2004 Infiniti Pro Series

The 2004 Menards IRL Infiniti Pro Series season was the third season of the series under the Indy Racing League ownership, and the 19th in Indy NXT combined history, as officially recognized by IndyCar. All teams used Dallara IL-02 chassis and Infiniti engines.

2004 Infiniti Pro Series season
Infiniti Pro Series
Season
Races12
Start dateFebruary 29
End dateOctober 16
Awards
Drivers' championBrazil Thiago Medeiros
Teams' championUnited States Sam Schmidt Motorsports
Rookie of the YearUnited States P. J. Chesson

In his second year of Pro Series competition, Thiago Medeiros won the championship convincingly, giving Sam Schmidt Motorsports its first title. He won six wins, including the second running of the Freedom 100 from pole position, scored seven pole positions and led the most laps in all but two of the 12 races. Medeiros became champion by taking the green flag at the penultimate round in Chicagoland, and finished with a 134-point lead over Paul Dana, who scored his lone Infiniti Pro Series win at Milwaukee.

Despite joining the Infiniti Pro Series at the fourth round in Kansas, rookie P. J. Chesson rallied to a fourth place in the standings, including a three-win streak with newcomers Mo Nunn Racing, an effort instigated and managed by Nunn's wife Kathryn. Despite a penalty at the last round that demoted him behind Arie Luyendyk Jr. in the standings, Chesson won Rookie of the Year over Leonardo Maia by 25 points.

A. J. Foyt Enterprises and Panther Racing, the champions of the previous two editions, left the series, although Foyt entered a car for Jeff Simmons at the Freedom 100, finishing second behind Medeiros. Simmons and Marty Roth became the first drivers to contest the Indianapolis 500 and the Freedom 100 in the same year. Sinden Racing Service and Genoa Racing also left the series entirely, while the privateer effort by Matt Beardsley ceased to be after the Freedom 100. On the other hand, Roquin Motorsports re-expanded to a full time effort, Roth Racing, Racing Professionals and Bullet-Team Motorsports made their debut with partial seasons, apart from Mo Nunn joining the championship at the fourth round.

While the Freedom 100 attracted 17 competitors, the Infiniti Pro Series struggled with entries throughout much of 2004, especially during the summer stretch, with only nine cars and just three finishers at the Milwaukee round. Grid sizes improved over the last three races, with 15 drivers in each round. Only the top 3 drivers in the standings contested the full season, with two others missing one round. Former IndyCar drivers that competed during the season were Billy Roe, Jon Herb, Cory Witherill and Scott Mayer.

Team and driver chart
Team No. Drivers Rounds
Keith Duesenberg Racing 2 United States Phil Giebler[1] 1–3, 11
United States Alfred Unser[2] 4–10, 12
22 United States Ross Fonferko[3] 5
United States Phil Giebler 7–9
United States P. J. Abbott 12
Brian Stewart Racing 3 Canada Jesse Mason[4] 1–10
Canada Marty Roth[5] 11
United States Ryan Hampton 12
33 United States Tony Turco 1
Brazil Leonardo Maia[6] 2–12
Roth Racing[7] 4 Canada Marty Roth 1–3
Sam Schmidt Motorsports 5 Netherlands Arie Luyendyk Jr.[8] 1–7
United States Travis Gregg[9] 8, 10, 12
Japan Shinji Kashima[10] 11
11 Brazil Thiago Medeiros[11] All
64 United States Brad Pollard[12] 4–6
United States Scott Mayer[13] 10, 12
United States P. J. Abbott 11
Racing Professionals[14] 6 United States Jon Herb[14] 3, 11–12
Roquin Motorsports 9 United States Matt Beardsley 9
10 Mexico Rolando Quintanilla[15] 1–5, 7–9, 11–12
Beardsley Motorsports 12 United States Matt Beardsley[16] 1–3
A. J. Foyt Enterprises 14 United States Jeff Simmons[17] 3
Bullet-Team Motorsports[18] 21 United States Taylor Fletcher[18] 3, 10–11
Kenn Hardley Racing 24 United States Brad Pollard[19] 1–3
United States Jeff Simmons[20] 9–12
United States Billy Roe[21] 4–8
42 2–3
AFS Racing 25 United States Jay Drake[22] 3
Netherlands Arie Luyendyk Jr.[23] 10–12
27 8–9
United States Gary Peterson[24] 2–3, 7, 10–12
Mo Nunn Racing[25] 67 United States James Chesson[26] 10–12
76 United States P. J. Chesson[25] 4–12
Hemelgarn 91/Johnson Motorsports 91 United States Paul Dana[27] All
92 United States Cory Witherill[28][29] 3, 10

Schedule

The schedule for 2004 stayed at 12 rounds with minor date changes over 2003. Mirroring the IRL IndyCar Series, the series left Gateway International Raceway and visited the storied Milwaukee Mile, who had featured in the last season of the original Indy Lights championship in 2001. This would be the last all-oval season for the series, as the IRL-managed championship would introduce road course racing from 2005 onwards.

