IndyCar Silly Season

So, BHA is looking for a driver:

http://racer.com/indycar/item/109847-indycar-herta-looking-to-expand-operations-in-2015

It seems that we have 30 solid entries for Indy and a few other possibilities out there: Townsend Bell is almost certain to return, that would make 31. Dreyer & Reinbold is looking to make a return as well. Other possibilites include Schmitt Hamilton, which always fields an extra car at Indy, John Barnes who is trying to regroup (This is a longshot as he has sold a pretty good chunk of his equipment), and a third car for the Ed Carpenter / Sarah Fisher alliance. We might actually see some bumping on bump day if this keeps up.

An article regarding conjectural possibilities for the new 2015 aero kits and enclosing canopies over the drivers in the future:

http://www.ibj.com/blogs/4-the-score/post/50035-two-changes-could-have-major-impact-on-indycar-series

Alpineopossum wrote:It seems that we have 30 solid entries for Indy and a few other possibilities out there: Townsend Bell is almost certain to return, that would make 31. Dreyer & Reinbold is looking to make a return as well. Other possibilites include Schmitt Hamilton, which always fields an extra car at Indy, John Barnes who is trying to regroup (This is a longshot as he has sold a pretty good chunk of his equipment), and a third car for the Ed Carpenter / Sarah Fisher alliance. We might actually see some bumping on bump day if this keeps up.

Personally, I think it's too early to talk about Indy, considering that half the IndyCar Series hasn't even confirmed if they will be back or not. I see only about 15 confirmed full time teams, and two thirds of them are run by either Penske, Ganassi, or Andretti.

On a side note, expect the 2015 IndyCar schedule to be out by the end of the month. Most of the races have a tentative date, but no official schedule has been released yet.

flyingturns89 wrote:

Alpineopossum wrote:It seems that we have 30 solid entries for Indy and a few other possibilities out there: Townsend Bell is almost certain to return, that would make 31. Dreyer & Reinbold is looking to make a return as well. Other possibilites include Schmitt Hamilton, which always fields an extra car at Indy, John Barnes who is trying to regroup (This is a longshot as he has sold a pretty good chunk of his equipment), and a third car for the Ed Carpenter / Sarah Fisher alliance. We might actually see some bumping on bump day if this keeps up.

Personally, I think it's too early to talk about Indy, considering that half the IndyCar Series hasn't even confirmed if they will be back or not. I see only about 15 confirmed full time teams, and two thirds of them are run by either Penske, Ganassi, or Andretti.

On a side note, expect the 2015 IndyCar schedule to be out by the end of the month. Most of the races have a tentative date, but no official schedule has been released yet.

To add on that, it looks like California will have its date in late June, and Sonoma will be the closer now, unless they do end up utilizing the week after Sonoma since that would be Labor Day weekend

I figure that means Pocono will have to more than likely be mid-July now. If that's the case, that would be at least nice going down the Northeast Extension on a non-Fourth of July weekend Sunday, since that's the way I usually go (and that is PACKED with people heading back from the Poconos to the Philly suburbs that evening).

Looks like Indy Lights is on its way to a much improved car count next year:

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/109950-indy-lights-new-dallara-il15-car-sales-taking-off

Get twice the field for Indy Lights, with some of the races they already provide, that should be a FUN series to watch now

PYLrulz wrote:Get twice the field for Indy Lights, with some of the races they already provide, that should be a FUN series to watch now

And, in the long term, should provide a steady stream of new talent for the VICS (provided there are seats for them to fill...).

crl wrote:Looks like Indy Lights is on its way to a much improved car count next year:

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/109950-indy-lights-new-dallara-il15-car-sales-taking-off

The recent Lights races have been very entertaining despite their car counts. I'm really anticipating the new season!

According to reports, IndyCar has scheduled a race in the United Arab Emirates, which will be run on the streets of Dubai. The date is reportedly February 22nd, the same day as the Daytona 500.

The official schedule will be released on Thursday, but this is what has been rumored.

flyingturns89 wrote:According to reports, IndyCar has scheduled a race in the United Arab Emirates, which will be run on the streets of Dubai. The date is reportedly February 22nd, the same day as the Daytona 500.

The official schedule will be released on Thursday, but this is what has been rumored.

If it's a day race i'd imagine it's long after the 500.

Alta wrote:

flyingturns89 wrote:According to reports, IndyCar has scheduled a race in the United Arab Emirates, which will be run on the streets of Dubai. The date is reportedly February 22nd, the same day as the Daytona 500.

The official schedule will be released on Thursday, but this is what has been rumored.

If it's a day race i'd imagine it's long after the 500.

It sounds like if it's true, the race will be at 2 AM eastern, so it would about 12 hours before.

I think that it'd more logical to go the way F1 does and try and run it as an evening race, so American fans can watch it live without being up at some ridiculous time.

