The 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series was the 15th season of the IndyCar Series, and the 99th recognized season of top-level American open wheel racing. It was the series' first of six planned seasons under Izod title sponsorship, a multimillion-dollar deal which was announced on November 5, 2009. Its premier event was the 94th Indianapolis 500, held on Sunday, May 30. This season is notable for having the most women to compete in a season: Beatriz, Duno, Fisher, Patrick and de Silvestro. They all competed in the Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 and the Cafés do Brasil Indy 300. Chip Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti retained his title, to win his third in four seasons after defeating Team Penske driver Will Power in a championship battle that went to the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Power had led the championship for most of the season, and led Franchitti by twelve into Homestead, but after hitting the wall during the race and finishing in 25th place, Franchitti's eighth-place finish with maximum bonus points gave him the championship by five points. Franchitti and Power each won one of the new-for-2010 sub-championships for oval tracks, and road courses. Franchitti won the oval championship with six top-five finishes from eight races, including victories at the Indianapolis 500 and Chicagoland, and also won the road course event at Mid-Ohio. Power was even more dominant in the road course championship, finishing each of the nine races in the top three, with five wins in São Paulo, St. Petersburg, Watkins Glen, Toronto and Sonoma. After battling Franchitti for the title in 2009, Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe finished third and fifth in the championship standings with the third Penske car, piloted by Hélio Castroneves finished between the pair. Dixon won on the ovals at Kansas and Homestead-Miami, as well as a victory in Edmonton after Castroneves was penalised for blocking on a late-race restart. Dixon's victory in Florida helped him overhaul Castroneves for third place in the championship standings. Castroneves also took three victories during the season, winning the inaugural race at Barber Motorsports Park as well as back-to-back victories at Kentucky and Twin Ring Motegi, as he finished sixteen points behind Dixon. Briscoe finished over 100 points behind Franchitti, with a solitary victory at Texas. Andretti Autosport drivers Tony Kanaan and Ryan Hunter-Reay were the only other drivers to win a race, as they finished sixth and seventh respectively. Rookie of the Year went to Dale Coyne Racing driver Alex Lloyd who competed in his first full season, after three races over the previous two seasons. He finished 24 points ahead of Simona de Silvestro. As of 2024, this was the last season that the winner of the Indy 500 went on to also win the championship in the same season.

2010 IndyCar Series schedule

The final 2010 schedule was announced on July 31, 2009, with revisions announced on August 26, 2009. New events included a season-opening street race in São Paulo, Brazil, and the new Alabama Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park. Richmond and Milwaukee did not return in 2010. Oval speedway Road course Street circuit † – The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was originally scheduled for March 28 (3:30 PM on ABC) but was postponed to the next day due to torrential rain.

Series news

Confirmed entries

All drivers competed in identical Honda HI10R V8-powered, Firestone Firehawk-shod, Dallara IR-05 chassis. (R) reflects an IZOD IndyCar Series rookie.

Team and driver news

Testing

Two open tests were scheduled for February 24–26 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama and May 4 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky. At Barber, Team Penske's Will Power recorded the best time over the three sessions, and topped the times in two of the three held. His lap time of 1:09.8724 – set in the third session – saw him as the only driver to set a time in the 1:09s. Teammates Hélio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe set the second-fastest and third-fastest laps of the test. The Kentucky test was washed out by weepers – water seeping up onto the track from six inches of overnight rain – and no times were set.

Race summaries

Round 1: São Paulo Indy 300

Round 2: Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Round 3: Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

Round 4: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

Round 5: RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300

Round 6: 94th Indianapolis 500

Round 7: Firestone 550

Round 8: Iowa Corn Indy 250

Round 9: Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen

Round 10: Honda Indy Toronto

Round 11: Honda Indy Edmonton

Round 12: Honda Indy 200

Round 13: Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma

Round 14: Peak Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300

Round 15: Kentucky Indy 300

Round 16: Indy Japan 300

Round 17: Cafés do Brasil Indy 300

Results

Points standings

Driver standings

Entrant standings