2016 IndyCar Series

2016 IndyCar season
Verizon IndyCar Series
Season
Races	15
Start date	March 13
End date	September 18
Awards
Drivers' champion
Chronology
Previous season	Next season
2015	2017

The 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series is the 21st season of the IndyCar Series and the 105th season of American open wheel racing. It includes the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, set for May 29. Scott Dixon entered as the reigning drivers' champion, while Chevrolet entered the season as the reigning Manufacturer's champion.

Teams and drivers

Team	Engine	No.	Driver(s)	Round(s)
A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda	14	Takuma Sato[1]	All
		35	Alex Tagliani[2]	5–6
		41	Jack Hawksworth[1]	All
Andretti Autosport	Honda	26	Carlos Muñoz[3]	All
		27	Marco Andretti	All
		28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	All
		29	Townsend Bell	6
Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian		98	Alexander Rossi (R)[4]	All
Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	8	Max Chilton (R)[5]	All
		9	Scott Dixon	All
		10	Tony Kanaan	All
		83	Charlie Kimball	All
Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	18	Conor Daly (R) [6]	All
		19	Luca Filippi [7]	All
		63	Pippa Mann	6
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet	24	Sage Karam[8]	6
Ed Carpenter Racing[9]	Chevrolet	6	J. R. Hildebrand	5-6
		20	Ed Carpenter	2, 6, 9, 11, 14
		21	Josef Newgarden[9]	All
Grace Autosport	Chevrolet	TBA	Katherine Legge[10]	6
Jonathan Byrd's Racing	Honda	88	Bryan Clauson[N 1]	6
KVSH Racing	Chevrolet	11	Sébastien Bourdais[11]	All
		25	Stefan Wilson (R)	6
Lazier Partners Racing	Chevrolet	91	Buddy Lazier	6
PIRTEK Team Murray	Chevrolet	61	Matthew Brabham (R)[12]	5–6
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	15	Graham Rahal	All
		16	Spencer Pigot (R)[13]	1, 5–6
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	5	James Hinchcliffe	All
		7	Mikhail Aleshin[14]	All
		77	Oriol Servià	6
Team Penske	Chevrolet	2	Juan Pablo Montoya	All
		3	Hélio Castroneves	All
		12	Oriol Servià[15][16]	1
			Will Power	2–15[N 2]
		22	Simon Pagenaud	All

Notes

• Katherine Legge was announced as the driver for a to be determined entry for newly formed Grace Autosport. The team will become the first all-female team in IndyCar history.^[10]
• Bryan Clauson will attempt the Indianapolis 500 for the 3rd time for Jonathan Byrd's Racing. There has also been rumors of possibly running a 2nd oval race with the team as well. Clauson will attempt to race in more than 200 races in 2016 among IndyCar, sprint cars and midgets.^[17]
• Ryan Hunter-Reay, Carlos Muñoz and Marco Andretti are signed with Andretti Autosport for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. The team confirmed Townsend Bell for the Indianapolis 500.^[18]
• Carpenter Fisher Hartman Racing became Ed Carpenter Racing for the 2016 season.^[19] Both Josef Newgarden and Ed Carpenter will remain with the team, with only Newgarden running the full schedule. The team confirmed J. R. Hildebrand for the GP of Indy and the Indianapolis 500.^[20]
• Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing will only run one car full-time in 2016 with Graham Rahal and will also run Indy Lights champion Spencer Pigot in three races (St. Petersburg, GP of Indy, and Indianapolis 500).^[21]
• Team Penske returns with the same four drivers.
• Chip Ganassi Racing retains Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Charlie Kimball, but neither Sage Karam nor Sebastián Saavedra will return to the team. The team later confirmed former Manor Marussia driver Max Chilton, who drove a partial Indy Lights schedule in 2015, as their fourth driver.
• Schmidt Peterson Motorsports confirmed the return of James Hinchcliffe to the team. Mikhail Aleshin returns to the team for the full season, replacing James Jakes. Oriol Servià will drive the team's third entry in the Indianapolis 500 with support from Marotti Racing.^[22]
• PIRTEK Team Murray confirmed that the team will race the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and Indianapolis 500 with driver Matthew Brabham. The team will have support from KVSH Racing.^[12]
• KVSH Racing confirmed the return of Sébastien Bourdais with the team. Stefano Coletti will not return for the team. Stefan Wilson will drive the No. 25 for the Indianapolis 500.^[23]
• Dale Coyne Racing have confirmed that Conor Daly and Luca Filippi will run the full season. Pippa Mann will return to the team for the Indianapolis 500.
• A. J. Foyt Enterprises confirmed the return of Takuma Sato and Jack Hawksworth to the team. The team confirmed Alex Tagliani for the Grand Prix of Indy and the Indianapolis 500.
• Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will reunite with Sage Karam for the Indianapolis 500.
• Lazier Partners Racing confirmed the return of Buddy Lazier to the Indianapolis 500.
• On February 18, Bryan Herta Autosport confirmed their alliance with fellow Honda team Andretti Autosport. The team will be run out of Andretti's shop in Indianapolis.^[24] Separately, due to a sponsor default, the team will not retain 2014 Indy Lights Champion Gabby Chaves.^[25] The team would confirm former Caterham and Manor Racing driver Alexander Rossi to drive the No. 98 for the season.^[4]
• IndyCar announced on February 24, 2016, they have hired three race stewards. They are former drivers Arie Luyendyk and Max Papis and longtime motorsports executive Dan Davis.

