Helio Castroneves' blocking penalty was obviously the big story of this Sunday's Honda Indy Edmonton. Everybody has their own opinion on what happened - whether it was a block or not - and it's sure to remain one of the biggest stories kicking around the IndyCar blogosphere until we race at Mid-Ohio in two weeks.
But looking a little further up the official results than Castroneves' penalty-affected 10th place finish, one can see a pretty solid day for KV Racing Technology - finishes of sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth for the four cars of Paul Tracy, Takuma Sato, E.J. Viso, and Mario Moraes.
This comes in stark contrast to the previous ten races on the schedule, which had seen 20 crashes in 30 combined starts for Sato, Viso, and Moraes. The "KV" in KVRT may as well have stood for "Krash Victims," the way that 2010 had been going.
2009 and 2010 have been like night and day for the team owned by former Champ Car owner Kevin Kalkhoven and 1996 CART champion Jimmy Vasser. For one, 2009 featured a one-car effort for Moraes, a limited-schedule entry for Tracy, and an Indy 500 entry for Townsend Bell. Moraes began to hit his stride at the end of the year with some solid top five finishes, Tracy was generally competitive, and Bell's one start yielded a fourth place finish in the season's biggest race.
This year, the team found the money to expand to three full-time cars. Viso brought his PDVSA sponsorship to the team, Sato came with some Honda support, and James Rossiter was set to run a third car with sponsorship from Marisco Liqueur. Add to this the support of Lotus Cars - stemming from their partnership with engine builder Cosworth, which is partially owned by Kalkhoven - and strong finishes at the end of 2009, and the team looked like a contender.
But Rossiter's funding fell through, leading the team to bring Moraes back in at the last minute with zero time spent testing. When the team went to Brazil for the season-opening Sao Paulo Indy 300, Moraes made a catastrophic and stupid error in the first turn, failing to slow down for an accident ahead and ending up on top of Marco Andretti's car. Sato was knocked out in the wreck ahead.
So it's gone for KV all year. Moraes sits 14th in points with five DNFs, Viso 16th with two, and Sato 21st with six. The only two races before Edmonton in which all three KV cars finished were at Barber and Watkins Glen. The entire team has shown big-finish potential when they've kept the cars off the wall, but with an average of two accidents per race weekend for three cars, that's been hit or miss, so to speak.
Tracy has, despite missing the Indy 500 this year, been the team's most consistent driver in his two appearances. He finished 13th in Toronto but led laps, and of course led the team with his sixth place run at Edmonton.
Unless the momentum from Edmonton can be sustained over the final six races of the year, however, look for changes at KV next season. If I'm Jimmy Vasser, I'm honestly considering clearing house. The team's three drivers have plenty of potential, but potential means little when the team has to be suffering financially from all the torn up equipment. And the drivers' sponsors, as supportive as they have been thus far, can't be willing to finance this much longer.
Perhaps one of the issues is the relative inexperience of the drivers. Sato's eight years in Formula 1 do not necessarily translate to the slower, lower-revving IndyCar. Viso and Moraes both entered the series in 2008. Tracy, on the other hand, has been racing American open-wheel cars since the early 1990s, and to this day remains a threat to win every time he takes to the track.
Another issue stems from the team's relatively quick expansion from one car to three. Yes, the trio worked well at Indianapolis last year, but that was only for one race. Even with experienced drivers in the cars, the team likely would have had some of these same struggles, if not necessarily as high of a crash count.
What would make the most sense, sponsorship dollars willing, would be to keep one of the team's driver prospects for next year, put a veteran like Tracy in a second car, and leave it at that. This would allow the veteran to help show the young driver how to be consistent in an IndyCar, while also greatly easing the burden on the team. Keep in mind that its best years in CART came when they ran two cars, usually featuring a young driver paired with a veteran, and its first, decently successful, year in IndyCar was the same way.
But in a sport where money now comes at a premium, it's not always possible to build the ideal team. Vasser and his crew will have to find a way to work through the team's struggles and turn lessons learned and momentum built at the end of this year into success next year and beyond.
Monday, July 26, 2010
IndyCar Race Review: Honda Indy Edmonton
Scott Dixon won his second IZOD IndyCar Series race at the Edmonton City Centre Airport on Sunday, though it did not come without its share of controversy.
