Re: IndyCar Silly Season

by JMac525 Sat Jan 31, 2015 11:36 pm

RetrogradeRenegade wrote:In better news, we have a driver confirmation today: https://twitter.com/CFHRIndy/status/561177098539528192.

Nice choice. Very Happy

I'm pretty surprised, but it's a pleasant surprise.

As for the additional venue, I would still love to see Indycar over at Road America.

by Backmarker Sat Jan 31, 2015 11:57 pm

Alta wrote:
NeverNeutral wrote:I've heard the biggest thing setting back COTA is that Eddie Gossage is threatening to cancel the Texas race if it goes through.
Would it honestly be a loss? It hasn't been entertaining with Indycar in a couple years and when's the last time they had a decent Nascar race?

Not really, but IndyCar wants to run more ovals and not many promoters want to accommodate them.

by Alpineopossum Sun Feb 01, 2015 11:38 pm

NeverNeutral wrote:
Alta wrote:
NeverNeutral wrote:I've heard the biggest thing setting back COTA is that Eddie Gossage is threatening to cancel the Texas race if it goes through.
Would it honestly be a loss? It hasn't been entertaining with Indycar in a couple years and when's the last time they had a decent Nascar race?
Not really, but IndyCar wants to run more ovals and not many promoters want to accommodate them.

If Eddie Gossage is so mad about what would probably a one off race run under very unusual circumstances (a race was canceled, a promoter of a World Challenge race wants to also run an IndyCar event) that he would cancel a race that from what I've heard he makes a pretty decent profit on that he's an idiot. That's all there really is to be said about that.

by Alta Mon Feb 02, 2015 12:21 am

Alpineopossum wrote:
NeverNeutral wrote:
Alta wrote:
NeverNeutral wrote:I've heard the biggest thing setting back COTA is that Eddie Gossage is threatening to cancel the Texas race if it goes through.
Would it honestly be a loss? It hasn't been entertaining with Indycar in a couple years and when's the last time they had a decent Nascar race?
Not really, but IndyCar wants to run more ovals and not many promoters want to accommodate them.

If Eddie Gossage is so mad about what would probably a one off race run under very unusual circumstances (a race was canceled, a promoter of a World Challenge race wants to also run an IndyCar event) that he would cancel a race that from what I've heard he makes a pretty decent profit on that he's an idiot. That's all there really is to be said about that.

Then again this is the dude that threw a shitfit when CART cancelled a race due to safety concerns.

by **crl** Mon Feb 02, 2015 5:06 am

Alta wrote:
Alpineopossum wrote:
NeverNeutral wrote:
Alta wrote:
NeverNeutral wrote:I've heard the biggest thing setting back COTA is that Eddie Gossage is threatening to cancel the Texas race if it goes through.
Would it honestly be a loss? It hasn't been entertaining with Indycar in a couple years and when's the last time they had a decent Nascar race?
Not really, but IndyCar wants to run more ovals and not many promoters want to accommodate them.

If Eddie Gossage is so mad about what would probably a one off race run under very unusual circumstances (a race was canceled, a promoter of a World Challenge race wants to also run an IndyCar event) that he would cancel a race that from what I've heard he makes a pretty decent profit on that he's an idiot. That's all there really is to be said about that.
Then again this is the dude that threw a shitfit when CART cancelled a race due to safety concerns.

According to Robin Miller, he had the letters C, A, R, and T taken off his keyboard.

by **crl** Mon Feb 02, 2015 8:12 pm

IndyCar officially announces they will not replace the race in Brazil. 16 rounds for 2015.

by Alta Tue Feb 03, 2015 1:04 am

crl wrote:IndyCar officially announces they will not replace the race in Brazil. 16 rounds for 2015.

by RetrogradeRenegade Tue Feb 03, 2015 5:34 am

crl wrote:IndyCar officially announces they will not replace the race in Brazil. 16 rounds for 2015.

