224,805.[65]
- The season champion will win $1 million, as has been in seasons' past. Second through fifth in the season championship will be eligible for cash bonuses.
Testing
The following open tests were held:
Race summaries
- Saturday March 29, 2008 - 8:00 p.m. EDT
- Homestead-Miami Speedway - Homestead, Florida (1.485 mile oval)
- Distance: 200 laps / 297 miles
- Race weather: 78° F, Fair skies
- Television: ESPN2 (Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear, Jack Arute, Vince Welch, Brienne Pedigo)
- Nielsen Ratings: 0.8 rating and 815,070 households[66]
- Attendance: 40,000 (estimated)[67]
- Pole position winner: #9 Scott Dixon, 213.341 mph (343.339 km/h)
- Race Summary
- After qualifying, the Vision Racing qualifying times of Ed Carpenter and A. J. Foyt IV (2nd and 3rd) were disallowed, and forced to move to the rear of the field. After a crash during qualifying, Dan Wheldon was forced to a back-up car at the rear of the field as well.
- At the start, Scott Dixon beat Danica Patrick into the first turn. Dixon went on to lead most of the way through lap 71. After a series of pit stops, Marco Andretti moved into the lead. On lap 127, Milka Duno spun in turn two, and collected Ryan Briscoe, who was running sixth. Later, Tony Kanaan moved back into the lead until the final round of pit stops. By pitting out-of-sequence Danica Patrick unlapped herself, and moved up to second place. The position was short-lived, as she was forced to pit for fuel before the end of the race. With seven laps to go, E. J. Viso spun directly in front the leader Kanaan, and clipped his right-front suspension. Kanaan attempted to limp around and hold on to the victory if the race finished under caution. With four laps to go, the green came out, and Kanaan was forced to pull out of the way. Scott Dixon got by, and held on for the victory.
- Despite starting at the rear of the field, Dan Wheldon charged to the front, managed to lead 9 laps, and came home third. In addition, both Vision cars rebounded to finish in the top 10.
- Heavy rain in the morning soaked the track, and left considerable standing water. The race was started under 10 laps of caution as the track dried. At the start, Tony Kanaan assumed the lead, but soon was passed by Justin Wilson. The early part of the race saw several spins by several cars, including Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti and Mario Moraes.
- On the 37th lap after a restart, rookie Graham Rahal was hit from behind by Will Power while running 3rd. He was able to continue. Several cautions slowed the race, including a crash by Ryan Briscoe, and a multi-car incident involving
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