2006 Indianapolis 500

The 90th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 28, 2006. Sam Hornish Jr. won from the pole position. It was Hornish's first and only win at Indianapolis, and the record fourteenth Indy victory for Penske Racing. Hornish would later win the IndyCar Series championship, the second driver in a row to sweep the Indy 500 and season championship in the same season.

90th Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	Indy Racing League
Season	2006 IndyCar season
Date	May 28, 2006
Winner	Sam Hornish Jr.
Winning team	Penske Racing
Average speed	157.085 mph
Pole position	Sam Hornish Jr.
Pole speed	228.985 mph
Fastest qualifier	Sam Hornish Jr.
Rookie of the Year	Marco Andretti
Most laps led	Dan Wheldon (148)
Pre-race ceremonies
National anthem	Members of United States Armed Forces
"Back Home Again in Indiana"	Jim Nabors
Starting command	Mari Hulman George
Pace car	Chevrolet Corvette
Pace car driver	Lance Armstrong
Starter	Bryan Howard
Honorary starter	Sugar Ray Leonard
Estimated attendance	250,000 (estimated)
TV in the United States
Network	ABC
Announcers	Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear, Rusty Wallace
Nielsen ratings	5.0 / 14
Chronology
Previous Next 2005 2007

In one of the most dramatic finishes in Indy history, 19-year old rookie Marco Andretti took the lead with three laps to go, after passing his father Michael Andretti on the outside of turn one. Marco Andretti battled Sam Hornish Jr. over the final two laps, holding off the challenge until the final straightaway. On the final lap, Hornish passed Marco Andretti about 450 feet from the finish line to take the win. It was the first time a driver successfully made a pass for the lead on the final lap for victory in the 90-year history of the event.

The margin of victory was 0.0635 seconds - just over one car-length - which was the second-closest finish in Indy history at the time. (As of 2019, it is the third-closest). Hornish had earned the pole in qualifying with a four-lap average of 228.985 mph (368.516 km/h), and second place Marco Andretti was unanimously voted the Rookie of the Year. Defending race winner and defending IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon dominated much of the race, leading 148 of the 200 laps. However, a small tire puncture forced him to make his final pit stop earlier than planned, which coupled with an untimely caution period, saw him slip to fourth at the finish.

The race was sanctioned by the Indy Racing League and was part of the 2006 IndyCar Series season. With a high temperature of 89 °F (32 °C), it was one of the hottest days on record for the running of the Indy 500. Rain and cold temperatures washed out the first weekend of time trials, and washed out or delayed numerous days of practice. Race weekend, however, was sunny with no precipitation.

Background

Chevrolet and Toyota withdrew from the series, leaving Honda as the sole engine provider for all teams for 2006 through 2011. Three races preceded the Indy 500, and Hélio Castroneves, with two wins and one second place, held a large points lead going into the month of May.

A new series initiative introduced the use of ethanol fuel. As part of a two-year roll-out, all entries for 2006 were required to utilize a 10% ethanol/90% methanol fuel blend (E10). Previously, from 1974 to 2005, methanol was the only fuel permitted, and from 1965 to 1973, the rules were crafted in such a fashion as to encourage the use of methanol in order to be competitive.

Team and driver changes

Several drivers shuffles occurred during the offseason. Defending Indy 500 winner and 2005 IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon switched from Andretti Green Racing to Ganassi. Wheldon started off the season with a victory at the season opener at Homestead. However, the race was marred by the death of Paul Dana during the morning practice session.

Marco Andretti moved up from the Indy Lights series and took over the vacated spot at Andretti Green Racing. In December, team owner Michael Andretti announced he would come out of retirement to race at Indy, alongside his son. Similarly, owner/driver Eddie Cheever announced he would get back into the car, participating in four races, including Indy.

Tomas Scheckter moved from Panther to Vision Racing. Vítor Meira took over the vacant spot at Panther, leaving the Rahal team. Paul Dana was signed as the third car for RLR, but was replaced by Jeff Simmons after his tragic fatal crash. Rahal maintained the services of Buddy Rice and Danica Patrick.

After a brief retirement, Al Unser Jr., who missed the 2005 race, signed with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Unser would race alongside teammate Buddy Lazier, who signed on for a partial season ride at DRR.

