Opinion: A Quantum Leap Back Towards Legitimacy

Those of you lamenting the recent unqualified ride-buyer trend in the IZOD IndyCar Series, take note.

IndyCar's TEAM program - which allocates about $1.3 million to full-time teams in lieu of purse money in 16 of the series' 17 events - has been restructured to accommodate 22, instead of the previous 24, teams.

Those sitting on the sidelines? The second cars of Conquest Racing - which saw five pay drivers take the reins this year - and Dale Coyne Racing, who employed the relentlessly mocked and embarrassingly slow Milka Duno.

With that single step, IndyCar drew a hard line in the ground between who deserves to be there and who doesn't.

Granted, the reality is slightly more complex than that for Conquest. They started the season with Mario Romancini and added Bertrand Baguette in a second car after missing the series' first two events. As the season went on, Romancini yielded to other drivers with more money, and Baguette became the team's lead driver, the two cars' numbers - 34 for the lead car, 36 for Baguette - swapped in reflection. But in the end, the 34 (now Baguette's team), the more deserving team, got paid, and the 36 didn't.

Of course, it seems like a slap in the face to longtime owners Dale Coyne and Eric Bachelart, ex-CART drivers and Champ Car owners. And in a way, it is. These guys have their own side of the story - neither are big-time owners with multi-million dollar sponsorship contracts like Chip Ganassi or Michael Andretti. Neither can afford to employ too many drivers that don't bring at least some money with them.

But, at the same time, they chose to bring on drivers who were clearly miles off the pace. Duno drew the ire of competitors for her consistently slow times, as she has since joining the series. Meanwhile, Bachelart brought on the previously unknown Francesco Dracone, who wasn't much faster in his brief audition with the team, and followed him with Tomas Scheckter and Roger Yasukawa.

Understanding that drivers like this weren't going to cut it if IndyCar ever wants to approach NASCAR again in legitimacy, Randy Bernard and Brian Barnhart had to act quickly. They started by putting Duno on probation over the summer and threatened not to renew her license for 2011; she's not likely to be back. Now the TEAM parameters have been adjusted to penalize the two owners most guilty of hiring unqualified talent last season.

Don't think the rest of the sport isn't taking notice.

While Jimmy Vasser is attempting to retain all three drivers from last year's horror show at KV Racing Technology, he's also talked enthusiastically about putting Paul Tracy, the 2003 CART champion, into a full-time ride after two years of limited schedules. Panther Racing is looking at J.R. Hildebrand, the 2009 Firestone Indy Lights champion, for their lone seat. Chip Ganassi appears poised to start a two-car satellite team out of ex-drag racer Don Prudhomme's shop with young American standouts Graham Rahal and Charlie Kimball.

And perhaps best of all, after a dismal 2010 that saw the team suffer through poor runs with Hideki Mutoh and only employ Rahal for five races - a long way to fall from their seventh place performance in 2009 - Newman/Haas Racing is testing 2010 Lights runner-up James Hinchcliffe and longtime Champ Car stalwart Oriol Servia at Sebring International Raceway in mid-December with the intent of bringing both to the series in 2011.

There's not a single driver on that list that doesn't have the confidence and respect of the majority of the IndyCar paddock. Most have taken victories in IndyCar, Champ Car, or Indy Lights. The only one who hasn't, Kimball, had four runner-up finishes in Lights this year.

That's a huge jump forward from Duno, Dracone, and Mutoh, and an even bigger jump forward from past backmarkers like Marty Roth, Kosuke Matsuura, and Enrique Bernoldi.

It also puts potential sponsors in a bit more of a pressing position. It's still a free market, under which they can shift money to whomever they please. But in order to tap into IndyCar's highly populated markets, desirable fan demographic, and recent positive momentum, and to make sure that the team they work with gets paid at the end of the season, they have to hire a driver with the chops to put on a good show and not stink up the back of the grid.

And, like it was in the sport's heyday, the only ones lamenting will be the ones who aren't fast enough to make the cut.

Interview: Sebastian Saavedra - IndyCar's Next Big Thing

For the past two years, Sebastian Saavedra has been establishing himself as one of the brightest young talents heading up the Road to Indy ladder.

Since coming stateside in 2009, joining the illustrious AFS Racing program in the Firestone Indy Lights Series, Saavedra has posted two wins and two top-10 finishes in the championship, coming third in 2009 and eighth this year. This year's finish was even more remarkable considering the fact that he missed the final two races of the season after leaving Bryan Herta Autosport.