SweetErin wrote:I think that it'd more logical to go the way F1 does and try and run it as an evening race, so American fans can watch it live without being up at some ridiculous time.

If they do night it would be way early in the morning.

Alta wrote:

SweetErin wrote:I think that it'd more logical to go the way F1 does and try and run it as an evening race, so American fans can watch it live without being up at some ridiculous time.

If they do night it would be way early in the morning.

a majority of the population isn't on the west coast, and as such, a 6 or 7 am start is more reasonable, than a 1 or 2 am start.

I find 8 am (east coast) start times to be ridiculous, personally, well compared to 1-3 am starts

SweetErin wrote:

Alta wrote:

SweetErin wrote:I think that it'd more logical to go the way F1 does and try and run it as an evening race, so American fans can watch it live without being up at some ridiculous time.

If they do night it would be way early in the morning.

a majority of the population isn't on the west coast, and as such, a 6 or 7 am start is more reasonable, than a 1 or 2 am start.

They've done 1 or 2 am before (Motegi), It's honestly a question of which viewer party do they want to lose...East Coast or West Coast?

Rumor has it that the promoters in Dubai want the race and they have the money, but IndyCar is hesitant to race in the region due to the recent rise of the Islamic State in nearby Iraq and Syria. Honestly, Dubai is far away from Mosul so I wouldn't anticipate major problems but I certainly understand their concern.

Alpineopossum wrote:Rumor has it that the promoters in Dubai want the race and they have the money, but IndyCar is hesitant to race in the region due to the recent rise of the Islamic State in nearby Iraq and Syria. Honestly, Dubai is far away from Mosul so I wouldn't anticipate major problems but I certainly understand their concern.

Correct me if i'm wrong but isn't the UAE one of the more stable countries in the middle east?

Also if you're going off the Racer.com article, it looked more like an opinion piece by the writer to be honest with you. I won't deny that there could be problems but right now i don't see ISIS going after an Indycar race to make a statement to America.

A.J. Foyt Enterprises has announced that starting in 2015, the team will field two full time teams in the IndyCar Series. Takuma Sato will return to the #14 car, while Jack Hawksworth will drive the #41 car. The team will remain with Honda.

Alta wrote:

Alpineopossum wrote:Rumor has it that the promoters in Dubai want the race and they have the money, but IndyCar is hesitant to race in the region due to the recent rise of the Islamic State in nearby Iraq and Syria. Honestly, Dubai is far away from Mosul so I wouldn't anticipate major problems but I certainly understand their concern.

Correct me if i'm wrong but isn't the UAE one of the more stable countries in the middle east?

Also if you're going off the Racer.com article, it looked more like an opinion piece by the writer to be honest with you. I won't deny that there could be problems but right now i don't see ISIS going after an Indycar race to make a statement to America.

You would be correct, the UAE is probably one of the most stable nations in the region. I think Pruett is worrying a lot but anything that attracts media attention to the Middle East these days will have extra precautions taken.

Also Sam Bird tweeted that he's in Indianapolis. He's talked about running indycar before and may be perusing that.

The Indycar schedule has been released.

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/110344-indycar-2015-calendar-revealed

Notes:

- Season opener is at the Autodromo Internacional Nelson Piquet in Brazil.

- The Indianapolis 500 will be on May 24th.

- Pocono and Detroit remain on the schedule, with Pocono being moved to August 23rd as the penultimate race.

- The season will conclude at the Sonoma Raceway while the Fontana race has been pushed forward to June 27th.

Well i could go see the season finale if i wanted to trek up to Sonoma lol. Although to be honest with you Sonoma doesn't have that season finale feel that Fontana had gained in the last few years.

Surprised Toronto made it to the schedule after everyone was saying it was gone. Kind of sad Dubai didn't make it as we don't get our Mid-Feburary ultra super hype racing kickoff.

Ick... that NOLA track looks so boring. I hope the track doesn't act like that!

Alta wrote:Although to be honest with you Sonoma doesn't have that season finale feel that Fontana had gained in the last few years.

I, too, would have preferred  Fontana over Sonoma as the season finale. I personally think that Sonoma hasn't produced as interesting of races as most of the other road courses in IndyCar, anyway.

I also liked having the last of the 500-miler Triple Crown events conclude the season.

SpeedDemon37 wrote:

Alta wrote:Although to be honest with you Sonoma doesn't have that season finale feel that Fontana had gained in the last few years.

I, too, would have preferred  Fontana over Sonoma as the season finale. I personally think that Sonoma hasn't produced as interesting of races as most of the other road courses in IndyCar, anyway.

I also liked having the last of the 500-miler Triple Crown events conclude the season.

This. All of this. Going to California for a race, night race or otherwise, in the middle of June is not a good idea. Fontana should always be the season ender.