Hemelgarn Racing signed P. J. Chesson with financial backing from NBA basketball player Carmelo Anthony. An aggressive marketing campaign nicknamed the entry "Car Melo", and also acquired the services of Jeff Bucknum for a two-car effort. However, by month's end, a disastrous result saw the two cars crash out together on lap 2, placing 32nd-33rd respectively. Hemelgarn subsequently closed its doors for the remainder of the season.

Race schedule

Race schedule — May 2006 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat   1   2   3   4   5   6 Mini-Marathon 7 ROP 8 ROP 9 Practice 10 Practice 11 Practice 12 Practice 13 Time Trials 14 Time Trials 15   16   17 Practice 18 Practice 19 Practice 20 Pole Day 21 Bump Day 22   23   24   25   26 Carb Day 27 Parade 28 Indy 500 29 Memorial Day 30   31

Color Notes Green Practice Dark Blue Time trials Silver Race day Red Rained out* Blank No track activity * Includes days where track activity was significantly limited due to rain ROP — denotes Rookie Orientation Program

Practice (week 1)

Rookie Orientation - Sunday May 7

Opening day featured rookie orientation and refresher tests. The day opened with the Andretti family celebrating three generations (Mario, Michael, and Marco) taking a ceremonial lap around the track together.

Michael Andretti, Al Unser Jr., and Arie Luyendyk Jr. participated in refresher tests. Rookies P. J. Chesson and Marco Andretti passed the four-phase rookie test. Townsend Bell took only "shake down" laps. Michael Andretti (220.999 mph) was the fastest car of the day.

Rookie Orientation - Monday May 8

The second day of rookie orientation saw Thiago Medeiros pass the rookie test. Townsend Bell (221.381 mph) was the fastest car of the day.

Tuesday May 9

The first full day of veteran practice. Sam Hornish Jr. (224.811 mph) was the fastest car of the day.

Wednesday May 10

Sam Hornish Jr. (226.056 mph) was the fastest car of the day. The track closed early due to rain at 3:30 p.m.

Thursday May 11

Rain delayed the start of practice until nearly 2 p.m. Marty Roth spun in turn two, but made no contact. Sam Hornish Jr. (226.789 mph) was the fastest car of the day.

"Fast" Friday May 12

Rain washed out practice for the day.

Time trials (first weekend wash out)

Saturday May 13

Time trials was scheduled for four days. The "11/11/11" format was to be utilized, with eleven positions available on pole day. However, rain washed out time trials for the day. Pole day qualifying was rescheduled for Sunday May 14.

Sunday May 14

The "11/11/11" format was scheduled to be used, and thus 22 position were to be open for qualifying on Sunday May 14. Rain continued to fall, but the track dried shortly after 1 p.m. The cars took to the track for practice for about an hour, and Dan Wheldon turned the fastest lap of the month at 228.663 mph. At 2:15 p.m., the rain resumed, and the track was closed for the day. Time trials was washed out for the entire weekend for the first time since 1983.

Practice (week 2)

Wednesday May 17

Sam Hornish Jr. (224.381 mph) was the fastest car of the day. Rain closed the track early at 4:26 p.m.

Thursday May 18

Rain kept the track closed until 3:45 p.m. Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Thiago Medeiros suffered crashes. The brief session was ended at 5:52 p.m., as rain fell again. Sam Hornish Jr. (224.381 mph) was the fastest car of the day.

"Fast" Friday II May 19

Sam Hornish Jr. (227.925 mph) was the fastest car of the day. Hornish led the speed charts on all three practice days during the second week. Marty Roth spun but made no contact. Jeff Simmons crashed in turn one, but was uninjured.

Time trials (second weekend)

Pole Day - Saturday May 20

Since the first two days of time trials were rained out, 33 positions were available for time trials on May 20. The field was filled to 32 cars by the end of the day. Sam Hornish Jr., won the pole with the fastest four-lap qualifying speed of 228.985 mph (368.516 km/h).

Only one driver waved off during the day. Dario Franchitti experienced engine trouble after three laps, but later completed his attempt after an engine change. Although the new qualifying rules allowed qualified cars to be withdrawn and re-qualified in hopes of gaining a better starting position (with a maximum of three attempts per day), only one driver took the opportunity to do so. Townsend Bell's qualification run of 223.659 mph (359.944 km/h) was withdrawn, and he achieved an average of 224.374 mph (361.095 km/h) on his second attempt. This improved his starting position by only one spot.

