2003 IndyCar Series

The 2003 IRL IndyCar Series brought some of the biggest changes in its history. The league adopted the name IndyCar Series, after a settlement with CART prohibiting its use had expired. Several former CART teams brought their full operations to the IRL, most notably major squads Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Green Racing, as well as former CART engine manufacturers Toyota and Honda, replacing Infiniti who shifted its efforts to the new feeder series Infiniti Pro Series. Many of the IRL's old guard including Robbie Buhl, Greg Ray, and Buddy Lazier had difficulty competing in this new manufacturer-driven landscape. The league also added its first international race this year, taking over the CART date at Twin Ring Motegi.

2003 IndyCar season
IndyCar Series
Season
Races	16
Start date	March 2
End date	October 17
Awards
Drivers' champion	Scott Dixon
Manufacturers' Cup	Toyota
Rookie of the Year	Dan Wheldon
Indianapolis 500 winner	Gil de Ferran
← 2002 (IRL) 2004 →

Scott Dixon (left) won his first Drivers' Championship while Gil de Ferran (right) finished second in the championship while winning the 2003 Indianapolis 500.

The season's most successful entrants were Ganassi and Team Penske that had made the switch already the year before. New Zealander Scott Dixon won the opening race of the season at Homestead and ran very consistently all year long to win his first title at the age of 23. Gil de Ferran won Penske's third consecutive Indianapolis 500 in May and finished second to Dixon in the title race. The finale however was marred by a severe incident that nearly killed former series' champion and Indy 500 winner Kenny Bräck. De Ferran won the race with Dixon in second being well enough to seal the title. Bräck would eventually recover; however, Tony Renna, a Ganassi development driver, lost his life in a test crash at Indianapolis after the season had officially ended.

2003 was also the first and only engine title for Toyota and also first Asian and Japanese car manufacturer to won IndyCar Series IRL-era engine manufacturer's title and thus ending seven-year American engine manufacturer's supremacy. As of 2024, 2003 was also the last chassis manufacturer title victory for G-Force Technologies to date.

Confirmed entries

Team	Chassis	Engine	No	Drivers	Rounds
A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara G-Force[N 1]	Toyota	5	Shigeaki Hattori	1–4
				Airton Daré[N 2]	5
				Jaques Lazier	5–8
			14	A. J. Foyt IV	All
			41	Airton Daré	4
Access Motorsports	G-Force	Honda	13	Greg Ray	3–16
Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda	7	Michael Andretti	1–4
				Dan Wheldon	16
			11	Tony Kanaan	All
			26	Dan Wheldon	4–15
			27		3
				Dario Franchitti	1–2, 6
				Robby Gordon	4
				Bryan Herta	5, 7–16
Beck Motorsports	Dallara	Honda	54	Shinji Nakano	3–4
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	23	Sarah Fisher	All
			24	Robbie Buhl	All
Fernández Racing	Dallara	Honda	55	Roger Yasukawa	All
Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	91	Buddy Lazier	2–14
				Richie Hearn	15–16
Kelley Racing	Dallara	Toyota	8	Scott Sharp	All
			31	Al Unser Jr.	All
			32	Tony Renna	4
Marlboro Team Penske	Dallara	Toyota	3	Hélio Castroneves	All
			6	Gil de Ferran	1–2, 6–14, 16
	G-Force				4–5, 15
				Alex Barron	3
Mo Nunn Racing	Dallara	Toyota	12	Tora Takagi	11–12
	G-Force				1–10, 13–16
			20	Arie Luyendyk[N 3]	4
				Alex Barron	4
			21	Felipe Giaffone	1–8, 14–16
				Alex Barron	9–13
Panther Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	4	Sam Hornish Jr.	All
			44	Robby McGehee	4
			98	Billy Boat	4
PDM Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	18	Scott Mayer	1–3
				Jimmy Kite	4
				Ed Carpenter	14–16
Red Bull Cheever Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet	52	Buddy Rice	1–13
				Alex Barron	14–16
Sam Schmidt Motorsports	G-Force	Toyota	99	Richie Hearn	4
Target Chip Ganassi Racing	G-Force	Toyota	9	Scott Dixon	All
			10	Tomas Scheckter	All
Team Menard	Dallara	Chevrolet	2	Jaques Lazier	1–4, 13
				Vítor Meira	5–12, 15–16
				Richie Hearn	14
			22	Vítor Meira	4
Team Rahal	Dallara	Honda	15	Kenny Bräck	All
			19	Jimmy Vasser	4

