2011 IndyCar Series


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 [IndyCar season|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, 2011 saw the conclusion 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. Tomas Scheckter made his final starts of his career across several teams in 2011 before moving to the United Kingdom. Buddy Rice would be yet another to make 2011 his final season. Rice collected three wins in his IndyCar career. Wheldon would sign a contract to race for Andretti Autosport for 2012 driving the number 27 car, replacing Danica Patrick, but the 2005 champion was killed in an accident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
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. ESPN would continue to also broadcast certain races as well.

Series news

  • The 95th Indianapolis 500 marked the third race of the three-year-long Centennial era, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 100th anniversary of the first Indianapolis 500-mile race.
  • On January 11, the series made several announcements with regards to the upcoming season:
  • *The governing body adopted the doing business as name of INDYCAR. The legal entity remains Indy Racing League, LLC, and is specifically mentioned in the INDYCAR Rule Book.
  • *The "restart zone" on ovals were moved from turn 3 to just before the start/finish line.
  • *Restart procedures would mimic those of NASCAR, including double-file restarts, separate pitting for lead lap and non-lead lap cars, and the waving around of lapped cars that did not pit. The "free pass" rule would not be implemented.
  • *Pit stall selection for each race would be determined by the qualifying order of the previous round at the track of the same type. Exceptions to this will be the season opener at St. Petersburg, which would be set by final entrants' points from 2010, and the Indy 500, which carries its own pit selection process.
  • On March 6, the series announced that the maximum field size for every IndyCar event this season would be limited to 26 cars, except for the Indianapolis 500 and the Las Vegas finale.
  • Firestone has signed an extension to remain as the series' sole tire supplier through 2013.

Confirmed entries

TeamDriversRounds
A. J. Foyt Enterprises14

Team and driver movements

Schedule

  • The 2011 schedule contained the following 18 races.
IconLegend
Oval/Speedway
Road course
Street circuit

Schedule development

Existing contracts

New or returning races

Discontinued races

Race summaries

Round 1: [Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg]

Round 2: [Indy Grand Prix of Alabama] presented by Legacy

Round 3: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach">Grand Prix of Long Beach">Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

Round 4: Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle">São Paulo Indy 300">Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle

  • Sunday May 1, 2011 – 1:20 p.m. BRT & Monday May 2, 2011 – 9:05 a.m. BRT
  • Streets of São Paulo – São Paulo, Brazil; Temporary street circuit,
  • Distance: 75 laps / ; reduced to 55 laps / due to rain and two-hour time limit.
  • Race weather:, scattered showers ;, scattered clouds
  • Television: Versus, Davey Hamilton, Kevin Lee
  • Nielsen ratings: 0.51, 0.21
  • Attendance: 41,000
  • Pole position winner: #12 Will Power, 1:21.8958 sec,
  • Most laps led: #12 Will Power, 32
  • Summary:
  • Race Report: 2011 São Paulo Indy 300
  • Summary: Rain forced a postponement of the race after 15 laps. On Monday morning, the race resumed. Leader Will Power pitted for fuel on lap 36, giving the lead to Takuma Sato. With rain soaking the course, Sato's team hoped to stretch out their fuel window in hopes of a caution, and the possibility of leading the race when the time limit expired. Sato was forced to pit on lap 48, and Power retook the lead. The race ended after 55 laps with Power the victor.

Round 5: 95th Indianapolis 500">Indianapolis 500">95th Indianapolis 500

Round 6: Firestone Twin 275s">Firestone 550">Firestone Twin 275s

  • Saturday June 11, 2011 – 7:45 p.m. CDT
  • Texas Motor Speedway – Fort Worth, Texas; Permanent racing facility,
  • Distance: 2 races of 114 laps /
  • Race weather:, clear skies ;, clear skies
  • Television: Versus
  • Nielsen ratings: 0.55 rating,
  • Attendance: 73,000
  • Pole position winner: #77 Alex Tagliani, 48.6834 sec, ; #82 Tony Kanaan
  • Most laps led: #10 Dario Franchitti, 110 ; #12 Will Power, 68
  • Race Report: 2011 Firestone Twin 275s
  • Summary: The popular "twin race" format from the 1970s and early 1980s returned to Indy car racing at Texas. Dario Franchitti dominated the first race, which saw only one caution. Wade Cunningham and Charlie Kimball crashed on lap 92, with Cunningham crashing Dan Wheldon's Indy 500 winning car from two weeks prior. At halftime, the drivers chose their starting positions for race #2 by a blind draw on a stage on the frontstretch. Tony Kanaan was the lucky driver who picked position number 1. Will Power picked starting position #3, but the winner of the first race, Franchitti, was mired back in 28th starting position. Controversy followed the race, as many in the paddock believed the blind draw was an unfair method to select the starting positions. The second race went without a caution, and Power went on to win. Franchitti was not a factor, but charged all the way to 7th at the finish.

