Indycar Silly Season

wilson89

wilson89

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Since the season is over I am making a thread to keep track of who is going where for 2013

Confirmed

Chevy
Andretti (3) - Marco, Hinch, and Ryan Hunter-Reay
Penske (2) - Helio, Power
KV Racing (1) - Tony Kanaan
Ed Carpenter Racing (1) - Ed Carpenter
Dragon Racing (1) - Katherine Legge
Panther/Dreyer and Reinbold (1) - JR Hildebrand

Honda
Ganassi (3) - Franchitti, Dixon, and Charlie Kimball
Fisher-Hartman Racing (1) - Josef Newgarden
Schmidt/Hamilton Racing (1) - Simon Pagenaud
Herta Autosport (1) - Tagliani
Foyt (1) - Chase Austin (Indy only ride)

?
HVM (1) - Simona de Silvestro


Unconfirmed/Rumors
Penske's 3rd car - Briscoe was told to look elsewhere. Plan A (Ryan Hunter Reay) failed and so did plan B (Simon Pagenaud).
Ganassi 4th car - Briscoe? Barrichello?
Dragon 2nd car - Bourdais is the front runner to return
Foyt only full time car - AJ Allmendinger has been discussd, possibly Sato or Wilson. Almost guaranted Conway wont return to the ride.
Rahal Lanigan Racing (1-3 possible cars) - Graham, Sato, Briscoe, Barrichello all discussed as possibilities.
Coyne Racing (2 cars) - Trying to re-sign both James Jakes and Justin Wilson. Likely wont get word on the team until close till the season starts.
Panther/Reinbold 2nd car - Trying to re-sign Oriol Servia, possibly an Indy Lights driver could move up if they bring cash.
AFS Racing - Saavadera looking to run Indy and a handfull of other races.
Team Viso - EJ Viso is trying to start his own team and he will likely drive for it himself.
Highcroft - Wants to run Indy with Scott Sharp possibly.
Michael Shank Racing - Was prepared to run in 2012 but neither Chevey or Honda would take on an extra team. Likely wont run in 2013 unless they can sign a driver like Allmendinger or Paul Tracy.
Newman-Haas - Said they were going to try and make a comeback in 2013 nothing has been said since.
 
A few updates.

Simona de Silvestro has left HVM racing and joined KV Racing. Both Viso and Barrichello are left looking else wear.

Jay Penske's Dragon Racing has confirmed Bourdais will return to drive there 2nd full time car.

Graham Rahal is expected to be introduced as the driver for Bobby Rahal's team. Sato is out of a ride as of now due to this.
 
wilson89 said:
Graham Rahal is expected to be introduced as the driver for Bobby Rahal's team. Sato is out of a ride as of now due to this.
Click to expand...

I thought Rahal was going to try to run a 2-car team with Graham and Sato? I guess it depends on sponsorship.
 
KevinWI said:
I thought Rahal was going to try to run a 2-car team with Graham and Sato? I guess it depends on sponsorship.
Click to expand...

Bobby Rahal would like a car team but sponsorhsip is a big issue. A number of teams said they are interestead in adding an extra car to their teams but unfortunately it all depends on money and sponsorship. Sato I think may have some kind of contract with Honda to continue to drive for them but I am not positive about that.
 
Update from December 6th

Justin Wilson has agreed to re-sign with Dale Coyne racing to drive the #18 for 2013 again
Panther/Dreyer and Reinbold have announced Oriol Servia will return to pilot the #22 car
Carlos Munoz a 2012 Indy Lights driver will compete in the Indy 500 for Andretti's team
Takuma Sato has signed with AJ Foyt to drive the #14 next season.

