2006 Indy Pro Series season
The 2006 Indy Racing League Indy Pro Series was the fifth season of the developmental open-wheel racing series. It was the first season to include double-header races on road and street courses. The season began at the Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 26 and finished September 9 at Chicagoland Speedway.
English rookie Jay Howard, driving for Sam Schmidt Motorsports narrowly won the championship by four points over American rookie Jonathan Klein of Andretti Green Racing. Defending series champion Wade Cunningham, driving for Brian Stewart Racing, finished third in points despite missing two races due to illness and scored more points per race than Howard or Klein. Rookie Alex Lloyd won two races, but missed three due to funding issues and finished seventh in points. Brazilian rookie Raphael Matos swept the race weekend at St. Petersburg, his first two series starts. Graham Rahal made his only Indy Pro Series start at the Liberty Challenge and won the pole and nearly won the race.
41 different drivers competed in a race but only six started all twelve races.
Race Summaries
Miami 100
- Date: March 26
- Location: Homestead-Miami Speedway
- Time of Race: 36 Minutes 41 Second
- Average Speed: 162.712 mph (261.860 km/h)
- Margin of Victory: 0.0199 of a Second
- Pole Winner: Jay Howard 186.589 mph (300.286 km/h)
Top 5 Results
Streets of St. Petersburg 1
- Date: April 1
- Location: Streets of St. Petersburg
- Time of Race: 52 Minutes
- Average Speed: 83.055 mph (133.664 km/h)
- Margin of Victory: 0.5075 of a sec.
- Pole Winner: Raphael Matos 95.513 mph (153.713 km/h)
Top 5 Results
Streets of St. Petersburg 2
- Date: April 2
- Location: Streets of St. Petersburg
- Time of Race: 50 Minutes 32 Seconds
- Average Speed: 85.316 mph (137.303 km/h)
- Margin of Victory: 5.7206 Seconds
- Pole Winner: Chris Festa
Top 5 Results
Freedom 100
- Date: May 26
- Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- Time of Race: 32 Minutes 29 Seconds
- Average Speed: 184.679 mph (297.212 km/h)
- Margin of Victory: 0.6889 of a sec.
- Pole Winner: Wade Cunningham 186.423 mph (300.019 km/h)
Top 5 Results
Corning 100
- Date: June 4
- Location: Watkins Glen International
- Time of Race: 1 Hour, 10 Minutes, 23 Seconds
- Average Speed: 77.555 mph (124.813 km/h)
- Margin of Victory: 3.2795 seconds
- Pole Winner: Bobby Wilson 107.135 mph (172.417 km/h)
Top 5 Results
Liberty Challenge
- Date: July 1
- Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- Time of Race: 35 Minutes 53 Seconds
- Average Speed: 100.159 mph (161.190 km/h)
- Margin of Victory: 0.666 of a Second
- Pole Winner: Graham Rahal 109.580 mph (176.352 km/h)
Top 5 Results
Sun Belt Rentals 100
- Date: July 15
- Location: Nashville Superspeedway
- Time of Race: 39 Minutes 57 Seconds
- Average Speed: 150.332 mph (241.936 km/h)
- Margin of Victory: 2.3705 Seconds
- Pole Winner: Wade Cunningham 180.459 mph (290.421 km/h)
Top 5 Results
Milwaukee 100
- Date: July 22
- Location: The Milwaukee Mile
- Time of Race: 46 Minutes 28 Seconds
- Average Speed: 131.060 mph (210.921 km/h)
- Margin of Victory: 0.6614 of a Second
- Pole Winner: Wade Cunningham 147.783 mph (237.834 km/h)
Top 5 Results
Kentucky 100
- Date: August 13
- Location: Kentucky Speedway
- Time of Race: 37 Minutes 57 Seconds
- Average Speed: 156.752 mph (252.268 km/h)
- Margin of Victory: 0.0190 of a Second
- Pole Winner: Jonathan Klein 189.392 mph (304.797 km/h)
Top 5 Results
Carneros 100
- Date: August 26
- Location: Infineon Raceway
- Time of Race: 48 Minutes 32 Seconds
- Average Speed: 85.278 mph (137.242 km/h)
- Margin of Victory: 0.6108 of a Second
- Pole Winner: Wade Cunningham 99.840 mph (160.677 km/h)
Top 5 Results
Valley of the Moon 100
- Date: August 27
- Location: Infineon Raceway
- Time of Race: 49 Minutes 3 Seconds
- Average Speed: 84.383 mph (135.801 km/h)
- Margin of Victory: 6.2400 Seconds
- Pole Winner: Mike Potekhen
Top 5 Results
Chicagoland 100
- Date: September 9
- Location: Chicagoland Speedway
- Time of Race: 49 Minutes 9 Seconds
- Average Speed: 124.305 mph (200.050 km/h)
- Margin of Victory: 0.6097 of a Second
- Pole Winner: Jay Howard 188.774 mph (303.802 km/h)
Top 5 Results
Driver standings
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Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 |
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Points | 50 | 40 | 35 | 32 | 30 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
- Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes.