News out of the IndyCar Series tonight, as reported by Robin Miller of SpeedTV a month ago is that Tony George has resigned his position of chief executive officer of Hulman & Co. and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He will remain on the board of the family’s organization. He will be replaced by Curt Brighton and Jeff Belskus. George became president of IMS in 1990 at the young age of 30.
George has often been sighted for the decline of open wheel racing and the sport endured a nasty political spilt in 1996 with the creation of the Indy Racing League. He has transformed the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the SAFER barrier, now commonly used in all types of racing, and also brought NASCAR, F1and just recently the MotoGP.
It remains to be seen what type of role George will play in the family business. Rumors have been circulating throughout the last month that the Hulman family would like Tony to focus on the IndyCar Series and his four year old race team Vision Racing.
The IndyCar Series completed their eighth race of the season at Richmond International Speedway on Saturday Night. Scott Dixon took home his third win of the season and moved to second in the point standings. Scott also tied Sam Hornish Jr. record of 19 career victories in the IndyCar series. Rounding out the top five were his teammate Dario Franchitti, Graham Rahal, Hideki Mutoh and Danica Patrick. IndyCarGarage breaks down five race reactions from the SunTrust Indy Challenge.
1. We have a new point’s leader
Dario Franchitti is now the new series point’s leader with his runner up finish behind his teammate. Dixon is a close second, trailing only by a point. The Team Penske cars are third and fourth with Ryan Briscoe dropping from first to third and Helio Castroneves fourth. Andretti Green Star Danica Patrick is now fifth, but is now 60 points behind the leader. The oval racing this season has been lukewarm at best this season, but the point’s championship is very exciting to follow through each race. Let’s hope the IndyCar Series has the passing problem figured out by August 1st at Kentucky. 2. The IndyCar Series needs the lucky dog format that NASCAR uses
Five drivers finished on the lead lap in Saturdays SunTrust Indy Challenge. Throughout the course of the race several of the leaders had to make green flag pit stops and caused them to go a lap down. In order to help the drivers get back on the lead lap and spice up the race, the IndyCar series needs to adapt some sort of lucky dog format that NASCAR uses. I won’t call it the lucky dog as NASCAR does, maybe the comeback car award, but by allowing more cars to stay on the lead lap it would spice up the racing and give drivers more of a chance to comeback after a bad start to the race.
3. Andretti-Green Racing = Lots to talk about
Andretti Green Racing had a horrible pre-race with only one of their four cars qualifying in the top nine. The race itself was completely different, as all four drivers finished in the top seven. Hideki Mutoh lead his first career IndyCar laps, as he was in control for 74 laps early in the race. Mutoh and Danica Patrick had pit strategy to win the race, but caught a horrible break as Dixon, Franchitti, and Rahal caught a yellow right before they were about to cycle through for green flag stops. This would have possibly allowed AGR to sweep the first four spots, as Mutoh finished fourth, Patrick fifth, Marco Andretti sixth and Tony Kanaan seventh. Overall, the fans of AGR had to be happy with a rebound from qualifications, in the bigger picture, they just missed a break to have a huge night at Richmond. This team will be under the microscope for the remainder of the season for several reasons. First, the Danica drama surrounding her possibly move to NASCAR or to another team. Second, Mutoh’s possibly sponsorship could not be renewed with the Formula Dream package looking at all its options. Third, Marco Andretti possibly exploring F1 options and possibly forming his own team with grandfather. Fourth, Tony Kanan has not had the season he hoped for after signing a multi-year contract this past off-season.
4. Graham Rahal career best finishon an oval
A young American driver on a podium finish, that’s great for the IndyCar Series and Graham Rahal. While clearly the race didn’t factor into Grahams decisions to try for a win at the end, it was a good finish for the 20 year old driver and hopefully gives him momentum into the upcoming road courses. Graham and Marco Andretti are the future of the IndyCar series, and like their fathers, will make or break the longevity of the IndyCar series itself. For all the American drivers in NASCAR, a Rahal and Andretti making news in the IndyCar Series could be great for the series. The ultimate race is a Rahal and Andretti battling at the end of the race for the win, hopefully that is in the future of the 2009 season.
5. Team Penske – What happened?
Team Penske had an unusual race as Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves finished 17th and 19th respectively. Both drivers suffered similar fates, just in different stages of the race. Briscoe was very disappointed after the race, as he seemed to be happy about the car during qualifications. This was the first race all season that we saw both Ryan and Helio be non-factors in the race. With three straight road courses on the IndyCar series schedule, it will be interested to see if Briscoe and Castroneves can bounce back and get back in the championship hunt.
The IndyCar Series moves on to Richmond International Speedway for its 8th race of the season and second race in six days. The last time we saw the IndyCar Series, Dario Franchitti captured his second win of the 2009 season by dominating the second half of the Iowa Corn 250 at Iowa Speedway. The IndyCar Series is in the heart of its schedule, as they begin a stretch of six races in seven weekends. The chase for the point’s championship is heating up as well, as six drivers remain separated by only 57 points. IndyCarGarage breaks down five things to watch for in Saturday night’s 225 mile race.
1. The Track itself – Richmond International Speedway
Richmond International Speedway will offer some of the most action packed racing of the entire 17 race schedule. The IndyCars will be able to pass at any spot on the track and also will battle for position through pit-stops. Traffic will be factor as well, as only eight of the 26 car field finished on the lead lap last year. The 2008 race saw the pole sitter Tony Kanaan take home the checkered flag, that win a year ago was the last time both Tony Kanaan and his team Andretti-Green Racing were in the winners circle. This will mark the ninth sanctioned IndyCar Race at Richmond International Speedway. Richmond will also be the last oval before the IndyCar Series embarks on three consecutive road/street courses, if you’re an oval fan, enjoy this race until the series heads to Kentucky in August.
