2011 IndyCar Series season

2011 IndyCar season
Season
Races	17
Start date	March 27
End date	October 16
Awards
Drivers' champion	Dario Franchitti
Teams' champion	Chip Ganassi Racing
Rookie of the Year	James Hinchcliffe
Indianapolis 500 winner	Dan Wheldon
Discipline champions
Oval champion	Scott Dixon
Road course champion	Will Power
Chronology
Previous season	Next season
2010	2012

Dario Franchitti defended his series championship in 2011, clinching his fourth series title, and his third straight.

The 2011 Izod IndyCar Series season was 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 IR–05 Dallara spec cars, which has been the series' sole chassis supplier since 2007. 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 title. Franchitti went into the final race of the season leading Will Power by 18 points. The race, and the season, was marred by a 15-car pile-up early in the race that claimed the life of two-time Indy 500 winner and 2005 champion Dan Wheldon. The race was canceled, and the final points total reverted back to the previous event, with Franchitti claiming 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 second place finish at Indy earned him top rookie honors for that event.

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.
• Sunoco would become the official fuel of the series starting in 2011 and running through 2014. Sunoco would work with APEX–Brasil and UNICA to provide ethanol for the series.^[1]
• 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 (all capital letters). 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 (e.g., road course or oval). 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 (which remains at the traditional 33) and the Las Vegas finale (30 cars).^[2]
• Firestone has signed an extension to remain as the series' sole tire supplier through 2013.^[3]

2011 IndyCar series schedule

• The series schedule was announced on September 10, 2010, with the season finale and start times released on February 22.

Rnd	Date	Race name	Track	Location	Time (ET)	TV
1	March 27	Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg	Streets of St. Petersburg	St. Petersburg, Florida	12:30 p.m.	ABC
2	April 10	Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Legacy Credit Union	Barber Motorsports Park	Birmingham, Alabama	3:00 p.m.	Versus
3	April 17	Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach	Streets of Long Beach	Long Beach, California	3:30 p.m.	Versus
4	May 1 May 2	Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestlé	Streets of São Paulo	São Paulo, Brazil	12:00 p.m. 8:00 a.m.	Versus
5	May 29	95th Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	11:00 a.m.	ABC
6	June 11	Firestone Twin 275s	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas	8:00 p.m.	Versus
7	June 19	The Milwaukee 225	Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin	3:30 p.m.	ABC
8	June 25	Iowa Corn Indy 250 Presented by Pioneer	Iowa Speedway	Newton, Iowa	8:00 p.m.	Versus
9	July 10	Honda Indy Toronto	Exhibition Place	Toronto, Ontario	2:00 p.m.	Versus
10	July 24	Edmonton Indy	Edmonton City Centre Airport	Edmonton, Alberta	2:00 p.m.	Versus
11	August 7	Honda 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio	2:00 p.m.	Versus
12	August 14	MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	Loudon, New Hampshire	3:30 p.m.	ABC
13	August 28	Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma	Infineon Raceway	Sonoma, California	4:00 p.m.	Versus
14	September 4	Baltimore Grand Prix	Streets of Baltimore	Baltimore, Maryland	2:00 p.m.	Versus
15	September 18	Indy Japan: The Final	Twin Ring Motegi (Road Course)	Motegi, Japan	11:00 p.m.	Versus
16	October 2	Kentucky Indy 300	Kentucky Speedway	Sparta, Kentucky	2:00 p.m.	Versus
17	October 16	IZOD IndyCar World Championship Presented by Honda	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	Las Vegas, Nevada	3:30 p.m.	ABC

• The São Paulo Indy 300 was started on Sunday, May 1, and was completed on Monday, May 2 following torrential rain.^[4]
• The Indy Japan 300 was moved from the oval to the road course at Twin Ring Motegi following damage to the oval caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.^[5]

Schedule development

Existing contracts

• The São Paulo Indy 300 has a contract through 2019.^[6]
• The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will continue through 2013.^[7] City officials look to extend the contract through 2014.^[8]
• Iowa Speedway has been finalized a two-year extension through 2011.^[9]
• Infineon Raceway signed an extension through the 2011 season.
• An agreement has been signed with the city of Long Beach to extend the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach to 2015 with an option through 2020.^[10]
• Barber Motorsports Park signed a three-year deal through 2012.^[11]
• Mid-Ohio has a contract through 2011.^[12]
• The Octane Racing Group, who promotes the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Canada and the NASCAR Nationwide race at Circuit Gilles Villenueve, will take over as promoters of the Honda Edmonton Indy, having agreed a three-year extension. The race was announced as "cancelled" on November 3, 2010 due to an impasse in negotiations between the race promoters and the city of Edmonton.^[13] However, negotiations to revive the race restarted the next week.^[14] On November 26, 2010, the Edmonton, Alberta city council voted to restore the Honda Edmonton Indy using extra funding from private sources and new parking revenue.^[15] INDYCAR officially announced the race's return to the schedule on January 11, 2011.^[16]

New or returning races

• The Baltimore Grand Prix made its debut on September 2–4, 2011. The event took place 2.4-mile street course around the Inner Harbor and Oriole Park at Camden Yards.^[17] The contract runs through the 2015 season.^[18]
• A race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire returned on August 14, 2011, as an official announcement took place prior to the June 27, 2010 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the facility. The track last held an IndyCar event in 1998 and has since been sold to Speedway Motorsports, which has IndyCar races at Texas, Kentucky, and Infineon.^[19] The original date was set for July 31, but was moved following the 2011 NASCAR schedule realignment.^[20]
• The Milwaukee Mile returned to the schedule in 2011.^[21]
• The season finale was held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The IZOD IndyCar World Championship would offer a cash prize of $5 million to any driver who wins the race from another racing discipline and/or is not a IndyCar Series regular.^[22]

Discontinued races

• Chicagoland, Watkins Glen, Homestead, and Kansas—all tracks owned by ISC—would no longer host races this year.

Team and driver chart

• This chart reflects confirmed participants only. All drivers competed in Honda-powered, Firestone-shod, Dallara chassis. (R) reflects an IZOD IndyCar Series rookie.

