2006 Bombardier Learjet 500
| Race details | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6th round of the 2006 IndyCar season
| |||||
 Layout of the Texas Motor Speedway circuit | |||||
| Date | June 10, 2006 | ||||
| Official name | Bombardier Learjet 500 | ||||
| Location | Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.500 mi / 2.400 km | ||||
| Distance | 200 laps 300 mi / 482.803 km | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver |  Sam Hornish Jr. (Team Penske) | ||||
| Time | 24.5197 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Dan Wheldon (Chip Ganassi Racing) | ||||
| Time | 24.4535 (on lap 200 of 200) | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First |  Hélio Castroneves (Team Penske) | ||||
| Second |  Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) | ||||
| Third | Dan Wheldon (Chip Ganassi Racing) | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
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The 2006 Bombardier Learjet 500 was the sixth round of the 2006 IndyCar Series season. The race was held on June 10, 2006, in Fort Worth, Texas at Texas Motor Speedway. The race was contested of 200 laps. Hélio Castroneves won the race. Scott Dixon finished 2nd, and Dan Wheldon finished 3rd. Sam Hornish Jr. and Scott Sharp rounded out the top five, and Vítor Meira, Tony Kanaan, Kosuke Matsuura, Ed Carpenter, and Tomas Scheckter rounded out the top ten.
Wheldon was the most dominant driver of the day, leading 171 laps. However, a slow pit stop with 15 laps to go cost him the victory.[1] After the race, he stormed away into the garage and said that he and his team "gifted another one to Penske."
With only two cautions and no crashes, race winner Castroneves earned an average speed of 185.710 mph (298.871 km/h), making this the third-fastest race in IndyCar history (at the time).[1]
Entry list
[edit]All entries drove Dallara chassis.
| Key | Meaning |
|---|---|
| R | Rookie |
| W | Past winner |
Practice
[edit]First practice
[edit]The first practice session was held at 2:30 PM CDT on Thursday, June 8, and lasted for 90 minutes.[2] The session was split into two groups, with 45 minutes for each group.
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Scott Dixon
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | 24.5455 | |
| 2 | 3 | Hélio Castroneves W
|
Team Penske | 24.5794 | |
| 3 | 10 | Dan Wheldon
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | 24.5962 | |
| Official first practice results | |||||
Second practice
[edit]The second practice session was held at 4:30 PM CDT on Thursday, June 8, and lasted for 60 minutes.[2] The session was split into two groups, with 30 minutes for each group.
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Scott Dixon
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | 24.3782 | |
| 2 | 10 | Dan Wheldon
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | 24.4136 | |
| 3 | 6 | Sam Hornish Jr. W
|
Team Penske | 24.4844 | |
| Official second practice results | |||||
Qualifying
[edit]Qualifying was held at 7:30 PM CDT on Thursday, June 8.[2] Each driver was required to run two laps in their qualifying attempt; the best of the two laps would determine their starting position.
Qualifying classification
[edit]- Notes
- Bold text indicates fastest time set in session.
Practice (post-qualifying)
[edit]Third practice
[edit]The third practice session was held at 2:00 PM CDT on Friday, June 9, 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 | 9 | Scott Dixon
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | 24.4744 | |
| 2 | 3 | Hélio Castroneves W
|
Team Penske | 24.6207 | |
| 3 | 8 | Scott Sharp W
|
Delphi Fernández Racing | 24.6530 | |
| Official third practice results | |||||
Final practice
[edit]The fourth and final practice session was held at 7:00 PM CDT on Friday, June 9, and lasted for 30 minutes.[4]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Sam Hornish Jr. W
|
Team Penske | 24.4100 | |
| 2 | 3 | Hélio Castroneves W
|
Team Penske | 24.4307 | |
| 3 | 10 | Dan Wheldon
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | 24.4379 | |
| Official final practice results | |||||
Race
[edit]The race began at 8:15 PM CDT on Saturday, June 10.
Race classification
[edit]Championship standings after the race
[edit]
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included.
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ Despite qualifying 11th, Bryan Herta started 18th because of an engine change the night prior to the race. He started ahead of Felipe Giaffone because he made a qualifying attempt.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Castroneves steals win from Wheldon at Texas". The Herald-Times. June 11, 2006. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Bombardier Learjet 500k Daily Trackside Report - June 8". IndyCar.com. June 8, 2006. Archived from the original on June 14, 2006. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
- ^ "Bombardier Learjet 500k Daily Trackside Report -- June 10". IndyCar.com. June 10, 2006. Archived from the original on September 26, 2006. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
- ^ a b "Bombardier Learjet 500 Daily Trackside Report - June 9". IndyCar.com. June 9, 2006. Archived from the original on June 19, 2006. Retrieved July 12, 2025.