2. Still looking for a third team to break through in 2009
Seven races into the 2009 season and we have only seen two teams enter the winners circle. Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi have dominated the 2009 season by winning every race on the schedule. It’s not surprising either that the four drivers represented by those two teams also represent the four drivers in the top of the point’s championship. The IndyCar Series needs someone new to break through this year. Fan favorite Tony Kanaan won last year as mentioned above. Danica Patrick could possibly break through for her second career win if she can qualify towards the top. A handful of other possible drivers are in the mix as well, Dan Wheldon and Marco Andretti to name a few. Early traffic and crashes will factor into who survives the 300 laps at Richmond.
3. The Points Championship
Ryan Briscoe holds a slim lead over second place Dario Franchitti and only because Briscoe finished runner up in Iowa. The top six drivers are separated by 57 points as mentioned above, Briscoe, Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Danica Patrick, and Dan Wheldon all need solid races (top 10) to maintain their positions in the race for the championship. Keep an eye on the pole sitter and the driver who leads the most laps, as additional bonus points are awarded for those accomplishments. Danica Patrick needs a podium finish to recapture the momentum she had coming out of Indianapolis.
4. The return of Versus Coverage
The IndyCar Series will return to action on Versus for the SunTrust Indy Challenge on Saturday night. The last time we heard from Versus in the IndyCar Series was at Texas Motor Speedway. Versus will cover qualifications on Friday night from 6-7 p.m. and cover the race on Saturday night starting at 8 p.m. The Versus trio of Bob Jenkins, Jon Beekhuis and former driver Robbie Buhl have offered great insight from the booth, and the camera shots have been great as well. The ABC/ESPN coverage last week at Iowa was average at best, as replays of the wrecks were often forgotten, some of the pit stops were missed in the side by side coverage, and overall it just wasn’t great. Hopefully Versus can get back to their May type coverage of the IndyCar series, as they seemed to be at their best during that time period
5. Car Count
IndyCarGarage has touched on this before, but hopefully Richmond is the last race on the schedule were only 20 cars will take the green flag. President of Competition in the IndyCar Series Brian Barnhart has been quoted as saying 22-25 drivers should be the norm for the rest of the season. 26 cars took the green flag last year at Richmond, and this year it looks like it will be down substantially. The economy is hurting everyone in auto spots, (see where the NASCAR truck series is next year) but IndyCars have weathered the storm to a degree. If the car count can return to the mid 20s for the remainder of the season, we should see some more competitive racing and story lines develop.
The IndyCar Series concluded the Iowa Corn 250 on Sunday with 42,000 fans taking in the action at the 7/8 mile track. Dario Franchitti is now two for two in appearances at Iowa, as he took home his second career victory at Iowa. Ryan Briscoe took home his third runner up finish of the 2009 season and Hideki Mutoh finished a season high third for Andretti Green Racing. IndyCar Garage breaks down four race reactions from Sunday’s race.
1. Another Ganassi/Penske in the winners circle Dario Franchitti won his second race of the season on Sunday and continued the trend of a Ganassi or Penske in victory lane. There has been a total of four drivers reach the winners circle in 2009 and they are residing with the Ganassi/Penske machines. Give credit to both teams, they both gave their drivers outstanding machines and had it not been for early contact between Dixon and Helio early in the race, we might have seen a top four sweep. IndyCar Garage has said this before, if the IndyCar Series wants to continue to generate interest in the common fan, someone new needs to win. There were glimpses of new drivers breaking through on Sunday, as several lead changes occurred during the first half of the race. It will be interesting in the upcoming road courses if any driver can break through to the top spot on the podium. Among the likely candidates to win a race this year Justin Wilson, Graham Rahal, Ryan Hunter-Rea, Paul Tracy, Danica Patrick, and Dan Wheldon.
2. 2010 Schedule Terry Angstadt president of the IndyCar Series Commercial Division announced prior to the Iowa Race that they have reached a two year contract extension for the IndyCar Series to return to Iowa Speedway. Since the IndyCar Series added Iowa to their schedule in 2007 it has been a major successful for all involved, attendance was sold out this year as they needed more grand stands. Angstadt also announced that the IndyCar Series has an 18 race schedule in mind for the 2010 schedule. They would add a race in Brazil as an additional street course and possibly another at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. Angstadt mentioned that schedule would have a split of nine ovals and nice street/road courses. The oval rumored to be in jeopardy is Milwaukee, not enough information was available on Milwaukee to confirm that. Either way you look at it, this is not the way the Indy Racing League started back in 1996, but it shows you a change in the direction of the overall series in general. Since the merger, Penske and Ganassi have dominated the ovals, while some of the smaller teams have had success on the road/street courses. To give the IndyCar Series more parity, a more even mix of street/road courses seems to be the future.
3. Finally some racing Iowa offered some of the most exciting racing of the season to date. Tomas Scheckter passed six cars in the first lap and drover the outside line hard all day. Two to three car wide racing was very present in the first half of the race and made for a good day of overall racing. The IndyCar Series has taken some heat from the drivers and media for the lack of passing and competitive racing in the recent tracks such as Indy and Texas. Brian Barnhardt said that some changes could be made for the Kentucky race on August 1st. Whatever the case may be, hopefully Iowa is a sign of good things to come in terms of better racing and excitement for the fans.
4. Points Championship Ryan Briscoe held onto to his points lead by finishing runner up to Dario Franchitti on Sunday, his three point lead is the slimmest of margins. Dan Wheldon sits in sixth place only 57 points back of Briscoe. It will be very interesting to watch the chase for the points champions over the course of the next six races. None of the leaders can afford a DNF at this critical time in the schedule.
As it sits now: 1st Ryan Briscoe – 241 points 2nd Dario Franchitti – 238 points 3rd Scott Dixon – 226 points 4th Helio Castroneves – 212 points 5th Danica Patrick – 189 points 6th Dan Wheldon – 184 points
The IndyCar Series returns to action in Iowa for the Iowa Corn 250. After a weekend layoff from racing, 20 entries will try their luck in attempting to be crowned the third champion at Iowa Speedway. Dario Franchitti won the inaugural event in 2007 driving for Andretti-Green Racing and Dan Wheldon won last year driving for Chip-Ganassai Racing. The last time we saw the IndyCar Series in action was at Texas Motor Speedway where Helio Castroneves won after a late pit-stop that carried him on to the win. IndyCar Garage breaks down six storylines , as the IndyCars enter their seventh race of the 2009 season in the Iowa Corn 250.