Team	#	Drivers	Sponsor(s)	Notes
Chip Ganassi Racing	9	Scott Dixon	Target
	10	Dario Franchitti	Target
	38	Graham Rahal	Service Central
	83	Charlie Kimball (R)	Novo Nordisk
Team Penske	3	Hélio Castroneves	Shell/AAA/Penske Truck Rental/Cerveja Itaipava/GuidePoint Systems/Hitachi
	6	Ryan Briscoe	Izod/PPG/Penske Truck Rental/GuidePoint Systems/Hitachi
	12	Will Power	Verizon Wireless
Andretti Autosport	7	Danica Patrick	GoDaddy.com
	26	Marco Andretti	Venom Energy Drink/Dr. Pepper
	27	Mike Conway	Buffalo Wild Wings/Dr. Pepper/7-Eleven/GoDaddy.com/DHL
	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	DHL/Sun Drop/Circle K/GoDaddy.com
	43	John Andretti	Window World	Indy 500 only; in conjunction with Richard Petty Motorsports
Panther Racing	4	J. R. Hildebrand (R)	U.S. National Guard
	44	Buddy Rice	Fuzzy's Vodka	3 races: Indy 500, Kentucky, and Las Vegas only[23]
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	11	Davey Hamilton	Hewlett Packard	3 races: Indy 500, Texas and Las Vegas only[24]
	22	Justin Wilson	Z-Line Designs/Dad's Root Beer/Walmart	Wilson suffered a season-ending back injury during practice at Mid-Ohio.
		Simon Pagenaud (R)	Roll Coater	Replaced Wilson at Mid-Ohio.
		Tomas Scheckter	MoveThatBlock.com	Replaced Wilson at Loudon.
		Giorgio Pantano (R)	Tran Systems/Z-Line Designs/Dad's Root Beer/WIX Filters	Replaced Wilson at Infineon, Baltimore, and Motegi.[25]
		Townsend Bell	Valspar/Dad's Root Beer	Replacing Wilson at Kentucky and Las Vegas.[26]
	23	Paul Tracy	WIX Filters	Indy 500 only[27]
	24	Ana Beatriz (R)	Petroleo Ipiranga/Lubrizol	Pagenaud filled in for Beatriz at Barber due to a wrist injury.
		Simon Pagenaud (R)	Team Ipiranga/BlazeMaster
A. J. Foyt Enterprises	14	Vitor Meira	ABC Supply Company / DHL
	41	Bruno Junqueira		Indy 500 only—Junqueira qualified car, replaced by Hunter-Reay after negotiations with Andretti Autosport.
		Ryan Hunter-Reay
Sam Schmidt Motorsports	17	Martin Plowman (R)	Snowball Express/Magnum Boots/Advantica/Freem/K.E.P.	3 races: Mid-Ohio, Sonoma and Baltimore; in conjunction with AFS Racing and Kingdom Racing
		Hideki Mutoh	Formula Dream	Motegi only; in conjunction with AFS Racing
		Wade Cunningham (R)	Creatherm	Kentucky and Las Vegas only; in conjunction with AFS Racing
	77	Alex Tagliani	Bowers & Wilkins	All races except Kentucky and Las Vegas
		Dan Wheldon		2 races: Kentucky[28] and Las Vegas only
	88	Jay Howard	Service Central	2 races: Indy 500 and Texas only; in conjunction with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
	99	Townsend Bell	Herbalife/Schmidt Pelfrey Racing	Indy 500 only
		Wade Cunningham (R)	Creatherm	Texas only
HVM Racing	78	Simona de Silvestro	Entergy/Purdue University	Missed Sonoma.
		Simon Pagenaud (R)		Replaced de Silvestro at Sonoma.
KV Racing Technology—Lotus	5	Takuma Sato	Lotus Cars/Panasonic/MonaVie
	59	E. J. Viso	Lotus Cars/PDVSA
	82	Tony Kanaan	Lotus Cars/GEICO/Cerveja Itaipava
Dale Coyne Racing	18	James Jakes (R)	Acorn Stairlifts/Boy Scouts of America
	19	Sébastien Bourdais	Boy Scouts of America	Road & Street courses only
		Alex Lloyd		Oval courses only
Newman/Haas Racing	2	Oriol Servià	Telemundo/CDW	Used the #02 at St. Petersburg only
	06	James Hinchcliffe (R)	Eric Sprott & Sprott Inc.	All races except St. Petersburg
Conquest Racing	34	Sebastián Saavedra (R)	Bogotá es Mundial	All races except Motegi and Kentucky
		João Paulo de Oliveira (R)	Ceremony Group	Motegi only
		Dillon Battistini (R)	Michelangelo Search/KCMG	Kentucky only[29]
	36	Pippa Mann (R)	Loctite/Armando Montelongo	Indy 500 only
Part time entries
AFS Racing	17	Raphael Matos	Automatic Fire Sprinklers	5 races: St. Petersburg, Barber, Long Beach, São Paulo and Indy 500 only
Sarah Fisher Racing	57	Tomas Scheckter	Angie's List	Las Vegas only[30]
	67	Ed Carpenter	Dollar General	10 races: Indy 500, Texas, Milwaukee, Iowa, Mid-Ohio, Loudon, Sonoma, Baltimore, Kentucky and Las Vegas only
Dragon Racing	8	Paul Tracy	Ralphs/Motegi Wheels/Make-A-Wish Foundation/ARMA Energy SNX	5 races: Long Beach, Texas, Toronto, Edmonton and Las Vegas only
		Ho-Pin Tung (R)	Mouser Electronics	Indy 500 only; in conjunction with Sam Schmidt Motorsports
	20	Scott Speed (R)	Fuzzy's Vodka/Vizio	Indy 500 only Carpentier attempted to qualify the #20 at the Indy 500 after Speed couldn't get the car up to speed in time for Pole Day.
		Patrick Carpentier
	88	Ho-Pin Tung (R)	Mouser Electronics	Sonoma only; in conjunction with Sam Schmidt Motorsports
SH Racing	07	Tomas Scheckter	REDLINE Xtreme Energy Drink	2 races: Indy 500 and Baltimore only; in conjunction with KV Racing Technology—Lotus at Indy and with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing at Baltimore.
Bryan Herta Autosport	98	Dan Wheldon	William Rast/Curb Records	Indy 500 only
		Alex Tagliani		Las Vegas only
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	15	Jay Howard	Service Central	Las Vegas only
	30	Bertrand Baguette	Royal Automobile Club of Belgium	Indy 500 only
		Pippa Mann (R)	National Tire and Battery/Big O Tires	3 races: Loudon, Kentucky and Las Vegas only

