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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Viso Continues To Work On 2013 Plans
5-year IndyCar Series veteran E.J. Viso updates SPEED.com on his recent progress to find a new team.
E.J. Viso could delay his plans to embark on team ownership until 2014. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
SPEED.com revealed last September that Venezuelan IndyCar driver E.J. Viso was intent on forming his own team for 2013, but news of his progress on that front has slowed in recent weeks.
The open-wheel veteran had been heavily linked with the Bryan Herta- and Steve Newey-owned Team Barracuda as stakeholder in a second entry alongside Alex Tagliani, but talks have cooled significantly, with the team choosing to focus on Tagliani’s single-car program.
Viso has also spoken with other teams, including Ganassi Racing and Michael Shank Racing, among others, but says branching out on his own or having an ownership stake in the car he drives might have to wait for 2014. For now, he’s trying to find a new team to call home after spending three seasons with KV Racing.
“So far, the progress hasn’t been great,” he said. “But I'm just pretty much in a position where I have all the data in front of me, I’m now in a position to take a decision. That's where I am right now; I believe the ball is on my side. And need to take a decision sooner than later. I can go either way: I'm studying the option of putting my own thing together or putting my deal with a current team, which is pretty much going the way that I've done it the last few years.”
Viso, like a number of his countrymen that race in America, receives a significant portion of his budget from Venezuela's state-run industries, but it’s believed that with the recent medical issues facing its president, a delay in that funding and a possible reduction in sponsorship has impacted drivers in open-wheel and sports car racing.
The 27-year-old has also brought along a number of young drivers to compete on the Mazda Road To Indy through his Team Viso Venezuela program, but that initiative is also on hold while he finalizes his overall sponsorship portfolio.
With teams a week away from being able to resume testing, Viso hopes to get back in a Dallara DW12 as soon as possible, but will take whatever amount of time he needs to find the right deal.
“For me it's not a real must to be jumping in the car the first week of testing,” he said. “For me, it’s more important of having the right package and having the right deal to take over for the rest of the year. So hopefully it's going to happen very soon and if it takes a bit longer, that's what it is. I cannot really do much about it.
"Unfortunately or fortunately, I’m my manager and racecar driver, I bring my money and I go back home every weekend and I'm in touch with the sponsors and I'm this person that I need to be the leader of every single part. So I need to be very conscious of any decision that I take.”
Marshall Pruett is SPEED.com's Auto Racing Editor, and covers the IndyCar Series. Before joining SPEED, Pruett worked in open-wheel racing for 20 years as a mechanic and engineer. He also contributes to RACER, Road & Track and Racecar Engineering. Follow him @MarshallPruett.
The open-wheel veteran had been heavily linked with the Bryan Herta- and Steve Newey-owned Team Barracuda as stakeholder in a second entry alongside Alex Tagliani, but talks have cooled significantly, with the team choosing to focus on Tagliani’s single-car program.
Viso has also spoken with other teams, including Ganassi Racing and Michael Shank Racing, among others, but says branching out on his own or having an ownership stake in the car he drives might have to wait for 2014. For now, he’s trying to find a new team to call home after spending three seasons with KV Racing.
“So far, the progress hasn’t been great,” he said. “But I'm just pretty much in a position where I have all the data in front of me, I’m now in a position to take a decision. That's where I am right now; I believe the ball is on my side. And need to take a decision sooner than later. I can go either way: I'm studying the option of putting my own thing together or putting my deal with a current team, which is pretty much going the way that I've done it the last few years.”
Viso, like a number of his countrymen that race in America, receives a significant portion of his budget from Venezuela's state-run industries, but it’s believed that with the recent medical issues facing its president, a delay in that funding and a possible reduction in sponsorship has impacted drivers in open-wheel and sports car racing.
The 27-year-old has also brought along a number of young drivers to compete on the Mazda Road To Indy through his Team Viso Venezuela program, but that initiative is also on hold while he finalizes his overall sponsorship portfolio.
With teams a week away from being able to resume testing, Viso hopes to get back in a Dallara DW12 as soon as possible, but will take whatever amount of time he needs to find the right deal.
“For me it's not a real must to be jumping in the car the first week of testing,” he said. “For me, it’s more important of having the right package and having the right deal to take over for the rest of the year. So hopefully it's going to happen very soon and if it takes a bit longer, that's what it is. I cannot really do much about it.
"Unfortunately or fortunately, I’m my manager and racecar driver, I bring my money and I go back home every weekend and I'm in touch with the sponsors and I'm this person that I need to be the leader of every single part. So I need to be very conscious of any decision that I take.”
Marshall Pruett is SPEED.com's Auto Racing Editor, and covers the IndyCar Series. Before joining SPEED, Pruett worked in open-wheel racing for 20 years as a mechanic and engineer. He also contributes to RACER, Road & Track and Racecar Engineering. Follow him @MarshallPruett.
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