2006 SunTrust Indy Challenge
| Race details | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
7th round of the 2006 IndyCar season
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Layout of the Richmond International Raceway circuit | |||||
| Date | June 24, 2006 | ||||
| Official name | SunTrust Indy Challenge presented by XM Satellite Radio | ||||
| Location | Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 0.750 mi / 1.200 km | ||||
| Distance | 250 laps 187.500 mi / 301.752 km | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Hélio Castroneves (Team Penske) | ||||
| Time | No time | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver | Hélio Castroneves (Team Penske) | ||||
| Time | 16.7234 (on lap 5 of 250) | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Sam Hornish Jr. (Team Penske) | ||||
| Second | Vítor Meira (Panther Racing) | ||||
| Third | Dario Franchitti (Andretti Green Racing) | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
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The 2006 SunTrust Indy Challenge presented by XM Satellite Radio was the seventh round of the 2006 IndyCar Series season. The race was held on June 24, 2006, in Richmond, Virginia at Richmond International Raceway. The race was contested over 250 laps. Sam Hornish Jr. won the race. Vítor Meira finished 2nd, and Dario Franchitti finished 3rd. Marco Andretti and Scott Sharp rounded out the top five, and Bryan Herta, Tomas Scheckter, Ed Carpenter, Dan Wheldon, and Hélio Castroneves rounded out the top ten.
Hornish, the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner, led the final 212 laps of the race, which marked the most consecutive laps led in a single IRL race.[1][2] The race ended under caution after pole sitter and points leader Castroneves lost a tire in turn 2 with 4 laps to go. He held onto the points lead by a measly five points over Hornish.[3]
Entry list
All entries drove Dallara chassis.
| Key | Meaning |
|---|---|
| R | Rookie |
| W | Past winner |
Practice
First practice
The first practice session was held at 12:15 PM EDT on Friday, June 23, and lasted for 90 minutes.[4] The session was split into two groups, with 45 minutes for each group.
The only incident of the session occurred 28 minutes into the session, when Buddy Lazier crashed in turn 4. He was uninjured, but he resorted to a backup car during the race.[5] Felipe Giaffone's car also trailed heavy smoke.[4]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Hélio Castroneves W | Team Penske | 15.6043 | |
| 2 | 26 | Marco Andretti R | Andretti Green Racing | 15.6915 | |
| 3 | 11 | Tony Kanaan | Andretti Green Racing | 15.7022 | |
| Official first practice results | |||||
Second practice
The second practice session was held at 3:00 PM EDT on Friday, June 23, and lasted for 60 minutes.[4] The session was split into two groups, with 30 minutes for each group.
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Hélio Castroneves W | Team Penske | 15.5645 | |
| 2 | 8 | Scott Sharp | Delphi Fernández Racing | 15.6330 | |
| 3 | 6 | Sam Hornish Jr. W | Team Penske | 15.6466 | |
| Official second practice results | |||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was scheduled to be held at 4:45 PM EDT on Friday, June 23, but it was cancelled due to rain. The starting lineup was set by the combined speeds from the two practice sessions, and Hélio Castroneves was awarded the pole.[4]
Qualifying classification
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Final grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Hélio Castroneves W | Team Penske | 1 |
| 2 | 8 | Scott Sharp | Delphi Fernández Racing | 2 |
| 3 | 6 | Sam Hornish Jr. W | Team Penske | 3 |
| 4 | 10 | Dan Wheldon W | Chip Ganassi Racing | 4 |
| 5 | 26 | Marco Andretti R | Andretti Green Racing | 5 |
| 6 | 4 | Vítor Meira | Panther Racing | 6 |
| 7 | 11 | Tony Kanaan | Andretti Green Racing | 7 |
| 8 | 55 | Kosuke Matsuura | Super Aguri Fernández Racing | 8 |
| 9 | 7 | Bryan Herta | Andretti Green Racing | 9 |
| 10 | 27 | Dario Franchitti | Andretti Green Racing | 10 |
| 11 | 9 | Scott Dixon W | Chip Ganassi Racing | 11 |
| 12 | 2 | Tomas Scheckter | Vision Racing | 12 |
| 13 | 20 | Ed Carpenter | Vision Racing | 13 |
| 14 | 16 | Danica Patrick | Rahal Letterman Racing | 14 |
| 15 | 17 | Jeff Simmons R | Rahal Letterman Racing | 15 |
| 16 | 51 | Eddie Cheever | Cheever Racing | 16 |
| 17 | 14 | Felipe Giaffone | A. J. Foyt Racing | 17 |
| 18 | 15 | Buddy Rice | Rahal Letterman Racing | 18 |
| 19 | 5 | Buddy Lazier W | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 19 |
Practice (post-qualifying)
Final practice
The third and final practice session was held at 2:00 PM EDT on Saturday, June 24, and lasted for 30 minutes.[5]
The only incident of the session occurred when Buddy Rice crashed in turn 4 three minutes in. Rice was uninjured.[5]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Sam Hornish Jr. W | Team Penske | 16.5691 | |
| 2 | 4 | Vítor Meira | Panther Racing | 16.7342 | |
| 3 | 11 | Tony Kanaan | Andretti Green Racing | 16.8015 | |
| Official final practice results | |||||
Race
The race began at 8:00 PM EDT on Saturday, June 24.
Race classification
Championship standings after the race
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included.
References
- ^ Cavin, Curt (June 25, 2006). "Mr. IRL Wins Again: Sam Hornish Jr. tops the field at Richmond". Autoweek.com. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
- ^ Lewandowski, Dave (June 24, 2006). "Hornish storms Richmond". IndyCar.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2006. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
- ^ Olson, Jeff (June 25, 2006). "Hornish wins at Richmond". Autosport. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "SunTrust Indy Challenge presented by XM Satellite Radio Daily Trackside Report -- June 23". IndyCar.com. June 23, 2006. Archived from the original on October 17, 2006. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
- ^ a b c "SunTrust Indy Challenge Daily Trackside Report -- June 24". IndyCar.com. June 24, 2006. Archived from the original on July 2, 2006. Retrieved July 12, 2025.