Silly Season Roundup: November 18, 2010

A muddy IZOD IndyCar Series silly season picture for 2011 has begun to clear up, as big names begin to sign contracts, or at least line them up, with major teams.

Since the future appears bright, with Chevrolet and Lotus joining the fray in 2012, it's easy to forget that IndyCar has another season of spec racing ahead of it, and plenty of driver contracts to be signed along the way. But just this week, we saw the confirmation of two drivers returning to their teams from 2010, and another setting up a ride with an old friend for 2011.

Justin Wilson announced his return to the No. 22 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara-Honda for 2011 last Thursday, turning down offers from a handful of other teams. He'll continue a relationship that yielded an 11th-place points finish in 2010 and shone on the road and street courses all year.

Meanwhile, E.J. Viso confirmed to Yahoo! Sports Argentina that he will remain in IndyCar next season, likely returning to KV Racing Technology as the team's relationship with Lotus expands. Previously, team owner Jimmy Vasser had suggested to SpeedTV.com that the team's driver lineup would remain the same in 2011 as in 2010, although this year was a hellish season for the team that saw a plethora of wrecks.

For those who like to speculate, the article also mentioned Takuma Sato as a KVRT driver, but not Mario Moraes. Lotus has also confirmed full-time sponsorship commitment of only two cars for next year.

Meanwhile, Tony Kanaan and Gil de Ferran are a few steps closer to working together next season. Kanaan recently spent time in a de Ferran Dragon Racing car, with the intent on critiquing the team's engineering progress thus far. But de Ferran's previous driver, Raphael Matos, just finished the second of a two-year deal, and the ever-popular Kanaan is heading to Brazil, his and de Ferran's home country, to seek out sponsors. The 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner is adamant that he will employ the 2004 IndyCar champion next season.

IndyCar Season Review: Justin Wilson

2010 was a year of ups and downs for Justin Wilson.

Driving for his third IZOD IndyCar Series team in three years, the British driver looked to improve on his ninth place run in 2009 with Dale Coyne Racing. For 2010, he went to series mainstay Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, forming an all-British pairing with Mike Conway and bringing the Z-Line Designs sponsorship with him. The goal was to make DRR as viable a threat to win on the road courses as they had always been on the ovals.

Wilson had time to gain a rapport with his team early on, as the first four races were road and street events that played to his strengths as a driver. Wilson followed up a third-place qualifying run at Brazil with runner-up finishes at St. Petersburg and Long Beach, placing him fourth in points through four races and establishing him as a dark horse title contender.

Those were the ups. Unfortunately, there was nowhere else to go but down.

Wilson's only respectable oval finish in the second quarter of the season came at the most important event, Indianapolis, where he placed a respectable seventh, leading his first 11 laps of the season. A better summation of his oval fortunes came at Iowa, however, where a first-lap accident with Mario Moraes in turn four ended his day. Wilson had free-fallen to eighth in points, but the twisties were coming up on the schedule again, offering him an important opportunity to ascend the championship table once again.

Consider it a missed opportunity. Wilson could not defend his 2009 victory at Watkins Glen, placing 10th, and struggled at Edmonton to come home 21st. Mid-Ohio was marred by two incidents, one in qualifying with Ryan Briscoe, and another 22 laps into the event with E.J. Viso. His best finish of the second half of the season came at Sonoma, where he ran sixth.

Wilson's fortunes at Toronto probably summed up his year the best. The 2005 winner of the event in Champ Car, Wilson had the field covered in qualifying, taking the pole by nearly two tenths of a second over Will Power. Wilson led much of the race, only surrendering the lead due to alternative pit strategies taken by Paul Tracy, Dario Franchitti, and Tony Kanaan.

A late race caution for Raphael Matos' crash with Viso bunched the field, and Wilson had nothing for a surging Power on the restart. Soon after, a self-induced spin took Wilson out of contention for the win completely. He battled back to finish seventh, but such was his luck for the majority of the season.

Once again, Wilson was a mid-pack driver on the series' ovals, with a seventh at Chicago his final top 10 run of the season. By the time the series made it to the season finale at Homestead, Wilson was down to 10th in points, holding a 22-marker advantage over Danica Patrick. But she finished second in that race as he ran 21st, bumping him down to 11th in points.

Despite falling two spots in the standings from 2009, Wilson scored seven more points than he had last year. The 2010 season wasn't by any means a bad one, but both driver and team expected improvement in the ranks, not stagnation. As such, rumors suggest that Wilson may bolt to another team for 2011, perhaps Panther Racing as it looks to expand. Panther, judging by its late season oval runs, would offer the Brit an even stronger opportunity to place up front on both kinds of tracks.

Regardless, Wilson and whatever team he may drive for in 2011 will once again expect greater results. Wherever he goes, he will run up front and contend for wins on the road and street courses, but unless he can improve on a career-best oval finish of seventh, he may end up in the same position next year.

Beatriz Returns For Homestead Season Finale

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing have announced that Ana Beatriz will drive the No. 24 Roll Coater Dallara-Honda in this year's IZOD IndyCar Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway next weekend. Beatriz will make her fourth start of the season in the Cafes do Brazil Indy 300, the track's final IndyCar race before dropping from the schedule.

