The 2006 Rolex Sports Car Series season was the seventh season of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, and the fifth season under the sponsorship of Rolex.
It began on January 28 with the 24 Hours of Daytona, and ended on September 2 with the Discount Tire Sunchaser at Miller Motorsports Park. The championship was competed with Daytona Prototypes (DP) and Grand Touring (GT) class cars only, for the second successive season.
Starting with the VIR 400, this season saw the introduction of qualifying races to set the field for the main race. Controversially, these races awarded the same points as a main race, despite being set at just 30 minutes (or 50 miles) in length. With no qualifying session, starting positions for a qualifying race were determined by speeds during a previously designated practice session. After just three unsuccessful runnings, the format was discontinued in the aftermath of a major five-car crash at Phoenix International Raceway.
Schedule The schedule was expanded again to 15 races, although both classes did not compete at every event, with the Daytona Prototypes class remaining at 14 races and the Grand Touring class down to 13 races. The events at California Speedway and Circuit Mont-Tremblant, both on the calendar since 2002, were replaced by a first-time visit to the Long Beach Street Circuit, which hadn't held a major sportscar race since 1991, and the returning Lime Rock Park, which had itself been previously replaced by California Speedway. As a support race for IndyCar, the Long Beach event was exclusive for DP cars and limited to 90 minutes, while the Lime Rock race was exclusive to the GT class.
The second race at Watkins Glen was also limited to the DP class, while the third race was discontinued after just one season, as the IndyCar event it supported was moved to the weekend of the Six Hours event. This race was replaced by Infineon Raceway, which switched from the American Le Mans Series. With the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez race moved from its November date to an early March spot, the season finale was held as a 9-hour endurance event at the newly built Miller Motorsports Park. The races at Mid-Ohio, Phoenix and Virginia were also moved from their late-summer and early autumn dates to a very hectic spring portion, with nine events in a span of just 15 weeks. Rnd RaceLengthClasses CircuitLocation Date 1 Rolex 24 at Daytona24 hoursAll Daytona International SpeedwayDaytona Beach, Florida January 28–29 2 Mexico City 250250 milesAll Autódromo Hermanos RodríguezMexico City, Mexico March 4 3 Linder Komatsu Grand Prix of Miami250 milesAll Homestead-Miami SpeedwayHomestead, Florida March 25 4 Crown Royal Grand American Challenge90 minutesDP Streets of Long Beach Long Beach, California April 8 5QR VIR 40030 minutesAll Virginia International RacewayAlton, Virginia April 22R400 kmApril 23 6QR U.S. Sportscar Invitational30 minutesAll Mazda Raceway Laguna SecaMonterey, California May 6R250 milesMay 7 7QR GAINSCO Grand Prix30 minutesAll Phoenix International RacewayAvondale, Arizona May 12R250 milesMay 13 8 Rolex GT Series Challenge200 milesGT Lime Rock ParkLakeville, Connecticut May 29 9 Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen6 hoursAll Watkins Glen InternationalWatkins Glen, New York June 3 10 EMCO Gears Classic250 milesAll Mid-Ohio Sports Car CourseLexington, Ohio June 24 11 Brumos Porsche 250250 milesAll Daytona International SpeedwayDaytona Beach, Florida June 29 12 Porsche 250250 milesAll Barber Motorsports ParkBirmingham, Alabama July 30 13 Crown Royal 200 at The Glen200 milesDP Watkins Glen InternationalWatkins Glen, New York August 11 14 Sonoma 250250 milesAll Infineon RacewaySonoma, California August 26 15 Discount Tire Sunchaser9 hoursAll Miller Motorsports ParkGrantsville, Utah September 2
Entries
