# 2006 Indy Pro Series

The 2006 IRL Indy Pro Series, was the fifth season of the developmental open-wheel racing series under the Indy Racing League ownership, and the 21st in Indy NXT combined history, as officially recognized by IndyCar. Both Menards and Nissan dropped their sponsorship of the series, which was renamed to Indy Pro Series for the following two years. It was the first season to include double-header races in road course races. All teams used Dallara IL-02 chassis, now with the unbranded TWR engines, as they would remain until the end of its use in 2014.
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, in a four-way battle for the title at the last round in Chicagoland Speedway that included the defending series champion Wade Cunningham and Bobby Wilson.
Following in the footsteps of Cunningham, Howard prevailed through sheer consistency rather than outright brilliance, with seven podium finishes and two wins at Nashville and Kentucky. All of his wins and pole positions came at oval events, which only comprised half of the schedule.
Klein didn't manage to win a race, and only led a handful of laps during the year, but six podium finishes over the last seven races kept him in contention until the end. Cunningham, driving for Brian Stewart Racing, was also in contention at the final round despite missing the doubleheader at St. Petersburg due to an appendix removal. Cunningham won three races, including the first of his three Freedom 100 victories, scored four pole positions and led the most laps in seven of the 10 races he contested, but couldn't overcome the 93-point deficit to Howard after St. Petersburg and fell 11 points short. Besides, his win over at Chicagoland over Klein allowed Howard to win the championship. An early crash took Bobby Wilson out of contention, finishing fourth in the standings with a win at Watkins Glen.
Seven different drivers won a race during the year, including Jeff Simmons, who left the series as the points leader after three races to drive in IndyCar, and rookie Alex Lloyd, with two road course wins at Indianapolis and Sonoma. Lloyd would miss three races due to funding issues, and finished seventh in points.
Two competitors from the Atlantic Championship made successful cameos during the year, with Brazilian rookie Raphael Matos sweeping the race weekend at St. Petersburg and Graham Rahal getting the pole position at the Liberty Challenge to finish second behind Lloyd, coming two laps short of winning in his only Indy Pro Series start.
Vision Racing disbanded their Indy Pro Series programme after one year, but the series was bolstered by an increase of price money and a host of new teams, led by the expansion of the Andretti Green Racing programme and the debut of Cheever Racing and Guthrie Racing.
Other teams that expanded to a full-time effort were Michael Crawford Racing, AFS Racing and Dave McMillan Racing, although the latter scaled back during the year. The series had 16 to 18 cars at most of his rounds, with 19 starters at the Freedom 100, but only 11 at Milwaukee and 14 at the Sonoma races. 41 different drivers competed during the year, tying the all-time record from 1996 at the time, but only six drivers started all twelve races, with three others missing two or less events. Former Indy 500 starters Jon Herb and Tyce Carlson competed at the Freedom 100.