1. Can the IndyCar Series put some else in victory lane other than a Penske or a Ganassi car?
The first six races of the season have been won by a Roger Penske or a Chip Ganassi machine. As we approach the halfway point of the 2009 season, the IndyCar officials have to be hopping for someone to break through that isn’t in one of the four cars driven for Penske or Ganassi. Dan Wheldon has been close with Panther, Danica Patrick seems to be the top AGR car, Graham Rahal has shown potential, and Tony Kanna is an experienced veteran, but still someone besides the big four needs to poke through and spice up the top spot on the podium. From a fans perspective, the first six races haven’t featured much drama from any of the drivers outside Penske or Ganassi, that needs to change as quickly as possible.
2. The Danica/Marco feud continues…. well maybe.
The Danica Patrick / Marco Andretti war of words that took place after the Texas Motor Speedway race was the talk of the garages which is unfortunate. Texas is usually some of the best racing of the entire season, and the only thing that came out of that race was Marco claiming his teammate wouldn’t let him pass. Tony Kanna tried to play a peacemaker through it all and multiple media reports have featured Marco and Danica downplaying the situation. The bottom line with both drivers is that they are the best threats to unseat Penske or Ganassi. Danica is having her best season to date and Marco seemed to have a break through at TMS. Marco didn’t do himself any favors by wrecking his primary car in the first practice session at Iowa. Danica is going to have focus for the rest of the season as much as been made of her contract expiring and her switch to NASCAR.
3. The Car Count
After seeing a season high 24 cars at Texas Motor Speedway (outside of Indy) the car count is back down to 20 for this weekend’s race. Brian Barnhart was quoted earlier in the week as he expects the count to be between 22-25 cars for the remainder of the season after the Richmond race. Drivers that will be around part-time throughout the rest of season include Paul Tracy, Sarah Fisher, Milka Duno, Roger Yasukawa, Richard Antinucci, Will Power, Townsend Bell, and Scott Sharp. If you add those eight drivers full time to the series, that’s 28 full-time drivers that would make the series more exciting and add more of element for the fans. IndyCar Garage has said before that a 26-30 car count is about what the IndyCar series needs and if you look at the part-timers, it makes you realize that the IndyCar series is doing ok in this economy.
4. Silly Season is in full swing
Silly Season is in full swing, and most of it centers around one driver in the Indy Car Series. Danica Patrick has become the focal point of the IndyCar Series, based off two things. First, Danica brings more money with her in sponsorships than probably all but a couple NASCAR drivers. Her ability to market herself, her sexuality, personality and talent, has put her in the position as one of the most popular drivers in any form of auto racing. Second, Danica is having one of her best seasons in IndyCars as she sits fifth in points and finished a season high third at the Indy 500. Her finish at Indy was the highest ever by a woman, and has spring boarded her into the national spotlight. Let’s be honest, NASCAR is under pressure to survive in this economy and what better addition to their series than Danica Patrick and her sponsorships. The rumors continue to spark around Chip Ganassi fielding a third car for her in 2010, this would put her in one of the top two teams in the IndyCar Series. This would also give her the chance to possibly test and drive one of Ganassi’s NASCAR’s. In other silly season news, Paul Tracy has been rumored to be replacing Danica at AGR. Scott Dixon’s name has been thrown around for the possibly new Gil De Farren team that might be formed, but that is premature as best. Scott Sharp seems to be close to returning full time in 2010, and Sarah Fisher has hopes of participating full time in 2010. All in all, the Danica news will dominate silly season.
5. The Point Championship Race
Ryan Briscoe leads the point’s championship by three points over Scott Dixon. Dixon’s teammate Dario Franchitti is only 11 points back in third. Helio is seeking his first championship and is in good shape after missing the first race of the season, as he sits in fourth just 13 points back. Danica Patrick rounds out the top five, being only 32 points back. None of these five drivers can afford a DNF or a mistake in the pits. As the IndyCar Series enters a stretch of seven races in eight weeks, top five finishes and mistake free races have to be the first priority among these drivers. Both Iowa races have featured an abundance of wrecks, so it should be interesting to see how these five drivers endure.
6. An opportunity is brewing for the IndyCar Series, will they take advantage of it?
As we all know the economy is hurting all forms of auto-sports. The IndyCar Series has been affected in some ways, but in an overall perspective, they have held up fairly well. Let’s take a look at the other forms of competing auto sports. NASCAR is on life-sport with the Nationwide and Truck Series having all funding form General Motors being cut off. The truck series has 33 entries into their Milwaukee race on Saturday, 10 of the trucks pulled a start a park. The Sprint Cup series is watching every race this year drop in attendance, ratings and sponsorship, the key date being the July race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as some say attendance might not break 150,000. Formula One is in the beginning of a spilt, does this sound like Dejavu? The major teams in Formula 1 have announced officially to form a breakaway series that would feature some of the major teams including Ferrari and McLaren. The divorce in F1 is just beginning, plan for it to get worse.
What does this all mean? It means that the time is right for IndyCars to capitalize on the rest of the auto world being in a slump and market their product. Does this mean IndyCar needs to become NASCAR? Not at all, they need a title sponsor first, then they need to secure their rising stars like Danica and Graham Rahal. They then need to increase their schedule to about 21-24 races over the course of the next three years. They need the rumors of Tony George and his sisters to go away NOW. They need Robin Miller to quit breaking negative stories about the IndyCars. Finally, they need to secure a solid count as mentioned above. We all can hope these things come soon enough.
IndyCar Garage breaks down ten drivers that aren’t driving in the IndyCar Series and what their impact would have done or could do to the IndyCar series.
