Indycar 2014 Silly Season

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And I thought the avatar was the John Player Special - now I see.
 
I will do an update silly season team chart next week. Not much has changed, still expecting driver announcements before the season starts from Andretti, KV, Schmidt, Ganassi, Herta and two for Coyne with a lot of drivers in the mix for all the rides.
 
Mikhail Aleshin will compete for SMP Racing in the LMP2 class in the WEC this season, but the team principal hopes to have him back in IndyCar in 2016, depending on economics.

“It’s complicated for Mikhail to sign a contact in IndyCar this year,” Zlobin told sportsbox.ru. “It takes a lot of [resources] and he will take a hiatus, unfortunately.

“However, Mikhail will go for the top prize in the FIA WEC in LMP2, where he will pilot the [Russian] car we are building now.

“Hopefully we can win the championship with the [Russian] machine, and God willing, the economic situation will stabilize and Mikhail can go back to Indy in 2016.”

http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/aleshin-set-for-switch-to-lmp2-with-smp-racing/
 
Little late on the silly season team chart but better than never

Indycar silly season team chart update as of February 5th

Penske (4)
# 2 Juan Pablo Montoya
# 3 Helio Castroneves
#1 Will Power
#22 Simon Pagenaud

Ganassi (3)
# 9 Scott Dixon
# 10 Tony Kanaan
# 83 Charlie Kimball

Andretti (3)
#25 Marco Andretti
#28 Ryan Hunter-Reay
#34 Carlos Munez

CFHR (2)
#20 – Ed Carpenter (ovals only) Luca Filippi (Road Courses)
#67 - Josef Newgarden

Foyt (2)
#14 Takuma Sato
#41 Jack Hawksworth

KV (1)
#11 Sebastien Bourdais

RLL (1)
#15 Graham Rahal

SPM (1)
#77 James Hinchcliffe

Bryan Herta Autosport (1)
#98 Gabby Chaves

Part Time -

Jonathan Byrd Racing (1) Indy only
#82 Bryan Clauson

Lazier Partners Racing (1) Indy only
#91 Buddy Lazier

Bryan Herta Autosport (1) Indy Only
#97 Jay Howard

Unconfirmed rides with speculation -

Ganassi 4 th car – Ryan Briscoe is out. Ganassi has Sage Karam under contract and they are hopeful he will drive in Indycar in 2015. Team personal has confirmed Ganassi will run 4 cars.

Andretti 4 th car – The team may be interested in Justin Wilson but Daniel Abt will get an off season test with the team, and Michael Andretti is said to have him high on his list of drivers to chose from. Zach Veach has now been called the front runner for the seat – per Marshall Pruett. Also Jean Eric-Verne was signed to drive there Formula E car as a possible trial run to see if they will hire him for the Indycar series. Simona de Silvestro may be a candidate for a part time ride an article from Racer.com stated on February 5th

Andretti 5 th car – May run 5 cars part time. 5 cars seems likely for Indy. Kurt Busch is still open to returning. Kevin Magnussen is also supposed to be considered driver for a part time role.

SPM 2 nd car – Mikhail Aleshin deal has fallen through and Schmidt is now searching for a new driver. Rocky Moran Jr. tested with the team. Davide Valsecchi, Stefano Coletti, and Rodolfo Gonzalez will all test in December for the team. Conor Daly is also set to test with the team.

AFS – The team ran last year with Saavedra as an alliance with KV Racing. It is believed the sponsorship follows Saavedra. He has been aggressively looking for a team but has been turned away via reports from Marshall Pruett.

KV 2 nd car – Jimmy Vasser has said he wants a 2 car team in 2015. Nelson Piquet Jr. has talked to the team following the news of a Brazil race return. Now that brazil is canceled that doesn't matter. I am sure having Bourdais as a team mate, would be incentive to a lot of drivers. Per Marshall Pruett, Justin Wilson, Conor Daly and Alexander Rossi are all being discussed as possible drivers.

CFHR 3 rd car – Team won't run the full season but it is highly likely to run an Indy only 3 rd car. Hildebrand missed out on the shared ride in the number 20 car but may be in play here.
Dale Coyne 1 st car – Justin Wilson will be looking for another ride, of course he will likely be welcomed back if he can't find one. Team doesn't make an announcement till right before the season starts but always runs two cars

Dale Coyne 2 nd car – Carlos Heurtas was reportedly scared to drive at Fontana so we don't know if that bodes well for his future in the series. Pretty much anyone interested in Indycar could be affiliated with the two Coyne cars.

RLL 2 nd car – Team would like to run a 2 nd car part time. Conor Daly and Sam Bird are being discussed as possible drivers. Vitor Meira has connections with this team.
DRR – Would love to return full time but once again they are having issues with sponsorship. Definitely wants to run Indy.

Fan Force United – Announced in June they would run full time in Indy Car in 2015 with Stefan Wilson who would drive the #5. The team has been completely silent since that announcement and no word on any sponsorship so don't expect to see them.
McCormack Racing – Announced intention of running the full Indy Lights season and the Indy 500 with Peter Dempsey.

