2010 Silly Season - Page 24

**bjohnsonsmith** · 28 Apr 2010, 15:14 (Ref:2681177)

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcostraz

But what's to do for an almost ex-driver like Villeneuve?

He tried his hand at race commentary with BBC radio andhe was't bad but obviously he still wants to race. Maybe he should race in the ALMS/LMS?

courageous · 29 Apr 2010, 15:20 (Ref:2681720)

He did - he was crap at that too

**bjohnsonsmith** · 29 Apr 2010, 16:19 (Ref:2681746)

Quote:

Originally Posted by courageous

He did - he was crap at that too

He finished 2nd at Le Mans in 2008, driving for Peugeot.

NaBUru38 · 29 Apr 2010, 21:52 (Ref:2681919)

2008/09 A1GP champion Adam Carrrol will race for Andretti part-time in the second half of the season (I guess that means the remaining road/street races). How much worried should Ryan Hunter-Reay be?

**bjohnsonsmith** · 29 Apr 2010, 22:10 (Ref:2681927)

Quote:

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

2008/09 A1GP champion Adam Carrrol will race for Andretti part-time in the second half of the season (I guess that means the remaining road/street races). How much worried should Ryan Hunter-Reay be?

I think the musical chairs that's being played, like this example, during the season does the IRL/IICS no favors and shows an inconsistency that could be seen as very unattractive to potential sponsors.

Taprobane · 30 Apr 2010, 07:51 (Ref:2682048)

Agreed, though adding a driver of Adam's class is no bad thing.

JagtechOhio · 30 Apr 2010, 13:09 (Ref:2682178)

Any new seats filled during the season is a good thing, particularly when it is an established talent like Carroll.

The bad will be if:
Hunter-Reay is unfunded after Indy and loses his ride
Mutoh loses his ride if Haas folds
All the criticism aimed at Milka Duno affects her Citgo sponsorship and Dale Coyne Racing's budget.
Coyne can't afford to run Lloyd full season, even if Milka stays
Rahal can't find a seat
Izod doesn't sell a boatload of T shirts. Do they get a trophy if they do?

Yannick · 3 Jun 2010, 10:13 (Ref:2703747)

What's the status on Ryan Hunter-Reay's drive at Andretti? I would guess his win at Long Beach has given him the full season drive, but you never know ...

During the last few years, the only drivers to win an IndyCar race who were not from the "Classic Big 4 Teams" (Penske, Ganassi, Andretti, Newman/Haas) are Ryan Hunter-Reay (for Rahal/Letterman) and Justin Wilson (for Dale Coyne), both at Watkins Glen. That certainly must have not gone down too well with the "Big 4" who are now on their way to becoming the "Big 2". But his wins are even more of a reason for Ryan to keep his drive.

I hope his thumb heels well.

Tim Northcutt · 3 Jun 2010, 13:18 (Ref:2703832)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yannick

What's the status on Ryan Hunter-Reay's drive at Andretti? I would guess his win at Long Beach has given him the full season drive, but you never know ...

During the last few years, the only drivers to win an IndyCar race who were not from the "Classic Big 4 Teams" (Penske, Ganassi, Andretti, Newman/Haas) are Ryan Hunter-Reay (for Rahal/Letterman) and Justin Wilson (for Dale Coyne), both at Watkins Glen. That certainly must have not gone down too well with the "Big 4" who are now on their way to becoming the "Big 2". But his wins are even more of a reason for Ryan to keep his drive.

I hope his thumb heels well.

As of early May, they were still looking for more funding for him...

If it has not materilized, Texas will be his last race in the car...

The last lap accident cost him more than a hurt thumb...He dropped a lot of places in the final results and that cost the team quite a bit of prize money.

JagtechOhio · 3 Jun 2010, 23:10 (Ref:2704228)

Wreck for John Andretti, Hunter-Reay and the write-off for Kanaan in practice. Three days to prep four cars. Good Lord.

How many cars does Mikey have????

JagtechOhio · 5 Jun 2010, 08:04 (Ref:2704939)

Um, 'scuse me, Mr. Rahal? No, the young one, Graham....

Are you sure that turning down the seat in the #19 car was a good idea ?

NaBUru38 · 5 Jun 2010, 18:23 (Ref:2705150)

Who do you believe is more likely to become Conway's replacement? Graham Rahal, Ryan Hunter-Reay, another one?

Yannick · 5 Jun 2010, 19:00 (Ref:2705161)

Quote:

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Who do you believe is more likely to become Conway's replacement? Graham Rahal, Ryan Hunter-Reay, another one?

That should depend on whether IZOD has a say in this matter. RHR is their man and it's called the IZOD IndyCar Series, so the Series will want to keep IZOD's man in the running. Add to that the fact that RHR has already won a race this year, proving the fact that he is on a high at the time.
In the end, it will be the team's choice. For now, they have picked Scheckter. I guess we'll have to wait and see what Tomas's sponsors will do.