Saavedra made his IndyCar debut in the 2010 Indianapolis 500 for Herta's team, and returned to the series at the end of the year with Conquest Racing. After a strong American debut in 2009, Saavedra spent much of 2010 assembling a strong team of advisors; his new manager in America is longtime IndyCar mechanic and team owner Derrick Walker, while two-time Indianapolis 500 runner-up and Colombian countryman Roberto Guerrero serves as a driver coach.

Saavedra is currently home in Colombia relaxing after a hard-fought 2010 campaign, while also attempting to put together a program that will see him compete for IZOD IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2011. In between travel obligations, Saavedra agreed to an interview with us, and we're happy to provide the transcript below.

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First things first: how and when did you get your start in auto racing?

SS: I started when I was 8 with an uncle who bought me a go-kart. My dad wasn't very into the idea of racing so I needed to wait couple of years before he got the bug. I did the racing school and surprised many heads around so my career started right away here in bogota, colombia.

You’ve taken wins in Formula BMW, Formula 3, and Firestone Indy Lights cars. How do these very different cars compare to one another? Was one type of car easier to drive than the others? Faster?

SS: I would say there's no easy car to drive. They all have their secrets and their way to be driven. Of course the speed changed with each class cause of the HP but they all had their charm. I really enjoyed the F3 as it was the nicest, lightest and with more Down-force.

You drove for Andretti Autosport in 2009 before moving to BHA this year. How were the two teams different from one another? Did you have to work with one team differently than with the other?

SS: They were both very professional teams with a particular goal in hand. Win. As a driver you need to change with the situation and scenery. Andretti was a very interesting experience in every way.

By now everybody knows that your season with Bryan Herta Autosport in Indy Lights did not end as well as either side would have hoped. Can you explain why things went downhill, and how your relationship with the team ended?

SS: The relationship never ended, things happened and were unfortunate. We were more focused on the IndyCar program than Indy Lights and sometimes it hurt but I enjoyed driving for a great driver I followed when i was younger and he gave me the opportunity to do the Indy 500 which I will never forget.

Do you have any regrets about the way that things ended with BHA?

SS: Not at all. This is a very professional bussiness and we both understand the paths we need to take to keep our success. Bryan is an amazing guy with lots of future, maybe not with me.

After that, you worked with Conquest Racing and Derrick Walker for this year’s season finale at Homestead. Were you pleased with the way things went at Homestead? What was it like working with a new team for only one race weekend?

SS: Was by far the nicest experience I've had in a long time. Was very risky as we left it all in the table but thank god all went our way. Conquest Racing gave me the right material and engineering to show all my potential which I'm very thankful. Derrick Walker managing me from now on is a big honor aswell as I admire his working scenario and ethics.

Do some of the things you learned driving in Indy Lights translate to the bigger IndyCars, or are they completely different?

SS: I got to say that the Firestone Indy Lights was the best school possible to move up into the IndyCar. It's very close on the way of driving the cars and gives you a very good idea on how its going to be when you get to the big cars. So yes it does translate many things.

Looking forward to next season, you have said that you will be racing full-time in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Do you have sponsorship lined up already? Can you give us any insight on which team you might be driving for? Are Conquest and Walker options for next year?

SS: Mr. Derrick Walker is not part of Conquest Racing, he is my manager. We are still working very hard on getting the right sponsorship and we have good team options that we are already finishing with but thats as much as I can give you right now ;)

Growing up in Colombia, I’m sure you had some different racing idols growing up than some American drivers did. Who are some of the drivers that have influenced you?

SS: For sure Montoya was one of the big drivers I followed since I started as he put the sport on the map here in Colombia. I've always been a big fan of TK and as I lived in Brasil for cuople of years he became very big for me.

Obviously IndyCar is mostly an American series, so you spend a lot of time in the States during the racing season. How often do you travel home to Colombia during the racing season?

SS: I'm living in Indianapolis the complete season. I like this as I can keep very focused on my gym and engineering. I usually go to Colombia when theres a sponsor event or any important deal going on, so usually I hope to go down a lot. HA

Your management group includes Derrick Walker, and earlier this year you had former Colombian IndyCar driver Roberto Guerrero as a driving coach. How much does it help to have two people with that much experience in IndyCar helping your career along?

SS: It's great to have such an interesting group of people behind me as they give me great confidence with the amount of experience they have to give. Im very pleased on their work and want to continue close together for a long time.

Anything you’d like to tell your fans?

