WThe 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series was the 21st season of the IndyCar Series and the 105th season of American open wheel racing. It included the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. Scott Dixon entered as the reigning Drivers' Champion, while Chevrolet entered the season as the reigning Manufacturer's Champion. Upon season's end, Simon Pagenaud was crowned Drivers' Champion, while Chevrolet retained the Manufacturer's Championship. Simon Pagenaud was the first European driver to win IndyCar Series driver's title since British driver Dario Franchitti in 2011 season.
WThe 2016 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout was the first edition of the Road to Indy Shootout. The event was held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on December 6 and 7. The winner received a $200,000 scholarship to compete in the 2017 U.S. F2000 National Championship.
WThe 2016 ABC Supply 500 was the 13th round of the 2016 IndyCar Series. The event took place at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It was the fourth consecutive year that the Verizon IndyCar Series had visited the track. The race also marked roughly one year since the fatal accident of Justin Wilson in the previous year's edition of the event. The race was originally scheduled to be run on Sunday, August 21, but heavy thunderstorms forced it to be moved to the following day.
WThe 2016 Chevrolet Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans was the only doubleheader event of the 2016 IndyCar Series, consisting of both the seventh and eighth rounds of the championship. The event took place at the Raceway at Belle Isle, a temporary street circuit in Detroit, Michigan. Both races were contested over 70 laps. The race marked the seventh time that the course had been used for IndyCar Series racing and the fourth time that the venue had featured a doubleheader weekend with two races.
WThe 2016 Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix was the second round of the 2016 IndyCar Series season and the first oval race of the season. It took place on April 2, 2016 at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. The race marked the return of open wheel racing to the course, as IndyCar had not visited Phoenix since 2005. Team Penske driver Hélio Castroneves grabbed pole position for the race with a two lap time of 38.2604 seconds. In the process, he set a new single lap track record with a time of 19.0997 seconds. One incident occurred in qualifying when Carlos Muñoz spun and crashed in turn one during his attempt. Two other drivers, James Hinchcliffe and Takuma Sato, made no qualifying attempts due to damage sustained in practice incidents.
WThe 2016 Firestone 600 was the 14th round of the 2016 IndyCar Series season, contested over 248 laps at the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The race was originally scheduled as the ninth round of the series and originally began on June 12, 2016, following an extended series of delays caused by rain. After 71 laps, the race was suspended due to further rainfall, and re-scheduled to continue on August 27, 2016.
WThe 2016 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the first round of the 2016 IndyCar Series. The race was held on March 13, 2016 in St. Petersburg, Florida on the city's temporary street circuit. Team Penske driver Will Power qualified on pole for the race, but was diagnosed with a concussion shortly after the conclusion of the session and was forced to miss the race. Oriol Servià filled in place of Power. Second place qualifier Simon Pagenaud inherited the pole position.
WThe 2016 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma was the 16th and final round of the 2016 IndyCar Series season. The race was contested on September 18, 2016, on the IndyCar layout of Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. It marked the 12th time that the series had visited the circuit. For the second year in a row, the event served as the season finale for the IndyCar Series.
WThe 2016 Grand Prix of Indianapolis, officially known as the 2016 Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis for sponsorship reasons, was the fifth round of the 2016 IndyCar Series season. The race took place over 82 laps on the infield road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The race also served as part of the festivities surrounding the 2016 Indianapolis 500. The car count for the race slightly increased from other races during the season due to some entries participating in the Indianapolis 500 electing to also run in the Grand Prix.
WThe 2016 Honda Indy 200 was the 12th round of the 2016 IndyCar Series. The event took place July 29–31, 2016 and was held at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. It was the 10th time the course had been used since returning to the IndyCar Series schedule in 2007.
WThe 2016 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama was the 4th round of the 2016 IndyCar Series. The race was contested over 90 laps at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. It was the 7th time that the IndyCar Series had raced on the circuit. In qualifying, Simon Pagenaud took pole position with a time of 1:06.7762, beating out his teammate Will Power. Sébastien Bourdais set a new track record during the second round of qualifications with a time of 1:06.6001, but was unable to match that pace in the third round of qualifying, relegating him to a fifth place start. Championship contender Juan Pablo Montoya struggled heavily in qualifying, placing 21st and last.
WThe 2016 Honda Indy Toronto was a scheduled open-wheel motorsport event held at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the weekend of July 15–17, 2016. The event marked the 30th annual edition of the Toronto Indy, and the twelfth round of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season. The race was the only event on the 2016 IndyCar season outside of the United States. The headline race was the 32nd IndyCar race to be held at the 1.755-mile (2.824 km) street circuit.
WThe 2016 Indianapolis 500 took place on Sunday, May 29, 2016, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It was the premier event of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season. In a shocking finish, 24 year-old rookie Alexander Rossi of Andretti Herta Autosport won the race on fuel mileage over Carlos Muñoz and Josef Newgarden. Two-time winner Juan Pablo Montoya entered the race as the defending champion.
WThe 2016 IndyCar Grand Prix at The Glen presented by Hitachi was the 15th round of the 2016 IndyCar Series. The race was scheduled Labor Day weekend and occurred on September 4, 2016. It marked the first time that the series had visited the course since 2010 and the 10th time the series had visited the circuit in its history.
WThe 2016 Iowa Corn 300 was the 10th Round of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season and the 10th consecutive year the Verizon IndyCar Series visited the Newton, Iowa short oval. The race was broadcast on NBCSN with Brian Till as the Lap-By-Lap Announcer. Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport entered as the defending winner of the race.
WThe 2016 Kohler Grand Prix was the 9th round of the 2016 IndyCar Series. The event took place over 50 laps around Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The race was the first for IndyCars at the circuit since 2007 during the final season of the ChampCar World Series. It was the 26th time that the circuit had been used for IndyCar racing.
WThe 2016 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the third round of the 2016 IndyCar Series and the 42nd annual running of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The race was contested over 80 laps on a temporary street circuit in Long Beach, California on April 17, 2016. Hélio Castroneves qualified on pole for the second consecutive race with a time of 1:07.1246. Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon started alongside him in second. Some confusion surrounded the second round of qualifying as timing and scoring malfunctioned. IndyCar officials would correct the mistakes caused by this and set the correct Fast Six qualifiers shortly after round two ended. Fast six qualifying was briefly delayed when Will Power clipped a tire barrier and went into a run-off area. Power started sixth due to his mishap.