IndyCar Silly Season - Page 14

Kicking-back · 18 Dec 2004, 17:54 (Ref:1182660)

Scott Speed has been a Red Bull junior for the past couple of years.

2003 saw a disappointing season in British F3 - severely disrupted by serious illness.

This year he took a step back to Formula Renault and dominated both the German series and the Eurocup.

I think he is fast and talented, and he should be a good driver in GP2 next year.

rustyfan · 18 Dec 2004, 18:01 (Ref:1182662)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snrub

Has anyone watched any races with Scott Speed?

I saw all his Formula Renault EuroCup races this year and I think he was quite impressive.

GP Racer · 18 Dec 2004, 22:07 (Ref:1182825)

From the Cheever web site:

Indianapolis, IN (December 17, 2004) - Red Bull Cheever Racing completed a one-day road course test at Sebring International Raceway with Scott Speed from the Red Bull Junior Team; a driver development program in Europe made up of promising young drivers from multiple countries racing with Red Bull support.

"Scott Speed's driving skills were very impressive, especially for a racer at such a young age," said team owner Eddie Cheever Jr. "His performance and feedback were excellent. It was a great opportunity to have him test his skills in another application and compare those skills to existing IndyCar drivers. We will continue to evaluate him with an eye on the future."

Scott Speed, 21, of Manteca, CA, put the racing world on notice this past year, winning two Formula Renault championship titles in Europe -- the first-ever championships by an American driver in European junior formula. Next up is an expected seat in the new GP2 series, which sits one notch below Formula 1.

"The test today was really surprising," Speed explained. "It was my first time driving an IndyCar so I didn't know what to expect, but the car handled really well and was a very powerful package to drive compared to the Formula Renault cars. I worked really well with the whole Red Bull Cheever Racing team and had an awesome experience."

2112 · 18 Dec 2004, 22:29 (Ref:1182840)

An "eye on the future". What`s going on here? Speed was supposed to be the Americas next F1 driver, but it appears Red Bull has a back-up plan.

mac · 19 Dec 2004, 07:30 (Ref:1182988)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rustyfan

Crash.Net had this posted yesterday:

I guess it remains to be seen whether there is an announcement later today or not.

Don't expect an announcement on Briscoe until the new year.

mountainstar · 19 Dec 2004, 21:14 (Ref:1183392)

http://www.indystar.com/articles/0/202759-3440-188.html

The Playa Del team is gone as confirmed now by autosport. They failed to secure the finance to purchase the Kelley equipment.

Ganassi has not confirmed 3 cars yet, nor has Briscoe been confirmed yet.

Panther is down to one car, so we may see only one chevy on the grid for next year.

Kicking-back · 19 Dec 2004, 22:01 (Ref:1183422)

Ganassi will run three cars, and Briscoe will be confirmed.

mountainstar · 20 Dec 2004, 02:01 (Ref:1183542)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kicking-back

Ganassi will run three cars, and Briscoe will be confirmed.

Probably so, but I've heard though the grapevine that there are some second doubts about that deal, so until the ink is dry on the contract and everything is confirmed, I wouldn't mark it down as such.

mac · 20 Dec 2004, 03:13 (Ref:1183570)

It is all but done - the announcement will come in early January.

marcus · 20 Dec 2004, 05:01 (Ref:1183590)

thats a shame about the Playa del team.

I wonder whats going to happen to the kelley equipment now ?

mountainstar · 20 Dec 2004, 05:28 (Ref:1183598)

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcus

thats a shame about the Playa del team.

I wonder whats going to happen to the kelley equipment now ?

Probably used in a one off bid at Indy for someone. With only 1 chevy engine on the grid full time next year, there should be plenty of chevys around for one off Indy efforts.

N I Tram · 20 Dec 2004, 12:36 (Ref:1183873)

Maybe there's still time for other Chevvy tems to come together, perhaps using the season as a preliminary effort for a more concerted 2006 campaign?

Tenoch · 20 Dec 2004, 16:39 (Ref:1184093)

I doubt it Chevy has stated that it no longer has an interest in Open Wheel racing, and that it will concentrate its efforts on Nascar.

BootsOntheSide · 20 Dec 2004, 20:07 (Ref:1184295)

Yes, but a lot of equipment is available to use, and could be leased or sold cheaply by Chevrolet, especially if a company similar to Cosworth can trake over its development.

mac · 5 Jan 2005, 02:41 (Ref:1193346)

The Briscoe deal is done at Ganassi. Expect an announcement VERY shortly regarding a certain 24 hour race, followed by an IRL announcement mid-January.

Hazza · 5 Jan 2005, 05:50 (Ref:1193382)

Papis/Pruett/Briscoe for the Rolex 24r, and a seat for the year in IRL...sounds like a plan to me, now about that Free-To-Air broadcast Mr Woods...

Hazza · 5 Jan 2005, 10:58 (Ref:1193516)

Pruett/Diaz/Briscoe, infact!

Dixon is in the other car with Darren

Tim Northcutt · 5 Jan 2005, 16:09 (Ref:1193689)

If we're going to see announcements, they will be happening next week...

Drivers will get their physicals to compete and they head to Homestead to test the week of Jan. 17-22....

If teams are going to race this year, they'll want to be at the Homestead tests....

Tim Northcutt · 5 Jan 2005, 16:11 (Ref:1193692)

BTW...

D&R's site and the IRL site are both carrying the announcement of Roger Yashawaka as the driver of the 24 car....

BSchneiderFan · 5 Jan 2005, 17:21 (Ref:1193754)

Yasukawa, no?

Kicking-back · 5 Jan 2005, 17:49 (Ref:1193777)

Yes it is Yasukawa.

On another note - Scott Speed, who had been linked with some Cheever outings has signed up for the season in GP2.

Tim Northcutt · 5 Jan 2005, 18:21 (Ref:1193811)

I typed his name wrong and it was too late to edit it...sorry....

It is Yasukawa

BootsOntheSide · 5 Jan 2005, 19:57 (Ref:1193936)

Yasukawa and Briscoe both look pretty certain - Roger's car will be Honda-powered by the way. The (admittedly far-fetched) possibility with Scott Speed was that he would do the 3 non-oval races for Cheever, as extra development practice for him towards F1, and I'm not sure if they clash with GP2 races - can anyone help.

Kicking-back · 5 Jan 2005, 20:12 (Ref:1193947)

Speed will not be doing those races as the first is in the middle of his GP2 testing and the other two fall during the season.

rustyfan · 5 Jan 2005, 21:08 (Ref:1193984)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kicking-back

Speed will not be doing those races as the first is in the middle of his GP2 testing and the other two fall during the season.

Too bad. What races on the GP2 schedule do the IndyCar ones clash with? I don't have the 2005 GP2 schedule available.

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