SS: There's something very important I've been giving my fans and its the pleasure of dreaming! When you dream very hard and wish something, with lots of work everything is possible.

Finally, what are your goals for the future? You’ve said that an Indy 500 win is one of your goals, but beyond that, are you looking to go to Formula One someday? Any other championships or races you’d like to win?

SS: F1 for sure is my big goal. Something I've often heard its just too hard to get but my dad has always said.." if it was easy anyone could do it' I go by that principle and work on it. I want to win more than one IndyCar championship and be a positive Colombian figure to follow.

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Thanks once again to Seb for agreeing to do the interview, and we at OWA wish him the best of luck in 2011 and beyond. Check out his personal website at http://www.ssaavedra.com, and be sure to follow his Twitter account at @sebsaavedra.

Saavedra Returns to IndyCar at Homestead

After leaving Bryan Herta Autosport midway through the Firestone Indy Lights round at Kentucky Speedway, Sebastian Saavedra has landed on his feet for the Cafes do Brazil Indy 300, this year's IZOD IndyCar Series finale, at Homestead.

Saavedra will pilot the No. 36 Dallara-Honda for Conquest Racing, with the help of fan sponsorship contributions and a sponsor list that includes Laboratories Sumimed, Autoniza, Smart Life, Skullcandy, Mobil 1, Coldeportes, and Seringel, according to a tweet sent yesterday.

At Conquest, he will drive alongside Bertrand Baguette, team owner Eric Bachelart's pet project, who has progressed into a respectable IndyCar driver despite missing the first two races of the season and joining the series with zero prior oval experience. It will be Saavedra's second IndyCar race of the season, following an Indianapolis 500 appearance with BHA that saw him start last and finish 23rd after an accident.

Saavedra becomes the fourth driver to pilot Conquest's second car since Mario Romancini was let go due to funding issues. Prior to his signing, Francesco Dracone, Tomas Scheckter, and Roger Yasukawa have all driven the second car for the team, which typically brings on pay-drivers to make the grid due to a lack of sponsorship.

Meanwhile, Herta has not yet settled on a replacement driver for his Indy Lights team, though Daniel Herrington, the team's 2009 lead driver and Saavedra's last-minute replacement for Kentucky, will likely get the call.

IndyCar Race Preview: Kentucky Indy 300

Perhaps once a year, a race appears on the IZOD IndyCar Series schedule that produces - or at least gives the hope of - interesting and unexpected results.

For years, Surfers Paradise was that race, producing a different winner every year for over a decade. Two years ago, it was St. Petersburg, where Graham Rahal won in his IndyCar debut. Last year, we almost had two: Watkins Glen, where Justin Wilson gave Dale Coyne Racing its first win in 25 years of racing, and Kentucky, where underdog Ed Carpenter nearly stole his first career victory, only to be thwarted at the line by Ryan Briscoe.

This year, Carpenter's driving like he's got unfinished business at the track.

Now a part-time driver employed by a collaboration between Vision and Panther Racing, Carpenter shocked the world with a qualifying average speed of nearly 218 miles per hour, and will start on the pole for Saturday's Kentucky Indy 300. He beat even series points leader (and sudden oval wunderkind) Will Power to the top spot. Carpenter's teammate, Dan Wheldon, will roll off directly behind in third.

If that wasn't crazy enough, Conquest Racing's new de facto lead driver, Bertrand Baguette, qualified in sixth place, with teammate Tomas Scheckter in 10th. They both outpaced last week's winner, Dario Franchitti, who will start 11th. Baguette even beat Team Penske drivers Helio Castroneves (eighth) and Ryan Briscoe (ninth) in the session.

If that wasn't out of left field enough for you, Milka Duno legitimately outqualified two other cars - those of Rahal and Tony Kanaan, respectively. Kanaan was an unfathomable seven miles per hour off the pace, reminiscent of his struggles at Indianapolis earlier this year. Rahal was only five miles per hour off in a Sarah Fisher Racing car that has struggled for much of the season with Jay Howard behind the wheel.

Ryan Hunter-Reay will start shotgun on the field after crashing in qualifying and being unable to produce a time.

Paul Tracy, making his first oval start in half a decade, will start 23rd for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, the slowest of the cars that maintained a pace reasonably close to that of the leader. He was the last driver to break 214 miles per hour in qualifying.

Conquest Introduces Dracone

Italian driver Francesco Dracone will replace Brazilian Mario Romancini in the No. 34 Dallara-Honda at Conquest Racing for the final two road course events of the IZOD IndyCar Series season. Dracone will drive the car at Mid-Ohio and Infineon with sponsorship from La Pasta and Halkin Jet.

