The 2003 IRLInfiniti Pro Series was the second season of the series under the Indy Racing League ownership, and the 18th in Indy NXT combined history, as officially recognized by IndyCar. All teams used Dallara IL-02 chassis and Infiniti engines.
British rookie Mark Taylor won the series with a total of 7 wins in 12 races, driving for a newly formed program by IndyCar team Panther Racing, who then signed him to drive for the team's main programme in 2004. Taylor's last win at Fontana crowned him as the champion with one race to spare over Indy Lights returnee Jeff Simmons, who won two races at Gateway and Kentucky for another new team, Keith Duesenberg Racing.
The season was notable for the first running of the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, this being the first time that a support race was included in the Indianapolis 500 program. Ed Carpenter, driving for reining champions A. J. Foyt Enterprises, won the race over Cory Witherill from pole position, his lone win of the year in route to a 3rd place finish in the standings. Thiago Medeiros won the final race at Texas and finished a mere six points behind Carpenter.
Aaron Fike was also a winner at Pikes Peak, but he missed the Phoenix race early in the season for a DUI offence and didn't score another podium during the year, losing fifth place in the points to Witherill.[1] Fike still finished ahead of 2002 runner-up Arie Luyendyk Jr., who missed out again on race wins with a best finish of third, and would not win a race in the series until 2008. Among former IndyCar competitors Witherill and Brandon Erwin competed full-time in the series, while Billy Roe, Scott Harrington and Ronnie Johncox also took part in the Freedom 100, and Dave Steele in the Nashville race.
As well as Panther and Duesenberg, Kenn Hardley Racing also joined the field. Luyendyk Racing left the series after the 2002 season, while Roquin Motorsports and Bowes Seal Fast Racing only contested a handful of races and REV1 Racing withdrew after the Freedom 100. The series had at least 13 drivers at each round, with 19 competitors at the Freedom 100 and 17 at the season finale in Texas. However, only seven drivers competed in every race, with three more contesting all but one race.[2]
All seven rounds contested in the 2002 season were retained in the schedule, which now supported the IRL IndyCar Series from the beginning of the season and was expanded to 12 races, all held on ovals. For the first time, a racing series would hold a race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a support event for the Indianapolis 500 with the first running of the Freedom 100, followed by the series' first visit to Pikes Peak. New rounds were also added at former Indy Lights venues Homestead-Miami (last featured in 1999), Phoenix (absent since 1995) and California, which hosted the last race of the original Indy Lights series in 2001.
^"Beardsley returning to IPS in 2003". Crash.net. February 9, 2003.
^"Carpenter moving to Foyt team in 2003". Motorsport.com. January 13, 2003.
^"Western Union, Duesenberg Brothers join IPS". Crash.net. February 10, 2003.
^"Homestead: Erwin, Simmons to make debuts". Motorsport.com. February 28, 2003.
^"Ex-IRL star plays role with new IPS team". Crash.net. December 4, 2002.
^"Dana to drive in IRL Infiniti Pro Series". Autoweek.com. January 28, 2003.
^"Moses Smith enters Gateway to IPS". Crash.net. August 6, 2003.
^"IRL veteran Roe to complete Pro Series season". Crash.net. August 6, 2003.
^"Kansas: Indy Racing League notebook". Motorsport.com. July 2, 2003.
^"Thiago Medeiros joins Genoa Racing in Infiniti Pro Series". Autoweek.com. February 4, 2003.
^ ab"Witherill and Fike to stay put in 2003". Crash.net. December 31, 2002.