With Mike Conway focusing on completing his rehabilitation for the 2011 season instead of attempting the finale, the team needed to find a solid replacement driver, preferably one with race experience at DRR. Those fitting the criteria included Beatriz, Paul Tracy, Tomas Scheckter, and J.R. Hildebrand.

Beatriz has made three starts thus far this season, at Sao Paulo, Indianapolis, and Chicagoland. She finished 13th and on the lead lap in the Sao Paulo Indy 300, 21st at Indianapolis (completing 196 of 200 laps due to contact), and 24th at Chicago after a mechanical failure. None of those three events have seen her in the same car; she drove the No. 23 in Brazil, the No. 25 at Indianapolis, and the No. 24 at Chicago.

Her jump to IndyCar's highest level this year came after two consecutive seasons in Firestone Indy Lights, which saw her finish third and eighth in points, respectively, and score two race wins: the Sunbelt Rentals 100 at Nashville in 2008, and the Miller Lite 100 at Iowa last year.

Meanwhile, Conway has taken a conservative approach with his rehabilitation. He suffered a compression fracture in his back and a broken leg in a spectacular crash at the Indianapolis 500 in May. Rumors suggested that he could return to the car as soon as the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, but eventually the decision was made to wait. Conway's injuries have healed and he has adopted a rigorous training program to ensure that he will be 100% ready for next season's opener at St. Petersburg.

The No. 24 car was primed for a breakout season with Conway, but since the injury the revolving door of drivers have kept it decidedly mid-pack. The team has seen four top-10 finishes this year; three came from Conway in the season's first five races, while the fourth came with Graham Rahal at Iowa. Its best finish was an eighth place in the Sao Paulo season opener. Meanwhile, the car has seen DNFs at St. Petersburg (Conway), Indianapolis (Conway), Sonoma (Hildebrand), Chicago (Beatriz), and Motegi (Tracy).

It hasn't been all bad for DRR this season, however; new lead driver Justin Wilson has snagged two podium finishes and eight top-10s with only one DNF to rank a solid 10th in points. He also scored a pole at Toronto and led the most laps in that race. Also, DRR qualified four cars for the Indianapolis 500 for the second year in a row, albeit under less stressful circumstances than 2009's close calls.

This Week in IndyCar: September 1, 2010

A collection of news clippings from around the IZOD IndyCar Series over the past few days:

- Graham Rahal and Paul Tracy, viewed by many as the best available IndyCar drivers without full-time rides, have both landed rides for this weekend's Kentucky Indy 300.

Rahal will return to Sarah Fisher Racing and pilot the No. 66 Service Central Dallara-Honda, while Tracy will drive the No. 24 Motegi Wheels Dallara-Honda for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. They replace a pair of British drivers in Jay Howard (who has struggled all season for SFR) and Mike Conway (who is still recovering from injuries sustained in an Indianapolis 500 crash).

Rahal drove three races earlier this year for SFR in the No. 67 Dollar General Dallara-Honda, with a top-ten finish at St. Petersburg, before running the Indianapolis 500 for his father's Rahal Letterman Racing team and returning to 2009 employer Newman/Haas Racing for the latter part of this season. Kentucky was the only race he was due to miss for the rest of the year. Rahal has responded by scoring more points thus far than full-timers Takuma Sato, Bertrand Baguette, and Milka Duno.

Meanwhile, Tracy ran one race earlier this year for DRR at Watkins Glen, finishing 14th, before posting solid runs at Toronto and Edmonton for KV Racing Technology. Tracy hasn't run on an oval in an open-wheel car since Champ Car ran at Las Vegas in 2005, but he led 107 of the first 128 laps in that event before an accident eliminated him from contention. Tracy will also drive for the team at Motegi, Japan in a couple of weeks and is a candidate to return to the car at Homestead.

- New Hampshire Motor Speedway saw the teams of Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon appear at the track this week, testing Firestone tires in preparation for the track's August 14 race date next year.

Kanaan tweeted earlier today that he had already done the full race distance before lunchtime and called the tires "great."

The teams used an aerodynamic package similar to the one run at the Milwaukee Mile, which did not make the schedule of any sanctioning body in 2010 due to concerns about outstanding promoters' fees owed to many parties. Milwaukee and New Hampshire are both flat ovals a hair over a mile in distance, making them ideal for IndyCar events. New Hampshire also allows the series to better establish itself in the northeastern market, serving New England, eastern Canada, and New York reasonably well.

2012 Wish List: BMW

With new open rules for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series, fans all over are speculating about who will build the engines that power the next generation of IndyCars. Plenty of opinions have been voiced already, and plenty more will still come out in the coming weeks and months.

We all know Honda will be there. Lotus, too, is a likely bet, with their involvement with Cosworth (whose owner, Kevin Kalkhoven, also runs KV Racing Technology). Mazda has been mentioned by a handful of folks as a potential candidate; I wrote an article about their IndyCar potential yesterday. Ford and Chevrolet have been bandied about as returning to the sport, while Fiat and Volkswagen AG brands went deep into preliminary engine discussions that the series had within the past few years.