Rd. Date Race name Track Location
1 February 29 Homestead-Miami 100 Homestead–Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida
2 March 20 Phoenix 100 Phoenix International Raceway Avondale, Arizona
3 May 22 Futaba Freedom 100 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana
4 July 3 Aventis Racing for Kids 100 Kansas Speedway Kansas City, Kansas
5 July 17 Cleanevent 100 Nashville Superspeedway Lebanon, Tennessee
6 July 25 Milwaukee 100 Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin
7 August 1 Paramount Health Insurance 100 Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan
8 August 14 Kentucky 100 Kentucky Speedway Sparta, Kentucky
9 August 22 Pikes Peak 100 Pikes Peak International Raceway Fountain, Colorado
10 September 11 Chicago 100 Chicagoland Speedway Joliet, Illinois
11 October 2 California 100 California Speedway Fontana, California
12 October 16 Texas 100 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas

Race results
Round Race Pole position Fastest lap Most laps led Race Winner
Driver Team
1 Homestead–Miami Speedway United States Phil Giebler Brazil Thiago Medeiros Brazil Thiago Medeiros United States Phil Giebler Keith Duesenberg Racing
2 Phoenix International Raceway Brazil Thiago Medeiros Brazil Thiago Medeiros Brazil Thiago Medeiros Brazil Thiago Medeiros Sam Schmidt Motorsports
3 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Brazil Thiago Medeiros Brazil Thiago Medeiros Brazil Thiago Medeiros Brazil Thiago Medeiros Sam Schmidt Motorsports
4 Kansas Speedway Brazil Thiago Medeiros[lower-alpha 1] United States Alfred Unser Brazil Thiago Medeiros Brazil Thiago Medeiros Sam Schmidt Motorsports
5 Nashville Superspeedway Brazil Thiago Medeiros United States Paul Dana Brazil Thiago Medeiros Brazil Thiago Medeiros Sam Schmidt Motorsports
6 Milwaukee Mile Brazil Thiago Medeiros Brazil Thiago Medeiros Brazil Thiago Medeiros United States Paul Dana Hemelgarn 91/Johnson Motorsports
7 Michigan International Speedway United States Al Unser III United States Alfred Unser Brazil Thiago Medeiros United States P. J. Chesson Mo Nunn Racing
8 Kentucky Speedway United States Travis Gregg United States Phil Giebler United States Travis Gregg United States P. J. Chesson Mo Nunn Racing
9 Pikes Peak International Raceway United States Jeff Simmons United States Paul Dana United States Paul Dana United States P. J. Chesson Mo Nunn Racing
10 Chicagoland Speedway Brazil Thiago Medeiros United States Travis Gregg Brazil Thiago Medeiros Brazil Thiago Medeiros Sam Schmidt Motorsports
11 California Speedway Brazil Thiago Medeiros United States James Chesson Brazil Thiago Medeiros United States James Chesson Mo Nunn Racing
12 Texas Motor Speedway Brazil Thiago Medeiros United States P. J. Chesson Brazil Thiago Medeiros Brazil Thiago Medeiros Sam Schmidt Motorsports

    Championship standings

    Drivers' Championship
    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 KAN NSH MIL MIS KEN PIK CHI FON TXS Points
    1 Brazil Thiago Medeiros 2* 1* 1* 1*1 1* 6* 2* 6 3 1* 9* 1* 513
    2 United States Paul Dana 8 5 10 2 2 1 4 2 2* 8 12 11 379
    3 Netherlands Arie Luyendyk Jr. 9 2 3 7 11 9 8 4 5 4 14 4 330
    4 United States P. J. Chesson  RY  8 6 2 1 1 1 5 2 5 317[lower-alpha 2]
    5 Brazil Leonardo Maia  R  3 6 10 10 7 7 3 7 7 4 12 292
    6 Canada Jesse Mason  R  3 4 15 6 3 4 6 8 4 9 283
    7 Mexico Rolando Quintanilla 6 6 14 4 9 11 7 11 10 5 8 264
    8 United States Alfred Unser  R  3 5 3 3 11 6 3 3 252
    9 United States Phil Giebler  R  1 7 5 5 10 8 3 215
    10 United States Billy Roe 9 9 9 4 8 10 9 164
    11 United States Brad Pollard  R  5 11 11 5 8 5 152
    12 United States Jeff Simmons 2 9 2 10 6 150
    13 United States Gary Peterson 12 13 9 14 8 15 112
    14 United States James Chesson  R  6 1 13 95
    15 United States Travis Gregg  R  5* 13 2 89
    16 United States Matt Beardsley 10 8 8 10 88
    17 Canada Marty Roth 7 10 16 11 79
    18 United States Jon Herb  R  17 6 7 67
    19 United States Taylor Fletcher  R  12 11 15 52
    20 United States P. J. Abbott  R  7 9 48
    21 United States Cory Witherill 7 15 41
    22 United States Scott Mayer  R  12 10 38
    23 United States Tony Turco 4 32
    24 United States Jay Drake  R  4 32
    25 United States Ross Fonferko  R  7 26
    26 Japan Shinji Kashima  R  13 17
    27 United States Ryan Hampton 14 16
    Pos Driver HOM PHX INDY KAN NSH MIL MIS KEN PIK CHI FON TXS Points
    Color Result
    Gold Winner
    Silver 2nd place
    Bronze 3rd place
    Green 4th & 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 points)