They won't replace it as the season opener - but they might run a replacement race later in the year.

by Milan655 Tue Feb 03, 2015 11:35 am

Gabby Chaves has signed for BHA: http://www.indycar.com/News/2015/02/2-3-Chaves-joins-Herta-team-for-2015

by BWard Tue Feb 03, 2015 11:42 am

Milan655 wrote:Gabby Chaves has signed for BHA: http://www.indycar.com/News/2015/02/2-3-Chaves-joins-Herta-team-for-2015

Now this is something I approve of. I won't be surprised if he can do pretty good this year, especially with his success in Indy Lights last year.

by SpeedDemon37 Tue Feb 03, 2015 6:49 pm

I hope that Filippi will be able to perform at CFHR! Seeing as the #20 won three races last year, I'm excited to see what he can do with it!

by **crl** Thu Feb 05, 2015 2:41 pm

Some more good news:

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/113247-indycar-de-silvestro-making-progress-on-return

by BWard Thu Feb 05, 2015 2:56 pm

crl wrote:Some more good news:

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/113247-indycar-de-silvestro-making-progress-on-return

by Alta Thu Feb 05, 2015 5:37 pm

crl wrote:Some more good news:

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/113247-indycar-de-silvestro-making-progress-on-return

>Simona getting a good ride

I'm down with this.

by **crl** Sat Feb 07, 2015 12:15 am

Oh, now they fund it!

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/113294-indycar-government-releases-funds-to-brasilia-circuit

by bsoyuz Sat Feb 07, 2015 6:40 am

crl wrote:Oh, now they fund it!

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/113294-indycar-government-releases-funds-to-brasilia-circuit

tl;dr Brasilia don't wants any international racing series; they just want the money from the contract, which they have already. The same happened to the MotoGP race, so don't be surprised, this is how shit works here.

by Alpineopossum Mon Feb 09, 2015 4:01 pm

KV Racing Technology is testing driver at New Orleans this week. Sébastien Bourdais, who has already been confirmed for 2015, will be joined by Stefano Coletti and James Jakes ( Smile

). Unfortunately there is still a possibility that Saavedra will be re-signed...

by Alta Mon Feb 09, 2015 4:03 pm

IndyCar Silly Season - Page 4 10527750_1004333989580085_448643571295031502_n

Oh no.

by **crl** Mon Feb 09, 2015 8:29 pm

Hinch wants Conor in IndyCar (so do I):

http://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/conor-daly-is-next-in-line-for-indycar

by PYLrulz Tue Feb 10, 2015 5:40 am

Alta wrote:

Oh no.

Speed in an Andretti car?!? If that's the case, then things might be finally looking up for him. Thought he always had reasonable talent, just never had the right ride (Toro Rosso not being a good fit for him, and don't give me Vettel, because he's a once in a generation talent, and Red Bull just rushing him into the Cup Series before he was even ready)

by **crl** Tue Feb 10, 2015 4:56 pm

Here's where everybody stands right now:

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/113350-indycar-silly-season-update-february-2015?showall=

by BWard Thu Feb 12, 2015 9:58 am

Stefano Coletti to KV Racing?

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117667

by RetrogradeRenegade Thu Feb 12, 2015 11:16 am

BWardboy88 wrote:Stefano Coletti to KV Racing?

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117667

I hope not, he drove like an utter jackass in GP2 last year, and had the choke to end all chokes in 2013.

by Milan655 Thu Feb 12, 2015 11:33 am

4 seasons in GP2 and very little to prove he is worthy of anything higher than maybe GT racing.

by Lucstar88 Thu Feb 12, 2015 12:45 pm

Vasser may be coming out of retirement?

KV Racing / KVSH ‏@kvracing 58m58 minutes ago
Breaking News!!!! @jimmyvasser is coming out of retirement Smile

http://instagram.com/p/zAiMFWBWEj/

by Milan655 Thu Feb 12, 2015 12:56 pm

Are KV running a car for Indy? Would suppose it's that?

by **Cynon** Thu Feb 12, 2015 2:33 pm

Milan655 wrote:Are KV running a car for Indy? Would suppose it's that?

KV has leased a bunch of cars at Indy in recent years. They're leasing one out to Byrd (for Clauson) this year and they leased out cars for Bell and Davison last year.

by Milan655 Thu Feb 12, 2015 2:41 pm

Then maybe Vasser will make a return at Indy, he said he planned to do the Indy 500 last year too.

by Alpineopossum Thu Feb 12, 2015 9:35 pm

Several teams were testing at New Orleans. Here are the results. The times seemed a bit weird (margins and overall times didn't mesh, so there might be a mistake)
1. Will Power (Team Penske)
2. Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing)
3. Simon Pagenaud (Team Penske)
4. James Hinchcliffe (Schmitt Peterson Motorsports)
5. James Jakes (Schmitt Peterson Motorsports)
6. Juan Pablo Montoya (Team Penske)
7. Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport)
8. Carlos Muñoz (Andretti Autosport)
9. Hélio Castroneves (Team Penske)
10. Ryan Hunter Reay (Andretti Autosport)
11. Luca Fillippi (Ed Carpenter Racing/Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing)
12. Stefano Coletti (KV Racing Technology)
13. Sébastien Bourdais (KV Racing Technology)