Bump Day - Sunday May 21

The day opened with one position open in the field, and two drivers prepared to make an attempt. Rookie Thiago Medeiros, who had crashed his lone car on Thursday, returned to the track for practice.

Most of the afternoon focused on race day practice for already-qualified cars. Sam Hornish Jr. (226.256 mph) led the speed charts for practice laps, capping off a month where he led the speed chart every day he took practice laps except one.

Marty Roth was the only driver besides Medeiros that was looking to make an attempt. At 3:30 p.m., polesitter Sam Hornish Jr. spun in turn one and hit the outside wall while practicing in a backup car. He was uninjured.

With about an hour to go, A. J. Foyt brought a backup car to pit lane, driver Ryan Briscoe was getting settled into the car, fueling rumors of a late qualifying run.

At 5:08 p.m., Thiago Medeiros completed a qualifying attempt, and filled the field to 33 cars, however he was slowest and now on the bubble.

With 23 minutes left in the day, Marty Roth spun during a practice run, and crashed into the outside wall in turn 1. He was not injured, but the car was wrecked, and his chances to qualify were finished. The day ended with Medeiros the only car to complete an attempt for the afternoon with Briscoe deciding against making a run.

Carb Day - Friday May 26

Sam Hornish Jr. once again led the speed charts (220.698 mph). It was the ninth day of the month that Hornish completed the fastest practice lap.

Penske Racing with driver Hélio Castroneves won the 30th Annual Checker's/Rally's Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge.

Qualifying chronology

Saturday, May 13, 2006
No qualifications due to rain
Sunday, May 14, 2006
No qualifications due to rain
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Attempt	Time	Day	Car No.	Driver	Laps	Total Time	Speed (mph)	Result	Position	Rank
1	12:03	1	92	Jeff Bucknum	4	2:42.5566	221.461	Qualified	22	22
2	12:07	1	90	Townsend Bell	4	2:40.9590	223.659	Qualified; withdrawn	--	--
3	12:12	1	4T	Vítor Meira	4	2:39.1823	226.156	Qualified	6	6
4	12:16	1	31	Al Unser Jr.	4	2:44.0925	219.388	Qualified	27	27
5	12:21	1	7	Bryan Herta	4	2:40.5859	224.179	Qualified	16	16
6	12:25	1	41	Larry Foyt	4	2:42.6519	221.331	Qualified	23	23
7	12:30	1	88	Airton Dare	4	2:45.0091	218.170	Qualified	29	29
8	12:34	1	55	Kosuke Matsuura	4	2:39.6431	225.503	Qualified	7	7
9	12:39	1	2	Tomas Scheckter	4	2:40.2431	224.659	Qualified	11	11
10	12:43	1	51	Eddie Cheever Jr.	4	2:42.1420	222.028	Qualified	19	19
11	12:48	1	52	Max Papis	4	2:42.1198	222.058	Qualified	18	18
12	12:52	1	1	Michael Andretti	4	2:40.3505	224.508	Qualified	13	13
13	12:57	1	9	Scott Dixon	4	2:38.6457	226.921	Qualified	4	4
14	1:01	1	21	Jaques Lazier	4	2:42.7847	221.151	Qualified	24	24
15	1:06	1	11	Tony Kanaan	4	2:38.7471	226.776	Qualified	5	5
16	1:11	1	20	Ed Carpenter	4	2:40.3224	224.548	Qualified	12	12
17	1:15	1	8	Scott Sharp	4	2:39.7720	225.321	Qualified	8	8
18	1:20	1	15T	Buddy Rice	4	2:40.4326	224.393	Qualified	14	14
19	1:24	1	26	Marco Andretti	4	2:40.0586	224.917	Qualified	9	9
20	1:29	1	91	P. J. Chesson	4	2:42.4724	221.576	Qualified	20	20
21	1:33	1	6	Sam Hornish Jr.	4	2:37.2155	228.985	Qualified	1	1
22	1:38	1	12	Roger Yasukawa	4	2:44.5393	218.793	Qualified	28	28
23	1:42	1	10	Dan Wheldon	4	2:38.3543	227.338	Qualified	3	3
24	1:47	1	16T	Danica Patrick	4	2:40.2319	224.674	Qualified	10	10
25	1:51	1	5	Buddy Lazier	4	2:42.9534	220.922	Qualified	25	25
26	1:56	1	17T	Jeff Simmons	4	2:43.3785	220.347	Qualified	26	26
27	2:00	1	97	Stéphan Grégoire	4	2:45.5723	217.428	Qualified	30	30
28	2:05	1	3T	Hélio Castroneves	4	2:37.8893	228.008	Qualified	2	2
29	2:10	1	14	Felipe Giaffone	4	2:42.4973	221.542	Qualified	21	21
30	2:14	1	27	Dario Franchitti	3	2:02.1355	221.066	Waved off	--	--
31	5:27	1	27	Dario Franchitti	4	2:41.1857	223.345	Qualified	17	17
32	5:33	1	90	Townsend Bell	4	2:40.4466	224.374	Qualified	15	15
33	5:38	1	98	P. J. Jones	4	2:46.8091	215.816	Qualified	32	32
34	5:51	1	61	Arie Luyendyk Jr.	4	2:46.3952	216.352	Qualified	31	31
Sunday, May 21, 2006
35	5:08	2	18	Thiago Medeiros	4	2:46.8763	215.729	Qualified	33	33
REPORT

