2006 Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix

The 2006 Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix presented by Tissot was the fifth round of the 2006 IndyCar Series season. The race was held on June 4, 2006, in Watkins Glen, New York at Watkins Glen International. The race was contested of 55 laps, shortened from the scheduled 60 laps due to rain.^[1] Scott Dixon won the race. Vítor Meira finished 2nd, and Ryan Briscoe finished 3rd in his first IndyCar race since his fiery crash at Chicagoland Speedway in September 2005.^[2] Buddy Rice and Felipe Giaffone rounded out the top five, and Ed Carpenter, Hélio Castroneves, Danica Patrick, Scott Sharp, and Tomas Scheckter rounded out the top ten.

2006 Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix

Race details
5th round of the 2006 IndyCar season ← Previous race Next race →
Layout of the Watkins Glen International circuit
Date	June 4, 2006
Official name	Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix presented by Tissot
Location	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York
Course	Permanent racing facility 3.450 mi / 5.552 km
Distance	55 laps 187.165 mi / 301.213 km
Pole position
Driver	Hélio Castroneves (Team Penske)
Time	No time
Fastest lap
Driver	Marco Andretti (Andretti Green Racing)
Time	1:34.8752 (on lap 38 of 55)
Podium
First	Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Second	Vítor Meira (Panther Racing)
Third	Ryan Briscoe (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing)
Chronology
Previous Next 2005 2007

This race ended up being the final win for the Panoz chassis in IndyCar. Panoz would eventually discontinue their IndyCar involvement after the 2008 Indianapolis 500, leaving Dallara as the sole chassis manufacturer for 2009 and beyond.

This was also the first race in IndyCar history to be contested in the rain.^[3]

Entry list

Further information: 2006 IndyCar Series § Confirmed entries

Key	Meaning
R	Rookie
W	Past winner

No.	Driver	Team	Chassis
2	Tomas Scheckter	Vision Racing	Dallara
3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Dallara
4	Vítor Meira	Panther Racing	Dallara
5	Ryan Briscoe[a]	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Dallara
6	Sam Hornish Jr.	Team Penske	Dallara
7	Bryan Herta	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara
8	Scott Sharp	Delphi Fernández Racing	Panoz
9	Scott Dixon  W	Chip Ganassi Racing	Panoz
10	Dan Wheldon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Panoz
11	Tony Kanaan	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara
14	Felipe Giaffone	A. J. Foyt Racing	Dallara
15	Buddy Rice	Rahal Letterman Racing	Panoz
16	Danica Patrick	Rahal Letterman Racing	Panoz
17	Jeff Simmons  R	Rahal Letterman Racing	Panoz
20	Ed Carpenter	Vision Racing	Dallara
26	Marco Andretti  R	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara
27	Dario Franchitti	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara
51	Eddie Cheever	Cheever Racing	Dallara
55	Kosuke Matsuura	Super Aguri Fernández Racing	Dallara

Practice

First practice

The first practice session was held on Friday, June 2, at 10:15 AM EST, and lasted for 120 minutes.^[5]

Four incidents occurred during this session; Scott Sharp, Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, and Tomas Scheckter all spun without contact.^[5]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Time
1	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Dallara	1:30.9112
2	11	Tony Kanaan	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	1:31.2734
3	9	Scott Dixon  W	Chip Ganassi Racing	Panoz	1:31.6956
Official first practice results

Second practice

The second practice session was held on Friday, June 2, at 2:00 PM EST, and lasted for 70 minutes. The session was separated into two groups, with 30 minutes for each group and a 10-minute break in between.^[5]

One incident occurred during this session; Vítor Meira spun in turn 7. The start of Group 2 practice was also delayed by 12 minutes due to a deer on the track.^[5]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Time
1	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Dallara	1:30.6783
2	11	Tony Kanaan	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	1:31.0462
3	26	Marco Andretti  R	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	1:31.1722
Official second practice results

Third practice

The third practice session was held on Saturday, June 3. It was originally scheduled to be held at 9:45 AM EST, but it was rescheduled to 12:30 PM EST due to rain. It lasted for 75 minutes.^[6]

One incident occurred during this session; Buddy Rice spun in turn 1.^[6]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Time
1	2	Tomas Scheckter	Vision Racing	Dallara	1:38.7505
2	51	Eddie Cheever	Cheever Racing	Dallara	1:43.1886
3	14	Felipe Giaffone	A. J. Foyt Racing	Dallara	1:43.8657
Official third practice results