It's still frustrating that the calendar ends right before the handegg season starts. I know it's their attempt to try and get into that huge potential market, but do they really think the average handegg fan cares about Indycar? Instead it makes the season once again a logistical nightmare, especially with NOLA, Long Beach and Barber all happening in a 3 week span.

In the last few years, I always get the impression that Indycar is that close to having a truly stellar calendar. But every year, they make boneheaded mistakes which ruin the entire picture, broad strokes I know. if they switched Toronto and Texas (which really should be COTA, I mean who likes Texas Motor Speedway anyways) that would make things a lot easier since Detroit and Toronto are beside each other. I mean, just... why....

RealRacingRoots wrote:, I mean who likes Texas Motor Speedway anyways) that would make things a lot easier since Detroit and Toronto are beside each other.  I mean, just... why....

Indycar has put on some stellar races at Texas before, however it's been a while.

Robin Miller said a lot of venues were reluctant to host the finale on Labor Day weekend; that's why it moved away from Fontana.

Pocono in late August... me like. Should be REAL nice in the mountains that time of year.

A shame that the Fontana race isn't the finale, Sonoma doesn't have a good looking atmosphere for any type of finale, if it was a night road course race, then that'd be different but it doesn't seems to be.

Here are the Indy Lights and Pro Mazda Championship schedules for 2015; note that the Lights finale will be on a different date, at a different venue:

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/110514-indy-lights-pro-mazda-usf2000-schedules-revealed

Add Jay Howard to the list of one-off drivers for the 500:

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/110521-indycar-jay-howard-green1-sign-indy-500-deal-with-herta

Holy crap that car is hideous. o_O

crl wrote:Here are the Indy Lights and Pro Mazda Championship schedules for 2015; note that the Lights finale will be on a different date, at a different venue:

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/110514-indy-lights-pro-mazda-usf2000-schedules-revealed

I did not see that coming.

>Laguna

Foreshadowing for 2016 in Indycar?

crl wrote:Add Jay Howard to the list of one-off drivers for the 500:

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/110521-indycar-jay-howard-green1-sign-indy-500-deal-with-herta

Good to see another car on the entry list already. Maybe there will actually be some bumping this year...

crl wrote:Here are the Indy Lights and Pro Mazda Championship schedules for 2015; note that the Lights finale will be on a different date, at a different venue:

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/110514-indy-lights-pro-mazda-usf2000-schedules-revealed

I'm personally disappointed that Pocono will not be returning, but overall, I like the Indy Lights schedule!

I also think that Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is a better venue for a season finale than Sonoma. Will be looking forward to that weekend; I've never been able to watch an open wheel race at Laguna Seca.

YES! PLEASE LET THIS HAPPEN!

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/110894-indycar-de-silvestro-reportedly-aiming-to-return

SIMMONNNAAA

crl wrote:http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com/2014/11/25/indycar-davide-valsecchi-confirms-spm-december-test/

Loving this news Him and Luca definitely deserve more than sitting around on the sidelines..

Now, JEV's looking at IndyCar:

http://www.racer.com/f1/item/111337-f1-jean-eric-vergne-eyes-indycar-switch

New changes to IndyCar for 2015:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117013

BWardboy88 wrote:New changes to IndyCar for 2015:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117013

Doing double points for the 500 milers was OK, because those were longer races. Double points for the finale? That screams, "gimmick".

crl wrote:

BWardboy88 wrote:New changes to IndyCar for 2015:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117013

Doing double points for the 500 milers was OK, because those were longer races. Double points for the finale? That screams, "gimmick".

It was done last year and nobody raised a finger. I'm fine with double points finales personally.

Alta wrote:

crl wrote:

BWardboy88 wrote:New changes to IndyCar for 2015:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117013

Doing double points for the 500 milers was OK, because those were longer races. Double points for the finale? That screams, "gimmick".

It was done last year and nobody raised a finger. I'm fine with double points finales personally.

But the finale was a 500-miler. That's why I was OK with it. They're not going to make Sonoma a 500-miler.

crl wrote:

Alta wrote:

crl wrote:

BWardboy88 wrote:New changes to IndyCar for 2015:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117013

Doing double points for the 500 milers was OK, because those were longer races. Double points for the finale? That screams, "gimmick".

It was done last year and nobody raised a finger. I'm fine with double points finales personally.

But the finale was a 500-miler. That's why I was OK with it. They're not going to make Sonoma a 500-miler.

They have to make Sonoma important somehow. Because even though i could go see a season finale race for a major series i still don't think it deserves the finale spot.

crl wrote:

BWardboy88 wrote:New changes to IndyCar for 2015:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117013

Doing double points for the 500 milers was OK, because those were longer races. Double points for the finale? That screams, "gimmick".

I think if it was for the sake of a gimmick they'd probably have more double points races from the previous year as opposed to one less.