Helio Castroneves was assessed a non-appealable penalty for blocking Team Penske teammate Will Power on the 93rd lap of the 95-circuit Honda Edmonton Indy. He refused to head into the pits for his drive-thru penalty, and dropped to 10th place in the official results after being assessed a 20-second penalty to his time.
An angry Castroneves confronted three race officials after climbing from the car, grabbing one by the collar, but it was no use. It was the second time in three years that a blocking penalty on Castroneves took a race win from him, the other instance coming at Belle Isle in 2008, where Justin Wilson eventually took the victory.
So Dixon and Power, the past two winners of the event, stood 1-2 on the podium at the end, with Dixon's Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dario Franchitti placing third. It was Ganassi's second victory of the day, the other coming with driver Jamie McMurray in NASCAR's Brickyard 400, held at IndyCar mecca Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ryan Briscoe and Ryan Hunter-Reay rounded out the top five.
The two biggest surprises in qualifying, E.J. Viso (sixth) and Simona de Silvestro (seventh), had wildly divergent days. Viso was unable to maintain his position directly behind the sport's top two teams, but rebounded to finish eighth, as KV Racing Technology cars swept positions six through nine. Meanwhile, de Silvestro ran strongly for much of the race, a necessary boost for HVM Racing, but finished a disappointing 22nd after her fuel pump broke with eight laps to go.
And finally, critics of Milka Duno may see some relief, as she was put on probation for the rest of the year during the race weekend. Series officials have cited her failure to meet minimum standards of performance, such as maintaining 107% of the leader's speed, and poor decision-making on the track (to the ire of many of her competitors).
Helio Castroneves was assessed a non-appealable penalty for blocking Team Penske teammate Will Power on the 93rd lap of the 95-circuit Honda Edmonton Indy. He refused to head into the pits for his drive-thru penalty, and dropped to 10th place in the official results after being assessed a 20-second penalty to his time.
An angry Castroneves confronted three race officials after climbing from the car, grabbing one by the collar, but it was no use. It was the second time in three years that a blocking penalty on Castroneves took a race win from him, the other instance coming at Belle Isle in 2008, where Justin Wilson eventually took the victory.
So Dixon and Power, the past two winners of the event, stood 1-2 on the podium at the end, with Dixon's Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dario Franchitti placing third. It was Ganassi's second victory of the day, the other coming with driver Jamie McMurray in NASCAR's Brickyard 400, held at IndyCar mecca Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ryan Briscoe and Ryan Hunter-Reay rounded out the top five.
The two biggest surprises in qualifying, E.J. Viso (sixth) and Simona de Silvestro (seventh), had wildly divergent days. Viso was unable to maintain his position directly behind the sport's top two teams, but rebounded to finish eighth, as KV Racing Technology cars swept positions six through nine. Meanwhile, de Silvestro ran strongly for much of the race, a necessary boost for HVM Racing, but finished a disappointing 22nd after her fuel pump broke with eight laps to go.
And finally, critics of Milka Duno may see some relief, as she was put on probation for the rest of the year during the race weekend. Series officials have cited her failure to meet minimum standards of performance, such as maintaining 107% of the leader's speed, and poor decision-making on the track (to the ire of many of her competitors).
Sunday, July 25, 2010
IndyCar Race Preview: Honda Indy Edmonton
Once again, a Team Penske Dallara-Honda driven by Will Power will start on the pole in an IZOD IndyCar Series race.
Like clockwork, the Australian won his sixth pole of the season (fifth on road or street courses) for this weekend's Honda Indy Edmonton, the lone race that he won last season. And unsurprisingly, the rest of the top five cars all belong to his owner, Roger Penske, or his top rival, Chip Ganassi.
Meanwhile, Helio Castroneves continued his trend of being an Edmonton bridesmaid. Penske's elder statesman, who finished second in both IndyCar-sanctioned Edmonton races, qualified alongside Power. They were the only two drivers to break the 61-second mark in qualifying.
But time trials at the Edmonton City Centre Airport also provided some surprises. Namely, E.J. Viso and Simona de Silvestro will start sixth and seventh, respectively. Both drivers have or have had affiliations with ex-Champ Car teams, and were brought up through the ranks to race on this sort of track.