Schedule

Rnd	Race Name	Track	Location	Date
1	Toyota Indy 300	Homestead-Miami Speedway	Homestead, Florida	March 2
2	Purex Dial Indy 200	Phoenix International Raceway	Phoenix, Arizona	March 23
3	Indy Japan 300	Twin Ring Motegi	Motegi, Japan	April 13
4	87th Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	May 25
5	Bombardier 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas	June 7
6	Honda Indy 225	Pikes Peak International Raceway	Fountain, Colorado	June 15
7	SunTrust Indy Challenge	Richmond International Raceway	Richmond, Virginia	June 28
8	Kansas Indy 300	Kansas Speedway	Kansas City, Kansas	July 6
9	Firestone Indy 200	Nashville Superspeedway	Lebanon, Tennessee	July 19
10	Firestone Indy 400	Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan	July 27
11	Emerson Indy 250	Gateway International Raceway	Madison, Illinois	August 10
12	Belterra Casino Indy 300	Kentucky Speedway	Sparta, Kentucky	August 17
13	Firestone Indy 225	Nazareth Speedway	Nazareth, Pennsylvania	August 24
14	Delphi Indy 300	Chicagoland Speedway	Joliet, Illinois	September 7
15	Toyota Indy 400	California Speedway	Fontana, California	September 21
16	Chevy 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas	October 12

Results

Rd.	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Race winner
					Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine
1	Homestead	Tony Kanaan	Tony Kanaan	Gil de Ferran	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	G-Force	Toyota
2	Phoenix	Tony Kanaan	Scott Dixon	Tony Kanaan	Tony Kanaan	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda
3	Motegi	Scott Dixon	Tomas Scheckter	Tony Kanaan	Scott Sharp	Kelley Racing	Dallara	Toyota
4	Indianapolis	Hélio Castroneves	Tony Kanaan	Tomas Scheckter	Gil de Ferran	Team Penske	G-Force	Toyota
5	Texas 1	Tomas Scheckter	Felipe Giaffone	Tomas Scheckter	Al Unser Jr.	Kelley Racing	Dallara	Toyota
6	Pikes Peak	Tony Kanaan	Tony Kanaan	Scott Dixon	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	G-Force	Toyota
7	Richmond	Scott Dixon	Tomas Scheckter	Scott Dixon	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	G-Force	Toyota
8	Kansas	Scott Dixon	Tony Kanaan	Gil de Ferran	Bryan Herta	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda
9	Nashville	Scott Dixon	Sam Hornish Jr.	Tony Kanaan	Gil de Ferran	Team Penske	Dallara	Toyota
10	Michigan	Tomas Scheckter	Bryan Herta	Sam Hornish Jr.	Alex Barron	Mo Nunn Racing	G-Force	Toyota
11	Gateway	Hélio Castroneves	Scott Dixon	Hélio Castroneves	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Dallara	Toyota
12	Kentucky	Sam Hornish Jr.	Sarah Fisher	Sam Hornish Jr.	Sam Hornish Jr.	Panther Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet
13	Nazareth	Scott Dixon	Sam Hornish Jr.	Hélio Castroneves	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Dallara	Toyota
14	Chicagoland	Richie Hearn	Bryan Herta	Tomas Scheckter	Sam Hornish Jr.	Panther Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet
15	Fontana	Hélio Castroneves	Scott Dixon	Tomas Scheckter	Sam Hornish Jr.	Panther Racing	Dallara	Chevrolet
16	Texas 2	Gil de Ferran	Tony Kanaan	Gil de Ferran	Gil de Ferran	Team Penske	Dallara	Toyota

Race summaries

Toyota Indy 300

This race was held March 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Tony Kanaan won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 9- Scott Dixon
2. 6- Gil de Ferran
3. 3- Hélio Castroneves
4. 11- Tony Kanaan
5. 8- Scott Sharp
6. 7- Michael Andretti
7. 27- Dario Franchitti
8. 10- Tomas Scheckter
9. 21- Felipe Giaffone
10. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.