Starting grid

Row	Inside		Middle		Outside
1	6	Sam Hornish Jr.	3	Hélio Castroneves  W	10	Dan Wheldon  W
2	9	Scott Dixon	11	Tony Kanaan	4	Vítor Meira
3	55	Kosuke Matsuura	8	Scott Sharp	26	Marco Andretti  R
4	16	Danica Patrick	2	Tomas Scheckter	20	Ed Carpenter
5	1	Michael Andretti	15	Buddy Rice  W	90	Townsend Bell  R
6	7	Bryan Herta	27	Dario Franchitti	52	Max Papis
7	51	Eddie Cheever  W	91	P. J. Chesson  R	14	Felipe Giaffone
8	92	Jeff Bucknum	41	Larry Foyt	21	Jaques Lazier
9	5	Buddy Lazier  W	17	Jeff Simmons	31	Al Unser Jr.  W
10	12	Roger Yasukawa	88	Airton Daré	97	Stéphan Grégoire
11	61	Arie Luyendyk Jr.  R	98	P. J. Jones	18	Thiago Medeiros  R

•  W  - Former Indianapolis 500 Winner
•  R  - Indianapolis 500 Rookie

Failed to qualify

• 25 - Marty Roth — Wrecked during practice.

Race summary

Start

After considerable rain during the month, race day was sunny and hot. Temperatures topped out at 89 °F (32 °C), one of the hottest days for the Indy 500 on record.

Due to the state of Indiana observing Daylight Saving Time, the start of the race was scheduled for 1:11 p.m. EDT. Mari Hulman George gave the command to start engines at 1:04 p.m. EDT, and all 33 cars pulled away for the pace laps, with Lance Armstrong driving the pace car.

Sugar Ray Leonard waved the green flag to start the race, and polesitter Sam Hornish Jr. took the lead into turn one. Down the back stretch, Hélio Castroneves passed Hornish for the lead, and Dan Wheldon moved into second. Castroneves led the opening lap.

On the second lap in turn two, Jeff Bucknum spun out and collected his teammate P. J. Chesson, taking both of the entries from Hemelgarn Racing out of the race and sadly out for the remainder of the season.

First half

After the Hemelgarn incident, a long period of green-flag racing ensued, lasting 60 laps. During this period, Dan Wheldon dominated the race, briefly losing then regaining the lead during a round of green-flag pit stops around laps 36-39. By lap 64, Wheldon had built up a 19-second lead—nearly half a lap—over the next nearest competitor, and after 65 laps had lapped twenty-five of the other cars in the race, including all five of the other former 500 winners, leaving only eight cars on the lead lap.

The field tightened during a yellow flag on lap 67 due to a crash by Tomas Scheckter. The crash sent debris into the inside grandstand, injuring five spectators, none seriously. Wheldon maintained the lead through a series of pit stops, and led at the halfway point.

Second half

Wheldon gave up the lead briefly during pit stop on lap 108, which allowed Scott Dixon to lead.

