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2010 marked the fifteenth season of the IndyCar Series.
Seventeen rounds would be contested to determine titles for teams, engine manufacturers and drivers.
The season opened in mid-March at Sao Paulo, Brazil and ended at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Florida in early October. In between these two weekends, there were races held at Saint Petersburg, Barber Motorsports Park, Long Beach, Kansas Speedway, Indianapolis, Texas Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Watkins Glen, Toronto, Edmonton, Mid-Ohio, Sonoma, Chicagoland Speedway, Kentucky Speedway and Twin Ring Motegi. There were some noteworthy stories for the 2010 season. Perhaps, the biggest was announced on November 5, 2009, when the public was informed that the clothing company Izod would be the series’ title sponsor. The multi-million dollar agreement was for six years (2010 – 2015). The series also saw the introduction of two new awards:
Teams continued to use the Dallara IR-05 chassis but the Honda engine deal was supposed to end in 2009. However, the contract for Honda to be the series only engine supplier was extended to the 2011 season. The Honda HR7R-HR11R used by entrants is 3.5-liter aluminum alloy V8-engine. The fuel-injected normally-aspirated motor produces 650-horsepower at 10,300-rpm. Finally, early in the year Indy Racing League founder, Tony George resigned. Replacing George as the leader of the series was Randy Bernard. Round two of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar championship was held during the Honda Grand Prix of Saint Petersburg weekend. Competitors would race around the fourteen-turn 1.800-mile temporary street course for one-hundred-laps. There were a total of twenty-four entries. The race was scheduled to take place Sunday afternoon but inclement weather forced event organizers and series officials to delay the contest until Monday.
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Australian, Will Power joined Penske Racing in 2009 to fill the seat vacated by Helio Castroneves while he resolved his tax issues. Power’s performance exceeded the team’s expectations and he was given a full-time ride in 2010. Proving it was the right decision, he dominated the Saint Petersburg weekend by scoring maximum points – fastest driver in the qualifying sessions, led the most laps and took the victory. |
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Finishing second, just 0.8244-seconds behind the race winner, Will Power was Justin Wilson. Driving the Dreyer and Reinbold Racing entry, Wilson was on pace all weekend. He was second fastest in the group one qualifying session and fourth quickest in the ‘Firestone Fast Six.’ During the race, Wilson stayed in contention and although he never led a lap he finished a close second to Power. This was his twentieth career podium. |
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Defending race winner, Ryan Briscoe drove the No. 6 Team Penske Dallara. Briscoe had a miserable qualifying session – failing to make it to the ‘Top 12’. He was tenth quickest out of the twelve drivers competing in group one. Briscoe’s car was sorted for the race and he moved through the field taking first place on lap-40 and led for nine circuits. Caution periods and pit-stops dropped him to a third-place finish. |
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Chip Ganassi Racing’s, Dario Franchitti struggled in qualifying and did not make it beyond the first session – he would start thirteenth in the twenty-four car field. It did not appear that the race would be much better for the defending IndyCar champion. A spin early in the contest and a flat tire that sent him to the back of the field hampered his progress. But a late race charge netted, Franchitti a fifth-place finish. |
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Last year’s Saint Petersburg Grand Prix was a difficult event for Scott Dixon – he was eliminated from the race after an accident on lap-80. This year would be much the same. Dixon was the quickest driver in the group two qualifying session and after the ‘Firestone Fast Six’ was third. During the race, he moved into first place on lap-6 and led for twenty-one circuits. An accident at turn five on lap-73 ended Dixon’s day. |
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The third Team Penske entry was driven by Helio Castroneves. Castroneves was the quickest in the group one qualifying session and advanced to the ‘Top 12’ and ‘Firestone Fast Six’. He recorded a time which placed him fifth on the grid. During the race, Castroneves did not lead any laps but he was able to maintain contact with leaders. He followed his teammates and Justin Wilson home to a fourth-place finish. |
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Andretti Autosport entered cars for – Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Danica Patrick and Tony Kanaan. Kanaan was spectacular in qualifying advancing to the ‘Firestone Fast Six’ where he was second fastest. Unfortunately for Kanaan, he was unable to maintain the pace of the leaders and at the checkered flag, he was in tenth place. |
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At the Saint Petersburg Grand Prix, Canadian, Alex Tagliani had his best IndyCar result to date. Tagliani was driving the No. 77 Dallara IR-05. He was second quickest in the group one qualifying session but did not progress beyond the ‘Top 12.’ Tagliani was eighth for the start of the race and spent much of the contest in the top-ten. With three laps left he lost fifth place to Dario Franchitti and came home sixth. |
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| FIN. | START | DRIVER | CAR | ENTRANT | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Will Power | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Team Penske | 100 | - |
| 2 | 4 | Justin Wilson | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 100 | - |
| 3 | 19 | Ryan Briscoe | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Team Penske | 100 | - |
| 4 | 5 | Hélio Castroneves | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Team Penske | 100 | - |
| 5 | 13 | Dario Franchitti | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing | 100 | - |
| 6 | 8 | Alex Tagliani | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | FAZZT Race Team | 100 | - |
| 7 | 21 | Danica Patrick | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Andretti Autosport | 100 | - |
| 8 | 23 | Raphael Matos | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Luczo Dragon Racing | 100 | - |
| 9 | 16 | Graham Rahal | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Sarah Fisher Racing | 100 | - |
| 10 | 2 | Tony Kanaan | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Andretti Autosport | 100 | - |
| 11 | 7 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Andretti Autosport | 100 | - |
| 12 | 6 | Marco Andretti | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Andretti Autosport | 100 | - |
| 13 | 18 | Mario Romancini | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Conquest Racing | 100 | - |
| 14 | 12 | Hideki Mutoh | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing | 100 | - |
| 15 | 17 | Vitor Meira | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 100 | - |
| 16 | 14 | Simona de Silvestro | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | HVM Racing | 99 | - |
| 17 | 9 | E.J. Viso | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | KV Racing Technology | 97 | - |
| 18 | 3 | Scott Dixon | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing | 73 | Accident |
| 19 | 10 | Mike Conway | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Dreyer & Rienbold Racing | 64 | Accident |
| 20 | 15 | Dan Weldon | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Panther Racing | 46 | Accident |
| 21 | 20 | Mario Moraes | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | KV Racing Technology | 45 | Accident |
| 22 | 11 | Takuma Sato | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | KV Racing Technology | 24 | Accident |
| 23 | 22 | Alex Lloyd | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Dale Coyne Racing | 14 | Accident |
| 24 | 24 | Milka Duno | Dallara IR-05 / Honda | Dale Coyne Racing | 7 | Handling |
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