IndyCar Garage concludes it’s countdown of the top ten drivers not currently driving full-time in the IndyCar Series with the number one driver:
1. JEFF GORDON - AMERICAN – AGE 37 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 0.01%
May 26th 1990 – On this day Jeff Gordon had just won his second “Night before the 500” at Anderson Motor Speedway, in Anderson Indiana at the age of 19. Gordon would go on to win the USAC National Midget title later that year. This is also the time period that the IndyCar Series, then CART, lost one of its best opportunities to secure a rising star in open wheel racing. The following day on May 27th 1990, the 74th running of the Indianapolis 500 took place. A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Bobby Rahal, Rick Mears, Al Unser, Al Unser Jr, Arie Luyendyk all participated in that race and IndyCar was in its prime. What happened in the next year is what many within the IndyCar Series considered one of the biggest mistakes ever to happen to their sport.
Jeff Gordon was not offered any rides in the Indy Lights series or the current CART series. At the same time this was taking place, young 29 year old Tony George was being named president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Gordon, with no opportunities to join open wheel, joined the Busch Series in 1991 and the rest is history. Gordon became NASCAR Rookie of the Year in 1993 and NASCAR now had a young American rising star to develop their fan base around, not to mention a huge rival to Dale Earnhardt. What is even more ironic is that in the inaugural Brickyard 400, Gordon captured his second career NASCAR win at his home track.
One of the underlining factors in Tony George creating the Indy Racing League is Jeff Gordon himself. There is no reason Jeff Gordon shouldn’t have at least had the opportunity to run IndyCars. His presence in NASCAR has done wonders for their series and spring boarded them past Indy Cars in the mid 90s. To this day, Jeff Gordon has never raced in an IndyCar. He was quoted this past May as saying that no matter how many races he wins at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it won’t compare to what A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears have accomplished as four time winners.
The biggest “WHAT IF” question in IndyCars is Jeff Gordon. His chances for joining an IndyCar Series today are slim to none, NASCAR would have to hit rock bottom and chances are Gordon would be too old by that point. The Jeff Gordon story forever changed the landscape of IndyCar racing. Good Job CART (interest bitterness here)
THE TOP TEN DRIVERS THAT AREN’T DRIVING IN THE INDYCAR SERIES. IndyCar Garage recaps it break down of ten drivers that aren’t driving in the IndyCar Series by looking back at drivers 10 through 2 along with the drivers that IndyCarGarage felt were close to making the list and therefore are included in the Honorable Mention section. Check out the drivers below and look for driver # 1 tomorrow on IndyCarGarage.com
HONORABLE MENTION SECTION - In no particular order
A.J. ALLMENDINGER– AMERICAN – AGE 28 – Chances of joining the ICS – 20% Comment: Former Champ Car Driver who is trying his luck in NASCAR
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS – FRENCH – AGE 30 – Chances of joining the ICS – 40% Comment: Former Dominate Champ Car Driver, who went back to Europe after the merger, possibly could come back to IndyCars.
BUDDY RICE – AMERICAN – AGE 33 – Chances of joining the ICS – 50% Comment: IRL Series original until Rahall-Lettermen lost funding, 2004 Indy 500 champ
JOHN ANDRETTI – AMERICAN – AGE 46 – Chances of joining the ICS – 15% Comment: Ran IndyCars in the early 1990’s now in NASCAR full time, has come back for the Indy 500 the last three years.
ORIOL SERVIA – SPANISH – AGE 35 – Chances of joining the ICS – 50% Comment: Champ Car driver who made the switch for the merger and ran the first full season in 2008. He ran the 2009 Indy 500, but doesn’t have a ride for any other races.
JACQUE VILLENEUVE – CANADIAN - AGE 38 – Chances of joining the ICS – 2% Comment: Former Indy 500 Champion in 1995 and F1 World Champion in 1997 tried NASCAR in the mid 2000’s but had no luck. His career is stuck in neutral.
PATRICK CARPENTIER – CANADIAN – AGE 38 – Chances of joining the ICS – 10% Comment: Former IndyCar series regular that made the jump to NASCAR and is now a part timer for the Sprint Cup Series.
SCOTT SHARP – AMERICAN – AGE 41 – Chances of joining the ICS – 70% Comment: IRL Series original that ran full time through 2007, rumored to be joining the series full time again in 2010. Holds the record for most starts in the Indy Racing Leagues History (1996 – Present)
JIMMIE JOHNSON – AMERICAN – AGE 34 – Chances of joining the ICS – 1% Comment: He has won the last three Sprint Cup Championships and has won the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400. It would be interesting to see if he could hold up in IndyCars.
KYLE BUSCH – AMERICAN – AGE 24 – Chances of joining the ICS – 3% Comment: One of the best young American Drivers in the Sprint Cup Series that will race anything anywhere. He wants to break Roger Petty’s record of 200 career wins in NASCAR. That should tell you his aspirations of driving IndyCars, but like Johnson it would be interesting to see if he could handle an IndyCar. His name has been rumored for the F1 team in 2010.
Drivers 10 through 2 in the top 10 countdown of drivers not driving full time in the IndyCar Series.
10. KASEY KAHNE – AMERICAN – AGE 29 - Chances of joining the ICS = 2%
9. JENSON BUTTON – BRITISH – AGE 29 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 20%
8. RYAN NEWMAN – AMERICAN – 31 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 10%
7. SCOTT SPEED – AMERICAN – AGE 26 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 25%
6. LEWIS HAMILTON – BRITISH – AGE 24 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 25%
5. PAUL TRACY – CANADIAN – AGE 40 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 60%
4. SAM HORNISH JR. – AMERICAN – AGE 29 – Chances of rejoining the ICS = 50%
3. JUAN PABLO MONTOYA – COLUMBIA – AGE 33 – Chances of rejoining the ICS = 30%
2. TONY STEWART – AMERICAN – AGE 38 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 5%
IndyCar Garage breaks down ten drivers that aren’t driving in the IndyCar Series and what their impact would have done or could do to the IndyCar series. This includes drivers that have raced partial schedules in years past or in the present season.