On lap 110, Hélio Castroneves struck Buddy Rice from behind, taking out both cars. It was the first time two former winners had been involved in the same crash in the Indy 500 since 1992. It was also the first time in his career that Castroneves failed to finish the race.

Sam Hornish Jr., took the lead from Wheldon on lap 130. Wheldon, however, would regain the lead on lap 145 and hold it through lap 182.

On lap 149, Al Unser Jr. precipitated a caution period after spinning down the back-stretch and crashing in turn 3. During the caution, Jeff Simmons left the pit area with the fuel hose nozzle still attached. The hose tore, and Simmons's car dropped the nozzle out on the track in turn 3. On lap 150, the leaders pitted. Sam Hornish Jr. started to pull out of his pits with the hose still attached. The hose ripped, but Hornish stopped in the pits allowing the crew to disengage the nozzle. Team owner Roger Penske accepted responsibility for the error, having told Hornish to go before the fueling was complete. Fuel spilled in the pit stall, but Hornish was able to return to the track and stay on the lead lap.

Still under caution on lap 155, the field was preparing to go back to green when Jeff Simmons wrecked in the north chute. The caution was prolonged. On lap 160, Michael Andretti and Sam Hornish Jr. ducked into the pits to top off their fuel. Both would be able to make it to the finish without another pit stop. On lap 163, the green came back out with Dan Wheldon leading. Sam Hornish Jr. was assessed a "drive-through" penalty (being required to drive once through pit road, without stopping, obeying the pit road speed limit) for the pit violation moments earlier. Hornish returned to the track over 30 seconds behind the leader, but he was still on the lead lap.

With twenty laps to go, Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan were running nose-to-tail in 1st-2nd. All of the lead lap cars would need to make one final pit stop for fuel, except for Sam Hornish Jr. and Michael Andretti. Eighth place Hornish was less than 10 seconds ahead of Wheldon and Kanaan, barely clinging to the lead lap. Down the backstretch on lap 183, Wheldon came up on the lapped car of Kosuke Matsuura, and was momentarily blocked. Kanaan darted into the lead on the inside. But in turn three, Kanaan and Wheldon split the slower car of Max Papis, going three-wide through the northchute. Wheldon got up into the marbles in turn four, and punctured a tire. As they went through turn one on lap 184, Wheldon nearly got sideways, and he had to back off his pace. Wheldon immediately headed for the pits for tires and fuel (a few laps earlier than planned). But due to the puncture he lost several seconds on his in-lap.

Tony Kanaan was now in front, with Andretti Green Racing teammates holding the top four spots (Kanaan, Marco Andretti, Dario Franchitti, and Michael Andretti). Seven cars were on the lead lap, with Hornish in 6th and Wheldon now down to 7th, both clinging to the tail end of the lead lap.

Late Race Caution and Finish

Marco Andretti, running second, went to the pits for fuel on lap 190. As Marco Andretti was pitting, Felipe Giaffone crashed in turn two, bringing out the yellow. Marco Andretti (legally) slipped by the pace car exiting the pits, and avoided losing a lap in the shuffle. Leader Tony Kanaan, who still needed to pit, was stuck out on the track as the pits were closed at the onset of the yellow. The pits re-opened as the field came by for lap 193. Kanaan and Dario Franchitti ducked into the pits for fuel. Fan-favorite Michael Andretti stayed out on the track, and assumed the lead. Michael had come out of retirement to race with his 19-year-old son Marco, who cycled up to second place. In his 15th Indy 500, Michael was still looking for his first Indy victory. Scott Dixon was lined up third, and Sam Hornish Jr. was now up to fourth.

The green came out with 4 laps to go. Michael Andretti led the field, with his son Marco close behind in second. Hornish made a desperate pass deeper in the field, and emerged in third place as the field exited turn 2.

With three laps to go, Marco Andretti pulled outside of his father down the frontstretch, and passed his father for the lead in turn 1. Marco began to pull away as Michael now assumed a blocking role to protect his son's lead. Down the backstretch, Michael tried but failed to hold off the charging Hornish, and Hornish took over second place.

With two laps to go, Marco led Hornish by a half second, with Michael still in third. Down the backstretch, Hornish tried to squeeze past Marco as they approached turn three. He was pinched down, and ran out of race track, and had to back off. Hornish lost his momentum, and Marco pulled out to a 1-second lead at the start/finish line with one lap to go.

