INDYCAR: Indy 500 Return For Newman/Haas Racing?

IndyCar

INDYCAR: Indy 500 Return For Newman/Haas Racing?

One of the most successful teams in open-wheel racing could be set for a return at the series' signature event next month.

Marshall Pruett | Posted April 05, 2012

Newman/Haas Racing impressed at Indy last year with Oriol Servia last year and would be ahead of the curve with the DW12 if the team makes its season debut at the Brickyard. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)

One of the most successful teams in open-wheel racing could be set for a return at the series' signature event next month.

Multiple sources have confirmed to SPEED.com that the Carl and Bernie Haas-owned team, which was forced to withdraw from the IZOD IndyCar Series last December due to a sponsorship shortfall, is in negotiations to run Formula One veteran Jean Alesi in a Lotus-powered entry at the 96th Indianapolis 500.

The Lotus brand ambassador had initially been linked with Lotus partner team HVM Racing for his IndyCar debut. It's believed that with a modest budget on offer and the limited appeal of pairing HVM's Simona de Silvestro with a rookie for the 500, HVM passed on the chance to run the 47-year-old Frenchman.

Although Newman/Haas General Manager Brian Lisles was unavailable for comment, it's known that the team has a Dallara DW12 chassis prepared and awaiting use, along with the necessary staff in place to run the program.

Newman/Haas was most recently contracted to build the pair of Lotus-powered DW12s for the Dragon Racing team, and has also supplied a significant number of employees to Dragon as the Jay Penske-led team sought to hire his own mechanics and engineers.

With the amount of Newman/Haas crew members having been reduced over the first two races--and provided the Lotus/Alesi deal comes together--it's believed the remaining NHR staff would be recalled from Dragon to field the Indy 500 effort.

Newman/Haas used an abundance of talent to qualify on the outside of the front row for the 2011 Indy 500 with Oriol Servia, and with engineer Craig Hampson currently embedded with the Dragon program, NHR would be able to bring firsthand experience with the DW12 and the Lotus engine to its season debut.

On a related note, when asked earlier this week about the total number of cars (beyond the five currently in place) he expected to supply for Indy, Lotus Director of Motorsport Claudio Berro declined to comment.

PHOTOS: Click Here or on the image below to view INDYCAR: IMS Test April 2012

Marshall Pruett is SPEED.com's Auto Racing Editor, covering IndyCar and sports cars. He also contributes to Road & Track and Racecar Engineering. Follow him @MarshallPruett on Twitter.