2010 IndyCar Series (The Open-Wheel Revival)

The 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series was the 15th season of the IndyCar Series, and the 99th recognized season of top-level American open wheel racing, and the first to be sanctioned by Formula Racing Promotions after the ousting of Tony George. It was the series' first of six planned seasons under Izod title sponsorship, a multimillion-dollar deal which was announced on November 5, 2009. Its premier event was the 94th Indianapolis 500, held on Sunday, May 30.
This season is notable for having the most women to compete in a season: Beatriz, Duno, Fisher, Patrick and de Silvestro. They all competed in the Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 and the Cafés do Brasil Indy 300.
Chip Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti retained his title, to win his third in four seasons after defeating Team Penske driver Will Power in a championship battle that went to the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Power had led the championship for most of the season, and led Franchitti by twelve into Homestead, but after hitting the wall during the race and finishing in 25th place, Franchitti's eighth-place finish with maximum bonus points gave him the championship by five points. Franchitti and Power each won one of the new-for-2010 sub-championships for oval tracks, and road courses. Franchitti won the oval championship with six top-five finishes from eight races, including victories at the Indianapolis 500 and Chicagoland, and also won the road course event at Mid-Ohio. Power was even more dominant in the road course championship, finishing each of the nine races in the top three, with five wins in São Paulo, St. Petersburg, Watkins Glen, Toronto and Sonoma.
After battling Franchitti for the title in 2009, Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe finished third and fifth in the championship standings with the third Penske car, piloted by Hélio Castroneves finished between the pair. Dixon won on the ovals at Kansas and Homestead-Miami, as well as a victory in Edmonton after Castroneves was penalised for blocking on a late-race restart. Dixon's victory in Florida helped him overhaul Castroneves for third place in the championship standings. Castroneves also took three victories during the season, winning the inaugural race at Barber Motorsports Park as well as back-to-back victories at Kentucky and Twin Ring Motegi, as he finished sixteen points behind Dixon. Briscoe finished over 100 points behind Franchitti, with a solitary victory at Texas. Andretti Autosport drivers Tony Kanaan and Ryan Hunter-Reay were the only other drivers to win a race, as they finished sixth and seventh respectively. Rookie of the Year went to KV Racing Technology driver Takuma Sato, who competed in his first full season. He took two wins at California and Michigan, winning the Triple Crown Championship.
As of 2024, this was the last season that the winner of the Indy 500 went on to also win the championship in the same season.
== 2010 IndyCar Series schedule ==
The final 2010 schedule was announced on July 31, 2009, with revisions announced on August 26, 2009. New events included a season-opening street race in São Paulo, Brazil, and the new Alabama Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park. Richmond and Milwaukee did not return in 2010, while California, Michigan, Phoenix, and Pikes Peak all returned.
Races in bold are Triple Crown Races.
Rnd	Race Name 	Track 	Track Type 	Date 	TV
1 	São Paulo Indy 300 	Streets of São Paulo, Brazil 	Street Course 	March 14 	Versus
2 	Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg 	Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida 	Street Course 	March 29 	ABC
3 	Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by Legacy Credit Union	Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama 	Road Course 	April 11 	Versus
4 	Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach 	Streets of Long Beach, California 	Street Course 	April 18 	Versus
5 	Jimmy Bryan Memorial 	Arizona State Raceway, Avondale, Arizona 	One-Mile Oval 	April 25 	Versus
6 	RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 	Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kansas 	Intermediate Oval	May 1 	ABC
7 	94th Indianapolis 500 	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana 	Superspeedway 	May 30 	ABC
8 	Firestone 550K 	Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas 	Intermediate Oval	June 5 	Versus
9 	California 500 	California Speedway, Fontana, California 	Superspeewday 	June 13 	ABC
10 	Iowa Corn Indy 250 	Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa 	Short Oval 	June 20 	Versus
11 	Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen 	Watkins Glen International Raceway, Watkins Glen, New York	Road Course 	July 4 	ABC
12 	Honda Indy 225 	Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain, Colorado 	Intermediate Oval	July 11 	Versus
13 	Honda Indy Toronto 	Exhibition Place, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 	Street Course 	July 18 	ABC
14 	Honda Indy Edmonton 	Edmonton City Centre Airport, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 	Airport Circuit 	July 25 	Versus
15 	Honda Indy 200 presented by Westfield Insurance 	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio 	Road Course 	August 5 	Versus
16 	Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma 	Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, California 	Road Course 	August 22 	Versus
17 	Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 	Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Illinois 	Intermediate Oval	August 28 	Versus
18 	Kentucky Indy 300 	Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Kentucky 	Intermediate Oval	September 4 	Versus
19 	Indy Japan 300 	Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi, Tochigi, Japan 	Intermediate Oval	September 19	Versus
20 	Cafés do Brasil Indy 300 	Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida 	Intermediate Oval	October 2 	Versus
21 	Michigan 500 	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan 	Superspeedway 	October 17 	ABC
== Series news ==
* Following the verdict in the case of Indy Racing League v. National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing in June 2009, IRL founder and IMS board member, Tony George, was ousted from his position for reckless financial practices. IRL was dissolved, and the series was sold by Mari Hulman George to the Sports Car Club of America, with sanctioning now provided by Formula Racing Promotions (a subsidiary of SCCA Pro Racing).