Here is how the 2013 field stands as of December 6th 2012 -

Chevy (12)
Andretti (3) - Marco, Hinch, and Ryan Hunter-Reay
Penske (2) - Helio, Power
KV Racing (2) - Tony Kanaan and Simona de Silvestro
Dragon Racing (2) - Katherine Legge and Sebastien Bourdais
Panther/Dreyer and Reinbold (2) - JR Hildebrand and Oriol Servia
Ed Carpenter Racing (1) - Ed Carpenter

Honda (9)
Ganassi (3) - Franchitti, Dixon, and Charlie Kimball
Rahal Letterman Lanigan (1) - Graham Rahal
Dale Coyne Racing (1) - Justin Wilson
Fisher-Hartman Racing (1) - Josef Newgarden
Schmidt/Hamilton Racing (1) - Simon Pagenaud
Herta Autosport (1) - Tagliani
Foyt (1) - Sato

Indy 500 One off's
Andretti (1) Carlos Munoz
AJ Foyt (1) Chase Austin

News and Rumors as of early December -
Teams
- Bobby Rahal has the money to run a second car in 2013 but his presumptive drive (Sato) signed with Foyt. As of now all signs point to Briscoe
- AJ Foyts team is close to securing funds for a second full time car, with a high chance of multiple drivers sharing the seat. Indy Lights stand out Conor Daly (son of Derek Daly) will test next week for Foyt.
- Schmidt/Hamilton Racing is testing Indy Lights champ Tristan Vautier next week in hopes that a deal can be made for him to run a second car for the team next year.
- HVM may be out of the series. The lone Lotus team at the end of the year not only lost their engine but driver Simona de Silvestro and sponsor to KV.
- Conquest Racing has had sources saying Chevy will supply the team with engines next year, but it remains to be seen if Ana Beatriz or another driver can bring enough money to run.
- Michael Shank Racing supposedly had Paul Tracy and Jay Howard signed last year but could not finalize an engine deal. This year the team has remained silent.
- AFS Racing has a chevy engine and will atleast run Indy.
- Penske 3rd team seems to be gone
- Chip Ganassi's 4th team seems to be in jepordy of being gone, still a small chance for a 4th car.
Drivers -
- Mike Conway has gone to Europe to pursue other forms of racing and it looks highly unlikely he will return in 2013.
- EJ Viso is trying hard to start his own team. Trying to form an alliance with Schmidt/Hamilton and Bryan Herta's team to keep himself in the series next year.
- Gustavo Yacaman the Indy Lights driver seems to be the only driver still with a possibility to drive Ganassi's 4th car.
- Wade Cunningham is still in contact with Foyt to share Foyts 2nd full time ride.
- Rubens Barrichello had talks with several teams but he seems to not have sponsor backing he originally thought.
- Michel Jourdain Jr. still talking with Rahal about running Indy.
 
wilson89 said:
A few updates.

Simona de Silvestro has left HVM racing and joined KV Racing. Both Viso and Barrichello are left looking else wear.

Jay Penske's Dragon Racing has confirmed Bourdais will return to drive there 2nd full time car.

Graham Rahal is expected to be introduced as the driver for Bobby Rahal's team. Sato is out of a ride as of now due to this.
Click to expand...
I am happy to see Bobby Rahal back in IndyCar with a full time team! I think this is a win win situation for both!
 
The Sato/Foyt deal was finally made official.

And interestingly, there are no full time rookies in the field at this point, and there probably won't be any if Vautier doesn't sign with Schmidt.
 
Jameswnh said:
The Sato/Foyt deal was finally made official.

And interestingly, there are no full time rookies in the field at this point, and there probably won't be any if Vautier doesn't sign with Schmidt.
Click to expand...

I guess you could say the good thing is that means there is more stability now and that the same drivers are still there.

But the bad thing is, they do have some good drives in Indylights and The Star Mazda series that will likely go elsewhere if they are not advanceing through the ranks.
 
Does anyone know if Pippa Mann has a ride for this year? I met her at the Indy 500 practice last year and she was pretty cool. At that time she was looking for a ride.
 
I guess I will do a monthly Indycar series report now. Nothing offical has been signed since last month. We are still stuck at 21 cars and I am slightly less enthusiastic about that number than last month, but I expect some more confirmations on the horizon.

