Special Feature - Al Speyer's Season Highlights16/11/2006
Looking back on this year’s IndyCar and Champ Car World Series seasons, one word comes to mind – domination.
In the IndyCar Series, 2006 was the year of Sam Hornish Jr (above). Not only was he able to win his first Indianapolis 500 in dramatic fashion by passing Marco Andretti on the last turn of the last lap, but he also gave legendary team owner Roger Penske his first IndyCar Series championship.
Hornish and Marlboro Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves combined to win eight of the 14 races on this year’s schedule. Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon came the closest to thwarting Penske’s title run, winning two races each.
Wheldon actually tied Hornish in the season points, but the Championship went to Sam on the basis of his four wins versus Dan’s two.
Rookie of the Year Andretti had a remarkable season as well, almost winning the Indy 500 and becoming the youngest person to win a major open-wheel race when he took the checkered flag in Sonoma last August. We expect even greater things from this third-generation Firestone driver in the future.
Marco will have a new teammate at Andretti Green Racing for 2007. The team announced that Danica Patrick would join the squad with major backing from Motorola. You can bet that the entire AGR organization will be working incredibly hard in the off season to catch up with the red-and-white Penske and Ganassi cars.
Keep your eyes peeled…2007 promises to be even more exciting than 2006. And Firestone Racing will once again be the sole tire supplier for one of the most demanding forms of motorsport in the world.
Over in the Champ Car World Series, Newman/Haas Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais made another mark in the record books by becoming the first driver since Ted Horn (1946-48) to win three consecutive series championships.
It appeared as though Bourdais might sweep the series after winning the first four races of the year. However, A.J. Allmendinger decided that he wasn’t going to let that happen. After his shocking dismissal from RuSPORT, the team he had long called home, Allmendinger was quickly snapped up by Forsythe Championship Racing.
The change instantly agreed, and he won his first race ever in Portland – his first in a blue Indeck machine. Proving that it wasn’t a fluke, A.J. followed that victory up with wins at the next two events, and he soon found himself in second place in the points. Allmendinger went on to add two more victories, but it wasn’t quite enough to catch up with Bourdais.
Bourdais and Allmendinger combined to win all races in 2006 except for Edmonton and Surfers Paradise, Australia. RuSPORT’s Justin Wilson took his sole 2006 victory in the West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix, and CTE-Racing/HVM’s Nelson Philippe scored a popular first victory at the Lexmark Indy 300.
With A.J. Allmendinger making the move to Nextel Cup racing in 2007, it remains to be seen who, if anyone, can stop Bourdais from winning a fourth consecutive championship next year. However, it will be a totally different game.
Champ Car is introducing a completely new chassis, the Panoz DP-01, so it will certainly be interesting to watch what happens when everyone starts the 2007 season on a level playing field.
One thing that will remain the same, however, is the Bridgestone Potenzas – including the red alternate compound tires. You can be sure the drivers will be depending on them as they push their new cars to their limits.
Al Speyer is Executive Director of Bridgestone Firestone Motorsports. His motorsport career kicked off in 1974 when he joined, and in 1992 he managed Firestone's successful return to open wheel racing in America. He was appointed executive director in 2001 and his responsibilities include directing the company's open-wheel racing programs, motorcycle
and karting activities.