Daytona Prototype (DP) TeamChassisEngineDriversRounds Howard-Boss MotorsportsCrawford DP03Pontiac2 Jan Lammers1 Allan McNish1 Danica Patrick1 Rusty Wallace14 Butch LeitzingerAll Andy WallaceAll Tony Stewart116 Chris Dyson1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13 Guy Smith1, 3, 5, 9, 11 Rob Dyson1, 9, 13 Oliver Gavin1 Southard MotorsportsRiley MkXIBMW3 Shane LewisAll Craig Stanton5–7, 9–15 Randy LaJoie1–2 Tony Burgess1 Kris Szekeres1 John Pew3 Bill Auberlen4 Essex RacingCrawford DP03Ford5 James Gue1–2 Duncan Dayton1 Brian DeVries1 Rick Knoop1 Jim Matthews1 Scott Maxwell2 Finlay Motorsports Essex/Finlay MotorsportsCrawford DP03Ford Rob FinlayAll Michael ValianteAll Bryan Herta1 Buddy Rice1 Guy Cosmo9 Dane Cameron15 Playboy/Uniden Racing19 Michael McDowell1–7, 9–13, 15 Memo Gidley1–4, 9–15 Guy Cosmo5–7, 14–15 Alex Barron1, 4 Graydon Elliott Fusion Racing w/ Shank Michael Shank Racing/Mears Motor Coach Playboy Racing/Mears-Lexus/RileyRiley MkXILexus6 Mike BorkowskiAll Paul Tracy1–2, 11 Paul Mears Jr.1, 5, 9 Tommy Constantine9–10, 12 Kenny Wilden1, 3 Antoine Bessette6–7 Burt Frisselle13, 15 Brian Frisselle14–15 Cort Wagner4 Michael Shank RacingLexus Pontiac (round 2)60 Oswaldo Negri Jr.All Mark PattersonAll A. J. Allmendinger1 Justin Wilson1 Rod MacLeod Tuttle Team Racing / SAMAX Tuttle Team Racing with BAM Tuttle Team RacingRiley MkXIBMW (1–3, 5–6)Pontiac Brian TuttleAll Jonathan Cochet2–7, 10, 13–15 Rod MacLeod9, 11, 15 Kyle Petty1 Boris Said1 CITGO Racing by SAMAXPontiac Milka DunoAll Marino Franchitti1–5 Marc Goossens6, 9, 15 Olivier Beretta7, 10, 12 Stefan Johansson9, 11, 15 Dario Franchitti1 Kevin McGarrity1 Ian James João Barbosa13 Patrick Carpentier14 Synergy RacingDoran JE4Porsche8 Brian Frisselle1–7, 9–10 Burt Frisselle1–7, 9–10 Patrick Huisman1, 13–15 Boris Said12–13 Clint Field1 Al Unser Jr.9 Brian Cunningham12 Spencer Pumpelly14 David Russell15 Suntrust RacingRiley MkXIPontiac10 Max AngelelliAll Wayne Taylor Jan Magnussen4, 6–7, 10, 12, 14 Ryan Briscoe1, 9, 13 Emmanuel Collard1 Ryan Hunter-Reay15 Lowe's Fernández RacingRiley MkXIPontiac12 Adrián FernándezAll Mário HaberfeldAll Scott Sharp1 Vítor Meira15 Alex Job Racing/Emory MotorsportsCrawford DP03Porsche23 Mike Rockenfeller1, 3–7, 9–15 Patrick Long1, 3–7, 9–14 Lucas Luhr1 Marcel Tiemann Terry Borcheller15 Ralf Kelleners15 Sigalsport BMWRiley MkXIBMW30 Matthew Alhadeff10–15 Bill Auberlen10–15 Rocky Moran Jr.15 Team CytosportRiley MkXIPontiac31 Greg Pickett6, 14 Scott Sharp6, 14 ADI MotorsportsPicchio DP2BMW33 Shawn Bayliff3–5 Tim Hubman3–4 Peter Argetsinger5 Cheever Racing Crown Royal Special Reserve/CheeverCrawford DP03Lexus (round 1)Porsche39 Christian FittipaldiAll Eddie Cheever1–2, 4–6, 11, 15 Hoover Orsi9–10, 14–15 Patrick Carpentier1 Lucas Luhr3 Stefan Johansson7 Max Papis12 Thomas Erdos13Lexus511 Warren Hughes1 Stefan Johansson1 Derhaag MotorsportsRiley MkXIPontiac40 Randy RuhlmanAll Chris Bingham1–2, 4–7, 10–11 Justin Bell1, 3, 15 Ron Fellows1, 14 Paul Dallenbach13, 15 Hugo Guenette9 Jonathan Cochet12 TruSpeed MotorsportsRiley MkXIPorsche47 Rob Morgan3–4, 6, 10, 12, 15 Charles Morgan3–4, 6, 10, 15 B. J. Zacharias12, 15 Blackforest MotorsportsCrawford DP03Ford50 Chris Gleason1 Ian James1 Tom Nastasi1 Henri Zogaib1 Rocketsports RacingCrawford DP03Ford50 Tomy Drissi2–4, 6, 10, 13–14 Paul Gentilozzi2–4, 6, 10 Tõnis Kasemets13–14 Red Bull/Brumos PorscheFabcar FDSC/03Riley MkXI (12–15)Porsche58 David DonohueAll Darren LawAll Sascha Maassen1 Buddy Rice15 Brumos RacingFabcar FDSC/0359 Hurley HaywoodAll J. C. France1–2, 4–7, 9–15 Ted Christopher1, 9 Roberto Moreno3, 15 João Barbosa1 AIM AutosportRiley MkXILexus61 James Hinchcliffe11 Mark Wilkins11 Krohn RacingRiley MkXIPontiac (round 1)Ford75 Tracy KrohnAll Niclas Jönsson1–7, 9–13 Boris Said14–15 Jörg Bergmeister1 Colin Braun1 Max Papis15Ford76 Jörg Bergmeister2–7, 9–15 Colin Braun2, 4–7, 10–13, 15 