IndyCar Silly Season Thread

[nic.v814]

I hope Will can keep it together on the ovals this year if hes driving for penske. He really has to prove himself if he wants to stick around

[DanicaFan]

Originally Posted by nic.v814

I hope Will can keep it together on the ovals this year if hes driving for penske. He really has to prove himself if he wants to stick around

Yeah, Will had some bad luck last year. I like Will but Im hoping Helio comes back for this year. It would be nice to see Will land a ride elsewhere if Helio does come back.

[D.R.T.]

Surely the Power deal is for all of 09. Penske isnt going to drop Power mid way throughout the season because Helio returns. No matter which way the court case turns out, I dont see Helio in an Indycar this season (disclaimer, excluding Indy or Chicagoland)

[DanicaFan]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

Surely the Power deal is for all of 09. Penske isnt going to drop Power mid way throughout the season because Helio returns. No matter which way the court case turns out, I dont see Helio in an Indycar this season (disclaimer, excluding Indy or Chicagoland)

No, Penske has made it clear that if Helio comes back, Will is out of the car and Helio is back in it.

[awrb]

Who knows, if Will has a great start to the year, maybe Helio will be in a third car? Or is that just wishful thinking?

[Alwaysfirst]

The only time I can see Penske running 3 is at Indy if Helio just happens to be able to come back during May. There are still a lot of unknowns going into next season, most of them involving funding it has to be said...

Just a quick update on entries, not including Indy entries, confirmed drivers in bold)...

Penske (2, tiny possibility of 3) Briscoe, Power, Castroneves maybe?
Ganassi (2) Dixon, Franchitti
Andretti-Green (4, possibly a limited schedule for 5) Kanaan, Patrick, M. Andretti, Mutoh, Montagny possible at some rounds?
Newman/Haas/Lanigan (2, possibly 3) Rahal, Doornbos (still not oficially confirmed), Bourdais?
Vision (1, possibly 2) Carpenter, Foyt IV or Wilson or Herta or J. Andretti or ?
Panther (1, tiny possibility of 2) Wheldon, Davidson or Wilson or Conway or Pantano or Batistini or ?
KV Racing (2, rumours of 3 if funding is found) Moraes, Servia and/or Tracy or Wilson or Hunter-Reay?
Luczo Dragon (1, possibly 2 if Castroneves returns) Matos, Power may be placed here by Penske should Helio return as it is being run by his son?
Foyt (1) Meira
Dreyer & Reinbold (2) Duno, Bell or Rice or Pantano or ?
Coyne (1, possibly 2) Junqueira? Scheckter or Wilson or Dominguez or ridebuyer?
HVM (1, possibly 2) Viso, Wilson or Hunter-Reay or Dominguez or ?
Conquest (1, maybe 2) Tagliani, Camara or Philippe (should he not run his own team) or Dominguez or a ridebuyer?
3G (1) Barrett
Rahal-Letterman (possibly 1) Hunter-Reay or Wilson or Lloyd or Manning or ?
PCM/Rubicon (1 likely) Wilson or Hunter-Reay or Pantano or Manning or ?
Fisher (1 at at least 4 rounds) Sarah Fisher
Team France (possibly 2) N. Philippe, R. Philippe

[Tim Northcutt]

Curt Cavin wrote a piece about the status of KV and Tracy trying to hook up...

http://www.indystar.com/article/2009...217/SPORTS0107

They both would like to make something happen, but it doesn't sound very promising at the moment...

[icemachine]

http://blogs.indystar.com/racingexpe...gy_and_ca.html

Confirmed (16): Two from Penske, four from AGR, two from Ganassi, one from Foyt, one from Vision, one from Panther, one from Luczo Dragon, one from HVM, one from Newman/Haas/Lanigan, one from KV and one from 3G.

Expecting (3): One from D&R, one from Conquest, one from Dale Coyne.

Still to hear from (11-13): One more from D&R, one from Rahal, one more from KV, one more from Vision, one more from Conquest, one more from Coyne, one or two more from NHL, one or two from the Roth equipment, one from Rubicon/PCM, maybe Walker and the rest of the season from Sarah Fisher.

My guess for the three pre-Indy races: 24 cars.

I think Cavin is optimistic expecting 50% of unannounced rides to appear, I'd guess 20-22 leading up to Indy, and perhaps some attrition after that

[Down F0rce]

Mike Conway confirmed for D&R.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/72911

[Alex K]

Yey, and that's THE news!! Won't be surprised if he's the best of British in ICS 2009.

[Flyin Ryan]

Originally Posted by Alex K

Yey, and that's THE news!! Won't be surprised if he's the best of British in ICS 2009.

The Hell he'll be. He's a ride buyer.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by Flyin Ryan

The Hell he'll be. He's a ride buyer.