Purex Dial Indy 200

This race was held March 23 at Phoenix International Raceway. Tony Kanaan won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 11- Tony Kanaan
2. 3- Hélio Castroneves
3. 21- Felipe Giaffone
4. 31- Al Unser Jr.
5. 15- Kenny Bräck
6. 2- Jaques Lazier
7. 8- Scott Sharp
8. 23- Sarah Fisher
9. 52- Buddy Rice
10. 5- Shigeaki Hattori

Inaugural Indy Japan 300

This race was held April 13 at Twin Ring Motegi. Scott Dixon won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 8- Scott Sharp
2. 15- Kenny Bräck
3. 21- Felipe Giaffone
4. 7- Michael Andretti
5. 31- Al Unser Jr.
6. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
7. 27- Dan Wheldon
8. 12- Tora Takagi
9. 13- Greg Ray
10. 24- Robbie Buhl

87th Indianapolis 500

The 87th Indy 500 was held May 25 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hélio Castroneves sat on pole.

Top ten results

1. 6- Gil de Ferran
2. 3- Hélio Castroneves
3. 11- Tony Kanaan
4. 10- Tomas Scheckter
5. 12- Tora Takagi
6. 20- Alex Barron
7. 32- Tony Renna
8. 13- Greg Ray
9. 31- Al Unser Jr.
10. 55- Roger Yasukawa

• Hélio Castroneves came up just short of the three-peat in the 500. He got hung up in lap traffic which enabled Gil de Ferran to get by and lead the final 30 laps for his only 500 triumph.

Bombardier 500

This race was held June 7 at Texas Motor Speedway. Tomas Scheckter won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 31- Al Unser Jr.
2. 11- Tony Kanaan
3. 12- Tora Takagi
4. 15- Kenny Bräck
5. 27- Bryan Herta
6. 9- Scott Dixon
7. 3- Hélio Castroneves
8. 6- Gil de Ferran
9. 12- Roger Yasukawa
10. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.

Honda Indy 225

This race was held June 15 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Tony Kanaan won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 9- Scott Dixon
2. 11- Tony Kanaan
3. 6- Gil de Ferran
4. 27- Dario Franchitti
5. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
6. 12- Tora Takagi
7. 15- Kenny Bräck
8. 10- Tomas Scheckter
9. 52- Buddy Rice
10. 91- Buddy Lazier

SunTrust Indy Challenge

This race was held June 28 at Richmond International Raceway. Scott Dixon won the pole.^[1]

Top ten results

1. 9- Scott Dixon
2. 3- Hélio Castroneves
3. 6- Gil de Ferran
4. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
5. 11- Tony Kanaan
6. 21- Felipe Giaffone
7. 15- Kenny Bräck
8. 26- Dan Wheldon
9. 52- Buddy Rice
10. 31- Al Unser Jr.

• The race was originally scheduled for 250 laps, but shortened to 206 laps due to rain.^[2]

Kansas Indy 300

This race was held July 6 at Kansas Speedway. Scott Dixon won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 27- Bryan Herta
2. 3- Hélio Castroneves
3. 6- Gil de Ferran
4. 11- Tony Kanaan
5. 15- Kenny Bräck
6. 9- Scott Dixon
7. 55- Roger Yasukawa
8. 13- Greg Ray
9. 10- Tomas Scheckter
10. 5- Jaques Lazier

Firestone Indy 200

This race was held July 19 at Nashville Superspeedway. Scott Dixon won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 6- Gil de Ferran
2. 9- Scott Dixon
3. 3- Hélio Castroneves
4. 26- Dan Wheldon
5. 21- Alex Barron
6. 15- Kenny Bräck
7. 12- Tora Takagi
8. 31- Al Unser Jr.
9. 11- Tony Kanaan
10. 10- Tomas Scheckter

Firestone Indy 400

This race was held July 27 at Michigan International Speedway. Tomas Scheckter won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 21- Alex Barron
2. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
3. 10- Tomas Scheckter
4. 8- Scott Sharp
5. 9- Scott Dixon
6. 12- Tora Takagi
7. 6- Gil de Ferran
8. 12- Roger Yasukawa
9. 31- Al Unser Jr.
10. 13- Greg Ray