* Announced in a press conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on November 5, 2009, clothier Izod signed on as the series' new title sponsor from 2010 to 2015, with an option for two additional years. According to Robin Miller, the deal was worth $10 million per year with at least $5 million toward promotions and marketing. It would additionally include a payout of $100,000 per car, per year to teams eligible for the TEAM revenue-sharing program, and possible partial funding for a full-time car for Ryan Hunter-Reay, whom received sponsorship backing from the brand in 2009. This was the third title sponsorship in the IndyCar Series' history; previous sponsorships were provided by Pep Boys (1998–1999) and Northern Light (2000–2001).
* On September 23, 2009 it was confirmed that Honda would extended their role as a series's standard single engine supplier contract for another two years that in place until the end of 2011 season.
* On November 25, 2009, a season opening race in São Paulo, Brazil was confirmed by city authorities and an SCCA press release. The race, the São Paulo Indy 300, took place on a 2.3-mile (3.7 km) temporary street course. Despite the long travel distance for the teams, the event was lucrative with Terry Angstadt claiming each participating team would receive a six-figure sum from the event promoters in addition to all expenses paid.
* The possibility was left open for a race at Milwaukee, however, ongoing issues involving unpaid sanctioning fees from the management put the race, and the future of the facility, at risk. In November, Historic Mile, LLC. announced they were going out of business. It was announced on December 16 that no national racing series would race at the Milwaukee Mile in 2010 due to the inability for Wisconsin State Fair Park officials to find a replacement promoter for the season.
* The July 25 race in Edmonton went ahead, despite event organizers losing $9.2 million on the race over the previous two seasons.
* 2010 rule changes were announced on January 12, 2010. The 4-position fuel mixture switch was removed so that cars were only able to run on "full rich" or "yellow" fuel settings. The Honda Overtake assist returned with an approximate doubling of bhp increase from last year's 5–20 bhp upon pressing the button. All cars had a reverse gear on the road and street courses and thus reintroduced in 2010.
* A carriage dispute between the Comcast Corporation and its Versus channel, and DirecTV that had been in place since August was resolved on March 15, 2010. This meant that Versus was restored to nearly sixteen million customers; returning to coverage that the channel offered before the dispute.
* Indianapolis 500 qualifying in 2010 awarded points to each of the 33 qualifying drivers. The polesitter received fifteen points, with the other drivers on the front row receiving 13 and 12 respectively. Each qualifying driver earned at least three points.
* Three additional titles were awarded starting with the 2010 season, with an oval champion, a road/street course champion, and a Triple Crown championship being crowned. A trophy and prize money was awarded to the highest points finisher on the 9 road/street courses, 7 oval races (excluding Homestead), and three Triple Crown races (Indianapolis, California, and Michigan). After a fan vote, the names of the championships were announced as the A. J. Foyt Oval Championship, the Mario Andretti Road Course Championship, and the Rick Mears Triple Crown Championship.
* The development freeze introduced for the 2009 season remains in place for the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
* Sunoco would become the official fuel of the series starting in mid-2010 and running through 2018. Sunoco would work with APEX–Brasil and UNICA to provide ethanol for the series.
== Confirmed entries ==
All drivers competed in identical Honda HI10R V8-powered, Firestone Firehawk-shod, Dallara IR-05 chassis. (R) reflects an IZOD IndyCar Series rookie.