## Drivers and teams

| Team | No. | Drivers | Rounds |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 1 | Wade Cunningham | 1, 4–12 |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 1 | Geoff Dodge | 2–3 |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 33 | Geoff Dodge | 1, 4, 7 |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 3 | Brett Van Blankers | 1–9 |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 3 | Daniel Gaunt | 10–11 |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 3 | Veronica McCann | 12 |
| Dave McMillan Racing | 2 | Matthew Hamilton | 1–5 |
| Dave McMillan Racing | 2 | C. R. Crews | 12 |
| Dave McMillan Racing | 22 | Éric Paradis | 6 |
| Roth Racing | 4 | Marty Roth | 1–3 |
| Guthrie Racing | 4 | Phil Giebler | 4 |
| Guthrie Racing | 4 | Logan Gomez | 6 |
| Guthrie Racing | 4 | C. R. Crews | 9 |
| Guthrie Racing | 4 | Micky Gilbert | 10–11 |
| Guthrie Racing | 4 | Tom Wieringa | 12 |
| Guthrie Racing | 4 | Sean Guthrie | 5 |
| Guthrie Racing | 41 | Sean Guthrie | 4, 7, 9, 12 |
| Guthrie Racing | 41 | Travis Gregg | 1 |
| Guthrie Racing | 41 | Raphael Matos | 2–3, 5–6 |
| Guthrie Racing | 41 | Scott Mansell | 10–11 |
| Racing Professionals | 6 | Jon Herb | 1–6 |
| Sam Schmidt Motorsports | 7 | Jay Howard | All |
| Sam Schmidt Motorsports | 38 | Ryan Justice | 10–11 |
| Sam Schmidt Motorsports | 77 | Travis Gregg | 9 |
| Sam Schmidt Motorsports | 77 | Akihira Okamoto | 12 |
| Michael Crawford Motorsports | 8 | Mishael Abbott | 1, 4–5 |
| Michael Crawford Motorsports | 8 | Rocco DeSimone | 2–3 |
| Michael Crawford Motorsports | 8 | C. R. Crews | 6 |
| Michael Crawford Motorsports | 8 | Scott Mansell | 7 |
| Michael Crawford Motorsports | 8 | P. J. Abbott | 8, 10–11 |
| Michael Crawford Motorsports | 8 | Ben Petter | 9, 12 |
| Michael Crawford Motorsports | 9 | Bobby Wilson | 1–3 |
| Michael Crawford Motorsports | 9 | Tom Wieringa | 4 |
| Michael Crawford Motorsports | 9 | C. R. Crews | 5 |
| Michael Crawford Motorsports | 9 | Scott Mansell | 6 |
| Michael Crawford Motorsports | 9 | Travis Gregg | 7 |
| Michael Crawford Motorsports | 9 | Michael Crawford | 8 |
| Michael Crawford Motorsports | 9 | Shinji Kashima | 9–12 |
| Andretti Green Racing | 11 | Jaime Camara | All |
| Andretti Green Racing | 27 | Jonathan Klein | All |
| Kenn Hardley Racing | 24 | Jeff Simmons | 1–3 |
| Kenn Hardley Racing | 24 | Bobby Wilson | 4–12 |
| Kenn Hardley Racing | 42 | Tom Wood | 4, 7–9, 12 |
| Kenn Hardley Racing | 42 | Phil Giebler | 5 |
| Kenn Hardley Racing | 42 | Graham Rahal | 6 |
| AFS Racing | 25 | Arie Luyendyk Jr. | 1–3, 5, 7, 12 |
| AFS Racing | 25 | Tyce Carlson | 4 |
| AFS Racing | 25 | Phil Giebler | 6 |
| AFS Racing | 26 | Alex Lloyd | 2–7, 9–12 |
| AFS Racing | 26 | Thiago Medeiros | 8 |
| Cheever Racing | 51 | Chris Festa | 1–7, 9, 12 |
| Cheever Racing | 51 | Hoover Orsi | 8 |
| Cheever Racing | 52 | Nick Bussell | All |
| Part Sourcing International | 76 | James Chesson | 4, 7 |
| Part Sourcing International | 76 | Mike Potekhen | 6, 9–12 |

## Schedule

The schedule downsized from 14 to 12 races, as the series moved to a 50-50 proportion on ovals and road courses in terms of races. Three ovals were dropped, as Phoenix, Pikes Peak and Fontana were removed after their IndyCar events were discontinued, along with Texas Motor Speedway. In turn, the races at St. Petersburg and Sonoma were turned into doubleheaders, the first of their kind in the combined history of Indy Lights. Homestead-Miami continued as the venue for the season opener, while Chicagoland inherited the season finale slot from California Speedway.
| Rd. | Date | Race name | Track | Location |
| 1 | March 26 | Miami 100 | O Homestead–Miami Speedway | Homestead, Florida |
| 2 | April 1–2 | Grand Prix of St. Petersburg | R Streets of St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 3 | April 1–2 | Grand Prix of St. Petersburg | R Streets of St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 4 | May 26 | Freedom 100 | O Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Speedway, Indiana |
| 5 | June 4 | Corning 100 | R Watkins Glen International | Watkins Glen, New York |
| 6 | July 1 | Liberty Challenge | R Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course | Speedway, Indiana |
| 7 | July 15 | Sun Belt Rentals 100 | O Nashville Superspeedway | Lebanon, Tennessee |
| 8 | July 22 | Milwaukee 100 | O Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wisconsin |
| 9 | August 13 | Kentucky 100 | O Kentucky Speedway | Sparta, Kentucky |
| 10 | August 26–27 | Carneros 100 | R Infineon Raceway | Sonoma, California |
| 11 | August 26–27 | Valley of the Moon 100 | R Infineon Raceway | Sonoma, California |
| 12 | September 9 | Chicagoland 100 | O Chicagoland Speedway | Joliet, Illinois |