Indeed, most of the cream of the road course crop rose to the top in qualifying, with a handful of surprises, such as Raphael Matos and Tomas Scheckter, advancing to the second round of qualifying. But drivers who generally have run better on ovals, such as Alex Lloyd, Mario Romancini, and Danica Patrick, qualified closer to the back of the pack. Only Tony Kanaan and Milka Duno failed to make qualifying laps, and will start 24th and 25th, respectively.
The three drivers in the field that have won this event before all start towards the front. Power, obviously, sits on pole, while Scott Dixon, who won this event in 2008 with Ganassi, starts third. Meanwhile, Justin Wilson, looking to rebound from miscues that cost him last week's win in Toronto, starts ninth. He won this event in 2006 when it was still sanctioned by Champ Car.
Like clockwork, the Australian won his sixth pole of the season (fifth on road or street courses) for this weekend's Honda Indy Edmonton, the lone race that he won last season. And unsurprisingly, the rest of the top five cars all belong to his owner, Roger Penske, or his top rival, Chip Ganassi.
Meanwhile, Helio Castroneves continued his trend of being an Edmonton bridesmaid. Penske's elder statesman, who finished second in both IndyCar-sanctioned Edmonton races, qualified alongside Power. They were the only two drivers to break the 61-second mark in qualifying.
But time trials at the Edmonton City Centre Airport also provided some surprises. Namely, E.J. Viso and Simona de Silvestro will start sixth and seventh, respectively. Both drivers have or have had affiliations with ex-Champ Car teams, and were brought up through the ranks to race on this sort of track.
Indeed, most of the cream of the road course crop rose to the top in qualifying, with a handful of surprises, such as Raphael Matos and Tomas Scheckter, advancing to the second round of qualifying. But drivers who generally have run better on ovals, such as Alex Lloyd, Mario Romancini, and Danica Patrick, qualified closer to the back of the pack. Only Tony Kanaan and Milka Duno failed to make qualifying laps, and will start 24th and 25th, respectively.
The three drivers in the field that have won this event before all start towards the front. Power, obviously, sits on pole, while Scott Dixon, who won this event in 2008 with Ganassi, starts third. Meanwhile, Justin Wilson, looking to rebound from miscues that cost him last week's win in Toronto, starts ninth. He won this event in 2006 when it was still sanctioned by Champ Car.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Carpenter and Vision Return for Three
Chris Hagan, the sports anchor for Fox 59 in Indianapolis, has reported via his Twitter page that Ed Carpenter and Vision Racing will rejoin the IZOD IndyCar Series for the final three races of the season at Chicagoland, Kentucky, and Homestead.
The No. 20 Dallara-Honda will once again be sponsored by Fuzzy's Premium Vodka, who backed the team in this year's Indianapolis 500. That car, run in partnership with Panther Racing, finished a respectable 17th, only the third car a lap down. Professional golfer Fuzzy Zoeller, the founder of Fuzzy's Vodka, confirmed the news in an interview with Hagan at a charity golf tournament.
Carpenter has always been an oval specialist, the kind of driver that Vision Racing owner (and IndyCar founder) Tony George had in mind when he first founded his open-wheel series in 1994. Carpenter especially excels at short tracks, where his career average finish is 12.1, and mid-size speedways, where that number is 13.7.
It's no surprise, then, that Kentucky and Homestead are Carpenter's two best tracks, with average finishes of 9.3 and 10.6, respectively. Meanwhile, at Chicago, his average finish is a respectable 13.7, making that track his fourth-best oval, out of the ovals that IndyCar still races. In a combined 18 starts at the three tracks, Carpenter has three of his four career top five finishes and eight of his 27 career top 10s.
Last year, Carpenter scored respectable finishes at both Chicago and Homestead, coming home 6th and 12th, respectably. But Kentucky was the highlight of the small team's season, as the team came within .016 seconds of its first win, only to be nipped at the line by Ryan Briscoe.
