2006 Firestone Indy 400
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Race 11 of 14 in the 2006 IndyCar season
| |||
| Date | July 30, 2006 | ||
| Official name | Firestone Indy 400 | ||
| Location | Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.000 mi / 3.219 km | ||
| Distance | 200 laps 400 mi / 643.738 km | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hélio Castroneves (Marlboro Team Penske) | ||
| Time | 33.2138 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | Kosuke Matsuura (Super Aguri Fernández Racing) | ||
| Time | 33.2737 (on lap 7 of 200) | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Hélio Castroneves (Marlboro Team Penske) | ||
| Second | Vítor Meira (Panther Racing) | ||
| Third | Dan Wheldon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing) | ||
The 2006 Firestone Indy 400 was an IndyCar Series motor race held on July 30, 2006, in Brooklyn, Michigan at Michigan International Speedway. It was the eleventh round of the 2006 IndyCar Series and the fifth running of the event. Marlboro Team Penske driver Hélio Castroneves won the 200-lap race. Panther Racing's Vítor Meira finished second and Dan Wheldon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing finished third.
Castroneves won the pole position by posting the fastest lap of qualifying. After rainfall delayed the start of the race by two-and-a-half hours, Castroneves' teammate Sam Hornish Jr. took the first position on lap 4 and maintained the lead until making a pit stop on the 41st lap. From this point on, Hornish Jr. dealt with engine issues that forced him to retire. Meira then became the main contender for the win, leading a race-high 75 laps, but Castroneves ultimately overtook him for the win after the final cycle of green-flag pit stops ended. The victory was the eleventh of Castroneves' IndyCar career.
After the race, Castroneves took the Drivers' Championship lead, eight points ahead of teammate Hornish Jr. and seventeen ahead of Wheldon. Scott Dixon, who finished two laps down after running out of fuel early in the race, fell to fourth, while Meira broke his tie with Tony Kanaan for fifth with three races left in the season.