Indycar News & Rumors.

[Hawkwood]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

It's Coyne so budget is probably the top 3 on the list. Camara probably leads the list, he has money and likely zero chance of moving to F1. It sounds like he has Indy money but not F1 money and 3 years without a title is not a great showing.
Hinch has some but apparently not even half of what the big teams needed. I could see him buying in to a Coyne seat for Indy though. Honda would be a big part of this seat no matter the number of races.
I know nothing about Palou other than he wasn't storming the field in his single F2 season but seems to be running well in Super Formula.

I would guess barring anything crazy it's Camara's seat to turn down. I don't know if SealMaster left with Bourdais or Coyne still has that sponsor in his pocket. If he does that helps Hinch, if not.

In fairness to Palou, he only ran a handful of races in F2.
However, his GP3 and F3 seasons (three seasons in total) weren't indicative of a future superstar.
3rd in Super Formula as a rookie though is pretty impressive. It's not a series where rookies traditionally do all that well.

[rwintle]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

I don't know if SealMaster left with Bourdais or Coyne still has that sponsor in his pocket.

I feel like SealMaster leaving/ending their sponsorship is what killed Bourdais' ride, no?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by rwintle

I feel like SealMaster leaving/ending their sponsorship is what killed Bourdais' ride, no?

According to Dale Coyne Racing's website, SealMaster are still a Team Partner.

https://dalecoyneracing.com/teampartners/

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by rwintle

I feel like SealMaster leaving/ending their sponsorship is what killed Bourdais' ride, no?

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

According to Dale Coyne Racing's website, SealMaster are still a Team Partner.

https://dalecoyneracing.com/teampartners/

No one has really said exactly why he lost the seat other than he no longer drives for us. And surprisingly neither MP or Robin had anything about why other than he was screwed out of the seat. I figured it had to be something about a sponsor and cash but didn't know who his partners were.

[broadrun96]

Ok, Indy might have been right and at least Ganassi has put in effort that makes the aeroscreen look decent. Yes, it's ungainly a bit but better than version 1 with the full sponsor/livery wrap.

From Mike Hull through Racer.com

[bjohnsonsmith]

Next season's schedule has been announced.

https://www.indycar.com/News/2019/12...FTimesReleased

[rwintle]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

According to Dale Coyne Racing's website, SealMaster are still a Team Partner.

https://dalecoyneracing.com/teampartners/

Ah, thanks, I missed that.

[rwintle]

So this is what I have from various press releases and whatnot so far. Full-season entries only, *=announced/confirmed. I've made no attempt to include partial entries (are there any announced?) or the inevitable slew of Indy 500-only entrants.


Feel free to update, add, modify, re-post, etc. as more info becomes available.


A.J. Foyt Enterprises
4 Matheus Leist? (not under contract)
14 Tony Kanaan? (“handshake agreement”)

Andretti Autosport
26 Zach Veach*
27 Alexander Rossi*
28 Ryan Hunter-Reay*
98 Marco Andretti*

Arrow McLaren SP
5 Patricio O’Ward*
6 [reserved for Robert Wickens?]
7 Oliver Askew*

Carlin
23 Charlie Kimball?
59 Max Chilton? (road/street only?) / ? (ovals?)

Chip Ganassi Racing
8 Marcus Ericsson*
9 Scott Dixon*
10 Felix Rosenqvist*

Dale Coyne Racing
18 James Hinchcliffe?, Alex Palou?, Sergio Sette Camara? (all “shortlisted”)
19 Santino Ferrucci? (deal “looks like it’s coming together”)

Team Penske
2 Josef Newgarden*
12 Will Power*
22 Simon Pagenaud*

ECR
20 Ed Carpenter* (ovals) / Conor Daly* (street/road)
21 Rinus VeeKay*

Harding Steinbrenner
88 Colton Herta*

Meyer Shank Racing
60 Jack Harvey*

Rahal Letterman Lanigan
15 Graham Rahal*
30 Takuma Sato*

[NaBUru38]

Drivers with no confirmed rides include Bourdais, Hinchcliffe, Kanaan, Ferrucci, Pigot, Leist and Jones.

[Formulahistory]

Charlie Kimball very likely to Foyt.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Formulahistory

Charlie Kimball very likely to Foyt.

There's an article in Racer about that.

https://racer.com/2019/12/11/kimball...ndycar-return/

[HighParker]

Originally Posted by rwintle

...what the heck do they plan to do with Lakeshore Boulevard? Does it go underneath all this?