Team and driver movements

• Chip Ganassi Racing: Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon returned to the team for 2011. Graham Rahal and Charlie Kimball joined the group as part of a satellite team ran out of the raceshop of Don Prudhomme.^[31][32][33]
• Team Penske: Shell would join the team as an associate sponsor for all three cars in 2011, replacing Mobil 1 and will sponsor the #3 car.^[34] Hélio Castroneves was signed to a multi-year contract that covers the 2011 season, and Will Power re-signed with Team Penske in September 2010. Roger Penske confirmed on November 12 that Ryan Briscoe would also be returning to the team.^[35] Izod was announced as being the primary sponsor on Ryan Briscoe's car and an associate sponsor on the other two cars.^[36]
• Andretti Autosport: Tony Kanaan was signed to a multi-year deal with Andretti Autosport before the 2009 season, and his contract is supposed to run through to 2012. On the October 3 it was confirmed that sponsor 7-Eleven would not return in 2011, rendering Kanaan a free agent. Marco Andretti was in the second year of a four-year contract with the team in 2011 along with his sponsor Venom Energy.^[37][38] It was announced on October 29 that Ryan Hunter-Reay would return to Andretti Autosport through to the 2012 season.^[39] DHL has signed a multi-year deal to sponsor Hunter-Reay's #28 car.^[40] Mike Conway was announced on February 2 as the team's 4th full-season driver.^[41] The team has confirmed John Andretti in the #43 for the Indy 500.
• Sam Schmidt Motorsports: Driver Alex Tagliani was in the second year of a four-year contract with the team. The team would also run cars for Townsend Bell and Jay Howard at the Indy 500, and for Wade Cunningham in three events.^[42] The team was committed to running a second full-time car in 2011,^[43] according to manager Rob Edwards. On March 1, 2011, it was announced that Sam Schmidt Motorsports had purchased the assets of FAZZT. Some FAZZT personnel would be retained for the 2011 season and Alex Tagliani will continue to contest all seventeen races.
• Bryan Herta Autosport: The team confirmed Dan Wheldon for the Indy 500. Bryan Herta Autosport and Wheldon would carry out testing of the 2012 Dallara chassis in August and September 2011.^[44]
• Dragon Racing: Tony Kanaan was announced as the new driver of the #2 car during a December 20 press conference in Brazil,^[45] however failure to secure sufficient sponsorship meant that Kanaan was unable to secure the drive.^[46] The team officially announced that they were shutting down on February 24, 2011;^[47] however following a restructuring, Jay Penske announced that Dragon Racing would continue with Paul Tracy for a limited schedule, as well as an Indy 500 entry.^[48] On May 3, 2011 the team confirmed Ho-Pin Tung would be the driver of the #8 Dragon-Schmidt Racing entry.^[49]
• SH Racing: On July 28, 2010, VPX Sports announced a partnership with newly formed SH Racing, run by James Sullivan and T.J. Humphreys, for an entry into the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with the driver yet to be named.^[50] The team would be partnering with KV Racing Technology.^[51] On March 29. 2011 the team announced, South African veteran Tomas Scheckter will drive the #07 entry at the Indy 500.^[52]
• Panther Racing: 2010 team driver Dan Wheldon confirmed in a Kentucky post-race interview that his contract expired after the 2010 season and he was unlikely to return to the team in 2011.^[53] 2009 Indy Lights champion J. R. Hildebrand signed a multi-year deal to drive the #4 National Guard car for the team.^[54] The team would field former Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice in a second car at Indy.^[55]
• KV Racing Technology–Lotus: On September 28, 2010, it was announced that Lotus would provide sponsorship to two KV Racing Technology entries in 2011.^[56] On February 4, 2011, KV Racing confirmed that Takuma Sato and E. J. Viso would compete for the team for the 2011 IndyCar Series season.^[57] On March 21, 2011, it was reported that Tony Kanaan would join the team in a 3rd full-time entry.^[58]
• Dreyer & Reinbold Racing: On November 11, Justin Wilson announced he would continue racing with the team in 2011. On March 3, 2011, the team announced Ana Beatriz would be joining Wilson full-time as the pilot of the #24 entry.^[59] The team also confirmed Paul Tracy for the Indy 500, prior to his signing to drive part-time for Dragon Racing.
• Sarah Fisher Racing: SFR has signed Ed Carpenter for the 2011 season, who would compete in nine events. In addition, team owner Sarah Fisher has announced her retirement from driving to focus solely on team ownership.^[60]
• HVM Racing: Team owner Keith Wiggins has secured sponsorship to return with Simona de Silvestro for the 2011 season.^[61] The team announced a three-year deal with Entergy Nuclear to sponsor an entry.^[62]
• A. J. Foyt Enterprises: Driver Vitor Meira recently signed a two-year contract with the team through the 2012 season.^[63] The team would also field a car in the Indy 500 for Bruno Junqueira.
• Dale Coyne Racing: The team announced two new drivers for the season: rookie Englishman James Jakes, who would run the full season; and Sébastien Bourdais, who would run at all road and street courses only owing to his Le Mans Series commitments. The team would still be fielding a second car at Indianapolis. On May 5, 2011, it was confirmed that Alex Lloyd would compete on all the oval races, as Bourdais won't.
• Conquest Racing: On March 14, 2011, the team confirmed that Sebastián Saavedra would race for the team full-time during the 2011 season. On April 19, 2011, Conquest signed Indy Lights race-winner Pippa Mann to pilot the team's second car at Indianapolis.^[64]
• Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: Entrepreneur Mike Lanigan joined the ownership of the team on December 17, 2010, and the team was renamed Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.^[65] The team would run the Indy 500 in 2011^[66] with Bertrand Baguette.
• AFS Racing: On January 13, 2011, AFS Racing announced that Neil Micklewright would be joining the team as General Manager and Vice President of Operations. On March 12, 2011, the team announced that they would run an entry at St. Petersburg,^[67] and on March 17, announced that series veteran Raphael Matos will drive.^[68]
• Newman/Haas Racing After the open test at Barber and months of speculation, Spaniard Oriol Servià revealed that he would race for the eight-time championship-winning team.^[69] Canadian James Hinchcliffe, runner-up in the 2010 Indy Lights championship standings to Jean-Karl Vernay was confirmed for the team's second car on April 5, 2011, for all remaining races.^[70]

