Dana's teammates, Danica Patrick and Buddy Rice sat out of the season opening Toyota Indy 300.
Danica Patrick was unable to visit victory lane again in 2006, and after a summer-full of rumors regarding a crossover to NASCAR Nextel Cup, Patrick announced that she would remain in the Indy Racing League. Patrick will drive for another team in 2007- Andretti Green Racing.
The 2005 reigning Indy Racing League champion Dan Wheldon won the season opener at Homestead-Miami, which appeared to set the stage for a championship repeat for the Chip Ganassi Racing driver.
However, Ganassi's most heated foe, Team Penske, stepped up their game with three consecutive wins. Helio Castroneves won the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburgh as well as the Indy Japan 300, and Sam Hornish Jr followed by winning the much-heralded Indianapolis 500.
Turning Point- Sam Hornish Jr's Indianapolis 500 win marked the turning point of the 2006 Indy Racing League season. It was his first ever victory at the 2.5-mile famed Brickyard, and his team carried momentum from that triumph on for the remainder of the season. Hornish Jr's last gasp pass on rookie Marco Andretti put an exclamation mark on a thrilling finish to the Indy 500.
Pleasant Surprise- Third generation driver, Marco Andretti, was only 19 years old when he embarked upon his rookie season in Indy Racing. The season started off a little rocky, with finishes of 14th and 16, but Andretti was able to reel off five successive top ten finishes. He capped off a remarkable rookie of the year season with his first win at the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. A lot of cynics felt as if Marco Andretti was not quite ready for the jump to the open-wheel big leagues, but obviously it's not wise discount a driver with the last name Andretti.
Andretti finished the season 7th in the final Indy Car Series championship standings.
The Championship Race- Sam Hornish Jr's afore mentioned momentum carried him through the season, resulting in a third championship for the 27 year old driver, and the first Indy Car Series championship for team owner Roger Penske.
Hornish Jr and Dan Wheldon accumulated the same amount of championship points for the season, however, Hornish Jr's four wins was the tie breaker- Wheldon only recorded two victories for the season. Hornish Jr's Penske Racing teammate Helio Castroneves finished just two points out of the lead.
Dan Wheldon won the season finale Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 at Chicagoland.
Driver of the year- Sam Hornish Jr
Team of the year- Team Penske with eight wins
Rookie of the year- Marco Andretti
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