Schedule

The 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule was announced on October 27, 2015.^[26]

Rd.	Date	Race Name	Track	City	TV
1	March 13	Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg	Streets of St. Petersburg	St. Petersburg, Florida	ABC
2	April 2	Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix	Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale, Arizona	NBCSN
3	April 17	42nd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach	Streets of Long Beach	Long Beach, California	NBCSN
4	April 24	Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama	Barber Motorsports Park	Birmingham, Alabama	NBCSN
5	May 14	Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis	Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course	Speedway, Indiana	ABC
6	May 29	100th Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	ABC
7	June 4	Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit	The Raceway at Belle Isle Park	Detroit, Michigan	ABC
8	June 5
9	June 11	Firestone 600	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas	NBCSN
10	June 26	Grand Prix of Road America	Road America[27]	Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin	NBCSN
11	July 10	Iowa Corn 300	Iowa Speedway	Newton, Iowa	NBCSN
12	July 17	Honda Indy Toronto	Exhibition Place	Toronto	CNBC
13	July 31	Honda Indy 200	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio	CNBC
14	August 21	ABC Supply 500	Pocono Raceway	Long Pond, Pennsylvania	NBCSN
15	September 4	TBA	TBA	TBA	NBCSN
16	September 18	GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma	Sonoma Raceway	Sears Point, California	NBCSN

  Oval/Speedway

  Road Course/Street Circuit

Schedule changes and notes

• The Grand Prix of Boston was announced in late May 2015. The race was scheduled to be run on Labor Day Weekend on September 4, 2016. The proposed street circuit was based in the Boston Seaport District. On April 29, 2016, Boston newspapers reported that the race had been canceled.^[28]
• St. Petersburg will be run on March 11–13.^[29]
• Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez was also rumored to start the 2016 season with a race in February, but will likely be delayed until the 2017 season.^[30]
• IndyCar will not return to NOLA Motorsports Park and the Milwaukee Mile in 2016 following financial difficulties exposed shortly after the 2015 running of the former event.^[30] Auto Club Speedway at Fontana was also dropped for 2016, which means that the IndyCar Triple Crown will not be contested.^[30]
• Toronto returns in 2016 to its original July date, and will remain as a single race weekend.
• Road America's return to an open-wheel calendar was announced on August 8, 2015. The race will be run on June 26, 2016.^[31]
• It was announced that Indycar will return to Phoenix International Raceway in 2016.^[32]
• IndyCar officials are exploring the possibility of returning to Gateway Motorsports Park; the track will be used for team testing and aero kit testing.
• Texas Motor Speedway confirmed that the Verizon IndyCar Series will run on June 11, 2016.^[33]
• IndyCar is set to return to Pocono Raceway in 2016, the date is confirmed for August 21.^[34]
• In an interview with Mark Miles, Iowa Speedway was said to be set for July 10.^[26]
• In a November 2 press release, IndyCar announced a two-day promoter test at Phoenix International Raceway, scheduled for February 26–27, in preparation for the series’ return to the 1-mile oval.^[35] The Phoenix promoter test in February is the only one not in conjunction with a typical race weekend schedule. The other promoter test days are: March 11 at St. Petersburg, April 22 at Barber Motorsports Park, May 12 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, June 24 at Road America, July 29 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and September 16 at Sonoma Raceway.
• IndyCar CEO Mark Miles said in an interview that IndyCar was working on replacing the Boston race on Labor Day, and specifically stated that Gateway Motorsports Park and Watkins Glen International are being considered as repacement venues. ^[36] Miles also said that Laguna Seca, Fontana, and a street course in Providence, Rhode Island, are not being considered.

