The Indy Racing League brought their 2005 season to a conclusion at the California Speedway in Fontana California with the running of the Toyota Indy 400. The season's championship had already been determined to be Dan Wheldon, but there were many drivers that had something left to prove on the two mile 220MPH plus track.
Dario Franchitti put his ArcaEx Andretti-Green team on the pole position with a speed of 219.398MPH. Tomas Scheckter was on the outside of the front row, making it the 5th time this season he had started from the front row. The 22 car field race was threatened by an early morning shower that had the safety vehicles running laps to keep the track dry.
The race went off on time and was shaping up to be a real shootout.A.J. Foyt IV brought the first yellow out when he lost control and hit the wall hard. He was taken out of his car and moved to the Loma Linda hospital to check about pain he was having in his legs and knees. He was awake and alert and being attended to.
The race had 17 lead changes among 7 drivers. The pits stops had their own drama, Sam Hornish Jr. was caught speeding on pit road and penalized a pass through penalty. He got 2 laps down and ran hard to be on the lead lap by the end of the race and finished in a very respectable 5th spot.
The majority of the race was briskly paced having Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti tailing each other to keep ahead of the pack. In the pack there were little duels throughout the field. One feud that came to an abrupt halt was between Danica Patrick and Jaques Lazier. Both drivers were not about to give their position up in the top ten and were racing very close for a few laps when in turn 4 they touched wheels and that contact brought their day to a crashing end.
When asked about the incident it was hard for Danica Patrick to not hide her frustrations with the Target Ganassi racing team. It was a tough finish to her season, but the interest Danica generated in the IRL and her talent as a driver earned her the Bombardier Rookie of the Year award.
The incident with Patrick and Lazier happened with only 16 laps left of the 200 scheduled. Tony Kanaan and Franchitti held off a late charge from Vitor Meira who finished 3rd and Scott Sharp having a very steady and consistent day finish up 4th.
On the last lap Franchitti was leading Kanaan and it was reported that Kanaan hit his pit road speed button by accident nearing the finish line, either way, Franchitti was the man to beat Sunday and he ran a flawless race, getting in and out of the pits keeping up in front the entire day and saving his equipment for the finish. The Toyota 400 was his 2nd win this year, Nashville was his other victory. Hornish’s 5th place victory gave him enough points to finish up in 3rd place for the season keeping an Andretti-Green Sweep of the top 3 positions.
Kanaan finished up in 2nd and Dan Wheldon was given a check from the IRL for 1 Million dollars and the championship trophy capping off a dominating season by him and the entire Andretti-Green team. The season is in the record books, leaving most of the teams wondering how to get ahead of the Andretti-Green powerhouse, some drivers wondering if they will have a ride next year and others just grateful that the year is over and looking forward to better results next season.
Be Fast, Be Safe.
Photo Gallery for California IRL Race 