Race results

Rd.	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Winning driver	Winning team	Report
1	St. Petersburg	Will Power	Hélio Castroneves	Dario Franchitti	Dario Franchitti	Chip Ganassi Racing	Report
2	Barber	Will Power	Scott Dixon	Will Power	Will Power	Team Penske	Report
3	Long Beach	Will Power	Dario Franchitti	Ryan Briscoe	Mike Conway	Andretti Autosport	Report
4	São Paulo	Will Power	Simona de Silvestro	Will Power	Will Power	Team Penske	Report
5	Indianapolis	Alex Tagliani	Dario Franchitti	Scott Dixon	Dan Wheldon	Bryan Herta Autosport	Report
6A	Texas	Alex Tagliani	E. J. Viso	Dario Franchitti	Dario Franchitti	Chip Ganassi Racing	Report
6B	Texas	Tony Kanaan	Scott Dixon	Will Power	Will Power	Team Penske
7	Milwaukee	Dario Franchitti	Dario Franchitti	Dario Franchitti	Dario Franchitti	Chip Ganassi Racing	Report
8	Iowa	Takuma Sato	Alex Tagliani	Dario Franchitti	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Report
9	Toronto	Will Power	Justin Wilson	Will Power	Dario Franchitti	Chip Ganassi Racing	Report
10	Edmonton	Takuma Sato	Sébastien Bourdais	Will Power	Will Power	Team Penske	Report
11	Mid-Ohio	Scott Dixon	Scott Dixon	Scott Dixon	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Report
12	New Hampshire	Dario Franchitti	Scott Dixon	Dario Franchitti	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Report
13	Sonoma	Will Power	Will Power	Will Power	Will Power	Team Penske	Report
14	Baltimore	Will Power	Will Power	Will Power	Will Power	Team Penske	Report
15	Motegi	Scott Dixon	Giorgio Pantano	Scott Dixon	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Report
16	Kentucky	Will Power	Ed Carpenter	Dario Franchitti	Ed Carpenter	Sarah Fisher Racing	Report
17	Las Vegas	Tony Kanaan	Abandoned after 13 laps				Report

Race summaries

Round 1: Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

• Sunday March 27, 2011 – 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Streets of St. Petersburg – St. Petersburg, Florida; Temporary street circuit, 1.800 miles (2.897 km)
• Distance: 100 laps / 180.000 miles (289.682 km)
• Race weather: 85 °F (29 °C), partly cloudy
• Television: ABC (Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear, Vince Welch, Jamie Little, Rick DeBruhl)
• Nielsen ratings: 1.2 rating, 1.840 million viewers^[71] (1.4 overnight)^[72]
• Attendance: TBA
• Pole position winner: #12 Will Power, 1:01.9625 sec, 104.579 mph (168.304 km/h)
• Most laps led: #10 Dario Franchitti, 94
• Summary: The first race featuring the new double-file restarts takes a toll on the field as drivers adjust. On the first lap, a big collision involving several cars saw Marco Andretti flip over in turn 1, a crash he blamed on Hélio Castroneves.^[73] Several other drivers experienced contact on restarts, thinning the field. Dario Franchitti stayed in front for most of the race and won the season opener. Simona de Silvestro garnered the most attention of the later stages of the race, as she hotly challenged Tony Kanaan. Kanaan, who had landed his ride with KV Racing just days earlier, held her off over the final few laps for a surprising third place finish.
• Race Report: 2011 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

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

Round 2: Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Legacy

• Sunday April 10, 2011 – 2:45 p.m. CDT (3:45 p.m. EDT)
• Barber Motorsports Park – Birmingham, Alabama; Permanent road course, 2.300 miles (3.701 km)
• Distance: 90 laps / 207.000 miles (333.134 km)
• Race weather: 84 °F (29 °C), clear skies
• Television: Versus (Bob Jenkins, Jon Beekhuis, Wally Dallenbach, Jr., Lindy Thackston, Marty Snider, Kevin Lee, Robin Miller)
• Nielsen ratings: 0.3^[74]
• Attendance: 48,326 (race day), 79,811 (weekend)^[75]
• Pole position winner: #12 Will Power, 1:11.4546 sec, 115.878 mph (186.488 km/h)
• Most laps led: #12 Will Power, 90
• Summary: Will Power led wire-to-wire to take the victory. Twice Ryan Briscoe was involved in contact, first with Dario Franchitti, and later with Ryan Hunter-Reay. Following the race, second place finisher Scott Dixon complained about Power "crowding" him on the restarts, but no penalty was assessed.
• Race Report: 2011 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