Might there be possible some more road course appearances for Graham Rahal with Sarah Fisher Racing?

JagtechOhio · 5 Jun 2010, 19:19 (Ref:2705171)

Graham pretty well burned the bridge with SFR, who gets more credit than they deserve for running a less than mediocre operation.

As for RHR and Izod...if they had anything to say about keeping him in a seat, their money would be doing the talking.

My GUESS it that the seat in Conway's car is paid for through the end of the season. So D&R can pick anyone they choose, and perhaps alternate, right?

Graham can stay home and have his girlfriend help polish his mini. And his car, too.

**bjohnsonsmith** · 5 Jun 2010, 19:19 (Ref:2705173)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yannick

That should depend on whether IZOD has a say in this matter. RHR is their man and it's called the IZOD IndyCar Series, so the Series will want to keep IZOD's man in the running. Add to that the fact that RHR has already won a race this year, proving the fact that he is on a high at the time.

I thought RHR was losing his drive with theIZOD/AA car, come the race at the Glen?

JagtechOhio · 5 Jun 2010, 19:21 (Ref:2705176)

All reports are that RHR climbs out after tonight and goes home.

**bjohnsonsmith** · 5 Jun 2010, 19:41 (Ref:2705190)

Quote:

Originally Posted by JagtechOhio

All reports are that RHR climbs out after tonight and goes home.

This whole IZOD RHR business it an example of what's wrong with IndyCar at the moment. You wouldn't get a driver in F1 losing his drive as the season approaches half-way. This sort of thing used to happen in F1 in the mid to late '70s.

He's won a race this season, in the series sponsored car and now he's got to go because his drive can't be funded. There's something fundamentally wrong with that and it looks so amateurish.

JagtechOhio · 5 Jun 2010, 21:29 (Ref:2705235)

Agreed, it is a bad joke and the punchline was predictable when Izod made the announcement last November. It was a partial sponsorship and a hope for someone else to pick up the rest of the tab, nothing more.

The $2-3M should have gone to more effective promotion to raise the tide of the Series, in hopes that sponsors could be attracted to float each boat.

Low tide continues, the Izod raft is headed into dry dock.

**bjohnsonsmith** · 5 Jun 2010, 22:05 (Ref:2705248)

Quote:

Originally Posted by JagtechOhio

Agreed, it is a bad joke and the punchline was predictable when Izod made the announcement last November. It was a partial sponsorship and a hope for someone else to pick up the rest of the tab, nothing more.

The $2-3M should have gone to more effective promotion to raise the tide of the Series, in hopes that sponsors could be attracted to float each boat.

Low tide continues, the Izod raft is headed into dry dock.

Partial sponsorship; says it all

Dry dock? It's more likely to be beached.

cds_uk · 6 Jun 2010, 21:00 (Ref:2705712)

Its beyond me that someone isn't willing to stump up some money to keep Ryan in a drive, i have to say that i have a feeling he will end up at D&R assuming that Conways seat is paid for for the whole season. As for Carroll, whilst i think he is going to be right at the sharp end i am very keen to see what colour his car will be.

NaBUru38 · 8 Jun 2010, 22:31 (Ref:2706991)

Graham Rahal twitted five hours ago: "Got some exciting news that should be announced soon! Can't wait!" Did he get D&R's empty seat? Or did he make a surprising deal with someone else? Tomorrow we will know the truth.

Canada ALMS fan · 9 Jun 2010, 00:06 (Ref:2707023)

^Yes! That is great news, he is an asset to the series - a nice guy to talk to, American, big family name, and a fantastic driver.

ptclaus98 · 9 Jun 2010, 01:23 (Ref:2707035)

Quote:

Originally Posted by JagtechOhio

Graham pretty well burned the bridge with SFR, who gets more credit than they deserve for running a less than mediocre operation.

What in the hell are you talking about? They signed him for a set amount of races, everyone involved did as best they could, and the deal ended. I haven't heard anyone say anything to the contrary. Except you.

ptclaus98 · 9 Jun 2010, 01:25 (Ref:2707036)

Quote:

Originally Posted by JagtechOhio

Um, 'scuse me, Mr. Rahal? No, the young one, Graham....

Are you sure that turning down the seat in the #19 car was a good idea ?

Oh my God, it had one good race. Hell, Milka wasn't even completely useless. They didn't turn into Penske or Ganassi all of a sudden.

JagtechOhio · 9 Jun 2010, 03:27 (Ref:2707056)

Hi claus,

Looks like you've been busy in the workshop. You missed the interviews with Rahal after his deal was over with SFR.

You also missed either the Indy 500 or the Teas 550K, where the #19 car was well advanced of mid-pack.

As for Rahal, he's now posting public messages about an impending announcement. Sorry you missed that, too.

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