IndyCar Garage continues it’s countdown of the top ten drivers not currently driving full-time in the IndyCar Series with driver # two
2. TONY STEWART – AMERICAN – AGE 38 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 5%
Tony Stewart’s story is similar to IndyCar Garages # 1 driver not driving in the IndyCar series full time, but with a small side story into the IndyCar Series. Similar to driver #1, Stewart grew up racing open wheel and was the 1995 USAC Triple Crown winner, as he won championships in the National Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown divisions. When he wasn’t racing open wheel, he raced stock cars, as NASCAR was starting to hit its stride with the open wheel split in full swing. Stewart was one of the original drivers in the inaugural Indy Racing League and remained as a full time driver until 1998. He has competed in five Indy 500s with a career best finish of 5th in 1997.
Stewart moved full-time into Winston Cup in 1999 for Joe Gibbs Racing. He immediately was successful as he won three races, several poles, and finished fourth in points in his rookie season. He would come back to run in two more Indy 500s, 1999 and 2001.
He has said in the past that he would like to run the Indy 500 again, but would like to put a full effort into it, meaning he would want to run the races prior to Indy. The chances of Stewart running a full IndyCar Series schedule in the immediate future are very slim. He just formed Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009 and that might pave the way for him to be more creative in where he races. He is the most complete driver since A.J. Foyt to compete in North American auto racing. He is a threat to win any race in any type of series. Tony Stewart’s return to the IndyCar series would be HUGE, but his story is all too similar to Driver #1
IndyCar Garage breaks down ten drivers that aren’t driving in the IndyCar Series and what their impact would have done or could do to the IndyCar series. This list does include drivers that have raced partial schedules in years past or in the present season.
IndyCar Garage continues it’s countdown of the top ten drivers not currently driving full-time in the IndyCar Series with driver #3
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA – COLUMBIA – AGE 33
Chances of rejoining the ICS = 15%
Montoya arguably is the most complete driver in the world. He has achieved success at every level of competition he has participated in. His success began overseas as a youngster then on to CART, Formula 1, in the 2000 Indy 500, and as a current Spring Cup Series driver. In 1998 he captured the Formula 3000 Championship (minor league of F1, now named GP2 series). In 1999 he captured the CART Championship. In 2000 he captured the Indy 500 title as a crossover driver from CART. In 2003 he won the Monaco Grand Prix while racing Formula 1. In 2007 he switched to NASCAR and was the Sprint Cup Rookie of the year while capturing his first win at Sonoma. The bottom line about Montoya is that he is a good driver who can adjust to any type of car he drives.
He didn’t receive a warm welcome in the 2000 Indy 500 as a crossover driver but ultimately showed his critics that he could drive by leading 167 of 200 laps in route to the win. The 2000 win stands as his only Indy 500 he has competed in. His chances of returning to IndyCar aren’t great, but with unification keeping all the major teams in one series, including his former employer Chip Ganassi, don’t count him out down the road. In terms of open wheel drivers, he could still compete for another six to eight years.
IndyCar Garage breaks down ten drivers that aren’t driving in the IndyCar Series and what their impact would have done or could do to the IndyCar series. This includes drivers that have raced partial schedules in years past or in the present season.
IndyCar Garage continues it’s countdown of the top drivers not currently driving full-time in the IndyCar Series with driver number 4
SAM HORNISH JR. – AMERICAN – AGE 29 – Chances of rejoining the ICS = 40%
Sam Hornish Jr. makes the list because he is the most accomplished IndyCar Series driver NOT racing in open wheel. It’s frustrating to have the most successful driver in your series history participating in rival NASCAR. Sam’s early career in the 1990’s was highlighted by his involvement in various forms of open wheel racing, and eventually a full time ride with Panther Racing in 2001 In the Indy Racing League. He would move on to Team Penske in 2004 replacing retired Gil De Ferran. He would capture three IndyCar series championships, the 2006 Indy 500 championship, and 19 career wins in the series. He was a dominating force in the series prior to his jump into NASCAR, and can be considered a casualty of the open wheel spilt. Sam’s last year in open wheel would also be the last year open wheel would be spilt into two series.
Sam currently drives for Roger Penske’s NASCAR team and has made steady progress since his transition, but hasn’t come remotely close to achieving the success he had in open wheel. His return is open to the IndyCar series is 50/50. If Roger Penske thinks that his investment in Sam isn’t the worth the wait, you could see him back in the IndyCar series with Penske or another team. His career is still very young.
IndyCar Garage recaps drivers 10 through 6 that aren’t driving in the IndyCar Series and what their impact would have done or could do to the IndyCar series. This includes drivers that have raced partial schedules in years past or in the present season.
#10 - KASEY KAHNE – AMERICAN – AGE 29 - Chances of joining the ICS = 2% As was with some other drivers that will be featured in the countdown, Kasey Kahne was a USAC National Midget Series Champion in 2000. If you remember back to 2000, Penske and Ganassi weren’t even in the Indy Racing League yet. There was no way that Kahne was going to join open wheel racing when it was split into two leagues, when NASCAR was in full swing. Kahne hooked up with Robert Yates Racing in 2002 for a Busch Series ride and never looked back. He was a Sprint Cup Rookie in 2004 (still only 24) and won his first race in 2005. He doesn’t command the super star power that some of the other NASCAR drivers do, but he still would have been a great addition to open wheel racing had he been presented the opportunity to race in one unified series. Kahne ultimately was a casualty of the split years and is almost certain to run a full career in NASCAR. He has 18 career wins in NASCAR’s three major divisions and is one of the most appealing drivers to the female fans of NASCAR.
#9 JENSON BUTTON – BRITISH – AGE 29 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 20% Button is one of the best open wheel drivers in the eastern hemisphere. At the age of 11 he won all 34 races of the 1991 British Cadet Kart Championship along with the title. Button continued his success in the Formula Ford and Formula three series, and by 2000 he was making the jump to Formula 1. At the age of 20 he started to steadily progress through the series, while changing teams on a year to year basis. Finally in 2003 he was teamed with former world champion Jacques Villeneuva for the BAR Team. His progress continued to improve as he led his first lap ever in the 2003 United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 2006 saw Button move onto a new team in the form of Honda Racing F1 Team, where Button captured his first career win at Hungary. Button continued with Honda through 2008 with mild success, but was clearly unhappy with his situation. In 2009 Honda was bought out and renamed Brawn GP. Button has captured a season high six wins and is currently first in the point’s race. Button is a different story than most drivers, growing up for drivers like Button, the goal is F1. Button is currently in the prime of his career and is showing that by his ability to win races. Down the road we could possibly see Button in the IndyCar series, with possibly a one race deal for the Indy 500. Another possibility is if he wants a new challenge outside of F1. Button is only 29 and has been racing in F1 for nearly a decade, so he could have the aspirations of taking on North America open wheel racing. If and when Button decides to walk away or is forced to walk away from F1, look for his name to surface in the IndyCar Series.
