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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Silly Season Continues To Develop
Marshall Pruett catches up with teams and drivers to provide his latest IndyCar silly season update.
We know a number of the driver and team combinations for 2013, but there's still plenty of negotiating taking place throughout the IndyCar field. (Photo: LAT)
With Sebastien Bourdais’ recent signing with Dragon Racing to return in 2013, one of most sought after IndyCar drivers has been pulled from the ranks of free agency.
But that still leaves a lot open seats and unfinished deals to be reconciled with the 2013 championship when it kicks off in just over 130 days at St. Petersburg.
And as most teams and drivers have reported, the long off season has been the biggest contributor to the number of un-signed deals.
November and December have traditionally been a hotbed of driver announcements, but don’t be surprised if the bulk of activity is pushed to January and February.
In our third silly season update since September, the IndyCar landscape still has plenty of questions to be answered, but for the most part, the grid should look rather familiar among the driver and team combinations when the 19-race season gets under way.
DRIVERS
Breaking the available drivers into three contract status categories of done is the easiest way to divvy up the market, starting with:
DONE
After parting ways with Ganassi Racing two seasons into a partnership that failed to meet the expectations of either party, Graham Rahal, in one of the worst-kept secrets in the paddock, will be confirmed on Wednesday as the pilot of his father’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda entry.
ALMOST DONE
With Rahal set to join 16 other confirmed, full-time IndyCar drivers, the race to fill the rest of the grid is being led by a few high-profile names.
Justin Wilson, winner of the Texas 550 in June with Dale Coyne Racing, tested with DCR earlier this month at Barber and could be the next driver to have his deal completed, But for the second year running, unforeseen off-track delays appear to have slowed the process.
Team owner Dale Coyne, who spent most of 2012 dealing with the effects of a badly broken leg, was dealt another bit of misfortune recently when he suffered a motorcycle crash, but should be back to wrapping up DCR’s affairs with the British veteran shortly.
Panther DRR and driver Oriol Servia have been working on the Spaniard’s return for 2013, although like many teams, the urgency to confirm a driver has been tempered by the need to have its entire budget in place before extending a contract.
The slow, plodding nature of negotiations with Rubens Barrichello and Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports has also come as a direct result of working to complete the full scope of funding for the Brazilian prior to coming to terms for 2013. Both sides have, however, remained committed to making it happen, but the timeline involved is somewhat relaxed.
Just as they did last year, Indy car veteran Alex Tagliani and team owners Bryan Herta and Steve Newey are wrapping up the final commercial aspects of their program before agreeing on a new contract.
Katherine Legge, as we reported in September, has a contract with Dragon Racing and her sponsor TrueCar that runs through 2013, and despite no recent news on the team returning to two cars next year, it’s known that work continues on securing that second entry for the open-wheel veteran.
ON THE PROWL
The list of drivers on the prowl for deals is rather large, and only a few have a real chance at landing one of the remaining seats in the paddock.
Ryan Briscoe, the only major race-winning driver among those still searching for a home, and A.J. Foyt Racing, had been talking heavily for more than a month, but the Australian was recently informed by the team that it would be looking elsewhere for its next driver.
Briscoe is said to have two to three solid offers in place and continues to be linked to RLL as Graham Rahal’s teammate and to Rahal’s former ride at Ganassi. The most interest for his services—dating back to summer--has been with Rahal, but a race could break out with Andretti Autosport to land him as a fourth driver.
With the RLL team keen on expanding to two cars, Takuma Sato, its 2012 driver, would be welcome alongside the junior Rahal, but after a rather expensive season filled with routine contact, the popular Japanese driver would need to improve upon the modest funding he’s known to bring.
With the more attractive seats running in the $5-7 million range, Sato would have to nearly double his 2012 budget to stay with a competitive team, and despite Honda Japan’s desire for Sato to continue in the IndyCar Series, a significant gap in sponsorship levels would need to be reduced.
After completing a two-year contract with Dale Coyne, James Jakes has been exploring his options for a new home in the IndyCar Series. The 25-year-old Briton closed out his rookie year with DCR in impressive fashion, but as a sophomore, 2012 was nothing like he expected and relations with the team grew more strained as the season wore on. A return to DCR is considered highly unlikely.
Jakes is in the fortunate position to have a decent budget to offer, which could open a few doors at a hungry team like Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, or if more can be found, at an RLL.
Jakes’ countryman Mike Conway is in a similar position with some funding at his disposal, but his desire to build a calendar comprised solely of road and street courses comes with built-in limitations. His most realistic chance of racing Indy cars is still tied to Foyt Racing. Provided that comes together, it would give Foyt a two-car entry with Conway and someone like Wade Cunningham splitting the second car.
E.J. Viso continues to evaluate his ownership and driving options for 2013 and beyond. The Venezuelan has held in-depth conversations with Bryan Herta to join Alex Tagliani and with Michael Shank about the possibility of a combined IndyCar and GRAND-AM program. Viso has also been mentioned as an option for the fourth Ganassi seat.
Pippa Mann, who came close to racing at the Indy 500 this year and made two starts for RLL in 2011, is working to make her return in 2013.
Luca Filippi, who held a contract with RLL earlier this year, reports he’s working with his manager Rick Gorne to find the funding to compete in IndyCar. He stepped in to drive for Scuderia Coloni at the Monza Formula One round this year, winning the feature GP2 round, but isn’t linked to Paolo Coloni’s desired expansion into IndyCar.
The curious tale of Narain Karthikeyan, who told this reporter he was considering a switch to the IndyCar Series (only to question where those rumors came from a few weeks later) could have a renewed interest in moving Stateside next year after news broke that the HRT F1 team he currently drives for is up for sale.