Round 7: [Milwaukee 225]

Round 8: [Iowa Corn Indy 250]

Round 9: [Honda Indy Toronto]

  • Sunday July 10, 2011 – 2:50 p.m. EDT
  • Streets of Toronto – Toronto, Ontario; Temporary street circuit,
  • Distance: 85 laps /
  • Race weather:, overcast
  • Television: Versus
  • Nielsen ratings: 0.50 rating,
  • Attendance: 20,000–25,000
  • Pole position winner: #12 Will Power, 59.5771 sec,
  • Most laps led: #12 Will Power, 32
  • Race Report: 2011 Honda Indy Toronto
  • Summary: At least 18 cars were involved in scuffles and contact throughout the race, with six dropping out. On lap 56, Dario Franchitti clipped wheels with leader Will Power in the hairpin, causing Power to spin out. Franchitti slipped by to take the lead, and held on to win. Power was visibly upset because it was reported that race-control penalized Franchitti for it and reversed the penalty. However competition director Al Unser Jr. said he did not penalize Franchitti at all because it was a racing incident.

Round 10: [Edmonton Indy]

Round 11: Honda Indy 200">Honda 200">Honda Indy 200

Round 12: MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225">New England Indy 200">MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225

Round 13: [Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma]

Round 14: [Baltimore Grand Prix]

  • Sunday September 4, 2011 – 2:45 p.m. EDT
  • Streets of Baltimore – Baltimore, Maryland; Temporary street circuit,
  • Distance: 75 laps /
  • Race weather:, scattered clouds
  • Television: Versus
  • Nielsen ratings: 0.6
  • Attendance: 75,000, 150,000+
  • Pole position winner: #12 Will Power, 1:20.2447 sec,
  • Most laps led: #12 Will Power, 70
  • Race Report: 2011 [Baltimore Grand Prix (IndyCar)|2011 Baltimore Grand Prix]
  • Summary: The inaugural IndyCar race in Baltimore saw a large crowd, and a challenging course, with many deeming the race a popular success. Will Power led 70 of 75 laps en route to a dominating victory, closing the points lead to only 5 points with three races remaining. During practice, Tony Kanaan lost his brakes, touched wheels with Hélio Castroneves' car, and jumped over his car into the tire barrier. Kanaan was unhurt, but was forced to start the race from the rear in a back-up car, which he drove to a 3rd-place finish. On lap 38, Ryan Briscoe clipped Ryan Hunter-Reay's car in the hairpin, creating a chain reaction pileup that involved or blocked as many as 18 cars.

Round 15: Indy Japan: The Final">Indy Japan 300">Indy Japan: The Final

Round 16: [Kentucky Indy 300]

Round 17: [IZOD IndyCar World Championship]

  • Sunday October 16, 2011 – 12:45 p.m. PDT
  • Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Clark County, Nevada; Permanent racing facility,
  • Distance: 200 laps /
  • Race weather:, partly cloudy
  • Television: ABC
  • Nielsen ratings: 1.6
  • Attendance: 50,000, 75,000.
  • Pole position winner: #82 Tony Kanaan, 50.0582 sec,
  • Most laps led: Tony Kanaan
  • Race Report: 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship
  • Summary: The race was marred by a 15-car pileup on the 11th lap and four drivers – Dan Wheldon, Will Power, J. R. Hildebrand and Pippa Mann – were taken to the hospital while the race was red-flagged. The race was abandoned two hours later with the announcement that Wheldon had died from his injuries, and the remaining drivers completed a five-lap salute to honor Wheldon's memory. Power was later released from the hospital, while Mann and Hildebrand were kept under observation, but were later released. Mann suffered a burn to her hand and Hildebrand suffered a bruised sternum. IndyCar does not use the FIA Code on race stoppages and uses the customary 50% plus one lap rule. The race results were stricken from the record book, and the statistics did not count. Franchitti was declared the series champion, although he would have won the championship anyway had the race continued since Power suffered injuries in the crash.

Points 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.

Driver standings

  • One point is awarded to any driver who leads at least one lap during a race. Two additional points are awarded to the driver who leads the most laps in a race.
  • At Texas, the event is split into two half-distance races on the same day. Each one awards half points.
  • Bonus points are awarded for qualifying performance:
  • * At all tracks except Indianapolis, the driver who qualifies on pole earns one point.
  • * At Indianapolis, drivers who advance to Q2 earn bonus points. Drivers who qualify tenth through twenty-fourth earn four qualifying points, and the remaining qualifying drivers earn three points.
  • * At Texas, the grid for the second race is set by a draw, and no bonus point is awarded for the pole position.
;Notes
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.

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.

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.

Entrant standings

  • Based on the entrant, used for oval qualifications order, and starting grids when qualifying is cancelled
  • Only full-time entrants, and at-large part-time entrants shown.