Here is the teams still in play
- Penske's 3rd team - They applied for the Leaders Circle program to get money for a full season funded ride. Ryan Briscoe and AJ Allmendinger are the only two names I even hear connected to Penske.
- Andretti Autosports 4th car - Michael said the team is really close to announcing a 4th full time car and driver. No idea if this car is run in partnership with AFS Racing or Conquest.
- Ganassi 4th car - Expected to make an announcement in the next couple weeks. Team could possibly be gone though.
- HVM - This is the team Simona left, they were unsure about returning but according to Speednews they are veyr close on announcing a full season driver.
- Dale Coyne 2nd car - Coyne is looking for a ride buyer to help him with fielding Wilson. Think James Jakes or EJ Viso will likely get this ride.
- AJ Foyts 2nd team - They are still scrambling to put a deal together and its not looking quite as promising now.
- Sam Schmidt 2nd car - EJ Viso was trying to get some kind of co-owner alliance with this team and that doesnt seem to be happening now. Tristan Vautier last years Indy Lights champion is scrambling hard to get this seat but doesn't have the funds.
- Dragon Racings 3rd car - This isn't a likely team but it is a possibility if Viso can't put something together with Schmidt or Dale Coyne.
- Michael Shank Racing - Has a Dallara with no engine contract. Likely wont be in the series again in 2013, maybe an Indy 500 one off.

Drivers with a possibility still
- Ryan Briscoe - He still seems to be the top free agent but he has said recently his future is starting to look bright, so a possible deal could be in the works.
- Ana Beatriz - Ran with Conquest part time last season, if they allign with Andretti she could be the driver.
- Sebastian Saavedra - Ran with AFS last year part time and is the persumptive driver if they allign with Andretti
- EJ Viso - Is trying to co-own his own ride, he has talked with almost every team but so far no deal.
- James Jakes - Has the family money from Acorn Stairlifts which he is trying to buy his ride back with Dale Coyne.
- AJ Allmendinger - His name is still bouncing around, either Penske's 3rd car or Michael Shanks car would be his destination.
- Gustavo Yacaman - Has a very slim chance of finding a ride but there is a little rumbling that this Indy Lights driver could be the one to sign with HVM.
- Tristan Vautier - He is scrambling hard to get a ride for Sam Schmidts team.
- Conor Daly - Tested for Foyt but I don't see him bringing money.

Drivers looking to run Indy
- Chase Austin - There is news that Foyt may not honor his deal with him, following several people questioning his experience to run the Indy 500.
- Wade Cunningham - Told SpeedNews that he talked to Foyt about his second team but fell way short on money, although he feels he has enough for an Indy 500 one off.
- Michel Jourdain Jr. - Was in contact with Rahal's team for the 500 but haven't heard anything in a couple months.
- Esteban Guerrieri - Is in talks to run the 500 with a couple teams.
- Alex Lloyd - Has tried to contact Coyne, Rahal and Schmidt about a 500 ride.
- Pippa Mann - Has talked to a few small teams but nothing note worthy.
- James Rossiter - Been trying to get a ride with KV Racing the last few years, he has an outside chance at running the Indy 500.

Drivers without any news this offseason who may be out of the series
- Tomas Scheckter - Didnt run a race in 2012 his Indycar career is in jeopardy
- Roger Yasukawa - Has been running Indy and Japan but did not race at all in 2012, his career is likely over.
- Townsend Bell - Ran Indy last year has signed on with NBC Sports Network to be a pit lane announcer.
- Rubens Barrichello - Will drive Brazilian stock cars he is offically done with the series.
- Bryan Clauson - Was given a chance to run the 500 with Sarah Fisher last year but he doesn't have the money to run in this series.
- Buddy Rice - former Indy 500 winner did not run a single race in 2012 and there is no word on him returning this season.
- Vitor Meria - Left Foyt before last season, he wanted to run the 500 but couldnt. He is likely done with Indycars.
- Bruno Junqueira - Has been kind of humiliated by being replaced in the Indy 500 a few times. He did drive at Baltimore last season for the injured Sebastien Bourdais. But noting for 2013

Paul Tracy and Davey Hamilton both say that they are retired Indycar drivers so do not expect to see them return as well.
 
wilson89 said:
- HVM - This is the team Simona left, they were unsure about returning but according to Speednews they are veyr close on announcing a full season driver.
Click to expand...