## Race results

| Round | Race | Pole position | Fastest lap | Most laps led | Race Winner | Race Winner |
| Round | Race | Pole position | Fastest lap | Most laps led | Driver | Team |
| 1 | Homestead–Miami Speedway | Jay Howard | Jon Herb | Jay Howard | Jeff Simmons | Kenn Hardley Racing |
| 2 | Streets of St. Petersburg | Raphael Matos | Raphael Matos | Raphael Matos | Raphael Matos | Guthrie Racing |
| 3 | Streets of St. Petersburg | Chris Festa | Raphael Matos | Raphael Matos | Raphael Matos | Guthrie Racing |
| 4 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Wade Cunningham | Jay Howard | Wade Cunningham | Wade Cunningham | Brian Stewart Racing |
| 5 | Watkins Glen International | Bobby Wilson | Bobby Wilson | Wade Cunningham | Bobby Wilson | Kenn Hardley Racing |
| 6 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course | Graham Rahal | Alex Lloyd | Graham Rahal | Alex Lloyd | AFS Racing |
| 7 | Nashville Superspeedway | Wade Cunningham | Wade Cunningham | Wade Cunningham | Jay Howard | Sam Schmidt Motorsports |
| 8 | Milwaukee Mile | Wade Cunningham | Wade Cunningham | Wade Cunningham | Jaime Camara | Andretti Green Racing |
| 9 | Kentucky Speedway | Jonathan Klein | Bobby Wilson | Wade Cunningham | Jay Howard | Sam Schmidt Motorsports |
| 10 | Infineon Raceway | Wade Cunningham | Alex Lloyd | Wade Cunningham | Wade Cunningham | Brian Stewart Racing |
| 11 | Infineon Raceway | Mike Potekhen | Wade Cunningham | Alex Lloyd | Alex Lloyd | AFS Racing |
| 12 | Chicagoland Speedway | Jay Howard | Tom Wood | Wade Cunningham | Wade Cunningham | Brian Stewart Racing |