Niclas Jönsson14–15 Max Papis3 Boris Said9 Feeds The Need/Doran RacingDoran JE4Ford77 Harrison BrixAll Terry Borcheller1–7, 9–13 Michel Jourdain Jr.1, 14–15 Forest Barber1 Oriol Servià15 Doran Racing Doran/Pegasus Racing78 B. J. Zacharias1, 9 Oliver Kuttner9, 15 Raul Boesel1 Sébastien Bourdais1 Tony Ave15 James Gue15 Robinson RacingRiley MkXIPontiac84 Darin Brassfield1 Paul Dallenbach1 Wally Dallenbach Jr.1 George Robinson1 Pacific Coast MotorsportsRiley MkXIPontiac89 Ryan DalzielAll Alex FiggeAll David Empringham1, 15 Jon Fogarty1 CyberSpeed RacingRiley MkXIPontiac97 Tony Ave3, 5–6, 10–12 Skip Cummins3, 5–6, 10–12 Gainsco/Blackhawk RacingRiley MkXIPontiac99 Alex GurneyAll Jon Fogarty5–7, 9–15 Jimmy Vasser1, 3, 15 Bob Stallings1–2 Rocky Moran Jr.1, 4 CompUSA Chip Ganassi with Felix SabatesRiley MkXILexus01 Luis DíazAll Scott PruettAll Max Papis1 Scott Dixon15 Target Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates021 Casey Mears1 Dan Wheldon1 Spirit of Daytona RacingCrawford DP03Pontiac07 Guy Cosmo11 Bobby Labonte1109 Doug Goad1–7, 9–11, 15 Larry Oberto1–7 Bobby Labonte1, 12–13 Marc-Antoine Camirand10–11, 15 Stéphan Grégoire9, 15 Guy Cosmo12–13 Harold Primat1
Race results Overall winners in bold. Rnd Circuit DP Winning Team GT Winning Team Results DP Winning Drivers GT Winning Drivers 1 Daytona #02 Target Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates #36 TPC Racing Results Casey Mears Dan Wheldon Scott Dixon Randy Pobst Ian Baas Spencer Pumpelly Michael Levitas 2 Mexico City #01 CompUSA Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates #64 The Racer's Group Results Scott Pruett Luis Diaz Kelly Collins Paul Edwards 3 Homestead #23 Alex Job Racing/Emory Motorsports #64 The Racer's Group Results Mike Rockenfeller Patrick Long Kelly Collins Paul Edwards 4 Long Beach #01 CompUSA Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates did not participate Results Scott Pruett Luis Diaz 5 Virginia #23 Alex Job Racing/Emory Motorsports #65 The Racer's Group Results Mike Rockenfeller Patrick Long Andy Lally R.J. Valentine Marc Bunting 6 Laguna Seca #10 SunTrust Racing #72 Tafel Racing Results Max Angelelli Jan Magnussen Wolf Henzler Robin Liddell 7 Phoenix #01 CompUSA Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates #64 The Racer's Group Results Scott Pruett Luis Diaz Kelly Collins Paul Edwards 8 Lime Rock did not participate #65 The Racer's Group Results Andy Lally R.J. Valentine Marc Bunting 9 Watkins Glen #76 Krohn Racing #72 Tafel Racing Results Boris Said Jörg Bergmeister Wolf Henzler Robin Liddell 10 Mid-Ohio #12 Lowe's Fernández Racing #72 Tafel Racing Results Adrian Fernández Mário Haberfeld Wolf Henzler Robin Liddell 11 Daytona #76 Krohn Racing #65 The Racer's Group Results Jörg Bergmeister Colin Braun Andy Lally R.J. Valentine Marc Bunting 12 Barber #76 Krohn Racing #65 The Racer's Group Results Jörg Bergmeister Colin Braun Andy Lally R.J. Valentine Marc Bunting 13 Watkins Glen #01 CompUSA Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates did not participate Results Scott Pruett Luis Diaz 14 Infineon #01 CompUSA Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates #72 Tafel Racing Results Scott Pruett Luis Diaz Wolf Henzler Robin Liddell 15 Miller #60 Michael Shank Racing #65 The Racer's Group Results Mark Patterson Oswaldo Negri Andy Lally Marc Bunting Spencer Pumpelly Paul Edwards
Championship standings Championship points are awarded in each class at the finish of each event, including the qualifying races. Points are awarded based on finishing positions in the race as shown in the chart below.2006 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series - Driver Point Standings
Position123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930+Points353230282625242322212019181716151413121110987654321
Drivers' Championship
Standings: Daytona Prototypes (DP)