But in my opinion, the next brand that ought to look into the IZOD IndyCar Series is BMW.

Hold on, you say. BMW pulled out of Formula 1 after last year, is currently restructuring their junior formula series (which no longer even operates in the United States), and has never even competed in an Indianapolis 500. So what makes me think I know what I'm talking about? How does bringing this completely foreign brand into the sport make any sense, when past examples of such new programs (think Alfa Romeo and Patrick Racing in the early 1990s) have been disastrous?

What makes BMW such a solid fit for IndyCar is their relationships with current prominent team owners in different areas of motorsport. They currently provide the engines for two of the top sports car teams (in their respective classes) in all of American sports car racing: Chip Ganassi Racing's Daytona Prototype in the Rolex Sports Car Series, and Rahal Letterman Racing's pair of GT2 M3s in the American Le Mans Series. Those two teams have won three of the past seven Indianapolis 500s, and Ganassi has won the past two series championships.

I don't need to get into describing a Ganassi-BMW alliance, but the natural continuation of the Rahal-BMW alliance only makes sense. While they have mostly been involved in sports car racing as of late, everybody knows that Rahal is, first and foremost, an open-wheel team; its storied history in CART and at Indianapolis leaves little doubt of that. Bobby Rahal has been attempting to run a full-time IndyCar program for each of the past two years to no avail. If the BMW brand, which will likely maintain its connection with Rahal for the foreseeable future, was to move to IndyCar, there's almost no doubt who would get the factory sponsorship.

The same folks who own Dreyer & Reinbold Racing also own a pair of large BMW dealerships in central Indiana, making them a solid fit as well. Assuming all three of these teams maintained their relationships with the brand and continued racing at their current or potential capacities, BMW could have a stable of five to seven cars in 2012, were they to enter the series.

The driver stable would also likely be one of the best of any brand. Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti will probably remain with Ganassi until they each retire, unless somebody has an unlikely plummet down the standings. Rahal could be blessed with the services of his son, Graham, if he continues to struggle finding sponsorship as he has this year. And DRR has made its way up the ladder in IndyCar year by year, rung by rung, to the point where it is now one of the more respected teams in the sport. With that prestige comes at least one, if not two marquee drivers, depending on the market in any given year. Though Justin Wilson may be gone, Mike Conway could develop into a top talent by 2012.

The engine itself would likely be a new creation. BMW has an existing 2.0-liter I4 that currently competes in the World Touring Car Championship, and won the 2005-07 titles with Andy Priaulx behind the wheel, but that motor is not turbocharged. While BMW does have an existing twin-turbo motor for that car, the E90, it exceeds the 2.4-liter limit that IndyCar has put in place.

Were BMW to pursue IndyCar competition with the three teams, with whom they have already established solid business and racing relationships, the results could be devastating for the rest of the series. A proper BMW effort would claim some of the best minds and drivers in the sport, and challenge for the first Indianapolis 500 win by a German automaker since Al Unser Jr. drove a Penske-prepared Mercedes to victory in 1994.

Finally, Rahal Returns to Newman/Haas

Earlier in the season, Robin Miller at SpeedTV.com reported that Graham Rahal would reunite with his old team, Newman/Haas Racing, at Long Beach and beyond, saying that the young American talent had finally found sponsorship to resume his IZOD IndyCar Series career.

That didn't happen; instead, Rahal lent his services to Sarah Fisher Racing for that event, while also making appearances for Rahal Letterman Racing at Indianapolis and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing at Iowa. But after tweeting last night that he had "good news" to announce today, Rahal and Newman/Haas have revealed that they will return the No. 02 car to the track for this weekend's Honda Indy Toronto, as well as subsequent races at Mid-Ohio, Infineon, Motegi, Chicagoland, and the season finale at Homestead.

Quick Trim, which backed the father-son Rahal effort at Indianapolis, will sponsor the car.

Rahal finished 7th in points last year with Newman/Haas in the No. 02 car, scoring a pair of pole positions and third-place finishes at Richmond and Motegi. Last year, Rahal qualified sixth or better in each of the six events that he will drive for Newman/Haas this year.

Rahal did not return to the team this year when sponsor McDonald's exited the sport and the team could not find a replacement in time. Subsequent offers from Dale Coyne Racing and a handful of other teams were not to Rahal's liking, and so he sat until Fisher offered him her seat at the three road course events at St. Petersburg, Barber, and Long Beach. A poor chassis kept the team towards the back for the greater part of those runs, and a crash at Long Beach ended his SFR tenure.

Rahal finally finished an Indianapolis 500 this year, coming home in 12th, though not without controversy, as drivers complained that he was blocking too aggressively on the track. Regardless, Dreyer & Reinbold, looking to replace the injured Mike Conway, gave him the call two races later, and he matched his best finish of the season by coming home ninth.

Now Rahal gets to go home again with the team that launched his major open-wheel career and try to re-establish them as contenders. While Hideki Mutoh has proven himself a worthy driver in the past, luck has not been on his side for much of this year. The No. 06 team has finished no better than 12th all season, with more DNFs (four) than lead-lap finishes (three).