On the final lap, Marco held his lead down the back stretch. In turn three, however, Hornish began to reel him in. As the two cars exited turn four, Hornish executed a slingshot pass in the final 400 feet. He beat Marco Andretti to the finish line by 0.0635 seconds, the equivalent of about 15 feet (4.6 m). It was the second-closest finish in Indy 500 history. It was also the first time in Indy history that a driver made a pass for the lead to win the race on the final lap.

Afterwards, Hornish commented on his last-second pass, "I figured I came all this way, I ought to give myself one more shot at it. I kind of looked at it as, I was going to drive over him if I had to. For Marco to come as a rookie and drive like that he should be proud no matter what."

Third-place finisher Michael Andretti had high praise for his son: "I felt so bad for Marco, but I'm so proud. He drove a hell of a race. I drove with him a hell of a lot in that race. He drove like a champion. He drove like he's been out there 10 years." But Marco wanted more: "I do not want to wait until next year. I have to take advantage of everything because second's nothing," he said.

After leading 148 laps, 2005 winner Dan Wheldon failed in his bid to win back-to-back races. He recovered from the punctured tire on lap 183 to finish in the top five. On the final lap, while most of the attention was focused on Andretti and Hornish, Wheldon slipped by Tony Kanaan for position going into turn three, and came home fourth.

Box score

Finish	Start	Car No.	Team	Driver	Chassis	Engine	Laps	Status	Points
1	1	6	Sam Hornish Jr.	Team Penske	Dallara	Honda	200	3:10:58.7590	50
2	9	26	Marco Andretti  R	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda	200	+0.0635	40
3	13	1	Michael Andretti	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda	200	+1.0087	35
4	3	10	Dan Wheldon  W	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dallara	Honda	200	+1.2692	32+3
5	5	11	Tony Kanaan	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda	200	+1.6456	30
6	4	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dallara	Honda	200	+3.0566	28
7	17	27	Dario Franchitti	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda	200	+5.6249	26
8	10	16	Danica Patrick	Rahal Letterman Racing	Panoz	Honda	200	+5.7263	24
9	8	8	Scott Sharp	Fernandez Racing	Dallara	Honda	200	+11.1252	22
10	6	4	Vítor Meira	Panther Racing	Dallara	Honda	200	+17.9554	20
11	12	20	Ed Carpenter	Vision Racing	Dallara	Honda	199	-1 lap	19
12	25	5	Buddy Lazier  W	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Dallara	Honda	199	-1 lap	18
13	19	51	Eddie Cheever  W	Team Cheever	Dallara	Honda	198	-2 laps	17
14	18	52	Max Papis	Team Cheever	Dallara	Honda	197	-3 laps	16
15	7	55	Kosuke Matsuura	Super Aguri Fernandez Racing	Dallara	Honda	196	-4 laps	15
16	28	12	Roger Yasukawa	Playa Del Racing	Panoz	Honda	194	-6 laps	14
17	24	21	Jaques Lazier	Playa Del Racing	Panoz	Honda	193	-7 laps	13
18	29	88	Airton Daré	Sam Schmidt Motorsports.	Panoz	Honda	193	-7 laps	12
19	32	98	P. J. Jones	Team Leader Motorsports	Panoz	Honda	189	-11 laps	12
20	16	7	Bryan Herta	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda	188	-12 laps	12
21	21	14	Felipe Giaffone	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara	Honda	177	Accident	12
22	15	90	Townsend Bell  R	Vision Racing	Dallara	Honda	161	Suspension	12
23	26	17	Jeff Simmons	Rahal Letterman Racing	Panoz	Honda	152	Accident	12
24	27	31	Al Unser Jr.  W	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Dallara	Honda	145	Accident	12
25	2	3	Hélio Castroneves  W	Team Penske	Dallara	Honda	109	Accident	10
26	14	15	Buddy Rice  W	Rahal Letterman Racing	Panoz	Honda	108	Accident	10
27	11	2	Tomas Scheckter	Vision Racing	Dallara	Honda	65	Accident	10
28	31	1	Arie Luyendyk Jr.  R	Luyendyk Racing	Panoz	Honda	54	Handling	10
29	30	97	Stéphan Grégoire	Team Leader Motorsports	Panoz	Honda	49	Handling	10
30	23	41	Larry Foyt	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara	Honda	43	Handling	10
31	33	18	Thiago Medeiros  R	PDM Racing	Panoz	Honda	24	Electrical	10
32	22	92	Jeff Bucknum	Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Honda	1	Accident	10
33	20	91	P. J. Chesson  R	Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Honda	1	Accident	10