Keith Wiggins is indicating that if he's coming back to IndyCar, it will involve some kind of partnership.

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-hvm-closing-in-on-indycar-return/P1

“I would say we are having discussions with a couple of different entities on projects in IndyCar,” said Wiggins. “I think it’s fair to say we’ll have an [IndyCar] entry and we are working with a couple of groups talking about doing IndyCar, and it could take a couple of different forms. We’re not sure what it will be yet.”

HVM has been linked with running a few different drivers I know of—two of whom are interested in an ownership stake—and another who could be farmed out to Wiggins’ team as part of a complex satellite program with a current IndyCar entrant.
Click to expand...

"two of whom are interested in an ownership stake..." Pretty clearly pointing to Viso if you ask me.
 
Vautier was last years Indy Lights champion, it is good to see the second straight year the champ get a ride in the Indycar series.

Also another interesting tid-bit http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-hamilton-evaluating-next-ownership-steps/ . Davey Hamilton and his HP sponsorship is not with Schmidt and he is looking for a new alliance. Any team Hamilton brings his HP alliance to will have a good shot at adding another car to the grid this season.
 
wilson89 said:
At least she isn't stuck this year driving the crappy Lotus engines
Click to expand...
Zerkfitting said:
I think she can do it, she did well with the oldest car in the series her rookie season.
Click to expand...

She can get it done on the street courses. I'm glad she doesn't drive a Lotus anymore. I wouldn't be surprised at all if she challenged for the win at Baltimore or Brazil.
 
Revised grid as of February 8th

Chevy (12)
Andretti (4) - Marco, Hinch, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Viso
Penske (2) - Helio, Power
KV Racing (2) - Tony Kanaan and Simona de Silvestro
Dragon Racing (1) - Sebastien Bourdais
Panther/Dreyer and Reinbold (2) - JR Hildebrand and Oriol Servia
Ed Carpenter Racing (1) - Ed Carpenter

Honda (11)
Ganassi (3) - Franchitti, Dixon, and Charlie Kimball
Rahal Letterman Lanigan (2) - Graham Rahal and James Jakes
Schmidt/Hamilton Racing (2) - Simon Pagenaud and Tristan Vautier
Dale Coyne Racing (1) - Justin Wilson
Fisher-Hartman Racing (1) - Josef Newgarden
Herta Autosport (1) - Tagliani
Foyt (1) - Sato

Still to be confirmed is Dale Coynes 2nd car which he is already commited to running. And Dragon Racing's 2nd car. Katherine Legge's contract seems to have hit a snag somewhere, they are still trying to sign her but are in talks with a couple other drivers. When these two teams are settled, that will put the grid at 13 chevy's and 12 honda's for 25 full time rides. AJ Foyt still has a slight chance at adding a second full time car to even Honda up with Chevy.

Part time rides confirmed
Andretti 5th car - Carlos Munoz Will run Indy
Rahal Letterman Lanigan 3rd car - Mike Conway will run Long Beach and maybe a few other road courses late in the season.
AJ Foyt 2nd/3rd car - Foyt has said he is expecting 3 cars in the 500 this season.
Penske 3rd car - Has a commitment to run a 3rd car in 4 events this season. AJ Allmendinger is the leading candidate to get this ride.
 
It's awesome to hear that Penske is giving AJ a shot in Indy. I hope to see him back full time in NASCAR some day!
 
Dragon racing has signed Sebastian Saavedra to drive their second car full time. Kathern Legge has been given the boot, and her sponsor Truecar that was trying to get behind a female driver has ditched her and will stay on the car for Saavedra.

Legge is likely headed back to Europe and done with the Indycar Series after this.
 
Pretty jacked up the way Katherine got dealt with, it's a shame because I'm sure the girl can drive given the right equipment but no one seems to want to give her the time of day.
 
Grid as of March 11th

Ok we are less than two weeks away from the opening race. It appears there will be 25 full time teams here is who they are.