Like Sato, the budget Karthikeyan shopped around to IndyCar teams was about half of what’s needed to land a competitive ride.
But that still leaves a lot open seats and unfinished deals to be reconciled with the 2013 championship when it kicks off in just over 130 days at St. Petersburg.
And as most teams and drivers have reported, the long off season has been the biggest contributor to the number of un-signed deals.
November and December have traditionally been a hotbed of driver announcements, but don’t be surprised if the bulk of activity is pushed to January and February.
In our third silly season update since September, the IndyCar landscape still has plenty of questions to be answered, but for the most part, the grid should look rather familiar among the driver and team combinations when the 19-race season gets under way.
DRIVERS
Breaking the available drivers into three contract status categories of done is the easiest way to divvy up the market, starting with:
DONE
After parting ways with Ganassi Racing two seasons into a partnership that failed to meet the expectations of either party, Graham Rahal, in one of the worst-kept secrets in the paddock, will be confirmed on Wednesday as the pilot of his father’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda entry.
ALMOST DONE
With Rahal set to join 16 other confirmed, full-time IndyCar drivers, the race to fill the rest of the grid is being led by a few high-profile names.
Justin Wilson, winner of the Texas 550 in June with Dale Coyne Racing, tested with DCR earlier this month at Barber and could be the next driver to have his deal completed, But for the second year running, unforeseen off-track delays appear to have slowed the process.
Team owner Dale Coyne, who spent most of 2012 dealing with the effects of a badly broken leg, was dealt another bit of misfortune recently when he suffered a motorcycle crash, but should be back to wrapping up DCR’s affairs with the British veteran shortly.
Panther DRR and driver Oriol Servia have been working on the Spaniard’s return for 2013, although like many teams, the urgency to confirm a driver has been tempered by the need to have its entire budget in place before extending a contract.
The slow, plodding nature of negotiations with Rubens Barrichello and Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports has also come as a direct result of working to complete the full scope of funding for the Brazilian prior to coming to terms for 2013. Both sides have, however, remained committed to making it happen, but the timeline involved is somewhat relaxed.
Just as they did last year, Indy car veteran Alex Tagliani and team owners Bryan Herta and Steve Newey are wrapping up the final commercial aspects of their program before agreeing on a new contract.
Katherine Legge, as we reported in September, has a contract with Dragon Racing and her sponsor TrueCar that runs through 2013, and despite no recent news on the team returning to two cars next year, it’s known that work continues on securing that second entry for the open-wheel veteran.
ON THE PROWL
The list of drivers on the prowl for deals is rather large, and only a few have a real chance at landing one of the remaining seats in the paddock.
Ryan Briscoe, the only major race-winning driver among those still searching for a home, and A.J. Foyt Racing, had been talking heavily for more than a month, but the Australian was recently informed by the team that it would be looking elsewhere for its next driver.
Briscoe is said to have two to three solid offers in place and continues to be linked to RLL as Graham Rahal’s teammate and to Rahal’s former ride at Ganassi. The most interest for his services—dating back to summer--has been with Rahal, but a race could break out with Andretti Autosport to land him as a fourth driver.
With the RLL team keen on expanding to two cars, Takuma Sato, its 2012 driver, would be welcome alongside the junior Rahal, but after a rather expensive season filled with routine contact, the popular Japanese driver would need to improve upon the modest funding he’s known to bring.
With the more attractive seats running in the $5-7 million range, Sato would have to nearly double his 2012 budget to stay with a competitive team, and despite Honda Japan’s desire for Sato to continue in the IndyCar Series, a significant gap in sponsorship levels would need to be reduced.
After completing a two-year contract with Dale Coyne, James Jakes has been exploring his options for a new home in the IndyCar Series. The 25-year-old Briton closed out his rookie year with DCR in impressive fashion, but as a sophomore, 2012 was nothing like he expected and relations with the team grew more strained as the season wore on. A return to DCR is considered highly unlikely.
Jakes is in the fortunate position to have a decent budget to offer, which could open a few doors at a hungry team like Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, or if more can be found, at an RLL.
Jakes’ countryman Mike Conway is in a similar position with some funding at his disposal, but his desire to build a calendar comprised solely of road and street courses comes with built-in limitations. His most realistic chance of racing Indy cars is still tied to Foyt Racing. Provided that comes together, it would give Foyt a two-car entry with Conway and someone like Wade Cunningham splitting the second car.
E.J. Viso continues to evaluate his ownership and driving options for 2013 and beyond. The Venezuelan has held in-depth conversations with Bryan Herta to join Alex Tagliani and with Michael Shank about the possibility of a combined IndyCar and GRAND-AM program. Viso has also been mentioned as an option for the fourth Ganassi seat.
Pippa Mann, who came close to racing at the Indy 500 this year and made two starts for RLL in 2011, is working to make her return in 2013.
Luca Filippi, who held a contract with RLL earlier this year, reports he’s working with his manager Rick Gorne to find the funding to compete in IndyCar. He stepped in to drive for Scuderia Coloni at the Monza Formula One round this year, winning the feature GP2 round, but isn’t linked to Paolo Coloni’s desired expansion into IndyCar.
The curious tale of Narain Karthikeyan, who told this reporter he was considering a switch to the IndyCar Series (only to question where those rumors came from a few weeks later) could have a renewed interest in moving Stateside next year after news broke that the HRT F1 team he currently drives for is up for sale.
Like Sato, the budget Karthikeyan shopped around to IndyCar teams was about half of what’s needed to land a competitive ride.
INDYCAR BRAZIL
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