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

Round 3: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

• Sunday April 17, 2011 – 1:30 p.m. PDT (4:30 p.m. EDT)
• Streets of Long Beach – Long Beach, California; Temporary street circuit, 1.968 miles (3.167 km)
• Distance: 85 laps / 167.280 miles (269.211 km)
• Race weather: 66 °F (19 °C), partly cloudy
• Television: Versus (Bob Jenkins, Jon Beekhuis, Wally Dallenbach, Jr., Lindy Thackston, Marty Snider, Kevin Lee, Robin Miller)
• Nielsen ratings: 0.28
• Attendance: 70,000 (estimated raceday), 175,000+ (estimated weekend)^[76]
• Pole position winner: #12 Will Power, 1:09.0649 sec, 102.582 mph (165.090 km/h)
• Most laps led: #6 Ryan Briscoe, 35
• Summary: With less than 20 laps to go, Mike Conway charged into third place on a restart. He quickly powered past Dario Franchitti and Will Power to take the lead. Conway pulled out to a six-second advantage, and led the final 14 laps en route to his first Indy car victory. For the second time this season, Hélio Castroneves was blamed for a collision, this time taking himself and teammate Will Power out of contention late in the race.
• Race Report: 2011 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

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

Round 4: Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle

• Sunday May 1, 2011 – 1:20 p.m. BRT (12:20 p.m. EDT) & Monday May 2, 2011 – 9:05 a.m. BRT (8:05 a.m. EDT)^[4]
• Streets of São Paulo – São Paulo, Brazil; Temporary street circuit, 2.536 miles (4.081 km)
• Distance: 75 laps / 190.200 miles (306.097 km); reduced to 55 laps / 139.480 miles (224.471 km) due to rain and two-hour time limit.
• Race weather: 93 °F (34 °C), scattered showers (Sunday); 79 °F (26 °C), scattered clouds (Monday)
• Television: Versus (Bob Jenkins, Jon Beekhuis, Wally Dallenbach, Jr., Kevin Lee, Robin Miller)
• Nielsen ratings:
• Attendance: 41,000 (Sunday)
• Pole position winner: #12 Will Power, 1:21.8958 sec, 111.478 mph (179.406 km/h)
• 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.

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

Round 5: 95th Indianapolis 500

• Sunday May 29, 2011 – 12:15 p.m. EDT
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Speedway, Indiana; Permanent racing facility, 2.500 miles (4.023 km)
• Distance: 200 laps / 500.000 miles (804.672 km)
• Race weather: 86 °F (30 °C), cloudy
• Television: ABC (Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear, Eddie Cheever, Brent Musburger, Vince Welch, Jamie Little, Rick DeBruhl, Jerry Punch)
• Nielsen ratings: 4.0, 6.71 million viewers^[77] (4.3 overnight)^[78]
• Attendance: 300,000
• Pole position winner: #77 Alex Tagliani, 2:38.2613 sec, 227.790 mph (366.592 km/h) (4-lap)
• Most laps led: #9 Scott Dixon, 73
• Summary: Ganassi teammates Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti led 124 laps, but the race came down to the final few laps as several drivers pitted for fuel. Rookie J. R. Hildebrand took the lead with three laps to go, and led at the white flag. Coming out of the final turn on the final lap, Hildebrand hit the outside wall, and Dan Wheldon drove by to take the victory, which would turn out to be his last.
• Race Report: 2011 Indianapolis 500

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

Round 6: Firestone Twin 275s

• Saturday June 11, 2011 – 7:45 p.m. CDT (8:45 p.m. EDT)
• Texas Motor Speedway – Fort Worth, Texas; Permanent racing facility, 1.455 miles (2.342 km)
• Distance: 2 races of 114 laps / 165.870 miles (266.942 km)
• Race weather: 91 °F (33 °C), clear skies (Race 1); 87 °F (31 °C), clear skies (Race 2)
• Television: Versus (Bob Jenkins, Jon Beekhuis, Dan Wheldon, Lindy Thackston, Robbie Floyd, Kevin Lee, Robin Miller)
• Nielsen ratings: 0.55 rating,^[79] (0.38 overnight)^[80]
• Attendance: 73,000 (announced crowd)^[81]
• Pole position winner: #77 Alex Tagliani, 48.6834 sec, 215.186 mph (346.308 km/h) (Race 1, 2-lap qualifying); #82 Tony Kanaan (Race 2, draw)
• Most laps led: #10 Dario Franchitti, 110 (Race 1); #12 Will Power, 68 (Race 2)
• 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 (many thought they should have simply inverted the field). 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.

Race One – Top Three Finishers 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 2 7 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing 114 +0.0527 1 3 3 12 Will Power Team Penske 114 +0.2064 0 Race average speed: 181.649 mph (292.336 km/h) Lead changes: 6 between 5 drivers Cautions: 1 for 10 laps

Race Two – Top Three Finishers Fin. Pos St. Pos Car No. Driver Team Laps Time Laps Led 1 3 12 Will Power Team Penske 114 48:08.9739 68 2 18 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing 114 +0.9466 1 3 12 6 Ryan Briscoe Team Penske 114 +4.6524 3 Race average speed: 206.693 mph (332.640 km/h) Lead changes: 8 between 6 drivers Cautions: None

Round 7: Milwaukee 225

• Sunday June 19, 2011 – 3:00 p.m. CDT (4:00 p.m. EDT)
• Milwaukee Mile – West Allis, Wisconsin; Permanent racing facility, 1.015 miles (1.633 km)
• Distance: 225 laps / 228.375 miles (367.534 km)
• Race weather: 79 °F (26 °C), scattered clouds
• Television: ABC (Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear, Vince Welch, Jamie Little, Rick DeBruhl)
• Nielsen ratings: 0.8^[82]
• Attendance: 15,000^[83]
• Pole position winner: #10 Dario Franchitti, 42.7766 sec, 170.841 mph (274.942 km/h) (2-lap)
• Most laps led: #10 Dario Franchitti, 161
• Race Report: 2011 Milwaukee 225
• Summary: Tony Kanaan led 33 laps in the second half, but crashed into the turn 4 wall with only 30 laps to go. Leader Helio Castroneves was forced to the pits on lap 199 to change a flat tire, giving the lead, and the win, to Dario Franchitti.