Race results

Round	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Race Winner			Report
					Driver	Team	Manufacturer
1	St. Petersburg	Will Power	Josef Newgarden	Simon Pagenaud	Juan Pablo Montoya	Team Penske	Chevrolet	Report
2	Phoenix	Hélio Castroneves	Tony Kanaan	Scott Dixon	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	Report
3	Long Beach	Hélio Castroneves	Charlie Kimball	Hélio Castroneves	Simon Pagenaud	Team Penske	Chevrolet	Report
4	Birmingham	Simon Pagenaud	Scott Dixon	Simon Pagenaud	Simon Pagenaud	Team Penske	Chevrolet	Report
5	Indianapolis GP							Report
6	Indianapolis 500							Report
7	Detroit 1							Report
8	Detroit 2
9	Texas							Report
10	Road America							Report
11	Iowa							Report
12	Toronto							Report
13	Mid-Ohio							Report
14	Pocono							Report
15	Sonoma							Report

Championship standings

Driver standings

Pos Driver STP PHX LBH ALA IGP INDY DET TEX RDA IOW TOR MDO POC SNM Pts 1 Simon Pagenaud 2* 2 1 1* 188 2 Scott Dixon 7 1* 2 10 140 3 Juan Pablo Montoya 1 9 4 5 136 4 Hélio Castroneves 4 11 3* 7 118 5 Tony Kanaan 9 4 6 8 106 6 Graham Rahal 16 5 15 2 100 7 Will Power DNS 3 7 4 94 8 Josef Newgarden 22 6 10 3 91 9 Takuma Sato 6 15 5 13 90 10 Ryan Hunter-Reay 3 10 18 11 87 11 Charlie Kimball 10 12 11 9 80 12 James Hinchcliffe 19 18 8 6 75 13 Mikhail Aleshin 5 17 16 17 70 14 Sébastien Bourdais 21 8 9 16 69 15 Carlos Muñoz 8 22 12 14 66 16 Max Chilton (R) 17 7 14 21 64 17 Marco Andretti 15 13 19 12 61 18 Alexander Rossi (R) 12 14 20 15 59 19 Conor Daly (R) 13 16 13 20 59 20 Jack Hawksworth 11 19 21 19 50 21 Luca Filippi 20 20 17 18 45 22 Spencer Pigot (R) 14 16 23 Oriol Servià 18 12 24 Ed Carpenter 21 9 Pos Driver STP PIR LBH ALA IGP INDY DET TEX RDA IOW TOR MDO POC SNM Pts

Color Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green 4th & 5th place Light Blue 6th–10th place Dark Blue Finished (Outside Top 10) Purple Did not finish Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Brown Withdrawn (Wth) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did Not Start (DNS) Race abandoned (C) Blank Did not participate In-line notation Bold Pole position (1 point; except Indy) Italics Ran fastest race lap * Led most race laps (2 points) DNS Any driver who qualifies but does not start (DNS), earns half the points had they taken part. ^1 Qualifying canceled no bonus point awarded (RY) Rookie of the Year (R) Rookie

Points are awarded to drivers on the following basis:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33
Standard Races	50	40	35	32	30	28	26	24	22	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Indy 500 & Season Finale	100	80	70	64	60	56	52	48	44	40	38	36	34	32	30	28	26	24	22	20	18	16	14	12	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10

• One (1) championship point is awarded to each driver who leads at least one race lap. Two (2) additional championship points are awarded to the driver who leads most laps during a race.
• At all races except the Indy 500, the number 1 qualifier earns one (1) point.
• Entrant-initiated engine change-outs will result in the loss of ten (-10) points.
• Ties are broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc., then by number of pole positions, followed by number of times qualified 2nd, etc.

Manufacturer standings

Pos	Manufacturer	STP	PHX	LBH	ALA	IGP	INDY	DET		TEX	RDA	IOW	TOR	MDO	POC	SNM	Bonus	Penalties	Points
1	Chevrolet	1	1	1	1												–	–	500
		2	2	2	3
		4	3	3	4
		125*	128*	128*	119*
2	Honda	3	5	5	2												–	–	319
		5	10	8	6
		6	13	12	11
		93	67	72	87

• The top three finishing drivers from each manufacturer in each race/qualifying score championship points for their respective manufacturer, provided they were using one of their four allotted engines.
• Two (2) additional points are awarded to the manufacturer if one of their entrants leads most laps of a race.
• At all races except the Indy 500, the manufacturer who qualifies on pole earns one (1) point.
• Manufacturers will earn ten (10) points for each engine reaching the 2500-mile change-out threshold. Manufacturers will lose twenty (-20) points for each engine failing to reach the change-out threshold, or for a non-minor repair requiring a component change.
• Ties are broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc., then by number of pole positions, followed by number of times qualified 2nd, etc.

Footnotes

1. Team to get support from Dale Coyne Racing.
2. Replaced for race at St. Pete after winning pole by Servia due to inner-ear infection.