Dracone has spent time racing in Euroseries 3000 (now AutoGP) for the past four years, improving his spot in the standings each of the past three years. Dracone's best finish in points was seventh place last season, with his best race finish coming at Monza, where he placed fifth.

Dracone has been inactive for most of this season, testing a Nissan LMP1 and an F3000 car in the past few months, but was not expected to drive an IndyCar this season until passing his rookie test at Mid-Ohio last week. Dracone is team owner Eric Bachelart's second strictly European driver signing of the season, with Dracone's teammate Bertrand Baguette a former Formula Renault champion.

Romancini currently ranks third in rookie points, behind only Alex Lloyd and Simona de Silvestro, while Baguette (having missed the season's first two races) ranks fifth. But Romancini has finished no better than 13th all season, has failed to finish in five of seven road course starts (crashing four times), and brings less sponsorship money than Baguette, who has his own Belgian backing. This is no small advantage, as team owner Bachelart is Belgian as well.

Romancini will most likely return to Conquest for the final four oval races of the season, as he was the highest-finishing rookie at Indianapolis and seemed to have his best luck in Firestone Indy Lights last year on the oval tracks.

Indianapolis or Bust: Bruno Junqueira

For the first time since 2000, Bruno Junqueira did not compete in a single major American open-wheel event last year. He looks to change that this year with the FAZZT Race Team, which will be competing in its first Indianapolis 500.

Junqueira did not race in the 500 last year, though he qualified a Conquest Racing car for the event. In a last-minute ride assembled not long before Bump Day, Junqueira put his No. 36 Dallara-Honda a solid 30th in the 33-car field, with about half a mile an hour advantage over last-place Ryan Hunter-Reay. Junqueira was never in question of being bumped by any of the other cars - though his team was a different story.

When Conquest lead driver Alex Tagliani missed the race, Junqueira vacated his seat to allow his teammate to compete. Tagliani, moved to the back of the field due to the driver chance, fought his way up to 11th place by the final lap and won race rookie of the year. FAZZT part-owner Tagliani will pay Junqueira back by giving him a solid ride for the 500 this year.

FAZZT has been good everywhere they've run thus far this year, almost always qualifying and running towards the front of the pack. In five races, Tagliani has three top-10s, was running up front at Brazil before being taken out by Dan Wheldon, and qualified seventh at Long Beach, where mechanical failure took him out with 19 laps to go. These good runs have been a surprise to most, as the equipment came from former backmarker Roth Racing.

Indy practice has not been kind to FAZZT thus far, as the team's best lap was nearly a second off leader Helio Castroneves' pace on Sunday; overall, in veteran practice, Tagliani has only been the 27th fastest driver (35th counting drivers who have turned laps in multiple cars). Junqueira has not yet turned a lap in his No. 33 Dallara-Honda. FAZZT will certainly have to find some speed with Tagliani in order to live up to its name, and not have to make the same bait-and-switch move that Conquest did last year.

Chances of winning the Indianapolis 500: C-
Chances of leading the Indianapolis 500 specials: B

Baguette Makes Conquest Belgium's National Team

Conquest Racing, in its fourth year of IZOD IndyCar Series competition, officially announced today that they will add a second car for 15 races in this year's season, starting with the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on April 11. The driver will be Belgian Bertrand Baguette, the 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 champion, who tested for two Formula 1 teams this offseason, and the car will likely carry No. 36.

More significantly, the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium, that country's motorsports governing body, will back the team, creating a true Belgian national team in the IndyCar Series. Team owner Eric Bachelart, a former open-wheel racer himself, calls Belgium home.

Bachelart has pushed for a Belgian driver in his cars before - he sent countryman Jan Heylen to the series' winter meetings with the intent of fielding him in a car this season, but that deal did not come to fruition. The team was briefly rumored to be a two car, all-Brazilian pay-driver team this season, and to have signed Tomas Scheckter, but neither of those deals worked out, either. Brazilian Mario Romancini drove for the team in Sao Paulo and will campaign the team's No. 34 car for the full season.

Originally, the rumors suggested that Baguette would drive a second car for the team in Indianapolis only, similar to how the team fielded a one-off car for Bruno Junqueira last year.

Baguette comes to IndyCar off of a majestic Formula Renault season in which he won the championship by an incredible 57 points. He didn't win a race until the sixth round of the series, sweeping the doubleheader, but won three more races over the next three rounds to secure victory. Baguette only failed to finish one race all season, and that was the only event in which he did not score points. His worst finish otherwise was eighth place, enough to score points in the series, which follows a similar points system to the former Formula 1 structure.