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

Race statistics

Lap Leaders
Laps	Leader
1–9	Hélio Castroneves
10–34	Dan Wheldon
35–37	Sam Hornish Jr.
38	Tony Kanaan
39–107	Dan Wheldon
108–110	Scott Dixon
111–124	Dan Wheldon
125–127	Scott Dixon
128–129	Dan Wheldon
130–144	Sam Hornish Jr.
145–182	Dan Wheldon
183–193	Tony Kanaan
194–197	Michael Andretti
198–199	Marco Andretti
200	Sam Hornish Jr.

Total laps led
Driver	Laps
Dan Wheldon	148
Sam Hornish Jr.	19
Tony Kanaan	12
Hélio Castroneves	9
Scott Dixon	6
Michael Andretti	4
Marco Andretti	2

Cautions: 5 for 44 laps
Laps	Reason
2–6	Jeff Bucknum, P. J. Chesson crash in turn 2
67–75	Tomas Scheckter crash in turn 4
111–122	Buddy Rice, Hélio Castroneves crash in turn 4
149–161	Al Unser Jr. in turn 3; Jeff Simmons crash in northchute
191–195	Felipe Giaffone crash in turn 2

Race notes

• For the first time, Honda was the sole engine supplier to the field. It is believed that for the first time in Indianapolis 500 history, that the race was run without a single engine problem during the entire month.
• In Hornish's seven tries at the Indy 500, this was the first that he had even completed 500 miles (800 km).
• It was the 14th Indianapolis 500 win for Roger Penske as an owner.
• This was the first Indianapolis 500 in which the leader of lap 199 did not win the race.
• The second- and third-place finishes by Marco and Michael Andretti were the 49th and 50th unsuccessful attempts to win the 500 by members of the Andretti family as drivers (Michael Andretti was a winning owner in 2005 then would be again in 2007, 2014, 2016, and 2017) since patriarch Mario Andretti's sole win in 1969, extending what is popularly called the "Andretti Curse" at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
• A few weeks after the race, Tom Carnegie announced his retirement after 61 years, making the 2006 500 his final race as track announcer.
• ABC Sports utilized Side-By-Side for the first time during the Indianapolis 500.

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. Mike King served as chief announcer.

For the second year in a row, pit reporter Kevin Olson conducted a pre-race interview with David Letterman. This would be the final 500 on the radio for Adam Alexander.

Indy Racing Radio Network
Booth Announcers	Turn Reporters	Pit/garage reporters
Chief Announcer: Mike King Driver expert: Davey Hamilton Historian: Donald Davidson Color analyst: Dave Wilson Commentary: Chris Economaki	Turn 1: Jerry Baker Turn 2: Adam Alexander Turn 3: Mark Jaynes Turn 4: Chris Denari	Kevin Olson (pits/garages) Dave Argabright (north pits) Nicole Manske (center pits) Kevin Lee (south pits)

Television

The race was carried live flag-to-flag coverage in the United States on ABC Sports, except in Indianapolis on WRTV, where it was tape delayed to primetime due to the seats not completely sold out. After a critically unpopular season as chief announcer for the IndyCar series on ABC/ESPN, Todd Harris was removed from the broadcast booth. Veteran announcer Marty Reid took over as play-by-play. Scott Goodyear returned as driver analyst. Joining them in the booth was 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Rusty Wallace, who served as co-analyst with Goodyear.

For the first time ever, the broadcast utilized the Side-By-Side feature during commercial breaks. This was also the final "500" broadcast solely in standard-definition.

ABC Television (blacked out locally)
Booth Announcers	Pit/garage reporters
Host: Brent Musburger Announcer: Marty Reid Color: Scott Goodyear Color: Rusty Wallace	Jack Arute Vince Welch Dr. Jerry Punch Jamie Little

Gallery

• 
  2006 winning car
• 
  2006 Chevrolet Corvette pace car

Notes

Works cited

• 2006 Indianapolis 500 Daily Trackside Report for the Media
• Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats - Official Site