Team 	No.	Drivers
A. J. Foyt Enterprises 	14 	Vítor Meira
A. J. Foyt Enterprises 	41 	A. J. Foyt IV
A. J. Foyt Enterprises 	41 	Jaques Lazier
Andretti Autosport 	7 	Danica Patrick
Andretti Autosport 	11 	Tony Kanaan
Andretti Autosport 	26 	Marco Andretti
Andretti Autosport 	27 	Adam Carroll (R)
Andretti Autosport 	37 	Ryan Hunter-Reay
Andretti Autosport 	43 	John Andretti
Bryan Herta Autosport 	29 	Sebastián Saavedra (R)
Chip Ganassi Racing 	9 	Scott Dixon
Chip Ganassi Racing 	10 	Dario Franchitti
Conquest Racing 	34 	Mario Romancini (R)
Conquest Racing 	34 	Francesco Dracone (R)
Conquest Racing 	34 	Bertrand Baguette (R)
Conquest Racing 	36 	Bertrand Baguette (R)
Conquest Racing 	36 	Francesco Dracone (R)
Conquest Racing 	36 	Tomas Scheckter
Conquest Racing 	36 	Roger Yasukawa
Conquest Racing 	36 	Sebastián Saavedra (R)
Dale Coyne Racing 	18 	Milka Duno
Dale Coyne Racing 	19 	Alex Lloyd (R)
de Ferran Dragon Racing 	2 	Raphael Matos
de Ferran Dragon Racing 	21 	Davey Hamilton
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	22 	Justin Wilson
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	23 	Ana Beatriz (R)
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	23 	Tomas Scheckter
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	24 	Mike Conway
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	24 	Graham Rahal
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	24 	Tomas Scheckter
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	24 	Paul Tracy
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	24 	J. R. Hildebrand (R)
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	24 	Ana Beatriz (R)
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	25 	Ana Beatriz (R)
FAZZT Race Team 	33 	Bruno Junqueira
FAZZT Race Team 	77 	Alex Tagliani
HVM Racing 	78 	Simona de Silvestro (R)
KV Racing Technology 	5 	Takuma Sato (R)
KV Racing Technology 	8 	E. J. Viso
KV Racing Technology 	15 	Paul Tracy
KV Racing Technology 	32 	Mario Moraes
Newman/Haas Racing
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing	02 	Graham Rahal
Newman/Haas Racing
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing	06 	Hideki Mutoh
Panther Racing 	4 	Dan Wheldon
Panther Racing 	20 	Ed Carpenter
Rahal Letterman Racing 	30 	Graham Rahal
Sam Schmidt Motorsports 	99 	Townsend Bell
Sarah Fisher Racing 	66 	Jay Howard (R)
Sarah Fisher Racing 	66 	Graham Rahal
Sarah Fisher Racing 	67 	Graham Rahal
Sarah Fisher Racing 	67 	Sarah Fisher
Team Penske 	3 	Hélio Castroneves
Team Penske 	6 	Ryan Briscoe
Team Penske 	12 	Will Power
== Testing ==
Three open tests were scheduled for February 24–26 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, and May 4 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky. At Barber, Team Penske's Will Power recorded the best time over the three sessions, and topped the times in two of the three held. His lap time of 1:09.8724 – set in the third session – saw him as the only driver to set a time in the 1:09s. Teammates Hélio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe set the second-fastest and third-fastest laps of the test. The Kentucky test was washed out by weepers – water seeping up onto the track from six inches of overnight rain – and no times were set.
== Results ==
No.	Race 	Pole position 	Fastest lap 	Most laps led 	Winning driver 	Winning team
1 	São Paulo 	Dario Franchitti 	Will Power 	Dario Franchitti 	Will Power 	Team Penske
2 	St. Petersburg	Will Power 	E. J. Viso 	Will Power 	Will Power 	Team Penske
3 	Barber 	Will Power 	Justin Wilson 	Marco Andretti 	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske
4 	Long Beach 	Will Power 	Ryan Hunter-Reay 	Ryan Hunter-Reay 	Ryan Hunter-Reay 	Andretti Autosport
5 	Phoenix 	Dan Wheldon 	Hélio Castroneves	Tony Kanaan 	Tony Kanaan 	Andretti Autosport
6 	Kansas 	Ryan Briscoe 	Tony Kanaan 	Scott Dixon 	Scott Dixon 	Chip Ganassi Racing
7 	Indianapolis 	Hélio Castroneves	Will Power 	Dario Franchitti 	Dario Franchitti 	Chip Ganassi Racing
8 	Texas 	Ryan Briscoe 	Ryan Hunter-Reay 	Ryan Briscoe 	Ryan Briscoe 	Team Penske
9 	California 	Will Power 	Alex Tagliani 	Takuma Sato 	Takuma Sato 	KV Racing Technology
10 	Iowa 	Will Power 	Dario Franchitti 	Dario Franchitti 	Tony Kanaan 	Andretti Autosport
11 	Watkins Glen 	Will Power 	Will Power 	Will Power 	Will Power 	Team Penske
12 	Pikes Peak 	Dario Franchitti 	Danica Patrick 	Marco Andretti 	Dario Franchitti 	Chip Ganassi Racing
13 	Toronto 	Justin Wilson 	Will Power 	Justin Wilson 	Will Power 	Team Penske
14 	Edmonton 	Will Power 	Scott Dixon 	Will Power 	Scott Dixon 	Chip Ganassi Racing
15 	Mid-Ohio 	Will Power 	Ryan Briscoe 	Alex Tagliani 	Dario Franchitti 	Chip Ganassi Racing
16 	Sonoma 	Will Power 	J. R. Hildebrand 	Will Power 	Will Power 	Team Penske
17 	Chicagoland 	Ryan Briscoe 	Scott Dixon 	Ryan Briscoe 	Dario Franchitti 	Chip Ganassi Racing
18 	Kentucky 	Ed Carpenter 	Ryan Hunter-Reay 	Dan Wheldon 	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske
19 	Motegi 	Hélio Castroneves	Hélio Castroneves	Hélio Castroneves	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske
20 	Homestead 	Dario Franchitti 	Marco Andretti 	Dario Franchitti 	Scott Dixon 	Chip Ganassi Racing
21 	Michigan 	Will Power 	Ed Carpenter 	Will Power 	Takuma Sato 	KV Racing Technology
Category:The Open-Wheel Revival