Teams are doing deals with anyone that is breathing and has a checkbook right now just to keep the doors open.

[Knowlesy]

A shock move, but Mike is dripping with charisma and his affable nature will be a breath of fresh air to the series.

[Alwaysfirst]

He may be a ride buyer but he's a British F3 & Macau champion & he won a race with Trident in GP2 at Monaco...which last time I checked was a tight street track. What do they have a fair few of in IRL. Yep, street tracks. He was also very very fast in his Panther test at Sonoma last year. I'd be surprised if it takes him too long to pick up on the ovals. It's just a shame that his likely teammate will be Milka Duno. Not the greatest driver to get setup hints & help on the ovals etc from. I still think that he could surprise a lot of people though.

[DanicaFan]

As for the Dreyer & Reinbold hiring, what are they thinking ???

Mike Conway who ?? I see nothing but a field filler and a backmarker with this guy. There are better drivers out there to pick up with more experience. And if I was Buddy or Townsend, I would leave the organization too, if they still considered Milka, who is horrible, and signed another driver out of the organization ahead of me,I would be gone. It's an insult to them I feel.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by DanicaFan

As for the Dreyer & Reinbold hiring, what are they thinking ???

Mike Conway who ?? I see nothing but a field filler and a backmarker with this guy. There are better drivers out there to pick up with more experience. And if I was Buddy or Townsend, I would leave the organization too, if they still considered Milka, who is horrible, and signed another driver out of the organization ahead of me,I would be gone. It's an insult to them I feel.

In this economic climate in order for teams to keep their doors open they'll have to take a lot of guys that have a check they can cash. It's just the way it is. Drivers that haven't stayed active in the sponsorship market or wont do the hard yards to help find a sponsor are going to be walking the unemployment line. The plethora of opportunities across motorsport in recent years to be a driver and turn up with the helmet and get paid are much less now.

[climb]

Originally Posted by DanicaFan

As for the Dreyer & Reinbold hiring, what are they thinking ???

Mike Conway who ?? I see nothing but a field filler and a backmarker with this guy. ....

You are not very well informed mate; Conway is an excellent driver; let him some time to get started then he'll do well.

[climb]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

In this economic climate in order for teams to keep their doors open they'll have to take a lot of guys that have a check they can cash. It's just the way it is. Drivers that haven't stayed active in the sponsorship market or wont do the hard yards to help find a sponsor are going to be walking the unemployment line. The plethora of opportunities across motorsport in recent years to be a driver and turn up with the helmet and get paid are much less now.

For once I agree with ms.

To get a paid seat you must do great things, nowadays, and neither Rice nor Bell have done it recently.

[DanicaFan]

Originally Posted by climb

You are not very well informed mate; Conway is an excellent driver; let him some time to get started then he'll do well.

He didnt fare out all that well in GP2 and was only a test driver for Honda F1.

[gomick]

didnt set the world on fire in gp2 but did get a race win in monaco & he is an f3 & formula renault champion - give him a go...

where does mike get his cha-ching from - not used to british drivers having money...

[F3L]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

A shock move, but Mike is dripping with charisma and his affable nature will be a breath of fresh air to the series.

Tongue in cheek I see.

I was just thinking that the series needs a character or two like PT and along comes PC. Is he any good ? His Dad is one of the contractors building the UK Olympic village etc so has the dosh although reckon D&R would be at nearer $4m for a season.

Doubt the US public will know who he is in a year let alone care. Sorry but you cannot build a series out of nobodies like this.

[BootsOntheSide]

That's what Dixon, Kanaan, Marco, Danica, Dario, Wheldon et al are there for. Other than Marco and Danica they were all unknowns once. Mike may be buying his ride, but he comes in with a stronger CV than a lot of debutants in recent years. Comparing him to Rice and Bell is irrelevent - they don't have funding, and only a handful of drivers will get fully-funded rides this year, most of them with far better CVs than them.

[Mystery]

Originally Posted by DanicaFan

He....was only a test driver for Honda F1.

Which reminds me - what did happen to Danica's test.

Conway's performance at Sonoma in testing, obviously along with his wallet presumably, pretty much guaranteed a ride. Reserving judgement until I see him but will probably threaten on the streets.

[Knowlesy]

Conway is a decent driver, it can't be denied. Well worth a punt.

[awrb]

Originally Posted by DanicaFan

He... was only a test driver for Honda F1.

Which proves he does have talent then. Honda pay Button LOADS, and like him, so they only had one available seat. When you consider a very experianced Barrichello, with Ferrari info, Sato, for publicity, and Davidson who had been with the team for a while and always looked at least a quick as Button, Conway was never going to get a race seat anytime soon. The fact Honda had him as test driver means he must be quick.

I think he'll do a good job this year. He'll be great on road and street courses, and he'll learn the ovals quickly.