Chevy(13 cars)
Andretti (4) - Marco, Hinch, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Viso
Penske (2) - Helio, Power
KV Racing (2) - Tony Kanaan and Simona de Silvestro
Dragon Racing (2) - Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastian Saavedra
Panther/Dreyer and Reinbold (2) - JR Hildebrand and Oriol Servia
Ed Carpenter Racing (1) - Ed Carpenter

Honda(12 cars)
Ganassi (3) - Franchitti, Dixon, and Charlie Kimball
Rahal Letterman Lanigan (2) - Graham Rahal and James Jakes
Schmidt/Hamilton Racing (2) - Simon Pagenaud and Tristan Vautier
Dale Coyne Racing (2) - Justin Wilson and Ana Beatriz (Ana yet to be announced)
Fisher-Hartman Racing (1) - Josef Newgarden
Herta Autosport (1) - Tagliani
Foyt (1) - Sato

Part timers confirmed
Rahal Letterman Lanigan - Mike Conway (Long Beach) - Honda -
Penske - AJ Allmendinger (Barber and Indy) - Chevy -
Andretti - Carlos Munoz (Indy) - Chevy -

With the full time rides filled we look a couple months ahead to may and how we will get to 33 full time cars. With the 25 season regulars and Allmendinger and Munoz confirmed for Indy we currently have 27 offical entrys. Here is other potential rides and drivers that can play a factor.

28. AJ Foyt 2nd car - Conor Daly, Alex Llyod and Bertrand Bagutte all have been rumored to Foyt for the 500
29. AJ Foyt 3rd car - Conor Daly, Alex Llyod and Bertrand Bagutte all have been rumored to Foyt for the 500
30. Chip Ganassi 4th car - With Rahal gone the 4th car is open, Ryan Briscoe is rumored as a possibility
31. Panther/DR&R 3rd car - Buddy Rice is rumored as every year for this ride.
32. Rahal Letterman Lanigan - There running an extra car at Long Beach so an extra car for the 500 is almost certain.
33. Sarah Fisher Hartman 2nd car - Bryan Clauson, Jay Howard and Thomas Schekter are all rumored here
34. Schmidt/Hamilton Racing 3rd car - Townsend Bell is close to signing a contract and Esteban Guerrieri is in negotiations to fill out a 4 car team for Indy.
35. Schmidt/Hamilton Racing 4rd car - Townsend Bell is close to signing a contract and Esteban Guerrieri is in negotiations to fill out a 4 car team for Indy.
36. Ed Carpenter Racing 2nd Car - Bryan Clauson and Carpenter are searchign for money to run this car.
37. KV 3rd car - Rubens left this team and there is rumors of Bruno Senna running this car at Brazil, as for Indy no word.
38. Bryan Herta Racing 2nd car - Made an offer to Ryan Briscoe for Indy
39 . AFS Racing - Owns a car but has no engine deal
40. Fan Force Untied - No Info if they will come back this year
41. HVM 2nd car - They run a partnerhsip with Andretti now so it will be hard to get Andretti to commit to a 6th Team even if its part of HVM.
42. Michael Shank Indy - Sold his engine to Schmidt but is still around tyring to make something happen for the 500. Jay Howard or Martin Plowman would be the persumptive driver.
43. Dragon 3rd car - Only wants to run if Briscoe is the driver.

Drivers still searching for Indy 500 ride
Conor Daly (See entrys 28-29)
Alex Llyod (See entrys 28-29)
Bertrand Bagutte (See entrys 28-29).
Ryan Briscoe (See entrys 30, 38 and 43)
Buddy Rice (See entry 31)
Bryan Clauson (See entrys 33 and 36)
Jay Howard (See entrys 33 and 42)
Thomas Schekter (See entry 33)
Townsend Bell (See entry 34/35)
Esteban Guerrieri (See entry 34/35)
Martin Plowman (See entry 42)
Wade Cunningham - ?
Pippa Mann - ?
Bruno Junqueira - ?
Gustavo Yacaman - ?
Jaques Lazier - ?

