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2010 marked the fifteenth season of the IndyCar Series.
Seventeen rounds would be contested to determine titles for teams 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 Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Watkins Glen International, Toronto, Edmonton, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Sonoma, Chicagoland Speedway, Kentucky Speedway and Twin Ring Motegi. There were some newsworthy 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 ten of the 2010 IZOD IndyCar season took place at Toronto’s Exhibition Place - a 1.755-mile eleven-turn street course.
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Two weeks earlier in round nine at Watkins Glen International, Will Power dominated the weekend. The Team Penske driver didn’t capture the pole at Toronto but he did share the front row with Justin Wilson. Power moved into first place for the final time on the lap-72 restart when he got the better of Wilson. He held on to win by a margin of 1.276-seconds and increased his championship lead to forty-two points. |
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Defending IndyCar champion and Toronto race winner, Dario Franchitti entered round ten second in points – thirty-two markers behind Will Power. During qualifying, he successfully advanced to the ‘Firestone Fast Six’ where he was the fifth quickest. In the race, Franchitti led a total of twenty-two-laps but in the sprint to the checker, he could not maintain Will Power’s pace and took the runner-up spot. |
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Ryan Hunter-Reay’s season was assured when additional funding was provided that would allow him to compete beyond Watkins Glen. At Toronto, he succeeded in making it to the final round of qualifying where he was fourth quickest. Although Hunter-Reay did not lead any laps, he remained in contention and at the checkered flag captured the final position on the podium. |
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To date, the high point of Tony Kanaan’s season was a victory in the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway. And, the low point was in the previous round at Watkins Glen International when Kanaan finished, twenty-first. Looking to get his title aspirations back on track at Toronto, he qualified eighth. Using a different race strategy, Kanaan was able to lead two laps and finished fourth. |
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Graham Rahal was without a full-time ride. Rahal competed in four of the first nine-rounds with a number of teams – Sarah Fisher Racing, Rahal-Letterman Racing and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. At Toronto, he rejoined Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. During qualifying, Rahal was fourteen quickest but showed his worth during the race. Despite running into Ryan Briscoe and damaging his car, he finished fifth. |
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At Watkins Glen, Helio Castroneves qualified on the outside of the front row. Unfortunately, he fell out of contention early when contact with Scott Dixon forced him to make an unscheduled pit-stop to replace a flat time. Despite starting third at Toronto, his luck was not about to change. After the race’s first caution period, Castroneves ran over the back of Vitor Meira and was eliminated from the event. |
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Danica Patrick’s best result in the 2010 season was a second place finish in round seven during the Firestone 550K at Texas Motor Speedway. Patrick advanced to the ‘Top 12’ in qualifying but she was the slowest driver in the group. A solid performance by the crew and her ability to avoid many of the incidents during the race was reward with a sixth-place finish. |
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Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Justin Wilson made it to the ‘Firestone Fast Six’ where he won the pole by 0.1853-seconds. Wilson would lead the contest until he pitted during the first caution. He was back out front from laps-57 to 71 but was passed by Will Power on a restart. In an effort to keep pace, Wilson spun and dropped to the rear of the field. He returned to the race and charged through the field to finish seventh. |
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| FIN. | START | DRIVER | CAR | ENTRANT | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Will Power | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Team Penske | 85 | - |
| 2 | 5 | Dario Franchitti | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing | 85 | - |
| 3 | 4 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Andretti Autosport | 85 | - |
| 4 | 8 | Tony Kanaan | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Andretti Autosport | 85 | - |
| 5 | 14 | Graham Rahal | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Newman Haas Lanigan Racing | 85 | - |
| 6 | 12 | Danica Patrick | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Andretti Autosport | 85 | - |
| 7 | 1 | Justin Wilson | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 85 | - |
| 8 | 10 | Marco Andretti | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Andretti Autosport | 85 | - |
| 9 | 21 | Simona de Silvestro | Dallara IR5 / Honda | HVM Racing | 85 | - |
| 10 | 15 | Dan Weldon | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Panther Racing | 85 | - |
| 11 | 26 | Vitor Meira | Dallara IR5 / Honda | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 85 | - |
| 12 | 22 | Hideki Mutoh | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing | 85 | - |
| 13 | 24 | Paul Tracy | Dallara IR5 / Honda | KV Racing Technology | 84 | - |
| 14 | 20 | Mario Moraes | Dallara IR5 / Honda | KV Racing Technology | 84 | - |
| 15 | 19 | Tomas Scheckter | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 84 | - |
| 16 | 16 | Bertand Baguette | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Conquest Racing | 84 | - |
| 17 | 9 | Alex Tagliani | Dallara IR5 / Honda | FAZZT Race Team | 84 | - |
| 18 | 7 | Ryan Briscoe | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Team Penske | 83 | - |
| 19 | 13 | E.J. Viso | Dallara IR5 / Honda | KV Racing Technology | 82 | - |
| 20 | 6 | Scott Dixon | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing | 71 | Accident |
| 21 | 11 | Raphael Matos | Dallara IR5 / Honda | DeFerran Luczo Dragon Racing | 64 | Accident |
| 22 | 17 | Mario Romancini | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Conquest Racing | 31 | Accident |
| 23 | 23 | Alex Lloyd | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Dale Coyne Racing | 26 | Accident |
| 24 | 3 | Hélio Castroneves | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Team Penske | 21 | Accident |
| 25 | 18 | Takuma Sato | Dallara IR5 / Honda | KV Racing Technology | 15 | Accident |
| 26 | 25 | Milka Duno | Dallara IR5 / Honda | Dale Coyne Racing | 8 | Handling |
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