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

Round 8: Iowa Corn Indy 250

• Saturday June 25, 2011 – 8:00 p.m. CDT (9:00 p.m. EDT)
• Iowa Speedway – Newton, Iowa; Permanent racing facility, 0.894 miles (1.439 km)
• Distance: 250 laps / 223.500 miles (359.688 km)
• Race weather: 64 °F (18 °C), overcast
• Television: Versus (Bob Jenkins, Jon Beekhuis, Dan Wheldon, Lindy Thackston, Robbie Floyd, Kevin Lee, Robin Miller)
• Nielsen ratings: 0.35 (overnight)^[84]
• Attendance: 35,118^[85]
• Pole position winner: #5 Takuma Sato, 35.6857 sec, 180.375 mph (290.285 km/h) (2-lap)
• Most laps led: #10 Dario Franchitti, 172
• Race Report: 2011 Iowa Corn Indy 250
• Summary: Marco Andretti charged from 17th starting position to second by lap 152. Andretti passed Dario Franchitti to take the lead on lap 157. After a pit stop, Andretti dueled with Tony Kanaan for the lead over the final 50–60 laps, with Andretti taking the lead for good on lap 232.

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

Round 9: Honda Indy Toronto

• Sunday July 10, 2011 – 2:50 p.m. EDT
• Streets of Toronto – Toronto, Ontario; Temporary street circuit, 1.755 miles (2.824 km)
• Distance: 85 laps / 149.175 miles (240.074 km)
• Race weather: 75 °F (24 °C), overcast
• Television: Versus (Bob Jenkins, Wally Dallenbach, Jr., Jon Beekhuis, Dan Wheldon, Lindy Thackston, Robbie Floyd, Kevin Lee, Robin Miller)
• Nielsen ratings: 0.50 rating,^[86] (0.41 overnight)
• Attendance: 20,000–25,000 (media estimated raceday)^[87]
• Pole position winner: #12 Will Power, 59.5771 sec, 106.047 mph (170.666 km/h)
• 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.

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

Round 10: Edmonton Indy

• Sunday July 24, 2011 – 12:50 p.m. MDT (2:50 p.m. EDT)
• Edmonton City Centre Airport – Edmonton, Alberta; Temporary airport course, 2.224 miles (3.579 km)
• Distance: 80 laps / 177.920 miles (286.334 km)
• Race weather: 69 °F (21 °C), clear skies
• Television: Versus (Bob Jenkins, Wally Dallenbach, Jr., Jon Beekhuis, Robbie Floyd, Lindy Thackston, Kevin Lee, Robin Miller)
• Nielsen ratings: 0.6^[88]
• Attendance:
• Pole position winner: #5 Takuma Sato, 1:18.5165 sec, 101.971 mph (164.106 km/h)
• Most laps led: #12 Will Power, 57
• Race Report: 2011 Edmonton Indy
• Summary: The race took place on a new layout for 2011. On the first lap, Alex Tagliani made contact with Graham Rahal as the field negotiated the tight turn 5, which took out four cars. Later in the race, Ryan Hunter-Reay tangled with polesitter Takuma Sato, also in turn 5. Will Power took the lead on lap 20, and Penske managed a 1-2 finish.

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

Round 11: Honda Indy 200

• Sunday August 7, 2011 – 2:50 p.m. EDT
• Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – Lexington, Ohio; Permanent racing facility, 2.258 miles (3.634 km)
• Distance: 85 laps / 191.930 miles (308.881 km)
• Race weather: 87 °F (31 °C), partly cloudy
• Television: Versus (Bob Jenkins, Wally Dallenbach, Jr., Jon Beekhuis, Marty Snider, Lindy Thackston, Kevin Lee, Robin Miller)
• Nielsen ratings: 0.2^[89]
• Attendance:
• Pole position winner: #9 Scott Dixon, 1:08.0776 sec, 119.405 mph (192.164 km/h)
• Most laps led: #9 Scott Dixon, 50
• Race Report: 2011 Honda Indy 200
• Summary: Scott Dixon edged teammate Dario Franchitti down the backstretch on a restart on lap 61, and held on to win at Mid-Ohio for the third time in five seasons. Will Power dropped to 14th after getting caught out under a full-course caution during a sequence of pit stops.

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

Round 12: MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225

• Sunday August 14, 2011 – 3:30 p.m. EDT
• New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Loudon, New Hampshire; Permanent racing facility, 1.025 miles (1.650 km)
• Distance: 225 laps / 230.625 miles (371.155 km); reduced to 215 laps / 220.375 miles (354.659 km) due to rain
• Race weather: 73 °F (23 °C), cloudy
• Television: ABC (Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear, Gary Gerould, Jamie Little, Rick DeBruhl)
• Nielsen ratings: 0.9 (overnight)^[90]
• Attendance: 30,000^[91]
• Pole position winner: #10 Dario Franchitti, 43.1976 sec, 170.843 mph (274.945 km/h) (2-lap)
• Most laps led: #10 Dario Franchitti, 115
• Race Report: 2011 MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225
• Summary:

Indy car racing returned to New Hampshire after a 13-year sabbatical. Dario Franchitti dominated the first half, but on a restart on lap 118, he touched wheels with Takuma Sato and crashed into the inside wall. On lap 206, the caution came out for rain, with Ryan Hunter-Reay leading. Despite the drivers pleading to their crews that the track was too wet to continue, officials decided to bring the green flag out with 7 laps to go. As the field accelerated, Danica Patrick spun on the frontstretch due to the wet conditions, which led to a controversial five-car pileup, involving championship contender Will Power among others. During the restart attempt, Oriol Servià passed Hunter-Reay as the restart began but before the caution was signaled, leading to controversy when the decision was made to abort the restart, a move common in USAC when a false start occurs, which typically means the cars return to their starting order for another start attempt. Officials accepted blame for the decision and red flagged the race. Scoring was reverted back to the standings prior to the restart attempt.