Baguette will attend this weekend's Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in order to familiarize himself with the team and the cars, but will likely not take part in any events behind the wheel.

IndyCar Season Preview: Conquest Racing

Conquest Racing spent much of 2009 struggling to find funding for driver Alex Tagliani, eventually forcing the team to only run a limited IZOD IndyCar Series schedule with its lead No. 34 Dallara-Honda. They attempted to qualify a second car for the Indianapolis 500, but when that car made the race and the lead car didn't, Tagliani took the car over for the race. After announcing his departure to start the new FAZZT Race Team in 2010, team owner Eric Bachelart replaced Tagliani with a handful of pay drivers, with poor results.

The team's best run came at Toronto, when Tagliani led a good chunk of the race and may have won if not for a few bad breaks that put him back in ninth place at the finish.

This year, the team started on shaky ground when Bachelart sent Bruno Junqueira and Jan Heylen to preseason meetings, despite having no sponsorship for the car. Junqueira qualified the team's second car at Indy last year, while Heylen drove for the team in Champ Car and also calls Bachelart's native Belgium home. Later reports suggested the team had signed Tomas Scheckter, or would become a two-car Brazilian pay driver team (as it was in 2008) with Nelson Merlo in one of its vehicles.

Eventually, things shook out when Mario Romancini, one of the top young available rookies, signed to compete for the team for the entire 2010 schedule. Romancini was reasonably fast in preseason testing, usually hanging around mid-pack, and will bring Guarana Dolly soft drink sponsorship for at least the Brazil race.

Judging by his performance in Firestone Indy Lights last year, where he won two oval races, and his experience in various European open-wheel racing formulae, Romancini may be the perfect balance for Conquest as it attempts its first full-time IndyCar season since 2008. In the past, the team has struggled on ovals, mostly because its drivers have been road course experts, but Romancini showed an adeptness on the circle tracks last year that will certainly help improve their standing.

Romancini may not contend for wins this year, but he will contend for a place between 10th and 15th in the season standings. He may be the best young driver Conquest has had since Justin Wilson drove for the team in Champ Car in 2004. His development may be the key to establishing legitimacy for Conquest in the IndyCar Series, something they haven't seen since their debut season in 2002.

Romancini, Conquest Sign Sponsor For Sao Paulo

Guarana Dolly will back Brazilian driver Mario Romancini and Conquest Racing for the season-opening IZOD IndyCar Series Sao Paulo Indy 300 next weekend.

The name is unfamiliar to most Americans, nevermind American race fans, but the Dolly brand is prominent in Brazil. Dolly is a Brazilian-based corporation that manufactures soft drinks. Their lead product is Guarana Dolly, a soft-drink produced with guarana extract. Guarana is a common plant in Brazil whose extract contains a very high level of caffeine. According to a 2007 Wall Street Journal article, guarana soft drinks exceed the sales of cola-based drinks in Brazil. Dolly also manufactures soft drinks typical of American companies, such as cola, lemon-lime, orange, and grape-based beverages.

Dolly has a history in motorsports, sponsoring two cars in Brazilian stock car racing. Indeed, the most prominent image on the Dolly homepage is one of its stock cars, and the site features a handful of videos of Brazilian stock car racing, suggesting the company will be a valuable promotional partner to Conquest, IndyCar, and the race organizers.

Sao Paulo will be Romancini's first IndyCar race in only his second season running open-wheel cars in North America. Last season the young Brazilian finished 6th in the Firestone Indy Lights Series. Despite European road course seasoning and limited oval experience, Romancini actually raced better on the circle tracks last season, scoring all four of his podiums and both of his wins on that style of racetrack. His best road course finish was sixth, scored twice, in the second St. Petersburg race and Toronto.

This will be Conquest Racing's fourth IndyCar Series season and third consecutive. The team debuted in IndyCar in 2002 before leaving for Champ Car until its demise. Last season the team fielded a handful of different drivers, often bringing their own sponsorship, but no one car or driver for the full season. They fielded one car in 2002, two cars in 2008, and a limited program for one car last year with a second car attempting to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.

So far nothing has been announced in regards to a full-time sponsorship, but rumors in the Brazilian press a few weeks ago suggested that two Brazilian drivers were going to join the team and bring funding. Almost all news related to the team thus far this season has been broken by Brazilian media outlets.