Qualifying

Qualifying was cancelled due to rain, so the starting lineup was determined by practice speeds set on June 2. As a result, Hélio Castroneves was awarded the pole.^[6]

Qualifying classification

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Final grid
1	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Dallara	1
2	11	Tony Kanaan	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	2
3	26	Marco Andretti  R	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	3
4	9	Scott Dixon  W	Chip Ganassi Racing	Panoz	4
5	10	Dan Wheldon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Panoz	5
6	6	Sam Hornish Jr.	Team Penske	Dallara	6
7	27	Dario Franchitti	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	7
8	4	Vítor Meira	Panther Racing	Dallara	8
9	7	Bryan Herta	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	9
10	5	Ryan Briscoe	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Dallara	10
11	15	Buddy Rice	Rahal Letterman Racing	Panoz	11
12	55	Kosuke Matsuura	Super Aguri Fernández Racing	Dallara	12
13	17	Jeff Simmons  R	Rahal Letterman Racing	Panoz	13
14	8	Scott Sharp	Delphi Fernández Racing	Panoz	14
15	2	Tomas Scheckter	Vision Racing	Dallara	15
16	16	Danica Patrick	Rahal Letterman Racing	Panoz	16
17	51	Eddie Cheever	Cheever Racing	Dallara	17
18	15	Ed Carpenter	Vision Racing	Dallara	18
19	14	Felipe Giaffone	A. J. Foyt Racing	Dallara	19

Practice (post-qualifying)

Final practice

The fourth and final practice was held on Sunday, June 4, at 9:30 AM EST, and lasted for 30 minutes.^[7]

Two incidents occurred during the session; Eddie Cheever and Tony Kanaan both spun, but continued.^[7]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Time
1	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Dallara	1:49.2818
2	11	Tony Kanaan	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	1:49.7631
3	4	Vítor Meira	Panther Racing	Dallara	1:51.5653
Official final practice results

Race

The race began at 3:30 PM EST on Sunday, June 4.

Race classification

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Laps Led	Pts.
1	9	Scott Dixon  W	Chip Ganassi Racing	Panoz	55	02:00:20.0224	4	9	50
2	4	Vítor Meira	Panther Racing	Dallara	55	+2.3311	8	0	40
3	5	Ryan Briscoe	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Dallara	55	+2.7999	10	0	35
4	15	Buddy Rice	Rahal Letterman Racing	Panoz	55	+9.2284	11	5	32
5	14	Felipe Giaffone	A. J. Foyt Racing	Dallara	55	+11.4811	19	0	30
6	20	Ed Carpenter	Vision Racing	Dallara	55	+12.4427	18	0	28
7	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Dallara	55	+13.0455	1	7	26
8	16	Danica Patrick	Rahal Letterman Racing	Panoz	55	+13.3289	16	0	24
9	8	Scott Sharp	Delphi Fernández Racing	Panoz	55	+16.6462	14	0	22
10	2	Tomas Scheckter	Vision Racing	Dallara	55	+48.4872	15	12	20
11	11	Tony Kanaan	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	54	+1 Lap	2	8	19
12	6	Sam Hornish Jr.	Team Penske	Dallara	54	+1 Lap	6	0	18
13	7	Bryan Herta	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	54	+1 Lap	9	0	17
14	27	Dario Franchitti	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	44	+11 Laps	7	0	16
15	10	Dan Wheldon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Panoz	41	Mechanical	5	13	18
16	26	Marco Andretti  R	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	38	Accident	3	0	14
17	51	Eddie Cheever	Cheever Racing	Dallara	37	Accident	17	0	13
18	55	Kosuke Matsuura	Super Aguri Fernández Racing	Dallara	19	Accident	12	0	12
19	17	Jeff Simmons  R	Rahal Letterman Racing	Panoz	18	Accident	13	1	12
Fastest lap: Marco Andretti (Andretti Green Racing) - 1:34.8752 (lap 38)
Official race results

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos. Driver Points 1 Hélio Castroneves 182 2 2 Scott Dixon 170 (–12) 3 Sam Hornish Jr. 162 (–20) 1 4 Dan Wheldon 157 (–25) 5 Tony Kanaan 138 (–44)

• Note: Only the top five positions are included.

Footnotes

1. On May 31, it was announced that Ryan Briscoe would substitute for Buddy Lazier in this race because Dreyer & Reinbold Racing wanted to evaluate Briscoe's performance on road courses.^[4]