Within 30 minutes of the end of the race, Newman/Haas Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing filed protests regarding the finish of the race because of Servià's pass of Hunter-Reay on the aborted restart. The results of the race were not made official, and as a result of the protest, the finish was under review. Indy Racing League, LLC announced on August 16 that a hearing was scheduled for the week of August 22 on both protests filed, and the hearing would also include Andretti Autosport, as the results of the hearing may have resulted in the finishing order being changed.^[92] The hearing took place on August 23, with the finishing positions being upheld.^[93]

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

Round 13: Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma

• Sunday August 28, 2011 – 1:50 p.m. PDT (4:50 p.m. EDT)
• Infineon Raceway – Sonoma, California; Permanent racing facility, 2.303 miles (3.706 km)
• Distance: 75 laps / 172.725 miles (277.974 km)
• Race weather: 75 °F (24 °C), clear skies
• Television: Versus (Bob Jenkins, Wally Dallenbach, Jr., Jon Beekhuis, Marty Snider, Lindy Thackston, Kevin Lee, Robin Miller)
• Nielsen ratings: 0.3^[94]
• Attendance:
• Pole position winner: #12 Will Power, 1:18.6017 sec, 105.479 mph (169.752 km/h)
• Most laps led: #12 Will Power, 71
• Race Report: 2011 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma
• Summary: Will Power led 71 of 75 laps, as Team Penske swept 1st-2nd-3rd on the podium. It was the first 1-2-3 finish in an Indycar race for Penske since Nazareth in 1994. Power closed to within 26 points of championship leader Dario Franchitti. Power also closed within 7 points of Franchitti for the Mario Andretti Road Course Trophy. Simon Pagenaud substituted for Simona de Silvestro after she had complications renewing her visa, and U.S. Customs would not allow her into the country.

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

Round 14: Baltimore Grand Prix

• Sunday September 4, 2011 – 2:45 p.m. EDT
• Streets of Baltimore – Baltimore, Maryland; Temporary street circuit, 2.040 miles (3.283 km)
• Distance: 75 laps / 153.000 miles (246.230 km)
• Race weather: 85 °F (29 °C), scattered clouds
• Television: Versus (Bob Jenkins, Wally Dallenbach, Jr., Jon Beekhuis, Marty Snider, Lindy Thackston, Kevin Lee, Robin Miller)
• Nielsen ratings: 0.6^[95]
• Attendance: 75,000 (estimated raceday),^[96] 150,000+ (estimated weekend)^[97]
• Pole position winner: #12 Will Power, 1:20.2447 sec, 91.520 mph (147.287 km/h)
• Most laps led: #12 Will Power, 70
• Race Report: 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.

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

Round 15: Indy Japan: The Final

• Sunday September 18, 2011 – 1:00 p.m. JST (12:00 a.m. EDT)
• Twin Ring Motegi – Motegi, Tochigi; Permanent racing facility, 2.983 miles (4.801 km)
• Distance: 63 laps / 187.929 miles (302.442 km)
• Race weather: 88 °F (31 °C), scattered clouds
• Television: Versus (Bob Jenkins, Wally Dallenbach, Jr., Jon Beekhuis, Kevin Lee, Robin Miller)
• Nielsen ratings:
• Attendance:
• Pole position winner: #9 Scott Dixon, 1:38.3918 sec, 109.143 mph (175.649 km/h)
• Most laps led: #9 Scott Dixon, 62
• Race Report: 2011 Indy Japan: The Final
• Summary: Scott Dixon led 62 of 63 laps, dominating the final Indycar race at Twin Ring Motegi. Following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the race was moved to the 2.98 mile road course due to damage to the oval. On lap 26, points leader Dario Franchitti tangled with Ryan Briscoe, causing a spin that also collected Graham Rahal. Franchitti was penalized for the move, and sent to the rear of the field. He worked his way back up to an 8th place finish. Will Power's second place finish allowed him to clinch the 2011 Mario Andretti Road Course Trophy, and took the lead (+5 points) in the overall points standing with two races left.

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

Round 16: Kentucky Indy 300

• Sunday October 2, 2011 – 2:45 p.m. EDT
• Kentucky Speedway – Sparta, Kentucky; Permanent racing facility, 1.480 miles (2.382 km)
• Distance: 200 laps / 296.000 miles (476.366 km)
• Race weather: 62 °F (17 °C), partly cloudy
• Television: Versus (Bob Jenkins, Wally Dallenbach, Jr., Jon Beekhuis, Marty Snider, Kevin Lee, Lindy Thackston, Robin Miller)
• Nielsen ratings:
• Attendance:
• Pole position winner: #12 Will Power, 48.5948 sec, 219.283 mph (352.902 km/h) (2-lap)
• Most laps led: #10 Dario Franchitti, 143
• Race Report: 2011 Kentucky Indy 300
• Race Summary: Ed Carpenter battled Dario Franchitti side-by-side over the final 20 laps, and held off Franchitti to earn his first-career IndyCar Series victory. Polesitter Will Power entered the race with the championship lead - 11 points over Franchitti - and led the first 48 laps. However, during a pit stop on lap 49, Ana Beatriz made contact with his car as she was exiting her pit stall, ripping a gash in Power's sidepod. Power came home in 19th, and second place Franchitti took over the points lead going into the final race of the season.

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

Round 17: IZOD IndyCar World Championship

• Sunday October 16, 2011 – 12:45 p.m. PDT (3:45 p.m. EDT)
• Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Clark County, Nevada; Permanent racing facility, 1.544 miles (2.485 km)
• Distance: 200 laps / 308.800 miles (496.965 km)
• Race weather: 87 °F (31 °C), partly cloudy
• Television: ABC (Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear, Eddie Cheever, Vince Welch, Jamie Little, Rick DeBruhl)
• Nielsen ratings:1.6
• Attendance: 50,000 (Sunday - two races), 75,000 (total; includes Smith's 350 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Saturday).
• Pole position winner: #82 Tony Kanaan, 50.0582 sec, 222.078 mph (357.400 km/h) (2-lap)
• Most laps led: Kanaan (race abandoned)
• Race Report: 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship
• Summary: The race was marred by a fifteen-car pile-up on the twelfth lap of the race and four drivers - Dan Wheldon, Will Power, JR Hildebrand and Pippa Mann - were taken to hospital as the race was red-flagged. It was formally abandoned two hours later with the announcement that Wheldon had died from his injuries, and the remaining drivers completed a five-lap tour of the circuit to honour Wheldon's memory. Power was later released from 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 (which states a race is official once a race is on the fourth lap) and uses the customary 50% plus one lap rule (101 laps in this case), and the race was abandoned at that point. The race results were stricken from the record book, and the statistics did not count. Franchitti was declared champion.