The No. 20 Dallara-Honda will once again be sponsored by Fuzzy's Premium Vodka, who backed the team in this year's Indianapolis 500. That car, run in partnership with Panther Racing, finished a respectable 17th, only the third car a lap down. Professional golfer Fuzzy Zoeller, the founder of Fuzzy's Vodka, confirmed the news in an interview with Hagan at a charity golf tournament.
Carpenter has always been an oval specialist, the kind of driver that Vision Racing owner (and IndyCar founder) Tony George had in mind when he first founded his open-wheel series in 1994. Carpenter especially excels at short tracks, where his career average finish is 12.1, and mid-size speedways, where that number is 13.7.
It's no surprise, then, that Kentucky and Homestead are Carpenter's two best tracks, with average finishes of 9.3 and 10.6, respectively. Meanwhile, at Chicago, his average finish is a respectable 13.7, making that track his fourth-best oval, out of the ovals that IndyCar still races. In a combined 18 starts at the three tracks, Carpenter has three of his four career top five finishes and eight of his 27 career top 10s.
Last year, Carpenter scored respectable finishes at both Chicago and Homestead, coming home 6th and 12th, respectably. But Kentucky was the highlight of the small team's season, as the team came within .016 seconds of its first win, only to be nipped at the line by Ryan Briscoe.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
IndyCar Race Review: Honda Indy Toronto
Will Power capitalized on a poor restart by Justin Wilson, opened up a big lead on defending race winner Dario Franchitti, and cruised to victory in today's Honda Indy Toronto. It was the fourth win of the season (all of them coming on road or street courses) for the Team Penske driver, who now holds a 42-point lead over Franchitti in the overall standings.
It was perhaps the luckiest of Power's four wins this season, however, as Wilson clearly had the car to beat all weekend. During an early practice session, Wilson had a .7-second advantage on the next best car; from there, he won the pole, and led in the early stages of the event. He only relinquished the lead during pit stops under the first caution, which came after KV Racing teammates Takuma Sato and Mario Moraes got together.
Hometown hero Paul Tracy inherited the lead on lap 18 by staying out, with Vitor Meira also choosing not to pit. Two more cautions over eight of the following 12 laps kept him there until he pit on lap 31. From there, another caution trapped Tracy in 17th, and another pit stop and a miscue while trying to pass Simona de Silvestro later in the race put him back in 13th at the finish, the first car one lap down.
Cautions were a big story of the event, especially involving KV Racing cars, which have now been involved in 20 accidents over 10 race this year. Moraes later punted Mario Romancini out of the race, leading to a drive-thru penalty from race control. And E.J. Viso ran into a spun Raphael Matos with 19 laps to go, totaling the de Ferran Dragon Racing vehicle and putting Viso three laps down in 19th at the finish.
Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon were two of the bigger names to fall out of the event. Castroneves was a victim of early braking by Meira in the third turn after the first restart, and he went hard head-on into a tire barrier in the runoff area. Dixon touched wheels with Ryan Hunter-Reay about the same place where Castroneves and Tracy had an incident last year, and a damaged left front suspension ended his day. Both drivers were unhurt.
But as Castroneves and Dixon sat on the sidelines, they watched a good show by their teammates, Power and Franchitti. The Scotsman inherited the lead from Tracy on lap 32 and held it until a green-flag pit stop on lap 53. Power and Wilson pit the next lap, with the Dreyer & Reinbold team somehow managing to beat the renowned Penske crew out of the pits. Despite being held up by lapped traffic in that extra lap, oth managed to make up enough time on track to get ahead of Franchitti coming out of the pits, and they ran 1-2-3 as pit stops cycled through. Wilson began to open up a huge lead on Power, with the help of lapped traffic and the alternate red tires, before the fifth caution of the day.
But on the restart after the Matos-Viso incident, everything went awry for Wilson. Power pressured him on the restart, making quick work of passing his former Champ Car competitor, and Franchitti was soon in hot pursuit. Going into turn eight, Wilson came in too hot and spun the car around, allowing most of the field to get by him. Wilson would rebound for seventh at the end of the race.
In the same handful of laps, Dixon had his incident, and Tomas Scheckter and Canadian favorite Alex Tagliani drove into the tires in turn one, setting up the final restart of the day.