Former Indycar drivers you wont see
Davey Hamilton - Retired/Owner
Paul Tracy - Retired/ Is now the Indycar announcer in Canada
Rubens Barrichello - Gone to race Brazilian stock cars
Chase Austin - Originally announced to drive the Indy 500 for AJ Foyt, his crudentals were questioned and the driver even admitted to fear at Indy.
Michel Jourdain Jr. - Will also be racing Brazilian Stock cars
Vitor Meria - Driving Brazilian Stock cars
Roger Yasukawa - Commited to some race in Europe the same weekend as qualifying.
 
I second Zerk's thanks, Wilson. I know test session results should be taken with a grain of salt, especially for the top teams, but it is cool to see the mix of teams at the top of the timing and scoring list after Barber. Looks like it could be a good year after all, in spite of the post season crap emanating from 16th and Georgetown.
http://media.indycar.com/pdf/2013/indycar-results-pcomb.pdf

btw, cudos on your avatar. The favorite thing about my current pic is that those are DW's donuts in the background at Chicagoland after he won the race there in 2005.
 
That's good news about Daly. He was really good in GP3 last year. Indy would be lucky to get him before F1 does, and I've always liked Derek, both as a driver and analyst.

Hopefully A.J. has mellowed and won't bully him like he did with Robby Gordon and Tony Stewart, although those guys' temperament may have had something to do with it.
 
I'm glad to see Nicole's husband back in the 500, too. One of my favorite memories of him at Indy was a few years ago when he spun Princess Sparkle Pony in the pits, prompting her to storm down pit lane after they both got back to their pits, and Roger telling Ryan "put your visor down, put your visor down..." (btw, I'm a Danica fan, but it's just fun to say. I'll deny that I did to her face).

rpm_g_dpatrick_wreck_580.jpg
 
wilson89 said:
Correction on Michel Jourdain Jr. he was only doing one Brazilian stock car race and it looks like he will in fact be doing the Indy 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing http://www.indystar.com/article/20130423/SPORTS0107/304230033/Jourdain-lands-Indy-500-ride
Click to expand...
Bump target. Or maybe someone else who'll put their car in the race for Alex Tagliani to buy out from under him. Regardless, it'll be nice to see 'Michael Jordan' in the race again, a former Walter Payton/Dale Coyne team driver.
 
Looking forward to your update, Wilson. We'll probably go to Pole Day again this year. My better half has been making noise about wanting to go to the race, but I'm reluctant to get gouged on a room and everything else. Besides, that's probably the best race watching day of the year, with Monaco, Indy, and 600 miles of moonshine delivery competition to enjoy with all the comforts within easy reach.
 