January 01, 1970
2003, infiniti, series, 2003, infiniti, series, second, season, series, under, indy, racing, league, ownership, 18th, indy, combined, history, officially, recognized, indycar, teams, used, dallara, chassis, infiniti, engines, seasonirl, infiniti, seriesseasonr. The 2003 IRL Infiniti Pro Series was the second season of the series under the Indy Racing League ownership and the 18th in Indy NXT combined history as officially recognized by IndyCar All teams used Dallara IL 02 chassis and Infiniti engines 2003 Infiniti Pro Series seasonIRL Infiniti Pro SeriesSeasonRaces12Start dateMarch 2End dateOctober 11AwardsDrivers championMark TaylorTeams championPanther Racing 20022004 British rookie Mark Taylor won the series with a total of 7 wins in 12 races driving for a newly formed program by IndyCar team Panther Racing who then signed him to drive for the team s main programme in 2004 Taylor s last win at Fontana crowned him as the champion with one race to spare over Indy Lights returnee Jeff Simmons who won two races at Gateway and Kentucky for another new team Keith Duesenberg Racing The season was notable for the first running of the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this being the first time that a support race was included in the Indianapolis 500 program Ed Carpenter driving for reining champions A J Foyt Enterprises won the race over Cory Witherill from pole position his lone win of the year in route to a 3rd place finish in the standings Thiago Medeiros won the final race at Texas and finished a mere six points behind Carpenter Aaron Fike was also a winner at Pikes Peak but he missed the Phoenix race early in the season for a DUI offence and didn t score another podium during the year losing fifth place in the points to Witherill 1 Fike still finished ahead of 2002 runner up Arie Luyendyk Jr who missed out again on race wins with a best finish of third and would not win a race in the series until 2008 Among former IndyCar competitors Witherill and Brandon Erwin competed full time in the series while Billy Roe Scott Harrington and Ronnie Johncox also took part in the Freedom 100 and Dave Steele in the Nashville race As well as Panther and Duesenberg Kenn Hardley Racing also joined the field Luyendyk Racing left the series after the 2002 season while Roquin Motorsports and Bowes Seal Fast Racing only contested a handful of races and REV1 Racing withdrew after the Freedom 100 The series had at least 13 drivers at each round with 19 competitors at the Freedom 100 and 17 at the season finale in Texas However only seven drivers competed in every race with three more contesting all but one race 2 Contents 1 Team and driver chart 2 Schedule 3 Race results 4 Championship standings 4 1 Drivers Championship 5 ReferencesTeam and driver chart editTeam No Drivers Rounds Brian Stewart Racing 3 nbsp Marty Roth 1 2 10 12 nbsp Jonathan Urlin 3 3 7 33 1 2 nbsp Craig Dollansky 4 3 nbsp Dave Steele 6 nbsp Marty Roth 7 nbsp Paul Dana 8 11 nbsp Tony Turco 12 Panther Racing 5 4 nbsp Mark Taylor 5 All 41 nbsp Dane Carter 6 12 Sinden Racing Service 5 nbsp Arie Luyendyk Jr 7 All Sam Schmidt Motorsports 6 nbsp Lloyd Mack 8 1 nbsp Marco Cioci 9 3 nbsp Ross Fonferko 10 6 7 9 nbsp Tom Wood 11 1 9 nbsp Taylor Fletcher 12 13 10 12 99 nbsp Brandon Erwin 14 1 9 nbsp Marco Cioci 10 nbsp Brad Pollard 15 11 12 REV 1 Racing 8 nbsp Ronnie Johncox 1 3 Roquin Motorsports 11 nbsp Rolando Quintanilla 12 Bowes Seal Fast Racing 3 37 nbsp Billy Roe 16 3 Beardsley Motorsports 12 nbsp Matt Beardsley 17 1 7 11 12 A J Foyt Enterprises 14 nbsp Ed Carpenter 18 All Keith Duesenberg Racing 19 20 nbsp Jeff Simmons 20 All Kenn Hardley Racing 21 24 nbsp Paul Dana 22 1 7 nbsp Moses Smith 23 8 nbsp Billy Roe 24 9 12 AFS Racing 25 