Bourdais and Jimmy Vasser were running around in Panoz DP01s (old ChampCar from 2007). They sounded great! Footage can be found on KV's facebook page.

by RetrogradeRenegade Fri Feb 13, 2015 4:43 am

Alpineopossum wrote:...there might be a mistake)

Alpineopossum wrote:2. Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing)

I think I found the mistake. Razz

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

by flyingturns89 Mon Feb 16, 2015 10:57 am

James Jakes will drive the second car at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

http://www.indycar.com/News/2015/02/2-16-Jakes-to-drive-Schmidt-Peterson-Motorsports-car

by Milan655 Mon Feb 16, 2015 11:04 am

What a horrendously boring driver choice...

by Alta Mon Feb 16, 2015 4:10 pm

flyingturns89 wrote:James Jakes will drive the second car at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

http://www.indycar.com/News/2015/02/2-16-Jakes-to-drive-Schmidt-Peterson-Motorsports-car

I can see why they did it but i didn't expect Jakes to get it though.

by BWard Tue Feb 17, 2015 11:29 am

Chevrolet's IndyCar Aerokit for 2015.

IndyCar Silly Season - Page 4 B-DzOoKCAAAmGiQ

All I have to say to this is Ewww.

by Alpineopossum Tue Feb 17, 2015 1:00 pm

Sage Karam will drive for Ganassi at St. Pete.

Racer wrote:
Ganassi team confirms Sage Karam for St. Pete
Chip Ganassi Racing Teams announced today that development driver Sage Karam will join the team's Verizon IndyCar Series lineup in the No. 8 GE LED-backed Chevrolet for the season-opening race at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Karam's No. 8 Chevrolet will bear the GE LED livery to start his first Verizon IndyCar Series event outside of the 2014 Indianapolis 500.

"I am very happy to be making this announcement about Sage. If there ever was a kid that deserved an opportunity in this series, it is Sage," said team owner Chip Ganassi. "He has done everything that we have asked him to do and has turned a lot of heads whether it is driving an Indy car, sports car or simply making appearances. Sage is a class act and we are happy to have him run in St. Petersburg as we continue to work on the rest of the season."

Karam signed a multi-year deal last season as a CGRT development driver which began with the 2014 Indianapolis 500. The former Indy Lights champion became the youngest Indy Lights Champion in history at 18 years old in 2013. Karam is also the first driver to compete in all levels of the Mazda Road to Indy program, where he became the only driver to win races at each level. Prior to that he was the youngest winner of the Skip Barber scholarship, where he also became the youngest (13) winner ever in the Skip Barber shootout. Earlier this year, Karam was also teammates on the No. 01 Ford Eco-boost/Target Riley for the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Scott Pruett, Joey Hand and Charlie Kimball.

"It's such an honor to get the opportunity to race in the Verizon IndyCar Series, especially in a CGRT car," said Karam. "The 2014 season was a great learning experience with the team as a whole and I feel prepared to get out there and be competitive. I'm really glad that I'll be able to represent COMFORT REVOLUTION and Big Machine Records. COMFORT REVOLUTION has been with me throughout my racing career and the guys at Big Machine Records have been great partners. This is truly one of the biggest days of my life and now I'm just ready for the season to get started."

by RealRacingRoots Wed Feb 18, 2015 2:50 am

The extra mini wings on the front of the Chevy Aero Kit do look familiar....

IndyCar Silly Season - Page 4 JordanNoseWing

I do imagine it would look better without them. Considering how open-ended the regulations are, it's all about getting as much downforce by anymeans necessary, and because of that I don't really mind it or how the rest of the car looks.

by BWard Thu Feb 26, 2015 4:28 am

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/113776-indycar-simona-de-silvestro-closes-on-race-seat-for-st-pete

by Backmarker Mon Mar 09, 2015 8:37 am

Looks like Coletti got the KV seat.

http://www.italiaracing.net/newsint.aspx?id=53124&cat=3

by Davidizer13 Tue Mar 10, 2015 2:06 am

The Honda aerokit is in, and it's a stunner:

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/114214-indycar-honda-unveils-inspired-aero-kit-design#!DW12_HJ3_Silver_Livery_RC_FQuarter_000012_SM

by BWard Wed Mar 11, 2015 2:43 pm

SIMONAAAAAAA IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!! IndyCar Silly Season - Page 4 215644238

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118002

by RyanB06 Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:04 pm

*does happy dance*

by Alta Wed Mar 11, 2015 3:42 pm

HYPPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEE

by BooyakaDragon Wed Mar 11, 2015 6:16 pm

Good to see Simona back, not as big of a fan like ya'll, but hey, a talented female driver is always good to see Smile

by Backmarker Wed Mar 11, 2015 10:25 pm

Hinch's car is looking wicked. Reminds me a lot of the Name 73 TMMC car.