#8 RYAN NEWMAN – AMERICAN – 31 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 10% Ryan Newman is an Indiana native that grew up racing on the USAC circuit and was the rookie of the year in both the Midget Series and the Silver Crown in 1996. In 1999, at the age of 22, he was the first driver to win in all three divisions while being the Silver Bullet Series champion. While winning all three series, he was attending Purdue University, where he would graduate from in 2001. Newman is only the Sprint Cup driver that has a college degree. Newman developed a relationship with Roger Penske in 2000 while driving in the ARCA RE/MAX Series for Penske. Penske then had Newman race in the Busch Series the following year. By 2002 Newman was racing in the highest level of NASCAR and beat out Jimmie Johnson for Rookie of the Year at the age of 25. Newman is a driver who took the best choice given to him at time, which was NASCAR. At the time Penske started his relationship with Newman, Penske’s open wheel program was still participating in CART. Had the IndyCar series been unified at the time, Newman possibly could have been funneled into the open wheel program at Penske. Newman rewarded Penske with 21 career wins in the top three divisions of NASCAR and put him victory lane for the 2008 Daytona 500. The likely hood of Newman returning to open wheel is slim because of his success in NASCAR. The only possibility for Newman to see open wheel time is the recent move he made from Penske to newly created Stewart-Haas Racing, and still that chance is very small. Newman is a prime example of what the split did to young American open wheel drivers coming up through the series.
#7 SCOTT SPEED – AMERICAN – AGE 26 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 25% Scott Speed began karting at the age of 10 in 1993 and remained in that role until his 18th birthday in 2001. At the age of 18 he began a four year journey toward Formula 1 by moving up through their development series. At just the age of 22, Scott Speed became the first American driver since Michael Andretti to drive a F1 car as a test driver for Red Bull Racing. In 2006 Toro Rosso was created through Red Bull Racing and gave Speed a full time ride in the Formula 1 series. Speed would have a less than spectator two years in F1 as he would struggle to find the top ten in any capacity. Speed’s best finish was ninth at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2007. After his departure from F1 in mid 2007, he immetidaley started driving in the ARCA RE/MAX series for Eddie Sharp Racing. His success for Eddie Sharp Racing lead to ride with Bill Davis Racing in the 2008 Craftsman Truck Series. He now competes full time as a Sprint Cup Driver and has found moderate success as a full-time rookie.
Speed is the type of driver that should have joined the IndyCar series developmental series in 2001 after he turned 18 and been a full time driver by his early 20’s, similar to the route of Marco Andretti. Instead, in 2001 the split was in full-force and allowed Speed to progress through the F1 minor leagues and eventually have an unsuccessful attempt in F1. It should be noted that in 2004 he tested for the Red Bull Cheever Racing team in the Indy Racing League, but nothing else came of it.
When Speed’s F1 career hit the rocks, where else would you take your sponsorship, well of course NASCAR. The bottom line with Speed is that he is a young American driver with talent, and he really never had a good opportunity to join the IndyCar series. Don’t count out Speed to be in the IndyCar series at some point. Speed’s career is still very young and if the NASCAR thing doesn’t pan out, you possibly could see him back in an IndyCar.
#6 LEWIS HAMILTON – BRITISH – AGE 24 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 25% Hamilton began karting at the age of 8 in 1993. He progressed through the open wheel divisions in Britain, his progress in the Intercontinental A (1999), Formula A (2000) and Formula Super A (2001) ranks, lead him to make a name for himself. His break into the F1 series finally came in 2007 at the age of 22. Driving for McLaren he qualified on the pole and finished in the exact same position to win the Canadian GP at Montreal. A week later he would go on to win the last United States GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 2008 he would go on to capture the Formula One World Championship as the youngest ever to do so and as the first black driver as well. In 2008 he also signed a five-year multi-million pound contract to remain with McLaren-Mercedes. He holds numerous F1 records, and unless he has aspirations of breaking Michael Schumacher type records, he could be bored with F1 by the time he hits 30. This might lead him in a new direction towards the IndyCar series, depending on what shape the series is in. In the early 1990’s IndyCar saw many F1 drivers come over and compete full-time. Most of these drivers had considerable success, with the likes of Nigel Mansell and Jacques Villeneuve winning championships in 1993 and 1995. Hamilton is a great young talent that could possibly break many more records in the IndyCar series, along with being the best black driver available in any form of racing right now.
IndyCar Garage breaks down ten drivers that aren’t driving in the IndyCar Series and what their impact would have done or could do to the IndyCar series. This includes drivers that have raced partial schedules in years past or in the present season.
IndyCar Garage continues it’s countdown of the top drivers not currently driving full-time in the IndyCar Series with driver number 5
PAUL TRACY – CANDADIAN – AGE 40 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 60%
Paul Tracy began his open wheel career at the age of 16 in his home country of Canada. He developed into a budding star by winning nine races in the 1990 Indy Lights Series at the age of 22. He then moved on to Team Penske for 1991 – 1994 where he had considerable success as a fill in for Rick Mears. The rest of the 90’s where a rollercoaster for Tracy. He would move on to Newman/Haas, back to Penske, then on to team Kool Green. As most of the power CART teams moved over to the IRL in the early 2000’s, Tracy remained a dominate force in the rival series. He had one of the best seasons ever in 2003, recording seven wins and the point’s championship. He drove in the Champ Car series until the merger in 2008.
