WThe 2008 IndyCar Series was the 13th season of the IndyCar Series. It was the 97th recognized season of top-level American open wheel racing. On February 26, 2008, the managements of Indy Racing League and Champ Car came to an agreement to become one entity, ending a twelve-year split and resulting in the cancellation of the 2008 Champ Car World Series.
WThe 2008 ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225 was the sixth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season and took place on June 1, 2008 at the 1.015-mile (1.633 km) Milwaukee Mile, in West Allis, Wisconsin. Marco Andretti took the lead from the pole position, and led the first 40 laps. He was chased early by Scott Dixon and teammate Tony Kanaan. Graham Rahal, who started on the outside of the front row, shuffled back, but remained in the top 5 for the first half of the race. The first half was mostly green, with only a minor caution involving Oriol Servià and another for debris. Later in the first fuel segment, Andretti's handling started to suffer, and Dixon took over the lead. Hélio Castroneves took over second, and Andretti fell back as deep as tenth.
WThe 2008 Bombardier Learjet 550 was the seventh round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season and took place on June 7, 2008 at the 1.455-mile (2.342 km) Texas Motor Speedway, in Fort Worth, Texas. In the first half, three single-car incidents involving Mario Domínguez, Justin Wilson, and Oriol Servià slowed the race. The lead changed hands between Hélio Castroneves, Bruno Junqueira, and Scott Dixon for the first 100 laps. Two sequences of green flag pit stops occurred under a long stretch of green flag conditions. A caution for debris came out on lap 165, sending the leaders to the pits once more. Vítor Meira stayed out to take over the lead.
WThe 2008 Camping World Indy Grand Prix at the Glen was the tenth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season and took place on July 6, 2008 at the 3.370-mile (5.423 km) Watkins Glen International road course in Watkins Glen, New York. The race was won by Ryan Hunter-Reay, who took the lead from Darren Manning on lap 52. The victory was Hunter-Reay's first in IndyCar competition, and the first for Rahal Letterman Racing since 2005.
WThe 2008 Detroit Indy Grand Prix presented by Firestone was an IndyCar Series race that was held on August 31, 2008 on the Raceway on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan. It was the sixteenth race of the 2008 IndyCar Series season. Originally scheduled to run over 90 laps, it was shortened to 87 laps due to 2-hour limit. The race was won by Justin Wilson for the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team. Hélio Castroneves finished second, and Tony Kanaan clinched third. Wilson dedicated his win to actor Paul Newman, the ailing joint-owner of his team; Newman died less than a month later.
WThe 2008 Rexall Edmonton Indy was the thirteenth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season, and was held on July 26, 2008, at Rexall Speedway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The race was won by Scott Dixon, followed by Hélio Castroneves and Justin Wilson. Although it was the fourth edition of the Grand Prix, it was the first race in the IndyCar Series, but also the first IndyCar Series race to be held in Canada.
WThe 2008 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 was the opening round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season and took place on March 29, 2008 at the 1.485-mile (2.390 km) Homestead-Miami Speedway. For the first time in series history, the reigning champion was not on the grid to defend his title, as Dario Franchitti had moved to the No. 40 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car for Chip Ganassi Racing. Graham Rahal was supposed to make his debut in this race however due to a crash in testing his team could not get his car repaired in time for the race. 2003 champion Scott Dixon kicked off the season with the victory, on his way to the series championship.
WThe 2008 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the second round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season and took place on April 6, 2008 at the 1.8-mile (2.9 km) temporary street and airport circuit on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. The race was a time-limited race due to rain, with the race falling some seventeen laps short of full race distance. The race was won by Graham Rahal on his IndyCar Series debut, having missed the first round at Homestead-Miami Speedway, due to a lack of spare parts for his #06 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing machine.
WThe 92nd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 25, 2008. Scott Dixon of New Zealand won the race from the pole position.
WThe 2008 Indy Japan 300 was the third round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season, for drivers who competed in the series in 2007 and teams that had entered for 2008 who were not former Champ Car teams that were in transition. This was because the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach occurred on the same weekend and there was no way of changing dates to avoid the clash when the reunification took place. Originally scheduled for the afternoon of April 19, 2008 at the 1.52-mile (2.45 km) Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi, the race was delayed by 22 hours until the morning of April 20, due to water seeping up onto the track from previous heavy rains. Danica Patrick won the race, becoming the first female winner in the history of top-level American open-wheel racing.
WThe 2008 Nikon Indy 300 was the 19th and final race of the 2008 IndyCar Series season. It was held on 26 October 2008 on the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit in Queensland, Australia.
WThe 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the third round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season, for teams who competed in the Champ Car World Series in 2007. This was because the 2008 Indy Japan 300 occurred on the same weekend and there was no way of changing dates to avoid the clash. It was held on April 20, 2008, at the 1.968-mile (3.167 km) street circuit in Long Beach, California, United States. The race was historic in that Will Power became the last winner of a Champ Car-style race. The contingent of former Champ Car teams produced a 20-car field, all utilizing the turbocharged Panoz DP01-Cosworth for the final time. All participants entering other IndyCar races earned points towards the 2008 IndyCar Series championship. All the teams raced together again a week later at Kansas Speedway, and for the remainder of the schedule together. The race was run under Champ Car rules, which included the standing start, option tire, two-day qualifying format, ran on time rather than a set number of laps. The option tire rule was adopted by the IRL for 2009, as well as standing starts for selected road and street course races in 2013 and 2014 only to be abandoned in 2015 due to safety concerns.