2013 IndyCar Series

2013 IndyCar season
IZOD IndyCar Series
Season
Races	19
Start date	March 24
End date	October 19
Awards
Drivers' champion	Scott Dixon
Manufacturers' Cup	Chevrolet
Rookie of the Year	Tristan Vautier
Indianapolis 500 winner	Tony Kanaan
← 2012 2014 →

Scott Dixon (left) won his third Drivers' Championship while Hélio Castroneves (right) finished second in the championship.

The 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series was the 18th season of the IndyCar Series and the 102nd season of American open wheel racing. Its premier event was the 97th Indianapolis 500 held on Sunday, May 26. The 2013 season was the second to feature the Dallara DW12 chassis. Ryan Hunter-Reay entered the season as the defending drivers' champion. Chevrolet entered as the defending Manufacturers' Cup champion.

The 2013 season has featured four first-time winners, the most since 1965. Also highlighting the season is the introduction of doubleheader races, and the experimentation with standing starts at selected events. Heading into the final race of the season, two-time champion Scott Dixon led Hélio Castroneves by 25 points in a two driver fight for the championship. In a race where only nine drivers finished, Dixon finished fifth while Castroneves finished sixth, and as a result, Dixon won his third series title by 27 points. In the manufacturers' championship, Chevrolet defended their title ahead of Honda.

After Lotus decided to withdraw from the IndyCar Series due to a poor 2012 season, the 2013 season marks the first season since 2002 that the series would feature only two engine manufacturers.^[1]

2013 was the final season that Izod—which became the main sponsor in the 2010 IndyCar Series—was the main sponsor of the championship; as Verizon Communications was announced as the new series sponsor for the 2014 season.

This was the last season to feature four time champion Dario Franchitti as in race two in Houston, Franchitti would be involved in an accident that would ultimately end his career after 12 seasons in IndyCar. This would also be the final season of E. J. Viso's IndyCar career. For 2014 and beyond, Viso would focus more on Sports cars and Stadium Super Trucks.