He is highly regarded as one of the best open wheel drivers of the past two decades. He is old enough to have driven against the likes of A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Al Unser, and to have driven with the likes of Rick Mears, Al Unser Jr and Emerson Fittipaldi. His age (40) puts him on the crisp of being an afterthought when it comes to young talent, but his experience is better than anyone involved in the IndyCar series.
He has raced in a total of four IndyCar series races since the merger and remains outspoken that he has something left in the tank for anyone willing to give him a ride. The bottom line with Tracy is that he hit his prime in the peak years of the split. He is still a good driver, but not near the driver he was six years ago in 2003. He needs to be in the IndyCar series full time for at least two more years to give it momentum heading into the next decade.
IndyCar Garage breaks down ten drivers that aren’t driving in the IndyCar Series and what their impact would have done or could do to the IndyCar series. This includes drivers that have raced partial schedules in years past or in the present season.
IndyCar Garage continues it’s countdown of the top ten drivers not currently driving full-time in the IndyCar Series with driver number 6
LEWIS HAMILTON – BRITISH – AGE 24 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 25%
Hamilton began karting at the age of 8 in 1993. He progressed through the open wheel divisions in Britain, his progress in the Intercontinental A (1999), Formula A (2000) and Formula Super A (2001) ranks, lead him to make a name for himself. His break into the F1 series finally came in 2007 at the age of 22. Driving for McLaren he qualified on the pole and finished in the exact same position to win the Canadian GP at Montreal. A week later he would go on to win the last United States GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 2008 he would go on to capture the Formula One World Championship as the youngest ever to do so and as the first black driver as well. In 2008 he also signed a five-year multi-million pound contract to remain with McLaren-Mercedes.
He holds numerous F1 records, and unless he has aspirations of breaking Michael Schumacher type records, he could be bored with F1 by the time he hits 30. This might lead him in a new direction towards the IndyCar series, depending on what shape the series is in. In the early 1990’s IndyCar saw many F1 drivers come over and compete full-time. Most of these drivers had considerable success, with the likes of Nigel Mansell and Jacques Villeneuve winning championships in 1993 and 1995. Hamilton is a great young talent that could possibly break many more records in the IndyCar series, along with being the best black driver available in any form of racing right now.
IndyCar Garage breaks down ten drivers that aren’t driving in the IndyCar Series and what their impact would have done or could do to the IndyCar series. This includes drivers that have raced partial schedules in years past or in the present season.
IndyCar Garage begins it’s countdown of the top ten drivers not currently driving full-time in the IndyCar Series with driver # 7
SCOTT SPEED – AMERICAN – AGE 26 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 25%
Scott Speed began karting at the age of 10 in 1993 and remained in that role until his 18th birthday in 2001. At the age of 18 he began a four year journey toward Formula 1 by moving up through their development series. At just the age of 22, Scott Speed became the first American driver since Michael Andretti to drive a F1 car as a test driver for Red Bull Racing. In 2006 Toro Rosso was created through Red Bull Racing and gave Speed a full time ride in the Formula 1 series. Speed would have a less than spectator two years in F1 as he would struggle to find the top ten in any capacity. Speed’s best finish was ninth at the Monaco Grand Prix in 2007. After his departure from F1 in mid 2007, he immetidaley started driving in the ARCA RE/MAX series for Eddie Sharp Racing. His success for Eddie Sharp Racing lead to ride with Bill Davis Racing in the 2008 Craftsman Truck Series. He now competes full time as a Sprint Cup Driver and has found moderate success as a full-time rookie.
Speed is the type of driver that should have joined the IndyCar series developmental series in 2001 after he turned 18 and been a full time driver by his early 20’s, similar to the route of Marco Andretti. Instead, in 2001 the split was in full-force and allowed Speed to progress through the F1 minor leagues and eventually have an unsuccessful attempt in F1. It should be noted that in 2004 he tested for the Red Bull Cheever Racing team in the Indy Racing League, but nothing else came of it.
When Speed’s F1 career hit the rocks, where else would you take your sponsorship, well of course NASCAR. The bottom line with Speed is that he is a young American driver with talent, and he really never had a good opportunity to join the IndyCar series. Don’t count out Speed to be in the IndyCar series at some point. Speed’s career is still very young and if the NASCAR thing doesn’t pan out, you possibly could see him back in an IndyCar.
IndyCar Garage breaks down ten drivers that aren’t driving in the IndyCar Series and what their impact would have done or could do to the IndyCar series. This includes drivers that have raced partial schedules in years past or in the present season.
IndyCar Garage continues it’s countdown of the top ten drivers not currently driving full-time in the IndyCar Series with driver number eight.
RYAN NEWMAN – AMERICAN – 31 – Chances of Joining the ICS = 10%
Ryan Newman is an Indiana native that grew up racing on the USAC circuit and was the rookie of the year in both the Midget Series and the Silver Crown in 1996. In 1999, at the age of 22, he was the first driver to win in all three divisions while being the Silver Bullet Series champion. While winning all three series, he was attending Purdue University, where he would graduate from in 2001. Newman is only the Sprint Cup driver that has a college degree. Newman developed a relationship with Roger Penske in 2000 while driving in the ARCA RE/MAX Series for Penske. Penske then had Newman race in the Busch Series the following year. By 2002 Newman was racing in the highest level of NASCAR and beat out Jimmie Johnson for Rookie of the Year at the age of 25. Newman is a driver who took the best choice given to him at time, which was NASCAR.
At the time Penske started his relationship with Newman, Penske’s open wheel program was still participating in CART. Had the IndyCar series been unified at the time, Newman possibly could have been funneled into the open wheel program at Penske. Newman rewarded Penske with 21 career wins in the top three divisions of NASCAR and put him victory lane for the 2008 Daytona 500. The likely hood of Newman returning to open wheel is slim because of his success in NASCAR. The only possibility for Newman to see open wheel time is the recent move he made from Penske to newly created Stewart-Haas Racing, and still that chance is very small. Newman is a prime example of what the split did to young American open wheel drivers coming up through the USAC series, it lead them to NASCAR.