    1 Qualifying cancelled
    • Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes.

    Footnotes
      1. Qualifying for Kansas was cancelled due to rain. The grid was set by entrant points entering the race.
      2. 25 point deduction at Texas for causing a debris situation that produced a crash.

      References
      1. "IPS: Giebler signs with Duesenberg Racing for 2004". au.motorsport.com. 2004-02-26. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
      2. "Unser Joins Forces With Keith Duesenberg Racing". indyracing.com. June 30, 2004. Archived from the original on August 7, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      3. "Unser, Fonferko Join Forces With Duesenberg". indyracing.com. July 14, 2004. Archived from the original on August 7, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2004.
      4. "Youngster In Line for Ride With Stewart Racing". indyracing.com. January 16, 2004. Archived from the original on December 16, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      5. "Roth Points To Running Full Time In 2005 Season". indyracing.com. October 6, 2004. Archived from the original on October 29, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      6. Racecar. "Leo Maia Signs Menards Infiniti Pro Series Deal with Brian Stewart". www.racecar.com. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
      7. "Roth Racing Prepares to Roll in 2004". indyracing.com. January 9, 2004. Archived from the original on February 6, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2004.
      8. "Luyendyk Jr joins Schmidt for IPS". Crash. 2004-02-10. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
      9. "Sprint Car Veteran Gregg Makes Series Debut". indyracing.com. August 11, 2004. Archived from the original on August 27, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      10. "Daily Trackside Report - California Speedway". October 1, 2004. Archived from the original on December 16, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      11. "Medeiros to drive for Sam Schmidt Motorsports". January 8, 2004. Archived from the original on February 6, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      12. "Xbox Indy Car Gets A Driver - XboxAddict News". xboxaddict.com. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
      13. "Daily Trackside Report - Chicagoland Speedway". indyracing.com. September 10, 2004. Archived from the original on October 29, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      14. "Teenager Partners With Herb For Race Entry". indyracing.com. October 15, 2004. Archived from the original on December 11, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      15. "Roquins Keep It All In The Family". indyracing.com. February 28, 2004. Archived from the original on June 27, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      16. "Beardsley Aims For Consistency In Races". indyracing.com. February 24, 2004. Archived from the original on March 15, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      17. "Foyt hires Simmons to run in Indy Infiniti race". ESPN.com. 2004-05-06. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
      18. "Fletcher Joins Field For Futaba Freedom 100". indyracing.com. May 16, 2004. Archived from the original on December 16, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      19. "Pollard Will Join Series Full Time". indyracing.com. January 26, 2004. Archived from the original on December 11, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      20. "IPS News and notes: Simmons to Finish Season with Kenn Hardley Racing". us.motorsport.com. September 29, 2004. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
      21. "Teammates Medeiros, Luyendyk Will Start 1-2". indyracing.com. March 19, 2004. Archived from the original on December 11, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      22. "Drake Relishes His Laps On Historic Oval". indyracing.com. April 23, 2004. Archived from the original on August 20, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      23. "Luyendyk Makes Move To AFS Racing". indyracing.com. August 11, 2004. Archived from the original on December 11, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      24. "Peterson's Passion Continues To Grow". indyracing.com. 2004-12-11. Archived from the original on December 11, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      25. "IPS: Mo Nunn Racing enters series". us.motorsport.com. 2004-06-17. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
      26. "Nunn doubles up in IPS". www.autosport.com. 2004-08-18. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
      27. "IRL news - Dana signs with Hemelgarn for IPS". crash.net. December 18, 2003. Archived from the original on January 13, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
      28. "IPS: Indianapolis: Cory Witherill to race in Freedom 100". us.motorsport.com. 2004-05-20. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
      29. "Fast Facts - Chicagoland 100". indyracing.com. September 7, 2004. Archived from the original on December 16, 2004. Retrieved October 3, 2003.
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