nbsp Scott Harrington 16 3 nbsp G J Mennen 25 5 7 12 27 nbsp Gary Peterson 1 5 7 12 Genoa Racing 36 nbsp Thiago Medeiros 26 All Hemelgarn 91 Johnson Motorsports 91 nbsp Aaron Fike 27 1 3 12 nbsp Tony Ave 1 2 92 nbsp Cory Witherill 27 AllSchedule editAll seven rounds contested in the 2002 season were retained in the schedule which now supported the IRL IndyCar Series from the beginning of the season and was expanded to 12 races all held on ovals For the first time a racing series would hold a race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a support event for the Indianapolis 500 with the first running of the Freedom 100 followed by the series first visit to Pikes Peak New rounds were also added at former Indy Lights venues Homestead Miami last featured in 1999 Phoenix absent since 1995 and California which hosted the last race of the original Indy Lights series in 2001 Rd Date Race name Track Location 1 March 2 Western Union 100 Homestead Miami Speedway Homestead Florida 2 March 22 Phoenix 100 Phoenix International Raceway Avondale Arizona 3 May 18 Freedom 100 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway Indiana 4 June 14 Pikes Peak 100 Pikes Peak International Raceway Fountain Colorado 5 July 6 Aventis Racing for Kids 100 Kansas Speedway Kansas City Kansas 6 July 18 Cleanevent 100 Nashville Superspeedway Lebanon Tennessee 7 July 27 Michigan 100 Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn Michigan 8 August 9 St Louis 100 Gateway International Raceway Madison Illinois 9 August 16 Kentucky 100 Kentucky Speedway Sparta Kentucky 10 September 6 Chicago 100 Chicagoland Speedway Joliet Illinois 11 September 20 California 100 California Speedway Fontana California 12 October 11 dreamerscandles com 100 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth TexasRace results editRound Race Pole position Fastest lap Most laps led Race Winner Driver Team 1 Homestead Miami Speedway nbsp Thiago Medeiros nbsp Mark Taylor nbsp Mark Taylor nbsp Mark Taylor Panther Racing 2 Phoenix International Raceway nbsp Mark Taylor nbsp Mark Taylor nbsp Mark Taylor nbsp Mark Taylor Panther Racing 3 Indianapolis Motor Speedway nbsp Ed Carpenter nbsp Ed Carpenter nbsp Ed Carpenter nbsp Ed Carpenter A J Foyt Enterprises 4 Pikes Peak International Raceway nbsp Jeff Simmons nbsp Cory Witherill nbsp Aaron Fike nbsp Aaron Fike Hemelgarn 91 Johnson Motorsports 5 Kansas Speedway nbsp Ed Carpenter nbsp Aaron Fike nbsp Ed Carpenter nbsp Mark Taylor Panther Racing 6 Nashville Superspeedway nbsp Mark Taylor nbsp Brandon Erwin nbsp Mark Taylor nbsp Mark Taylor Panther Racing 7 Michigan International Speedway nbsp Arie Luyendyk Jr nbsp Matt Beardsley nbsp Mark Taylor nbsp Mark Taylor Panther Racing 8 Gateway International Raceway nbsp Brandon Erwin nbsp Mark Taylor nbsp Mark Taylor nbsp Jeff Simmons Keith Duesenberg Racing 9 Kentucky Speedway nbsp Jeff Simmons nbsp Ed Carpenter nbsp Jeff Simmons nbsp Jeff Simmons Keith Duesenberg Racing 10 Chicagoland Speedway nbsp Ed Carpenter nbsp G J Mennen nbsp Ed Carpenter nbsp Mark Taylor Panther Racing 11 California Speedway nbsp Mark Taylor nbsp Ed Carpenter nbsp Mark Taylor nbsp Mark Taylor Panther Racing 12 Texas Motor Speedway nbsp Arie Luyendyk Jr nbsp Marty Roth nbsp Arie Luyendyk Jr nbsp Thiago Medeiros Genoa RacingChampionship standings editDrivers Championship edit Scoring system Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th Points 50 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 The driver who leads the most laps in a race is awarded two additional points Pos Driver HOM PHX INDY PIK KAN NSH MIS GAT KEN CHI FON TXS Points 1 nbsp Mark Taylor RY 1 1 3 5 1 1 1 9 13 1 1 14 482 2 nbsp Jeff Simmons 14 5 4 2 14 4 2 1 1 3 8 2 407 3 nbsp Ed Carpenter 15 13 1 