It's going to be there, same as always, with the possible exception that there seems to be a general idea that wider "land bridges" over the top of it would provide more of a connection between Exhibition Place and Ontario Place across the road. Someone made a vague suggestion that looks like it might involve having the back stretch of the track run alongside Lake Shore Blvd inside Exhibition Place on what would be a separate "major pedestrian and cyclist open space" the rest of the year.
There may be some grand new plan for the future being worked out for both sites involving the city and the province, and we might get to hear about it some time in 2020.

[chunterer]

Ed Jones to DTM 😲

[rwintle]

Originally Posted by HighParker

It's going to be there, same as always, with the possible exception that there seems to be a general idea that wider "land bridges" over the top of it would provide more of a connection between Exhibition Place and Ontario Place across the road. Someone made a vague suggestion that looks like it might involve having the back stretch of the track run alongside Lake Shore Blvd inside Exhibition Place on what would be a separate "major pedestrian and cyclist open space" the rest of the year.
There may be some grand new plan for the future being worked out for both sites involving the city and the province, and we might get to hear about it some time in 2020.

Interesting, thanks. From a photographer's point of view, increased access to the outside of the track (and thus turn 3) would be very desirable. Right now it's very restricted.

Any pedestrian/bike right of way north of the Lakeshore would have to be up on top of the hill inside what is now paddocks and vendor space, unless it was cut into the hillside somehow (which seems unlikely if it's going to also double as a car racing track). And there's no room between the Lakeshore and the Beanfield/Allstream Centre for such a thing as is... but as you say an ambitious plan could replace that building, move the Lakeshore south a bit, or come up with some other solution. Will be interesting to see how (or if) this develops.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Ed Jones to DTM 😲

I couldn't find anything on Jones going to DTM. In the meantime, newly crowned back-to-back Virgin Australia Supercars Champion, Scott McLaughlin, who drives for DJR Team Penske, will undergo a rookie evaluation test on Jan. 13 at Sebring.

https://racer.com/2019/12/13/superca...-indycar-test/

[gert]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I couldn't find anything on Jones going to DTM.

https://www.autosport.com/dtm/news/1...di-wont-return

[gert]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I couldn't find anything on Jones going to DTM.

https://www.autosport.com/dtm/news/1...di-wont-return
https://www.endurance-info.com/fr/dt...z-wrt-en-2020/

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by gert

https://www.autosport.com/dtm/news/1...di-wont-return
https://www.endurance-info.com/fr/dt...z-wrt-en-2020/

[rwintle]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Drivers with no confirmed rides include Bourdais, Hinchcliffe, Kanaan, Ferrucci, Pigot, Leist and Jones.

Jones to DTM as noted by others. Bourdais is full time in IMSA with JDC-Miller Motorsports and will not be in IndyCars this year. Leist and Kanaan are unsigned and recent rumours suggest Foyt running a one-car effort with Kimball(!). Coyne says the Ferrucci deal is "almost done" or words to that effect, which means nothing. Similarly, there was something about a "handshake deal" between Kanaan and Foyt (also means nothing).

Time's marching on and the only available full season spots seem to be with Carlin, Foyt, and Coyne, unless one of the other teams (maybe RLL?) elects to add an additional car.

[broadrun96]

Liest is out of Indy next season, or so the article claims.

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/l...-cadillac-dpi/

[rwintle]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

Liest is out of Indy next season, or so the article claims.

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/l...-cadillac-dpi/

I hope he does well. Hard to see how he could realistically run in IndyCar even if doing just the Michelin Endurance Cup races. Maybe this makes the Kimball-to-Foyt rumours more realistic?

[rwintle]

And that answers part of that puzzle... Alex Palou full time with Coyne.



https://dalecoyneracing.com/2019/12/...ndycar-season/

[NaBUru38]

Quite an underwhelming choice

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Quite an underwhelming choice

As opposed to the alternate choice of ________?

And before you answer remember this important and crucial fact. The seat doesn't exist without the cash to run it for 2020. It's not a funded seat but rather a car you can rent for the year with a team to help you. And the team funding it, with his own sponsors as well, runs him in Super Formula to reasonable results

Hinch--no/little money according to most
Bourdais-no/little money as well and moved on
Liest-no better than Palou and also moved on
Pigot-has no money and possibly no rides at all in 2020
Jones-has money but went to Europe and DTM so he's out
Kimball-has some money but likely in at Foyt, haven't been fully keeping up if he's signed already
Helio/Montoya-Everyone wants to throw them in the mix but that needs to stop, that time is over
TK also falls in that group but someone should step up to run him if only at Indy for a proper send-off, doubtful but could happen

[gert]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Quite an underwhelming choice

Isn't that what they thought of Ferrucci as well?
I don't particulary like the guy, but he did alright didn't he?