Emerson Indy 250

This race was held August 10 at Gateway International Raceway. Hélio Castroneves won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 3- Hélio Castroneves
2. 11- Tony Kanaan
3. 6- Gil de Ferran
4. 10- Tomas Scheckter
5. 26- Dan Wheldon
6. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
7. 12- Tora Takagi
8. 13- Greg Ray
9. 2- Vítor Meira
10. 8- Scott Sharp

Belterra Casino Indy 300

This race was held August 17 at Kentucky Speedway. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
2. 9- Scott Dixon
3. 27- Bryan Herta
4. 31- Al Unser Jr.
5. 3- Hélio Castroneves
6. 11- Tony Kanaan
7. 24- Robbie Buhl
8. 26- Dan Wheldon
9. 6- Gil de Ferran
10. 10- Tomas Scheckter

Firestone Indy 225

This race was held August 24 at Nazareth Speedway. Scott Dixon won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 3- Hélio Castroneves
2. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
3. 27- Bryan Herta
4. 6- Gil de Ferran
5. 15- Kenny Bräck
6. 31- Al Unser Jr.
7. 26- Dan Wheldon
8. 12- Roger Yasukawa
9. 24- Robbie Buhl
10. 91- Buddy Rice

Delphi Indy 300

This race was held September 7 at Chicagoland Speedway. Richie Hearn won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
2. 9- Scott Dixon
3. 27- Bryan Herta
4. 26- Dan Wheldon
5. 10- Tomas Scheckter
6. 11- Tony Kanaan
7. 52- Alex Barron
8. 55- Roger Yasukawa
9. 12- Tora Takagi
10. 24- Robbie Buhl

Toyota Indy 400

This race was held September 21 at California Speedway. Hélio Castroneves won the pole.^[3]

Top ten results

1. 4- Sam Hornish Jr.
2. 9- Scott Dixon
3. 11- Tony Kanaan
4. 26- Dan Wheldon
5. 10- Tomas Scheckter
6. 3- Hélio Castroneves
7. 55- Roger Yasukawa
8. 8- Scott Sharp
9. 31- Al Unser Jr.
10. 52- Alex Barron

• This race was the fastest circuit race ever in motorsport history, with an average speed of 207.151 mph (333.306 km/h) over 400 miles (643.6 km).^[4] This also makes it the de facto fastest ever 400 mile motor race beating the NASCAR record set during the 1999 Kmart 400.

Chevy 500

This race was held October 12 at Texas Motor Speedway. Gil de Ferran won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 6- Gil de Ferran
2. 9- Scott Dixon
3. 7- Dan Wheldon
4. 2- Vítor Meira
5. 27- Bryan Herta
6. 8- Scott Sharp
7. 12- Tora Takagi
8. 13- Greg Ray
9. 31- Al Unser Jr.
10. 55- Roger Yasukawa

• The race was memorable for a five–way championship duel involving de Ferran, Scott Dixon, Hélio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, and two-time titlist Sam Hornish Jr.
• The race was also notable for a frightening, but non–fatal, accident involving Tomas Scheckter and 1999 Indianapolis 500 champion Kenny Bräck. Scheckter was uninjured, but the Swede was launched into the air after wheel–to–wheel contact on the backstretch and violently clobbered the catch fencing. Debris was scattered across the track, and the already long period of yellow flag laps prompted IRL race control to end the race at lap 195 of 200. Because the race reached 1 lap past the halfway point the race was considered official. Gil de Ferran, Bräck's former title rival in CART, won in his final IndyCar race, joining Ray Harroun and Sam Hanks (both of whom retired immediately after winning an Indianapolis 500) as drivers who retired from U.S. open wheel competition in the winner's circle.
• Scott Dixon won the IRL title in his first season in the IndyCar Series (having spent two seasons in CART) and Englishman Dan Wheldon beat Roger Yasukawa for Bombardier Rookie of the Year honors.