This Week in IndyCar: July 10, 2010

A collection of news clippings from around the IZOD IndyCar Series over the past few days:

- Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, whose flagship No. 24 car has seen a revolving door of drivers since Mike Conway's Indianapolis 500 crash, may finally see its driver lineup completed for the season.

Tomas Scheckter will bring his Mona Vie sponsorship to the car for the July 18 Honda Indy Toronto, where he will make his 13th career start for the team and 112th career start overall. Scheckter finished 16th at Toronto last year. His best career road course finish is sixth, at St. Petersburg in 2007.

While Edmonton is not yet settled, J.R. Hildebrand will take over the car at Mid-Ohio and Infineon. The 2009 Firestone Indy Lights champion has been basically out of work all season, save for a bit of testing with Marco Andretti's team at Andretti Autosport. In Lights last year, he finished third at Mid-Ohio and won at Infineon, his home track.

But Conway's rehabilitation is progressing faster than many had imagined. In fact, the goal is to have him back for Infineon, where he finished an impressive third last year. If this happens, he'll slide into a third car for the team, alongside Hildebrand and Justin Wilson.

- Four days from now, the ICONIC committee will vote on the future car strategy for the IZOD IndyCar Series, and unveil it to the world at the Indianapolis Museum of Art's Tobias Theatre.

IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard has advised fans not to pay attention to any rumors regarding which manufacturer has a leg up, since the decision will not be known until that day. Three of the five manufacturer proposals - coming from BAT, Dallara, Delta Wing, Lola, and Swift - have been chosen to move forward to the end.

Whichever chassis (and there may be more than one) are on the track in 2012, they will be paired with a new engine formula that has already been settled. The new engines will feature up to 2.4 cubic liters of displacement and up to six cylinders, and will all be turbocharged.

The key word, of course, is "up to" - meaning that anything beneath those maximum stipulations is welcome. (In fact, some food for thought: Mazda, which has long been a supporter of feeder series to American open-wheel racing, currently runs a turbocharged I4 engine in the American Le Mans Series, with a 2.0 cubic liter displacement.)

Tracy in for Watkins Glen

Paul Tracy will become the third driver to replace Mike Conway in the No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara-Honda in the July 4 Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen. Tracy succeeds Tomas Scheckter (Texas) and Graham Rahal (Iowa) in driving the car after Conway's Indianapolis 500 incident.

Tracy has not yet started an event this season, having failed to qualify his KV Racing Technology car for the Indianapolis 500 in some classic Bump Day drama. It is unknown whether Tracy's Indy sponsor, Geico, will help support his Watkins Glen endeavor. Tracy will return to KV for the series' Canadian races, meaning DRR may have a fourth driver in the No. 24 for those two events.

Other than the revolving door of race car drivers in the No. 24, this season has been solid for DRR. New addition Justin Wilson has put their No. 22 car eighth in points, on the strength of second-place finishes at St. Petersburg and Long Beach. Conway had three top-10s before his injury. Scheckter and Ana Beatriz helped qualify all four DRR cars for the Indy 500 on Pole Day, and each has posted respectable results for the team. Three of the four DRR cars actually led laps in this year's 500, by far a team best and a huge difference from 2009's struggles.

Some may wonder what the signing of Tracy means for Rahal, who has struggled to find rides all year due to a lack of sponsorship. But one of the series' best American drivers may not be out of luck yet. DRR has discussed fielding its No. 23 for Rahal at Watkins Glen, and he may be a lock to return to the car for the series' Canadian rounds, owing to his track experience in Champ Car and IndyCar.

Hunter-Reay, Rahal Set For Iowa

Ryan Hunter-Reay and Graham Rahal, two of the top American drivers in the IZOD IndyCar Series, were unsure two weeks ago of their respective statuses for this weekend's Iowa Corn Indy 250 at the Iowa Speedway.

Rahal competed in three races for Sarah Fisher Racing to start the season, and the Indianapolis 500 for his father's team, Rahal Letterman Racing, but neither he nor his father Bobby had the funding to go on afterwards. This was a far cry from last season's run with the former Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, where the young Rahal finished seventh in points with the lucrative (but since dissolved) McDonald's sponsorship. This year, he ranks 23rd after missing the events at Sao Paulo, Kansas, and Texas.

Hunter-Reay, meanwhile, was on his own after exhausting the funding allotted to him by his personal sponsor (and primary series backer) IZOD and Andretti Autosport. IZOD made the difficult decision to funnel the majority of its $10 million commitment into the IndyCar Series as a whole instead of a single driver, and the partnership has already begun to pay off. Unfortunately, it meant that Hunter-Reay would have to earn his way to stay in the series past the June 6 Firestone 550k; he put himself sixth in points and won the prestigious Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Their perseverance has paid off in both cases, as both drivers will be racing this weekend, at the very least. Rahal takes over the No. 24 Dad's Root Beer Dallara-Honda for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, while Hunter-Reay continues in the No. 37 Andretti Autosport Dallara-Honda with sponsorship from the United States ethanol industry.