But Power would not yield, as he beat Franchitti to the line by 1.27 seconds. Hunter-Reay, who had been struggling with his car all day, took third, followed by Tony Kanaan and Graham Rahal, who scored his best finish of the year in his return to Newman/Haas Racing.
Andretti Autosport, at a track where team owner Michael Andretti took seven victories as a driver, had the best day of any team, with their other two cars of Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti taking sixth and eighth, respectively. Meanwhile, Simona de Silvestro and Dan Wheldon rounded out the top ten, marking de Silvestro's best finish of the year and Wheldon's fourth top-10 finish on a road or street course this season.
It was perhaps the luckiest of Power's four wins this season, however, as Wilson clearly had the car to beat all weekend. During an early practice session, Wilson had a .7-second advantage on the next best car; from there, he won the pole, and led in the early stages of the event. He only relinquished the lead during pit stops under the first caution, which came after KV Racing teammates Takuma Sato and Mario Moraes got together.
Hometown hero Paul Tracy inherited the lead on lap 18 by staying out, with Vitor Meira also choosing not to pit. Two more cautions over eight of the following 12 laps kept him there until he pit on lap 31. From there, another caution trapped Tracy in 17th, and another pit stop and a miscue while trying to pass Simona de Silvestro later in the race put him back in 13th at the finish, the first car one lap down.
Cautions were a big story of the event, especially involving KV Racing cars, which have now been involved in 20 accidents over 10 race this year. Moraes later punted Mario Romancini out of the race, leading to a drive-thru penalty from race control. And E.J. Viso ran into a spun Raphael Matos with 19 laps to go, totaling the de Ferran Dragon Racing vehicle and putting Viso three laps down in 19th at the finish.
Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon were two of the bigger names to fall out of the event. Castroneves was a victim of early braking by Meira in the third turn after the first restart, and he went hard head-on into a tire barrier in the runoff area. Dixon touched wheels with Ryan Hunter-Reay about the same place where Castroneves and Tracy had an incident last year, and a damaged left front suspension ended his day. Both drivers were unhurt.
But as Castroneves and Dixon sat on the sidelines, they watched a good show by their teammates, Power and Franchitti. The Scotsman inherited the lead from Tracy on lap 32 and held it until a green-flag pit stop on lap 53. Power and Wilson pit the next lap, with the Dreyer & Reinbold team somehow managing to beat the renowned Penske crew out of the pits. Despite being held up by lapped traffic in that extra lap, oth managed to make up enough time on track to get ahead of Franchitti coming out of the pits, and they ran 1-2-3 as pit stops cycled through. Wilson began to open up a huge lead on Power, with the help of lapped traffic and the alternate red tires, before the fifth caution of the day.
But on the restart after the Matos-Viso incident, everything went awry for Wilson. Power pressured him on the restart, making quick work of passing his former Champ Car competitor, and Franchitti was soon in hot pursuit. Going into turn eight, Wilson came in too hot and spun the car around, allowing most of the field to get by him. Wilson would rebound for seventh at the end of the race.
In the same handful of laps, Dixon had his incident, and Tomas Scheckter and Canadian favorite Alex Tagliani drove into the tires in turn one, setting up the final restart of the day.
But Power would not yield, as he beat Franchitti to the line by 1.27 seconds. Hunter-Reay, who had been struggling with his car all day, took third, followed by Tony Kanaan and Graham Rahal, who scored his best finish of the year in his return to Newman/Haas Racing.
Andretti Autosport, at a track where team owner Michael Andretti took seven victories as a driver, had the best day of any team, with their other two cars of Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti taking sixth and eighth, respectively. Meanwhile, Simona de Silvestro and Dan Wheldon rounded out the top ten, marking de Silvestro's best finish of the year and Wheldon's fourth top-10 finish on a road or street course this season.
Friday, July 16, 2010
IndyCar Race Preview: Honda Indy Toronto
The IZOD IndyCar Series makes it first foray into the Great White North of the season with this weekend's Honda Indy Toronto, an event won by Dario Franchitti last year.
Each of the past eight races held on the 1.755-mile Exhibition Place street circuit have been won by different drivers; the last driver to successfully defend his victory was Michael Andretti in 2001. Andretti is the all-time wins leader at the circuit with seven victories, a factor in his decision to purchase the race's assets in mid-2008 and rescue it after that year's running was cancelled due to the demise of Champ Car.