Points standings

Further information: List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems

Pos Driver HMS PHX MOT INDY TXS PIK RIR KAN NSH MIS GAT KTY NAZ CHI FON TXS Pts 1 Scott Dixon 1 20 15 17 6 1* 1* 6 2 5 15 2 16 2 2 2 507 2 Gil de Ferran 2* 14 1 8 3 3 3* 1 7 3 9 4 12 15 1* 489 3 Hélio Castroneves 3 2 22 2 7 12 2 2 3 17 1* 5 1* 20 6 13 484 4 Tony Kanaan 4 1* 14* 3 2 2 5 4 9* 16 2 6 18 6 3 14 476 5 Sam Hornish Jr. 10 21 6 15 10 5 4 17 11 2* 6 1* 2 1 1 17 461 6 Al Unser Jr. 13 4 5 9 1 14 10 14 8 9 20 4 6 19 9 9 374 7 Tomas Scheckter 8 15 16 4* 18* 8 18 9 10 3 4 10 19 5* 5* 15 356 8 Scott Sharp 5 7 1 20 16 11 17 16 13 4 10 13 12 11 8 6 351 9 Kenny Bräck 11 5 2 16 4 7 7 5 6 18 19 19 5 21 20 16 342 10 Tora Takagi 12 22 8 5 31 6 13 18 7 6 7 18 14 9 18 7 317 11 Dan Wheldon  RY  7 19 20 19 8 21 4 20 5 8 7 4 4 3 312 12 Roger Yasukawa  R  14 17 21 10 9 17 11 7 15 8 18 12 8 8 7 10 301 13 Bryan Herta 5 14 1 12 19 21 3 3 3 22 5 277 14 Robbie Buhl 19 12 10 23 22 15 15 12 21 13 12 7 9 10 12 11 261 15 Greg Ray 9 8 11 18 12 8 16 10 8 15 17 Wth 14 8 253 16 Buddy Rice 16 9 13 11 14 9 9 19 18 11 14 11 10 229 17 Alex Barron 17 6 5 1 16 20 15 7 10 20 216 18 Sarah Fisher 15 8 23 31 15 20 19 11 20 15 13 14 DNS 18 19 12 211 19 Buddy Lazier 11 19 21 13 10 20 13 14 12 11 16 13 16 201 20 Felipe Giaffone 9 3 3 33 17 13 6 22 15 16 19 199 21 A. J. Foyt IV  R  17 18 18 18 21 22 21 15 17 14 17 17 11 17 17 22 198 22 Vítor Meira 12 12 16 22 20 19 21 9 Wth 11 4 170 23 Jaques Lazier 20 6 12 29 19 21 16 10 Wth 120 24 Michael Andretti 6 13 4 27 80 25 Dario Franchitti 7 16 4 72 26 Shigeaki Hattori 18 10 20 30 43 27 Ed Carpenter  R  13 13 21 43 28 Richie Hearn 28 14 21 18 39 29 Shinji Nakano 11 14 35 30 Tony Renna 7 26 31 Scott Mayer  R  21 19 24 26 32 Jimmy Kite 13 17 33 Robby Gordon 22 8 34 Airton Daré 24 Wth 6 35 Robby McGehee 25 5 36 Jimmy Vasser 26 4 37 Billy Boat 32 1 - Arie Luyendyk Wth 0 Pos Driver HMS PHX MOT INDY TXS PIK RIR KAN NSH MIS GAT KTY NAZ CHI FON TXS Pts

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 (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Brown Withdrawn (Wth) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Not competing In-line notation Bold Pole position Italics Ran fastest race lap * Led most race laps (2 points) DNS Any driver who qualifies but does not start (DNS), earns all the points had they taken part.  RY  Rookie of the Year  R  Rookie

• 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.

Note: ¹ Tora Takagi had 23 points deducted at Texas Motor Speedway due to unacceptable driving.

See also

• 2003 Indianapolis 500
• 2003 Infiniti Pro Series season
• 2003 CART season
• 2003 Toyota Atlantic Championship season

Footnotes

1. Used by Daré, by Hattori at Homestead and Motegi, and by Foyt IV in seven rounds: Motegi, Texas 1 and 2, Kansas, Michigan, Kentucky and Fontana.
2. Injured during a practice crash at Texas.
3. Injured during a practice crash at Indianapolis.