Davey Hamilton Team – He is no longer in conjunction with Schmidt but is said to be close to forming an alliance with and existing team to either add a car to the grid or help keep and existing car on the grid.

Carlin Racing – New team from across the pond. Will enter Indy Lights and run the 2015 Indy 500 with hopes of going full time in 2016.

Drivers still hopeful of a ride with speculative destinations -

Sage Karam (Ganassi)
Justin Wilson (Coyne, Andretti, KV)
Daniel Abt (Andretti)
JR Hildebrand (CFHR)
Connor Daly (KV, RLL, Schmidt)
Carlos Heurtas (Coyne)
Nelson Piquet Jr (KV)
Rocky Moran Jr. (SPM)
Vitor Meira (RLL)
Sam Bird (RLL)
Alexander Rossi (KV, Coyne)
Jean Eric Verne (Andretti)
Zach Veach (Andretti)
Davide Valsecchi (SPM)
Stefano Coletti (SPM)
Rodolfo Gonzalez (SPM)
Pippa Mann (Susan G. Komen still interested in sponsoring a ride for the 2015 Indy 500)
Kevin Magnussen (Andretti)
Peter Dempsey (McCormack)
Sebastien Saavedra (KV/AFS)
Stefan Wilson (FFU)
Simona de Silvestro (Andretti, Coyne)
Martin Plowman (Talking to several teams)
James Jakes (Looking to return)
Dean Stoneman (Moving to possibly Indy Lights)
Charles Pic (Interested in Indycar)
Ryan Briscoe (?)
Daniel De Jong (Tested with herta lost out on ride)
Mikhail Aleshin (Out of Indycar due to sponsor issues)
 
Not sure what this means for Townsend Bell who I thought would have gotten a ride at Indy with KV
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Bell impressed me in the Indy 500. He ran well and was in a good position for the win.
 
KV wanted to hire Justin Wilson as a team mate to Bourdais but they need a pay driver. Stefano Coletti and James Jakes are both headed to NOLA to test for the team http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com/2015/02/09/indycar-coletti-jakes-en-route-to-new-orleans/

Also Scott Speed took a picture of himself getting fitted for an Andretti Car
http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.co...fit-in-preparation-for-possible-indycar-test/

Some speculation is he may be interested in running either Long Beach or Indy.
 
Be nice to see Speed back in an open wheel car and I think everyone hopes he has grown up from those STR days in F1 as this snobbish American guy. He did very well in GRC, but I really want Daly in that seat for Andretti.
 
wilson89 said:
KV wanted to hire Justin Wilson as a team mate to Bourdais but they need a pay driver. Stefano Coletti and James Jakes are both headed to NOLA to test for the team http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com/2015/02/09/indycar-coletti-jakes-en-route-to-new-orleans/

Also Scott Speed took a picture of himself getting fitted for an Andretti Car
http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.co...fit-in-preparation-for-possible-indycar-test/

Some speculation is he may be interested in running either Long Beach or Indy.
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Hopefully Coletti gets the KV seat. He's had some stellar results in GP2.
 
Kiante said:
Be nice to see Speed back in an open wheel car and I think everyone hopes he has grown up from those STR days in F1 as this snobbish American guy. He did very well in GRC, but I really want Daly in that seat for Andretti.
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Conor Daly is going to compete in the Raceto24 competition being put on by Team SARD-Morand. If Andretti doesn't work out for him hopefully he can earn this spot and boost his career prospects.

http://www.racer.com/wec-le-mans/item/113324-le-mans-reality-tv-contest-launched
 
Kiante said:
This said it all, I read it earlier. - https://twitter.com/ConorDaly22/status/567356179949449218

Jakes has always had money behind him, but let him continue to mediocre.
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Yeah, I'm not thrilled, the guy has had five Top 10s in like fifty races so far. It's not like DCR and RLL were great teams, but still...

Conor just needs to keep on trucking though. There's bound to be an opportunity somewhere at some point, especially with the way he connects to the fan base. I'm surprised he hasn't found enough funding yet.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Yeah, I'm not thrilled, the guy has had five Top 10s in like fifty races so far. It's not like DCR and RLL were great teams, but still...

Conor just needs to keep on trucking though. There's bound to be an opportunity somewhere at some point, especially with the way he connects to the fan base. I'm surprised he hasn't found enough funding yet.
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Yeah, I mean I sound pro-American, but I've watched both Rossi and Daly develop into fantastic drivers without funding. It was incredible to see Alexander test for Marussia and Caterham, but something will open for them. We all have to remember that a lot of these guys are getting up in age, but I hope either of them will get something. If not now 2016 when Haas F1 arrives, but it would have been a fan fav team with Hinch and Daly on the same team.
 
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"We are really excited to have Simona come on board with the team for St. Pete," added team owner Michael Andretti. "She will be a great fit for the team, and hopefully we'll be able to build on the program, eventually taking it from this race to future events and maybe even a full-season relationship. Fans should stay connected with the team to hear more about our potential future with Simona."
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http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/1...onfirms-de-silvestro-for-st-petersburg-opener
 
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