Final driver standings

Pos Driver STP ALA LBH SAO INDY TXS MIL IOW TOR EDM MDO NHA SNM BAL MOT KTY LSV2 Pts QL 500 R1 R2 1 Dario Franchitti 1* 3 3 4 9 12 1* 7 1* 5* 1 3 2 20* 4 4 8 2* C 573 2 Will Power 2 1* 10 1* 5 14 3 1* 4 21 24* 1* 14 5 1* 1* 2 19 C 555 3 Scott Dixon 16 2 18 12 2 5* 2 2 7 3 2 23 1* 3 5 5 1* 3 C 518 4 Oriol Servià 9 5 6 5 3 6 21 15 3 14 12 22 8 2 11 2 5 6 C 425 5 Tony Kanaan 3 6 8 22 23 4 11 5 19 2 26 4 5 22 28 3 17 17 C 366 6 Ryan Briscoe 18 21 2* 3 27 27 6 3 11 6 7 10 16 8 3 14 20 8 C 364 7 Ryan Hunter-Reay 21 14 23 18 DNQ1 23 19 9 26 8 3 7 3 1 10 8 24 5 C 347 8 Marco Andretti 24 4 26 14 28 9 13 6 13 1 4 14 7 24 24 25 3 27 C 337 9 Graham Rahal 17 18 13 2 30 3 9 30 2 15 13 25 24 26 8 10 12 12 C 320 10 Danica Patrick 12 17 7 23 26 10 16 8 5 10 19 9 21 6 21 6 11 10 C 314 11 Hélio Castroneves 20 7 12 21 16 17 10 4 9 7 17 2 19 17 2 17 22 29 C 312 12 James Hinchcliffe 24 4 9 13 29 20 19 6 9 14 15 20 4 7 24 15 4 C 302 13 Takuma Sato 5 16 21 8 10 33 5 12 8 19 20 21 4 7 18 18 10 15 C 297 14 J. R. Hildebrand 11 13 17 10 12 2 23 18 21 4 8 11 25 21 23 19 7 20 C 296 15 Alex Tagliani 6 15 5 19 1 28 4 14 18 16 23 17 6 19 20 7 4 C 296 16 Vitor Meira 8 12 9 17 11 15 8 11 24 18 5 12 10 10 22 9 25 16 C 287 17 Mike Conway 23 22 1 6 DNQ 24 17 12 24 22 8 26 25 16 23 9 18 C 260 18 E. J. Viso 19 23 25 13 18 32 7 10 20 17 9 20 15 12 9 15 21 23 C 241 19 Charlie Kimball 22 10 24 16 29 13 30 23 14 22 21 19 11 9 26 21 23 13 C 233 20 Simona de Silvestro 4 9 20 20 24 31 26 27 25 DNS 10 24 12 16 12 14 25 C 225 21 Ana Beatriz 14 19 24 33 21 22 22 17 23 11 13 17 14 13 16 19 24 C 212 22 James Jakes 15 25 15 15 DNQ 25 28 15 25 18 18 23 18 19 27 13 21 C 189 23 Sébastien Bourdais DNS 11 27 26 6 6 9 6 28 6 188 24 Justin Wilson 10 19 22 7 20 16 17 21 10 12 15 5 Wth 183 25 Sebastián Saavedra 13 26 14 11 DNQ 28 29 23 20 25 16 27 15 14 13 C 178 26 Ed Carpenter 8 11 18 16 16 11 22 11 25 20 1 C 175 27 Alex Lloyd 31 19 14 24 22 13 13 26 C 85 28 Dan Wheldon 6 1 14 C2 75 29 Paul Tracy 16 25 25 12 13 16 26 C 68 30 Raphael Matos 7 20 11 25 DNQ 67 31 Simon Pagenaud 8 13 15 56 32 Tomas Scheckter 22 8 23 22 C 52 33 Martin Plowman 18 12 11 49 34 Buddy Rice 7 18 9 C 42 35 Townsend Bell 4 26 11 C 40 36 Giorgio Pantano 17 26 16 37 37 Wade Cunningham 29 26 7 C 36 38 Pippa Mann 32 20 DNS 22 C 32 39 Bertrand Baguette 14 7 30 40 Jay Howard 21 30 15 20 C 27 41 Davey Hamilton 15 24 27 25 C 26 42 John Andretti 17 22 16 43 Hideki Mutoh 18 12 44 João Paulo de Oliveira 26 10 45 Ho-Pin Tung DNQ 27 10 46 Dillon Battistini 28 10 47 Bruno Junqueira 19 Wth1 4 — Patrick Carpentier DNQ 0 — Scott Speed DNQ 0 Pos Driver STP ALA LBH SAO QL 500 R1 R2 MIL IOW TOR EDM MDO NHA SNM BAL MOT KTY LSV Pts INDY TXS

Color Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green 4th & 5th place Light Blue 6th–10th place Dark Blue Finished (Outside Top 10) Purple Did not finish Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Brown Withdrawn (Wth) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did Not Start (DNS) Race abandoned (C) Blank Did not participate In-line notation Bold Pole position (1 point) Exception: Indianapolis 500 Italics Ran fastest race lap * Led most race laps (2 points) DNS Any driver who qualifies but does not start (DNS), earns half the points had they taken part. Rookie of the Year Rookie

Points are awarded to drivers on the following basis:

• Extra points awarded for qualifying at Indianapolis based on drivers performance.
• Texas is split into two races on the same day. Each one awards half points.
• 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.

Notes

¹ 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.
² 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.

References

External links

• Versus IndyCar Schedule

See also

• 2011 Indianapolis 500