IndyCar Garage breaks down ten drivers that aren’t driving in the IndyCar Series and what their impact would have done or could do to the IndyCar series. This includes drivers that have raced partial schedules in years past or in the present season.
IndyCar Garage continues it’s countdown of the top ten drivers not currently driving full-time in the IndyCar Series with driver number 9
JENSON BUTTON – BRITISH – AGE 29 (pictured above & his 2009 ride)
Chances of Joining the ICS = 20%
Button is one of the best open wheel drivers in the eastern hemisphere. At the age of 11 he won all 34 races of the 1991 British Cadet Kart Championship along with the title. Button continued his success in the Formula Ford and Formula three series, and by 2000 he was making the jump to Formula 1. At the age of 20 he started to steadily progress through the series, while changing teams on a year to year basis.
Finally in 2003 he was teamed with former world champion Jacques Villeneuva for the BAR Team. His progress continued to improve as he led his first lap ever in the 2003 United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 2006 saw Button move onto a new team in the form of Honda Racing F1 Team, where Button captured his first career win at Hungary. Button continued with Honda through 2008 with mild success, but was clearly unhappy with his situation. In 2009 Honda was bought out and renamed Brawn GP. Button has captured a season high six wins and is currently first in the point’s race.
Button is a different story than most drivers, growing up for drivers like Button, the goal is F1. Button is currently in the prime of his career and is showing that by his ability to win races. Down the road we could possibly see Button in the IndyCar series, with possibly a one race deal for the Indy 500. Another possibility is if he wants a new challenge outside of F1. Button is only 29 and has been racing in F1 for nearly a decade, so he could have the aspirations of taking on North America open wheel racing. If and when Button decides to walk away or is forced to walk away from F1, look for his name to surface in the IndyCar Series,
IndyCar Garage breaks down 10 drivers that aren’t driving in the IndyCar Series and what their impact would have been or could be in the IndyCar series. This includes drivers that have raced partial schedules in years past or in the present season.
IndyCar Garage begins its countdown of the top 10 drivers not currently driving full-time in the IndyCar Series with driver number 10.
KASEY KAHNE – AMERICAN – AGE 29 - Chances of joining the ICS = 2%
Similar to other drivers that will be featured in the countdown, Kasey Kahne was a USAC National Midget Series Champion in 2000. If you remember back to 2000, Penske and Ganassi weren’t even in the Indy Racing League yet. There was no way that Kahne was going to join open wheel racing when it was split into two leagues, while NASCAR was in full swing. Kahne hooked up with Robert Yates Racing in 2002 for a Busch Series ride and never looked back. He was a Sprint Cup Rookie in 2004 (still only 24) and won his first race in 2005. He doesn’t command the super star power that some of the other NASCAR drivers do, but he still would have been a great addition to open wheel racing had he been presented the opportunity to race in one unified series. Kahne ultimately was a casualty of the split years and is almost certain to run a full career in NASCAR. He has 18 career wins in NASCAR’s three major divisions and is one of the most appealing drivers to the female fans of NASCAR.
The IndyCar Series completed their sixth race of the season on Saturday, with 2009 Indy 500 Champion Helio Castroneves capturing his second win of the 2009 season. IndyCar Garage breaks down five race reactions from Texas Motor Speedway.
1. We have a new leader in the point’s championship – Ryan Briscoe
Briscoe lead a race high 160 laps, and at one point had 11 second lead over the second place car. He lost a pit-stop battle to Helio with about forty laps to go and ultimately cost him the race. Brisco still leaves Texas knowing that he is now in first place in the points. If the first six races of the season are any indication of where the point’s championship will land, it will be between the Ganassi and Penske cars.
2. AGR gets back in the mix... well kinda of
The four AGR cars had an eventful day as they landed three out of the four in the top ten. Marco Andretti finished a season high fourth and made a race charge that saw him in second place at one point during the race. Danica Patrick ran in the top ten throughout the entire race, but her racing was the topic of conversation with Marco after the race. Tony Kannan came back from one lap down and salvaged an eighth place finish, after the race TK said he wanted to roast the car because it was that bad. Hideki Mutoh had mechanical problems and registered his first DNF of the season. After the race, Marco said the hardest problem he had the entire race was trying to pass his teammate, Patrick. Danica said Marco made a great pass and that she was just racing her style, Kannan stepped in and played the peace maker role. TK said the AGR teammates would sort it out over lunch after everyone had calmed down. What we can all wish for is that one of the AGR cars fends off the Penske/Ganassi monopoly and gets onto the podium and into victory lane.
3. The Car Count of 24 cars lasts for one lap.
Graham Rahal did his best to hold on to a horrible car on the first lap, but to no avail he got tangled with E.J. Viso and collected poor Milka Duno in the process. This created multiple problems, first, it knocked out one of the bright young American drivers that fans can identify. Second, it immediately knocked out three cars of 24 car field. Third and lastly, it marked the second race out of the last three that the IndyCars couldn’t get one lap in before the caution came out. In one of the most competive tracks on the schedule, it would have been great to see the IndyCars get a fierce twenty to thirty laps in before a caution came out.
4. Sarah Fisher Racing didn’t materialize.
Sarah Fisher came to Texas Motor Speedway for the 10th anniversary of her depute in the IndyCar series. The results from her race team where uneventful to say the least. She battled bad starting position, along with problems within her race car to finish several laps down. Sarah Fisher is one of the most popular drivers involved with IndyCars, and her success would be great for the series. She continues to be positive and we can only hope that she has more success later in season. She is halfway through her partial schedule for the year, circle the Kentucky race as the one to watch her team as having the best chance at a podium finish.
5. A week off until Iowa and IndyCar Garage will begin it’s countdown of the top ten drivers not in the IndyCar series.
The IndyCar series will return to action Sunday June 21st at 1 p.m. at Iowa Speedway. During the break in action, IndyCar Garage will begin it’s countdown of the top ten drivers not currently driving full-time in the IndyCar series. The countdown of ten drivers will begin on Monday June 8th with driver number 10 and conclude Wednesday June 17th with driver number one. Check IndyCarGarage.com daily for a new driver every day.
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