Rahal benefits from the back and leg injuries to Mike Conway, sustained in a wreck with Hunter-Reay in the Indianapolis 500. Conway will miss three months due to the incident, which tore away parts of the catch fence and sprayed the track with debris. His Iowa paint scheme was custom designed by Hot Wheels, the official IndyCar die-cast manufacturer, and includes flames down the sides.

Hunter-Reay will continue a relationship with the Ethanol brand that he maintained from mid-2007 to 2008. He only competed in six events in the No. 17 Ethanol Dallara-Honda in 2007 for Rahal Letterman Racing, but his finishes were good enough to secure him series Rookie of the Year anyway. In 2008, he finished eighth in points, with his first career win at Watkins Glen the biggest highlight. It was this year, in fact, that Hunter-Reay signed his personal services contract with Izod.

After the 2008 season, however, IndyCar switched to Brazilian ethanol in a partnership with ApexBrasil. As such, the American ethanol sponsorship dollars dried up, and Hunter-Reay has been on a constant search for full-time backing ever since.

Hunter-Reay and Rahal then have two weeks to figure out their plans for the Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen. The race, broadcast on ABC, is one of the series' biggest television draws, and both drivers (especially Hunter-Reay, as a former winner only two years removed) will be looking to parlay strong finishes at Iowa into Glen deals.

This Week in IndyCar: June 4, 2010

A collection of news clippings from around the IZOD IndyCar Series over the past few days:

- The Baltimore Grand Prix, which had long been rumored to join the IndyCar schedule for next year, will become a reality in 2011 and beyond. The August 5-7 event will take place on a temporary street circuit that passes by Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles, and runs through Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The circuit also runs close to M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens.

The city's contract with IndyCar guarantees at least five years of the event, which has been designed as an east coast alternative to the always popular Grand Prix of Long Beach.

- Mike Conway's loss is Tomas Scheckter's gain, at least temporarily. While Conway will lose at least three months of his IndyCar season after his spectacular wreck at the Indianapolis 500, Scheckter will gain a ride, at least temporarily. He will fill in for Conway in the No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara-Honda in this weekend's Firestone 550k at Texas Motor Speedway, and possibly beyond.

Scheckter was the natural choice for the team to fill in, as he drove a third entry for them in this year's Indianapolis 500, even managing to lead a handful of laps. Scheckter's record at Texas has been spotty, but he has shown flashes of brilliance, winning the pole in his first two starts there and leading over 100 laps in each race before mechanical failures ended his days. Scheckter did, however, win the 2005 Texas race after leading 119 of 200 laps. It was his last IndyCar win to date.

- A handful of drivers will be running different paint schemes in this weekend's Firestone 550k. Scheckter will be running a Roll Coater scheme on his No. 24 Dallara-Honda, which will be black instead of the normal blue that the car carries when Dad's Root Beer adorns the sidepods. Dario Franchitti, fresh off his Indy 500 triumph, will run a red and black Energizer scheme on his No. 10 Dallara-Honda. Finally, Alex Lloyd will again run the BSA 2010 scheme on his No. 19 Dallara-Honda, celebrating 100 years of the Boy Scouts of America.

Conway Out Three Months

Mike Conway has made a career in the IZOD IndyCar Series out of being daring. A checkers-or-wreckers kind of driver, he has mixed flashes of brilliance with a legion of destroyed Dallara chassis. Regardless, his lack of fear makes him one of the most entertaining racers on the circuit.

His latest daring maneuver, however, will see him missing the majority of the season.

On the white flag lap of the Indianapolis 500, Conway slid into the car of Ryan Hunter-Reay, launching him into the turn three catchfence. His car disintegrated as he slid down the short chute, his once familiar No. 24 Dallara-Honda now nothing more than a tub and thousands of shards of carbon fiber.

Conway suffered a broken bone and soft tissue injury in his lower left leg, as well as a compression fracture of one of his thoracic vertebrae. The former are less serious injuries, but the latter will require him to wear a back brace for three months.

Any racing hopes he might have had over the next eight races or so are shot.

Were Conway to be ready immediately on September 1, three months after the wreck at Indy, he would only be able to compete at Kentucky, Motegi, and Homestead. It is altogether possible that like Vitor Meira last year, he may miss the rest of the season.

This leaves Dreyer & Reinbold scrambling for a replacement driver for Conway over the next eight races. Two drivers, Tomas Scheckter and Ana Beatriz, raced for DRR during the Indy 500 but are seeking other employment opportunities. They look to be the first choices.

But plenty of other worthy drivers are available. Former DRR racers that don't currently have a ride include Townsend Bell, Buddy Lazier, Darren Manning, Buddy Rice, and Roger Yasukawa. And among former race winners that don't currently have full-time rides, DRR can pick from Bruno Junqueira, Oriol Servia, Paul Tracy, and Graham Rahal, who has somehow been piecing together deals all year. Rahal especially makes an interesting fit because he has worked with Justin Wilson, DRR's lead driver, in the past; they were teammates in 2008 at Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing.

Four For Dreyer & Reinbold at Indy

For the second year in a row, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will campaign a quartet of Dallara-Hondas in an Indianapolis 500, with the announcement of fourth driver Ana Beatriz.