This weekend's event, as well as the Edmonton airport race two weeks from now, are widely celebrated by the Canadian fans, and are especially welcomed by the Canadian members of the circuit. Alex Tagliani and Paul Tracy, the two active Canadian IndyCar drivers, will each be running special paint schemes in the race - Tagliani a new Hot Wheels-backed livery, Tracy an equally impressive car backed by the Canadian arm of the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the Toronto Blue Jays.
But the drivers aren't the only ones returning to their home country this weekend. In fact, two of the engineers on the de Ferran Dragon Racing team, lead engineer Eric Zeto and performance engineer Scott Raymond, call the province of Ontario home. The team hopes to build on their momentum from Watkins Glen, where driver Rafa Matos finished an impressive 4th despite losing his in-car telemetry in the middle of the race. Matos finished 10th at Toronto last year.
Matos has certainly shown the speed this weekend, with his best lap in the second practice, a 62.3984-second run, good for fifth in that session. But 13 cars - half of the field - were within a second of that session's leader, Ryan Hunter-Reay, who turned a 62.1433-second lap.
Within those 13 cars, seven different teams are represented - Andretti Autosport, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Team Penske, de Ferran Dragon Racing, FAZZT Race Team, KV Racing Technology, and Chip Ganassi Racing. This suggests not only a close battle for pole position, but also a mammoth struggle just to make the Firestone Fast Six.
In the race itself, don't be surprised if Will Power and Justin Wilson challenge for victory. They are two of only four former Toronto winners in the field (the others being Tracy, who won it in 1993 and 2003, and Franchitti, who won in 1999 as well as last year). Power and Wilson were right on Franchitti's tail last year, finishing third and fifth, respectively, after starting second and fourth.
Television coverage of the Honda Indy Toronto begins on Sunday at 12:30 PM EST. The race will be shown on ABC.
Each of the past eight races held on the 1.755-mile Exhibition Place street circuit have been won by different drivers; the last driver to successfully defend his victory was Michael Andretti in 2001. Andretti is the all-time wins leader at the circuit with seven victories, a factor in his decision to purchase the race's assets in mid-2008 and rescue it after that year's running was cancelled due to the demise of Champ Car.
This weekend's event, as well as the Edmonton airport race two weeks from now, are widely celebrated by the Canadian fans, and are especially welcomed by the Canadian members of the circuit. Alex Tagliani and Paul Tracy, the two active Canadian IndyCar drivers, will each be running special paint schemes in the race - Tagliani a new Hot Wheels-backed livery, Tracy an equally impressive car backed by the Canadian arm of the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the Toronto Blue Jays.
But the drivers aren't the only ones returning to their home country this weekend. In fact, two of the engineers on the de Ferran Dragon Racing team, lead engineer Eric Zeto and performance engineer Scott Raymond, call the province of Ontario home. The team hopes to build on their momentum from Watkins Glen, where driver Rafa Matos finished an impressive 4th despite losing his in-car telemetry in the middle of the race. Matos finished 10th at Toronto last year.
Matos has certainly shown the speed this weekend, with his best lap in the second practice, a 62.3984-second run, good for fifth in that session. But 13 cars - half of the field - were within a second of that session's leader, Ryan Hunter-Reay, who turned a 62.1433-second lap.
Within those 13 cars, seven different teams are represented - Andretti Autosport, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Team Penske, de Ferran Dragon Racing, FAZZT Race Team, KV Racing Technology, and Chip Ganassi Racing. This suggests not only a close battle for pole position, but also a mammoth struggle just to make the Firestone Fast Six.
In the race itself, don't be surprised if Will Power and Justin Wilson challenge for victory. They are two of only four former Toronto winners in the field (the others being Tracy, who won it in 1993 and 2003, and Franchitti, who won in 1999 as well as last year). Power and Wilson were right on Franchitti's tail last year, finishing third and fifth, respectively, after starting second and fourth.
Television coverage of the Honda Indy Toronto begins on Sunday at 12:30 PM EST. The race will be shown on ABC.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
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.
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.
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