The results after nineteen races on sixteen weekends determined the 2013 IndyCar Champion. The series opened in late-March at St. Petersburg and ended at Auto Club Speedway in mid-October. The Championship had a good mix of ovals, temporary street circuit and road courses.

The series continued to use the Dallara DW-12 which was introduced in 2012 to replace the Dallara IR5. The philosophy behind a spec car was to control costs ($349,000/chassis). The DW12 also incorporated many new safety features – most obvious was the bodywork surrounding the rear tires. The DW designation was in honour of the late Dan Wheldon, who had performed much of the testing on the new car.

There were two manufacturers providing engines for the season – Chevrolet and Honda. The twin-turbocharged engines produced approximately the same horsepower – 550-700-hp depending on the turbo boost.

There were some changes for 2013:

  • A point was awarded for leading a lap and two-points were given to the driver leading the most laps

  • Points earned for positions nineteen through twenty-five were no longer flat – there would be a one-point difference between each of these finishing positions

  • The season included a return to Pocono Raceway and Houston’s Reliant Park

  • Also, returning was the Triple Crown which paid a $1-million bonus to a driver that won at Indianapolis, Pocono and Auto Club Speedway

  • Three venues would host double-header race weekends – Detroit, Toronto and Houston

The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the first race of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season. Twenty-five drivers would race around the 1.8-mile fourteen-turn temporary street course for 110-laps.

After the death of Dan Weldon, James Hinchcliffe signed with Andretti Autosport. Hinchcliffe adapted to the new team and was competitive throughout the qualifying sessions. He made it to the ‘Firestone Fast Six’ and was fourth quickest. During the race, Hinchcliffe was in contention and on the final restart he took the lead from Helio Castroneves. Hinchcliffe would never surrender the position and scored his first IndyCar victory.
Defending race winner, Helio Castroneves was back with Penske Racing. Castroneves progressed to the ‘Firestone Fast Six’ where he qualified fifth. He chased Will Power and moved into the lead after the first caution. Castroneves lost first place during routine pit-stops but was in the top spot after the final yellow flag. An error in turn-one on lap-84 of 110 allowed James Hinchcliffe to grab the lead and win.
Having a particularly strong run was Marco Andretti. Andretti started seventh, missing out on the ‘Firestone Fast Six’ by just 0.0252-seconds. During the race, he remained in contention. On the penultimate lap, Andretti was fourth and trailing Simona de Silvestro. Silvestro had used up her tires and went wide in corner one – Andretti passed her and captured the final position on the podium.
Another driver benefitting from Simona de Silvestro’s tire troubles was Tony Kanaan. Kanaan made it through to the second round of qualifying and recorded the eleventh quickest time. In the race, the driver of the No. 11 KV Racing Technology prepared Dallara DW12 stayed on the lead lap. Kanaan was one of three drivers able to pass de Silvestro at the end of the contest. At the checkered flag, he was fourth.
E.J. Viso and his Andretti Autosport team rallied back from an accident in practice. With repairs made, Viso driving the PDVSA / Citgo Petroleum Corporation sponsored No. 5 Dallara qualified twenty-second. During the race, he moved through the field and despite being impacted by a track blockage, Viso was able to stay on the lead lap. By the end of the event, he had improved fifteen positions to a seventh-place finish.
Simona de Silvestro was the pleasant surprise of the weekend. The previous year at St. Petersburg, de Silvestro struggled with an underpowered Lotus – starting twenty-first and retiring with a fuel pressure issue. In 2013, de Silvestro demonstrated what she could accomplish with good equipment. She was third quickest in the ‘Firestone Fast Six’. Unfortunately, tire problems dropped her from a third to a sixth-place finish.
Two time IndyCar Champion, Scott Dixon struggled in practice and qualifying with his Honda-powered Dallara. In qualifying, Dixon could only manage the twentieth fastest time – the previous year he qualified sixth. It came together for him during the race. Dixon moved through the field and on the penultimate lap, he was in fifth place. Tire problems for Simona de Silvestro allowed Dixon to grab fifth at the finish.
The quickest Honda-powered Dallara was driven by Takuma Sato. In fact, Sato was the only competitor using the Honda HI13RT IndyCar engine to make the ‘Firestone Fast Six’. Driving the No. 14 A.J. Foyt entry, he was gridded on the outside of the front row for the start. Unable to match the pace of the front-runners, Sato finished on the lead lap in the eighth position.
For the fourth consecutive year, Will Power dominated qualifying at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. At the drop of the green, Power jumped to a comfortable lead - until lap-26 when he was passed by Helio Castroneves after a restart. While circulating in third place during the race’s second yellow flag period, he was hit by J.R. Hildebrand. The team made repairs and Power returned to the contest to finish sixteenth.

FIN.STARTDRIVERCARENTRANTLAPSRETIREMENTS
14James HinchcliffeDallara DW-12 / ChevroletAndretti Autosport110-
25Helio CastronevesDallara DW-12 / ChevroletRoger Penske110-
37Marco AndrettiDallara DW-12 / ChevroletAndretti Autosport110-
411Tony KanaanDallara DW-12 / ChevroletKV Racing Technology110-
520Scott DixonDallara DW-12 / HondaChip Ganassi110-
63Simona de SilvestroDallara DW-12 / ChevroletKV Racing Technology110-
722E.J. VisoDallara DW-12 / ChevroletAndretti Autosport110-
82Takuma SatoDallara DW-12 / HondaA.J. Foyt110-
913Justin WilsonDallara DW-12 / HondaDale Coyne110-
1017Alex TaglianiDallara DW-12 / HondaBHA/Curb-Agajanian110-
1121Sebastien BourdaisDallara DW-12 / ChevroletDragon Racing110-
1214Charlie KimballDallara DW-12 / HondaChip Ganassi110-
1315Graham RahalDallara DW-12 / HondaRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing110-
1423Ed CarpenterDallara DW-12 / ChevroletEd Carpenter110-
1518James JakesDallara DW-12 / HondaRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing110-
161Will PowerDallara DW-12 / ChevroletRoger Penske107-
1712Oriol ServiaDallara DW-12 / ChevroletPanther DRR104-
188Ryan Hunter-ReayDallara DW-12 / ChevroletAndretti Autosport79Throttle
1924J.R. HildebrandDallara DW-12 / ChevroletPanther Racing78Accident
209Sebastian SaavedraDallara DW-12 / ChevroletDragon Racing72Accident
216Tristan VautierDallara DW-12 / HondaSchmidt Peterson Motorsports69Exhaust
2225Ana BeatrizDallara DW-12 / HondaDale Coyne55Exhaust
2316Josef NewgardenDallara DW-12 / HondaSarah Fisher Hartman Racing50Gearbox
2419Simon PagenaudDallara DW-12 / HondaSchmidt Hamilton Motorsports26Exhaust
2510Dario FranchittiDallara DW-12 / HondaChip Ganassi18Accident

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