4 2 13 7 4 5 2 2 4 377 4 nbsp Thiago Medeiros R 2 2 19 6 7 5 3 11 3 9 3 1 371 5 nbsp Cory Witherill 12 9 2 12 5 6 15 2 2 6 9 3 336 6 nbsp Aaron Fike 8 6 1 4 14 4 6 6 5 6 5 328 7 nbsp Arie Luyendyk Jr 4 10 15 3 12 9 11 3 4 4 10 13 299 8 nbsp Tom Wood 6 15 13 10 3 2 5 5 10 235 9 nbsp Paul Dana R 13 6 7 13 13 7 10 7 8 13 14 234 10 nbsp Gary Peterson 11 14 16 8 11 9 12 7 8 15 10 217 11 nbsp Brandon Erwin R 3 4 11 11 6 10 12 10 9 213 12 nbsp Matt Beardsley 7 8 18 9 9 8 16 7 16 184 13 nbsp G J Mennen 8 8 8 11 7 4 7 175 14 nbsp Jonathan Urlin R 5 7 5 7 10 12 14 166 15 nbsp Marty Roth 9 11 6 10 13 12 124 16 nbsp Billy Roe 14 12 11 5 8 107 17 nbsp Ronnie Johncox 10 12 8 62 18 nbsp Ross Fonferko R 3 13 52 19 nbsp Rolando Quintanilla 10 6 48 20 nbsp Taylor Fletcher R 14 12 17 47 21 nbsp Marco Cioci R 9 12 40 22 nbsp Tony Ave R 3 35 23 nbsp Brad Pollard R 11 15 34 24 nbsp Dane Carter R 9 22 25 nbsp Dave Steele R 11 19 26 nbsp Tony Turco R 11 19 27 nbsp Scott Harrington 12 18 28 nbsp Moses Smith R 13 17 29 nbsp Lloyd Mack R 16 14 30 nbsp Craig Dollansky R 17 13 Pos Driver HOM PHX INDY PIK KAN NSH MIS GAT KEN CHI FON TXS Points Color Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green 4th amp 5th place Light Blue 6th 10th place Dark Blue Finished Outside Top 10 Purple Did not finish Red Did not qualify DNQ Brown Withdrawn Wth Black Disqualified DSQ White Did not start DNS Blank Did not participate DNP Not competing In line notation Bold Pole position Italics Ran fastest race lap Led most race laps 2 point 1 Qualifying cancelled no bonus point awarded Ties in points broken by number of wins or best finishes References edit a b Brack starts strong in bid to bounce back The Indianapolis Star March 22 2003 p 45 Retrieved October 10 2023 via Newspapers com nbsp 2003 IRL Infiniti Pro Series Archived 2017 12 13 at the Wayback Machine Champ Car Stats Retrieved 2018 10 30 F2000 veteran Urlin to compete in IPS Crash net January 17 2003 WOO standout Dollansky to debut at Indy Motorsport com May 14 2003 a b Panther signs Brit Taylor for IPS Crash net September 9 2002 IRL Notebook The Indianapolis Star September 7 2003 Luyendyk Jr to drive for Sinden in Infiniti Pro Series Autoweek com January 2 2003 Mack completes Schmidt IPS lineup Crash net February 24 2003 Cioci to drive third Schmidt car in Freedom 100 Crash net April 18 2003 Schmidt files third entry for Nashville IPS race Crash net July 18 2003 Mack completes Schmidt IPS lineup Crash net February 24 2003 Indy Racing League notebook 2003 09 03 Motorsport com September 3 2003 Fletcher to complete Pro Series year with Schmidt Crash net September 12 2003 Erwin gets nod for Schmidt IPS team Crash net February 25 2003 IndyCar Series heads to California Texas adds drivers for Heroes race Motorsport com September 18 2003 a b Former IRL drivers join Freedom 100 grid Crash net May 16 2003 Beardsley returning to IPS in 2003 Crash net February 9 2003 Carpenter moving to Foyt team in 2003 Motorsport com January 13 2003 Western Union Duesenberg Brothers join IPS Crash net February 10 2003 Homestead Erwin Simmons to make debuts Motorsport com February 28 2003 Ex IRL star plays role with new IPS team Crash net December 4 2002 Dana to drive in IRL Infiniti Pro Series Autoweek com January 28 2003 Moses Smith enters Gateway to IPS Crash net August 6 2003 IRL veteran Roe to complete Pro Series season Crash net August 6 2003 Kansas Indy Racing League notebook Motorsport com July 2 2003 Thiago Medeiros joins Genoa Racing in Infiniti Pro Series Autoweek com February 4 2003 a b Witherill and Fike to stay put in 2003 Crash net December 31 2002 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2003 Infiniti Pro Series amp oldid 1179670056, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,