See also

• 2016 Indy Lights season
• 2016 Pro Mazda Championship season

References

1. Klein, Jamie (December 16, 2015). "Foyt retains Sato, Hawksworth for 2016". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network, LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
2. "Tagliani to do "Indy Double" with Foyt, Alfe Heat Treating". IndyCar.com. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. March 17, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
3. Khorounzhiy, Valentin (November 17, 2015). "Andretti retains Carlos Munoz for 2016". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network, LLC. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
4. Reiman, Samuel (February 23, 2016). "IndyCar: Alexander Rossi confirmed at Andretti". Foxsports.com. Fox Sports Digital Media. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
5. Straw, Edd (February 1, 2016). "Ex-F1 driver Max Chilton joins Ganassi for 2016 IndyCar season". Autosport.com. Haymarket Media Group. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
6. Malsher, David (December 11, 2015). "Dale Coyne signs Conor Daly and Bryan Clauson". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network, LLC. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
7. "Team Outlook 2016: Coyne settling on more consistent lineup". IndyCar.com. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
8. Hembree, Mike (January 21, 2016). "Gas Monkey Garage to sponsor Sage Karam in Indianapolis 500 bid". USA Today (Charlotte, North Carolina: Gannett Company). Retrieved January 21, 2016.
9. "INDYCAR: Carpenter, Fisher confirm split". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. January 28, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
10. James, Brant (May 15, 2015). "Grace Autosport becomes first all-female team in IndyCar history". USA Today (Indianapolis: Gannett Company). Retrieved December 12, 2015.
11. Pruett, Marshall (December 2, 2015). "INDYCAR: KVSH considering single entry in 2016`". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
12. "INDYCAR: Brabham secures Indy 500 drive". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. December 3, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
13. Lewandowski, Dave (October 20, 2015). "American force: Pigot joins Rahal for 2016 races". IndyCar.com. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
14. "INDYCAR: Aleshin confirmed at Schmidt". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
15. James, Brant (March 13, 2016). "Will Power has mild concussion, misses IndyCar season opener". USA Today (St. Petersburg, Florida: Gannett Company). Retrieved March 13, 2016.
16. Fryer, Jenna (March 16, 2016). "Power misdiagnosed with concussion before IndyCar opener". Associated Press (Charlotte, North Carolina: AP Sports). Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
17. Miller, Robin (August 14, 2015). "INDYCAR: Indy part of Clauson's 200 race bid". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
18. Olsen, Jeff (August 22, 2015). "Michael Andretti says he hopes to field four cars in 2016". USA Today (Long Pond, Pennsylvania: Gannett Company). Retrieved August 22, 2015.
19. "Team Outlook 2016: Ed Carpenter Racing is back, but didn't really leave". IndyCar.com. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. March 2, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
20. Larson, Mike (September 23, 2015). "Josef Newgarden to stay with Carpenter Fisher Hartman Racing for 2016". Autoweek.com. Crain Communications, Inc. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
21. Malsher, David (September 29, 2015). "Rahal to remain a one-car team in 2016". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network, LLC. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
22. Glendenning, Mark (April 23, 2016). "INDYCAR: Servia confirmed at SPM for Indy". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
23. DiZinno, Tony (April 26, 2016). "Stefan Wilson confirms Indy 500 run with KV Racing". motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
24. Miller, Robin (February 18, 2016). "INDYCAR: BHA forms alliance with Andretti". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
25. Pruett, Marshall (February 18, 2016). "INDYCAR: Chaves vows to rebound after losing BHA seat". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
26. "New events, extended season highlight 2016". IndyCar.com. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
27. Kallmann, Dave (August 7, 2015). "Road America will get IndyCar race in 2016". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Journal Media Group). Retrieved August 7, 2015.
28. Golen, Jimmy (April 29, 2016). "Scheduled IndyCar race on streets of Boston cancelled". Associated Press (Boston: AP Sports). Associated Press. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
29. Stanley, Kameel (August 3, 2015). "City: Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be in early March 2016". Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Florida: Times Publishing Company). Retrieved August 3, 2015.
30. Pruett, Marshall (August 2, 2015). "IndyCar: Big changes coming to 2016 schedule". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
31. "IndyCar racing returns to Road America in '16". IndyCar.com. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. August 8, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
32. Miller, Robin (August 14, 2015). "IndyCar: Fontana out; Phoenix closer to return". Foxsports.com. Fox Sports Digital Media. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
33. "Texas Motor Speedway Announces 2016 Racing Schedule". catchfence.com. Fort Worth, Texas: Citizen Journalist Media Corps. October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
34. Miller, Robin (October 13, 2015). "INDYCAR: Pocono set to return in 2016". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
35. "Test to set stage for Phoenix; incentives added". IndyCar.com. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. November 2, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
36. "IndyCar lines up Watkins Glen or Gateway to replace Boston race". Autosport.com. May 5th, 2016. Retrieved May 5th, 2016. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)

External links

• Official website