## Championship standings
### Drivers' Championship
#### Scoring system

| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th |
| Points | 50 | 40 | 35 | 32 | 30 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 |
* The driver who starts on pole is awarded one point (except for Race 2 of doubleheader weekends)
* The driver who leads the most laps in a race is awarded two additional points.
| Pos | Driver | HMS | STP | STP | INDY | WGL | IMS | NAS | MIL | KTY | SNM | SNM | CHI | Points |
| 1 | Jay Howard RY | 3* | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 390 |
| 2 | Jonathan Klein R | 15 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 386 |
| 3 | Wade Cunningham | 10 | | | 1* | 2* | 16 | 5* | 2* | 3* | 1* | 4 | 1* | 379 |
| 4 | Bobby Wilson R | 5 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 343 |
| 5 | Nick Bussell | 2 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 8 | 319 |
| 6 | Jaime Camara | 11 | 12 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 16 | 298 |
| 7 | Alex Lloyd R | | 10 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 1 | DNS | | 16 | 2 | 1* | 4 | 294 |
| 8 | Chris Festa | 16 | 6 | 8$^i$ | 4 | 14 | 15 | 9 | | 8 | | | 5 | 205 |
| 9 | Brett Van Blankers R | 8 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 10 | 8 | 15 | | | | 179 |
| 10 | Raphael Matos R | | 1* | 1* | | 13 | 4 | | | | | | | 154 |
| 11 | Jon Herb | 6 | 13 | 9 | 19 | 8 | 8 | | | | | | | 126 |
| 12 | Jeff Simmons | 1 | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | 122 |
| 13 | Mike Potekhen R | | | | | | 11 | | | 10 | 6 | 6$^i$ | 7 | 121 |
| 14 | Tom Wood | | | | 9 | | | 4 | 9 | 12 | | | 9 | 116 |
| 15 | Arie Luyendyk Jr. | 4 | DNS | | | 11 | | 11 | | | | | 6 | 105 |
| 16 | Matthew Hamilton R | 14 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 10 | | | | | | | | 105 |
| 17 | Geoff Dodge R | 7 | 11 | 13 | 8 | | | 12 | | | | | | 104 |
| 18 | Sean Guthrie R | | | | 11 | 16 | | 8 | | 5 | | | 18 | 99 |
| 19 | C. R. Crews R | | | | | 9 | 6 | | | 11 | | | 13 | 86 |
| 20 | Scott Mansell R | | | | | | 14 | 14 | | | 11 | 7 | | 77 |
| 21 | Phil Giebler | | | | 16 | 3 | 7 | | | | | | | 75 |
| 22 | Shinji Kashima R | | | | | | | | | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 72 |
| 23 | Travis Gregg | 12 | | | | | | 13 | | 4 | | | | 67 |
| 24 | Marty Roth | 9 | 14 | 12 | | | | | | | | | | 56 |
| 25 | P. J. Abbott | | | | | | | | 11 | | 13 | 12 | | 54 |
| 26 | Ryan Justice R | | | | | | | | | | 8 | 8 | | 48 |
| 26 | Mishael Abbott | 13 | | | 17 | 12 | | | | | | | | 48 |
| 28 | Graham Rahal R | | | | | | 2* | | | | | | | 43 |
| 29 | Micky Gilbert R | | | | | | | | | | 9 | 10 | | 42 |
| 29 | Ben Petter R | | | | | | | | | 9 | | | 10 | 42 |
| 31 | Daniel Gaunt R | | | | | | | | | | 14 | 9 | | 38 |
| 32 | Tom Wieringa | | | | 12 | | | | | | | | 15 | 33 |
| 33 | Rocco DeSimone R | | 15 | 14 | | | | | | | | | | 31 |
| 34 | Thiago Medeiros | | | | | | | | 6 | | | | | 28 |
| 35 | Michael Crawford R | | | | | | | | 10 | | | | | 20 |
| 35 | Logan Gomez R | | | | | | 10 | | | | | | | 20 |
| 37 | Veronica McCann R | | | | | | | | | | | | 11 | 19 |
| 37 | James Chesson | | | | 18 | | | DNS | | | | | | 19 |
| 39 | Éric Paradis R | | | | | | 12 | | | | | | | 18 |
| 40 | Akihira Okamoto R | | | | | | | | | | | | 14 | 16 |
| 41 | Tyce Carlson | | | | 15 | | | | | | | | | 15 |
| | Hoover Orsi | | | | | | | | | | DNS | Wth | | |
| Pos | Driver | HMS | STP | STP | INDY | WGL | IMS | NAS | MIL | KTY | SNM | SNM | CHI | Points |
| 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) |
| Blank | Did not participate (DNP) |
| Blank | Not competing |
In-line notation :
| Bold | Pole position (1 point) |
| Italics | Ran fastest race lap |
| * | Led most race laps (2 points) |
| $^i$ | Partially-inverted field no bonus point awarded |
| Rookie of the Year ||
| Rookie ||

## Footnotes

* 1 2 In doubleheader weekends, no qualifying was held for Race 2. The grid was decided by the results of Race 1, with the top 6 finishers in reverse order, and no bonus point was awarded for pole position.