Beatriz, who drove the team's No. 23 car in the season-opening event on the streets of Sao Paulo, will return to the team in its No. 25 for Indy. Tomas Scheckter will drive the No. 23 with backing from Mona Vie. Justin Wilson and Mike Conway will be at the helm of their usual rides, the No. 22 and No. 24 cars. Only Conway returns to the team from last year's 500.

Last year, the team provided rides for Conway and Milka Duno, with partnerships with Kingdom Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports providing funding for Davey Hamilton and John Andretti, respectively. All four cars struggled heading up to the race, with only Hamilton qualifying before Bump Day. Conway started 27th, Andretti qualified 28th, and Duno began the race in 30th.

The race itself was not much better for the team, with Conway, Andretti, and Duno placing 18th, 19th, and 20th. Conway and Andretti were the final cars on the lead lap, while Duno was the first car to finish a lap down. Hamilton placed 29th after a single-car accident 79 laps into the race ended his day.

Undeterred by last year's struggles, however, DRR will attempt to qualify four cars without any team-to-team partnerships this year. Hamilton and Andretti have taken their personal sponsorship packages for the month of May elsewhere, to de Ferran-Luczo Dragon Racing and Andretti Autosport, respectively, allowing Scheckter and Beatriz to step in.

Unlike last year's ringers, Scheckter and Beatriz are quite familiar with DRR. Scheckter's season began at Indy for another team last year, where he qualified 26th and finished an impressive 12th with Dale Coyne Racing. But that result led DRR to snap him up for a ten-race schedule over the rest of the year, with a best finish of sixth coming at Iowa. Scheckter hopes that another strong Indy run will do the same for him this year.

Beatriz finished 13th at Sao Paulo following two successful seasons in Firestone Indy Lights with Sam Schmidt Motorsports. She won one race each year, finishing third in points in 2008 and eighth last year. She finished fifth at the Freedom 100, Indianapolis' Lights race, in 2008, but was injured in a crash there last year.

This year, Wilson sits 6th in points through five races, while Conway ranks 15th. Wilson's highlights of the year have been runner-up placings at St. Petersburg and Long Beach, while Conway has three top-10s, with a best run of eighth at Sao Paulo. Conway's improvement has been marked; through five races last year, his only finish came at Indy, but thus far this year he has only one DNF, after a daring move on Rafa Matos at St. Pete put him in the wall.

Rookie orientation, which Beatriz must pass to attempt to qualify for the race, will take place May 15-16, with IZOD IndyCar Series teams beginning practice on those days as well. Qualifying will take place the following weekend, May 22-23.

Weekend Roundup: April 25, 2010

A collection of news clippings from around the IZOD IndyCar Series over the past few days:

- The team formerly known as Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing will return to its original team name, Newman/Haas Racing. Team officials have not commented on the reasons behind the name change.

Founded in 1983 by actor Paul Newman and businessman Carl Haas, Newman/Haas won eight CART/Champ Car championships, including four consecutive from 2004 to 2007. The team gained a new partner in 2007 when Illinois businessman Michael Lanigan bought into it. Lanigan owns Mi-Jack Construction, which sponsored open-wheel racecars from 1992 to 2006.

Newman/Haas has fallen on some tough times recently, losing top drivers like Graham Rahal, Justin Wilson, and Sebastien Bourdais in the past three years. It also lost sponsor McDonald's after last season, forcing the team to run a single car in 2010 for pay driver Hideki Mutoh, a huge step down from the three they had originally planned to campaign.

- Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will welcome Tomas Scheckter back into the fold for this year's Indianapolis 500. He will drive the No. 23 Dallara-Honda, which has not seen the track since Ana Beatriz drove it in Brazil. While the team claims it will make its sponsorship announcement on April 27, the sponsor is all but certain to be Mona Vie, an acai berry juice company for whom Scheckter does extensive promotion.

Scheckter first secured the Mona Vie sponsorship early last year, taking it to a second car for Dale Coyne Racing in last year's 500. There, he drove alongside former Coyne driver and current DRR leader Justin Wilson, qualifying 26th and finishing 12th. Based on his Indy performance and personal sponsorship contract, DRR signed Scheckter to run ten races for them, either in the No. 23 or No. 43 cars. Scheckter had three top-10 finishes, including a best finish of sixth at Iowa. He finished 20th in points, second best of all drivers running limited schedules.

DRR still has one seat open for Indianapolis, that of the No. 25 car. Beatriz could drive it; other ex-DRR drivers still looking for May employment include Buddy Lazier, Darren Manning, Buddy Rice, and Roger Yasukawa.

