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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Rahal Leads Free Agent Class For 2013
SPEED's Marshall Pruett has learned that Ganassi Racing driver Graham Rahal will lead an intriguing class of free agents for 2013.
It was believed that Graham Rahal was set to drive for Ganassi Racing through 2013, but SPEED.com has confirmed the young American is looking for a different team to call home. (Photo: LAT)
With the Mid-Ohio Indy car round serving as the informal start to open-wheel’s silly season, news of driver movement for 2013 had been slow until it ramped up heavily in the past few days.
At the top of the list, SPEED.com has learned that 23-year-old Graham Rahal will depart Ganassi Racing at the end of the year, placing the second-generation driver at the head of the growing free agent market.
Rahal, who signed to drive for Ganassi after bringing NTB Tire/Service Central to sponsor the program at the beginning of the 2011 season, apparently had a two-year deal with an option for a third that expired today, August 1st.
With that deadline having passed, the Ohioan is said to be weighing where to take his sponsors for 2013. Looking within the Honda ranks, a number of single-car teams stand out as possible destinations, including his father’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan outfit, Bryan Herta Autosport and Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports.
Whether Rahal would switch camps to a Chevy-powered team is unknown.
Among the leading Chevy drivers, Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe is only under contract through 2012, and could join Rahal as another high-value driver to enter the market if he or the team decides to part ways.
As drivers for IndyCar’s two most dominant teams, Rahal and Briscoe find themselves in similar circumstances.
With seven wins for Penske, and after coming within 13 points of winning the 2009 IndyCar championship for The Captain, Briscoe has not fared as well since the team expanded to three fulltime entries. Despite the highlight of earning pole positions at Indianapolis this year, and with four races left on the calendar, if he and the Penske organization can’t rekindle the success they had in their first few years together, a change of scenery could benefit all involved.
Rahal, who sits 10th in the standings--one spot behind Briscoe--won his first IndyCar Series race in 2008 while driving for Newman/Haas Racing and finished seventh in points the following year for the team. After NHR’s funding fell through prior to the start of the 2010 season, Rahal drove for four different teams before landing NTB/Service Central and signing with Ganassi in 2011.
Despite finishing outside the top 10 on 11 occasions last year, Rahal earned three podiums and took ninth in the championship, but the progress—measured by results and chemistry--from Rahal and the Ganassi program in their sophomore season has fallen well short of expectations.
A source tells SPEED.com the Ganassi team wants to maintain its four-car operation for 2013, but it’s unclear if or when that fourth entry will be filled. Team Penske is said to be leaning towards staying with three cars, and if Briscoe does not return, both Ganassi and Penske could have prime vacancies to market.
Of the remaining drivers whose contracts expire at the end of the season, Sebastien Bourdais, Oriol Servia and Justin Wilson add a lot of victories, depth and experience to the free agent pool.
Dragon Racing has an option on Bourdais that reportedly expires two weeks after the season concludes at Fontana on September 15th, and if team owner Jay Penske allows the option to lapse, 33-year-old Bourdais, who moved his family from France to Florida at the beginning of the season and is keen to stay, could be the top choice for a funded team in need of leadership and wins.
Servia and Wilson would also provide the same “leadership and wins” solution for a number of teams, but it’s likely both drivers will come to terms with their current employers, Panther DRR and Dale Coyne Racing, respectively, to return in 2013.
After switching to Chevy power at Indy, Servia and the Panther DRR program have been rather impressive, and despite a steady stream of bad luck during his second stint at DCR, Wilson’s win at Texas and overall competitiveness has made the Illinois-based team a legitimate threat at most rounds.
KV Racing’s E.J. Viso, who has responded favorably to having team co-owner Jimmy Vasser on his timing stand this season, is at the end of his contract and has options to stay with the team or move elsewhere.
Two drivers fall into a somewhat unique position that doesn’t quite fit traditional free agency.
At the top of the list, SPEED.com has learned that 23-year-old Graham Rahal will depart Ganassi Racing at the end of the year, placing the second-generation driver at the head of the growing free agent market.
Rahal, who signed to drive for Ganassi after bringing NTB Tire/Service Central to sponsor the program at the beginning of the 2011 season, apparently had a two-year deal with an option for a third that expired today, August 1st.
With that deadline having passed, the Ohioan is said to be weighing where to take his sponsors for 2013. Looking within the Honda ranks, a number of single-car teams stand out as possible destinations, including his father’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan outfit, Bryan Herta Autosport and Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports.
Whether Rahal would switch camps to a Chevy-powered team is unknown.
Among the leading Chevy drivers, Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe is only under contract through 2012, and could join Rahal as another high-value driver to enter the market if he or the team decides to part ways.
As drivers for IndyCar’s two most dominant teams, Rahal and Briscoe find themselves in similar circumstances.
With seven wins for Penske, and after coming within 13 points of winning the 2009 IndyCar championship for The Captain, Briscoe has not fared as well since the team expanded to three fulltime entries. Despite the highlight of earning pole positions at Indianapolis this year, and with four races left on the calendar, if he and the Penske organization can’t rekindle the success they had in their first few years together, a change of scenery could benefit all involved.
Rahal, who sits 10th in the standings--one spot behind Briscoe--won his first IndyCar Series race in 2008 while driving for Newman/Haas Racing and finished seventh in points the following year for the team. After NHR’s funding fell through prior to the start of the 2010 season, Rahal drove for four different teams before landing NTB/Service Central and signing with Ganassi in 2011.
Despite finishing outside the top 10 on 11 occasions last year, Rahal earned three podiums and took ninth in the championship, but the progress—measured by results and chemistry--from Rahal and the Ganassi program in their sophomore season has fallen well short of expectations.
A source tells SPEED.com the Ganassi team wants to maintain its four-car operation for 2013, but it’s unclear if or when that fourth entry will be filled. Team Penske is said to be leaning towards staying with three cars, and if Briscoe does not return, both Ganassi and Penske could have prime vacancies to market.
Of the remaining drivers whose contracts expire at the end of the season, Sebastien Bourdais, Oriol Servia and Justin Wilson add a lot of victories, depth and experience to the free agent pool.
Dragon Racing has an option on Bourdais that reportedly expires two weeks after the season concludes at Fontana on September 15th, and if team owner Jay Penske allows the option to lapse, 33-year-old Bourdais, who moved his family from France to Florida at the beginning of the season and is keen to stay, could be the top choice for a funded team in need of leadership and wins.
Servia and Wilson would also provide the same “leadership and wins” solution for a number of teams, but it’s likely both drivers will come to terms with their current employers, Panther DRR and Dale Coyne Racing, respectively, to return in 2013.
After switching to Chevy power at Indy, Servia and the Panther DRR program have been rather impressive, and despite a steady stream of bad luck during his second stint at DCR, Wilson’s win at Texas and overall competitiveness has made the Illinois-based team a legitimate threat at most rounds.
KV Racing’s E.J. Viso, who has responded favorably to having team co-owner Jimmy Vasser on his timing stand this season, is at the end of his contract and has options to stay with the team or move elsewhere.
Two drivers fall into a somewhat unique position that doesn’t quite fit traditional free agency.
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