Here is the confirmed driver teams so far for next months Indy 500


Chevy(15 cars)​
Andretti (5) - Marco, Hinch, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Viso and Carlos MunozPenske (3) - Helio, Power and AJ AllmendingerKV Racing (2) - Tony Kanaan and Simona de SilvestroDragon Racing (2) - Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastian SaavedraPanther/Dreyer and Reinbold (2) - JR Hildebrand and Oriol ServiaEd Carpenter Racing (1) - Ed Carpenter ​
​
Honda(15 cars)​
Ganassi (4) - Franchitti, Dixon, Charlie Kimball and Ryan BriscoeRahal Letterman Lanigan (3) - Graham Rahal, James Jakes and Michel Jourdain Jr.Schmidt/Hamilton Racing (2) - Simon Pagenaud and Tristan VautierDale Coyne Racing (2) - Justin Wilson and Ana Beatriz (Ana yet to be announced)​
Fisher-Hartman Racing (1) - Josef Newgarden​
Herta Autosport (1) - Tagliani​
Foyt (2) - Sato and Conor Daly​
​
We currently sit at 30 confirmed teams for next months Indy 500. The following teams are still possible for the Indy 500​
​
31. Lazier Brothers car 1 – Buddy and Jaques Lazier are both back and have purchased the Indy 500 car ran last year by Jean Alesi and Fan Force United.​
​
32. Lazier Brothers car 2 – Word is Buddy Lazier is all but confirmed for car #1, but car #2 they are trying to purchase another teams backup car prior to May for Jacque to run. That may be hard due to the fact that the series will be racing about 4 times in 6 weeks following Indy. Lazier brothers both carry a lot of money though so, it wont be for lack of financial backing.​
​
33. AJ Foyt Racing car #3 – Still Talking with Alex Lloyd about this ride and they are said to be very close to finalizing a deal.​
​
34. Panther/DR&R car #3 – Still Talking to Buddy Rice but they have ran into the same problem they have the past few years, lack of sponsorship. This 3rd car could be sold to the Lazier brothers to field their second team if a deal isn't reached soon.​
​
35. Dale Coyne car #3 – They are talking with Pippa Mann and have said recently they feel about 80% sure they can get this car and driver combo together for May.​
​
36. Schmidt/Hamilton car #3 – Both Jay Howard and Townsend Bell are in talks with this ride. Originally Schmidt was trying to run 4 cars at Indy but he will only be running a 3rd car do to sponsorship difficulty's.​
​
37. Ed Carpenter car #2 – Bryan Clauson could not bring anything financially to the table. Townsend Bell has began talks with the team in the past week, just in case Schmidt/Hamilton's car goes to Jay Howard.​
​
38. Sarah Fisher Racing car #2 – Talks with Clauson broke off here as well. Jay Howard has shifted his focus to Schmidt/Hamilton's ride. Thomas Schekter is still talking to the team but they said a deal with Schekter is under 50%.​
​
39. Bryan Herta Racing car #2 – Herta made an offer to Briscoe but Briscoe got a better ride with Ganassi. Herta did listen to some drivers pleas, including Esteban Guerrieri and Wade Cunningham but it is not looking good.​
​
Rides that I previously mentioned that are gone​
​
Schmidt/Hamilton's car #4 – Just not enough resources or sponsorship opportunities to make this ride happen.​
​
KV car #3 – Jimmy Vasser said the week of Long Beach they are turning away drivers looking for an Indy 500 ride. They don't have the money to hire another crew and sponsorship is scarce.​
​
Michael Shank – Sold his engine, talked a couple months ago about bringing Jay Howard or Martin Plowman into play but have not heard anything since the season started. Got to assume its a no go.​
​
HVM car #2 – Weird story I heard last week HVM who is partnered with Andretti Racing brought John Andretti in to talk about getting a family discount but Michael refused and told them adding a 6th car under the Andretti banner would spread resources to thin.​
Fan Force United – Sold their car from last year to the Lazier brothers so atleast one of them will get a ride.​
​
AFS Racing – Have a car and did run a couple races last year. Robin Miller said he drove by their Indycar shop about a month ago and seen weeds up to the windows. They laid off all there crew members over the winter so nothing is happening there.​
​
Dragon Car #3 – This was offered to Briscoe but he chose Ganassi. After what happened between Jay Penske and Katherine Legg it makes you wonder if they even had any resources for a 3rd car to run Briscoe.​
​
Drivers still in the mix for a seat -​
​
Buddy Lazier (see ride #31)​
Jaques Lazier (see ride #32)​
Alex Lloyd (see ride #33)​
Buddy Rice (see ride #34)​
Pippa Mann (see ride #35)​
Jay Howard (see ride #36)​
Townsend Bell (see ride #36, #37)​
Thomas Schekter (see ride #38)​
Esteban Guerrieri (see ride #39)​
Wade Cunningham (see ride #39)​
​
Drivers no longer involved in any discussions​
​
Bryan Clauson​
Bertrand Bagutte​
Martin Plowman​
Gustavo Yacaman​
Bruno Junqueira​

I will have one more update following Brazil weekend before everything gets under way​
 
Good stuff, Wilson. Didn't Alesi have a Lotus engine last year?

Sorry to see Shank Racing won't make it again, they deserve a chance.
 
SuperTex14 said:
Didn't Alesi have a Lotus engine last year?
Click to expand...

Correct. The Lazier's are talking to both Honda and Chevy about 2 engines for the 500, and they should know which engine they are going to use within the next couple weeks. Also I heard earlier Dallara finished building two new chasis for the 500. Jacque Lazier is purchasing one and the second chasis Dale Coyne is set to buy for Pippa Mann to run Indy in it.
 
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