Twittography: Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

Here are some of the photos taken by IndyCar drivers and teams and posted to Twitter during race day at the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

Plowey - New helmet for the weekend
AJFoytRacing - Vitor Meira signing autographs
Plowey - Lunch
IndyCarNation - Hello, beautiful
SarahFisher67 - Graham Rahal signing autographs
IndyCarNation - Liza Markle and Davey Hamilton in the pace car
ssaavedra29 - Helmet techs
IndyCarNation - Pace cars on track
DRRIndyCar - Mike Conway and Justin Wilson talking to VIPs in the paddock
FollowAndretti - Indy Lights driver intros
IndyCarNation - Charles Barkley in the KV Racing Technology garage
FollowAndretti - Martin Plowman's Lights car
FollowAndretti - Tony Kanaan and Michael Andretti monitoring the Lights race
RyanBriscoe6 - Meet Charles Barkley
IndyCarNation - Bertrand Baguette
AJFoytRacing - Vitor interview
IndyCarNation - Backstage at driver intros
NicoleMBriscoe - Nicole's in the pits with the Team Penske boys
curtcavin - Dario's car
curtcavin - Team Penske
IndyCarNation - Above the track
IndyCarNation - Look at all these race fans!
IndyCarNation - Helio in the winner's circle
IndyCarNation - The podium
IndyCarNation - The winning Penske crew

Andretti and Petty On Board For Two

Returning to the IZOD IndyCar Series for 2010 will be John Andretti and Richard Petty Motorsports, in a two race deal that will see the team run both May races. It will be their second year together, and the first time they will pair for multiple races.

Andretti will run his first IndyCar race since last year's Indianapolis 500 on May 1, when the series hits Kansas. He will then compete at this year's 500, which will mark his 11th start at Indy if he qualifies.

This year, however, Andretti and RPM will not pair with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing to put their No. 43 Window World Dallara-Honda on track. Instead, John's cousin Michael put together a deal at Andretti Autosport to field the car, further strengthening the ties between the first families of stock car and IndyCar racing. Andretti's extra resources also gave the team the opportunity to run an extra race.

The No. 43 will look very similar to last year's car, featuring the trademark Petty blue and day-glo red that made Petty's STP-sponsored stock cars so iconic between the 1970s and 1990s. Sponsor Window World has a relationship with Andretti dating back to last year's Daytona 500, and for the second year in a row will back him in both major American auto races.

While the deal is fantastic news for RPM and both Andrettis, it leaves J.R. Hildebrand, last year's Indy Lights champion with Andretti, on the sidelines for Indy, at least in the immediate future. Hildebrand recently set up an IndyCar test with the team at Barber Motorsports Park, and was one of the rumored choices to run the team's fifth car in the 500. Hildebrand also tested a Formula 1 car a few months ago, and was coveted by multiple IndyCar teams this offseason, but none could put together a deal for him.

Twittography: Sao Paulo Indy 300

Here are some of the photos taken by IndyCar drivers and teams and posted to Twitter during race day at the Sao Paulo Indy 300.

LuczoDragon - Front wing shot
LuczoDragon - Team meeting between Jay Penske, Gil de Ferran, and Rafa Matos
LuczoDragon - Engineers watching the telemetry during qualifying
LuczoDragon - A crew member alone in the pits
LuczoDragon - Three DFLDR engineers on their computers
LuczoDragon - Rafa Matos interviewed by local media
LuczoDragon - Rafa Matos and Davey Hamilton
IndyCarNation - New mats
AntonioPizzonia - Former F1/CCWS driver Antonio Pizzonia on the grid
DRRIndyCar - Bia Figuereido's car, pre-race
IndyCarNation - Marco Andretti's car, after the first-turn accident
DRRIndyCar - Rain on the way
DRRIndyCar - Drenched pit lane
DRRIndyCar - The Brazilian fans cheer through the rain
IndyCarNation - The top three cars at the finish

IndyCar Season Preview: Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will enter the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season with two full-time cars for Justin Wilson and Mike Conway, and will enter Brazilian rookie Bia Figuereido (Ana Beatriz) in at least the season opener at Sao Paulo.

The team looks to improve on last season's results, when then-rookie Conway had a difficult season and six drivers shared the team's other cars. Conway had a podium finish at Infineon, but that was the highlight of the year for the entire team. The No. 23 car that a handful of drivers shared was frequently lagging off the pace, and the team's two Indianapolis 500-only entries struggled to make the field.

This year, however, things are looking up. Conway, for one, will be more consistent than last year, when he failed to finish eight races and was the second-worst ranked driver to complete the entire schedule. He'll need to improve his oval record, however, as an eighth at Iowa was his lone top-10 finish on the circle tracks.

Wilson, the lone driver to win a race last year not employed by Roger Penske or Chip Ganassi, "liked what he saw" in the team, and chose to leave Dale Coyne Racing to join them for 2010, bringing the funding of Z-Line Designs with him. He's a consistent top-10 driver who contends for wins on most road courses and has begun to improve his oval prowess. He also brings name recognition to the team, something they haven't had since fielding underfunded cars for multiple Indy winners a few years ago.

Wilson should bring a DRR car into the top-10 in series points at the end of the year, and perhaps bring the team its first win since its first start in 2000. Conway should also begin contending for podiums on the road courses, as he will have an ace to learn from this season instead of having to act as de facto lead driver.

IndyCar Season Preview: Dale Coyne Racing

Dale Coyne took his first win in over 20 seasons as an open-wheel owner last season in the IZOD IndyCar Series, taking victory with Justin Wilson at Watkins Glen. The team also nearly won the season-opening race at St. Petersburg, and scored a third top five finish at Edmonton, allowing Wilson to take ninth in points.