IndyCar Silly Season - Page 4 11055710

by Alta Sat Mar 14, 2015 3:48 am

Sage Karam will be racing for Ganassi in St. Pete

by Alta Mon Mar 16, 2015 7:00 pm

Dale Coyne has announced that Francesco Dracone (aka the guy that ran 2 races for Conquest in 2010) will race the #19 car this year.

Edit: Coyne has also announced that Carlos Huertas will retain his ride for this year.

Our field is set boys.

by Milan655 Mon Mar 16, 2015 7:09 pm

Alta wrote:Dale Coyne has announced that Francesco Dracone (aka the guy that ran 2 races for Conquest in 2010) will race the #19 car this year.

This guy must have big money behind him!!! My god, I've watched him the past few years in AutoGP, hell I even remember him from when the series used to be the Italian F3000 championship(!!!), and even saw him a once live in Italian F3 long ago when I was a teenager and he was always such a mediocre driver. I didn't even know he'd driven in IndyCar!

Similar to Fabrizio del Monte who ran in ChampCar for a few races in 2005-06 I think, but about 100x worse. At least Fabrizio could win in Italian F3000..

by Alpineopossum Mon Mar 16, 2015 7:42 pm

Francesco Dracone...I never thought he'd be back. In 2010, Conquest Racing had a driver named Mario Romancini, who apparently ran out of money after Edmonton. He wasn't particularly quick, so maybe that's why he got the boot. Anyway Dracone's name showed up on the entry list for Mid Ohio along Bertrand Baguette (who actually knew how to drive), and NOBODY knew who he was.

He failed badly in practice. I went by his garage and there was a representative of the team handing out buttons (the sort of button you would normally see for a political campaign) saying "Ciao Francesco!". They looked very cheaply made.

Anyway, he was very slow in the race, I think he actually was passed by Milka Duno, which is a pretty impressive backmarker achievement. I seem to recall him getting in somebody's way during the race, but I don't remember who. Dracone stuck around for another race (maybe Sonoma) and after that he was gone. Rumor had it his license was yanked but that apparently didn't happen.

Dracone won't be much of a factor unless he somehow got better but he will probably cause some shenanigans when he gets in somebody's way.

by Alta Mon Mar 16, 2015 8:55 pm

Yeah i thought i remembered him running around with Duno in that race.

Also testing has been happening today at Barber. Here's the results

http://www.imscdn.com/indycar_media/documents/2015-03-16/indycar-results-p1.pdf
http://www.imscdn.com/indycar_media/documents/2015-03-16/indycar-results-p2.pdf

Also Sage Karam wrecked in testing today, USAToday says it was a pretty big impact (enough to crack the tub). Karam had his wrist checked out but X-rays came back negative.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/motor/indycar/2015/03/16/sage-karam-indycar-test-crash-barber-motorsports-park/24852121/

by Alpineopossum Sun Mar 22, 2015 9:22 pm

Apparently Wilson is desperately searching for a ride. I really hope we see him somewhere this year.

He doesn't have much sponsorship, but I think there's something more too this. JWil is one of the hardest drivers to set up a car for because of his height. I got his autograph at the Rolex 24 in 2012 and he looked like he was at least 6'4", probably more like 6'5", which is very tall for a racing driver and a good 3-4 inches taller any other IndyCar driver (Graham Rahal is pretty tall too but I think he's about 6'0". RHR is also up there). People say that Wilson would've been in F1 for a lot longer than he was if he was 8 inches shorter.

Anyway, I hear Wilson is working on an Indy deal with Andretti Autosport, and I hope it happens. Speaking of Andretti, rumor has it that Simona's deal with AA might be longer than just St. Pete, so stay tuned. This will be by far the best equipment she's ever had and it will be fun to watch, especially since St. Petersburg is one of her best tracks.

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