Boosted by this success, Coyne attempted to return to two cars for 2010, as his team had run in 2008 and in the former Champ Car World Series. Coyne signed the Boy Scouts of America to a sponsorship deal for the No. 19, and attempted to bring back Wilson to the No. 18.

Unfortunately, both Wilson and sponsor Z-Line Designs moved on, taking over the lead car at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. As a result, Dale Coyne Racing will have two brand new drivers for 2010.

Milka Duno, longtime series backmarker, will bring her Citgo sponsorship to the No. 18 Dallara-Honda vacated by Wilson, and will run her first full-time IndyCar schedule. Duno still has not raced on a handful of the tracks on the series schedule, making this year a likely learning experience. Duno's best finish in a limited 2009 schedule was 16th at Kansas, her first race of the year.

After chasing Graham Rahal and J.R. Hildebrand for the No. 19 Dallara-Honda, Coyne eventually signed British driver Alex Lloyd for the seat. Lloyd won the 2007 Firestone Indy Lights championship and has competed in a handful of IndyCar races the past two years, including two Indianapolis 500s. Lloyd will officially only contest the season-opener in Brazil, but all signs point to an official announcement of him joining the team once the series returns stateside for the race at St. Petersburg.

The key to Coyne's potential success this year is whether or not the team can efficiently replace departed engineer Bill Pappas, the most important man in Coyne's pit last year. Pappas was a winner in the past and a winner with Coyne, but left the team after only one year, not coincidentally the best year the team has ever had.

As talented of a driver as Lloyd is, and as strong of a car Duno is stepping into, the team may fall apart without a strong leader like Pappas tuning the cars. If they can't replace him effectively, expect the Coyne cars to take a step back in 2010.

When the Chrome Horn Speaks, People Listen

Paul Tracy, 2003 CART champion, self-proclaimed winner of the 2002 Indianapolis 500 (let's not get into it), and one of the top open-wheel drivers of the past decade, has found himself on the sidelines since the open wheel reunification of early 2008. A combination of a lack of sponsorship and the withdrawal of his old Champ Car team, Forsythe Racing, with which he had a long-term contract, have held back the Canadian-born, Vegas-based driver.

With teams beginning to test in preparation for the 2010 season, Tracy has taken his rage to the masses. He appeared on Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain last Sunday night, and now he's using his Twitter account to rant about the state of open wheel racing in North America.

"(Ana Beatriz), in a 3rd car at Dreyer & Reinbold. It's so great to see guys from North America get a chance in the IZOD IndyCar Series," Tracy wrote on Wednesday. "And they wonder why no one watches IndyCar racing anymore."

"4 drivers from this continent at the first test," he continued. "I think there (are) 3 wins for all of them put together. As guys like (Graham) Rahal, (Buddy) Rice and me get to stay home and watch. If that's what you fans want, enjoy."

Today, Tracy delivered some of his most harsh words, condemning the political factions that have scorched the open wheel landscape since IndyCar ran its first race in January 1996. "Open wheel fans have been foolishly loyal over the last 15 years, as both series have dragged open wheel to the bottom of the ocean. But we have held our breath long enough. And I (implore) every fan to take charge of what you love and want from IndyCar!!!!!!!!!"

Tracy cited the departure of Philip Morris from Team Penske as both a sign of the times and an example of the difficulty a driver faces in seeking out sponsors. He wrote, "Just saw pictures of the new Penske cars, if RP does not have a primary sponsor with all his connections, that should tell you how hard (it is) to sell sponsorship in the IRL. People say just go find a sponsor and you will have a ride, if it was that easy then Penske would have one." Team Penske only has Verizon Wireless money behind one of its three cars in a primary role. Verizon also sponsors Penske cars in other racing series.

Tracy has a point. While his performance has tailed off a bit since his 2003 CART title, he remains one of the most exciting drivers to watch in North America. His antics in Champ Car before that series' demise kept the series interesting, from his injury jumping sand dunes on an ATV, to the "French helmet" controversy. He has fashioned himself the bad boy of open wheel racing over the years, and when he gets behind the wheel of a decent car, he has the talent to back himself up.

Unfortunately, in this market, talent isn't as important as sponsorship dollars. As Tracy noted, Graham Rahal finds himself without a ride, and he was one of the best drivers in IndyCar last season. 31 wins and 25 poles over the years haven't piqued the interest of any major sponsors except for GEICO, and they are only interested in fielding Tracy for Indy and the races in his home country.

While the "Chrome Horn" may not be on track until this year's running of the Indianapolis 500, we will certainly be hearing from him in the meantime - and the powers that be may be hearing from fans on his account. Tracy has pushed fans to write to IndyCar management, expressing their dissatisfaction with the ride-buying present in the series and the lack of North American drivers.

Whether or not the letter-writing campaign or Tracy's other antics will lead to a full-time deal is still up in the air. But in the meantime, if fans don't enjoy the racing itself, they can certainly look to Tracy for entertainment - behind the wheel or not, he'll put on a show.