2007-2008 IRL Silly Season..........

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Hard to believe, but silly season officially arrived in the IndyCar Series at Richmond..........the first posting of silly season involves three top drivers........

~~Hornish to NASCAR. According to multiple sources(speedtv.com, ar1.com and jayski.com), Penske Racing South(the Captain's Nextel Cup outfit) is set to expand to a three-car lineup with current drivers Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman, along with 3-time IRL series champion/2006 Indy 500 winner Sam Hornish, Jr. It's a bit sad, but not unexpected.......Silent Sam's won just about everything of value in open-wheel racing; NASCAR's just the next step in his career.

So, if he leaves, that leaves a hole at Team Penske; leading the short list to fill it..............

~~Kanaan to Penske? Again, according to ar1.com and speedtv.com, current Andretti-Green Racing driver Tony Kanaan is reportedly in talks with Team Penske to drive for them in 2008 should Hornish depart for the land of the stockers. Rumor has it that TK spent almost 90 minutes in the Penske trailer w/both Roger Penske and Tim Cindric, so I'll be keeping my eye on this rumor.....but that's not the only rumor floating out from the AGR stable.......

~~Franchitti to ALMS...........In his Speed Report segment from Richmond, Speed's Robin Miller dropped a heavy dime on the rumormill.....should current AGR driver Dario Franchitti, this year's Indy 500 winner, win the series title in 2007, he's expected to announce a move from the team's IRL outfit to their ALMS team, partnering fellow teammate Bryan Herta in an expanded 2-car ALMS team in 2008; considering AGR's resources, it's not outside the realm of possibility that the Scotsman will drive for the team at Indy in 2008 to defend his 500 crown.


Now that silly season has begun, will someone pass me the Motrin.........its' going to be a long silly season!

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With a little bit of time having passed following the 2007 IndyCar Series season finale in Chicagoland, it is time to release the first silly season report of the off-season...................

~~Andretti-Green Racing(4): Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Tomas Scheckter, Buddy Rice(?), Justin Wilson(?).
With the expectations increasing that 2007 500 and ICS champion Dario Franchitti heading to NASCAR with of all teams, Ganassi(..... ......), AGR has a short-list of drivers to fill the seat. First choice is likely Cape Town, S.A.'s Scheckter, who IMO has matured in the past 2 seasons and IMO should be the team's pick for the seat; others on the list include 2004 500 winner Buddy Rice(not likely IMHO considering the fact that he and Patrick are not the best of friends.....and that's a major understatement! ) and current ChampCar driver Justin Wilson(who's only fault would be the lack of high-speed oval experience)

~~Team Penske(2-3): Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe, Sam Hornish, Jr. Depending on whether Hornish does indeed move to NASCAR in 2008, Penske could actually expand to three teams for 2008(he's done it before w/Little Al, Emmo and PT back in '94), but if he stays w/2 teams and Silent Sam heads for stock-car country, expect the Captain to slot Briscoe into the seat; he's got overall and class-wins for Penske in ALMS and drove well in his one-off at Indy this year.

~~Aguri-Panther Racing(2): Vitor Meira, Hideki Mutoh. Barring any major changes, expect Meira and Mutoh to be confirmed during the off-season.

~~Target/Ganassi Racing(2-3): Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon, Alex Lloyd, Dario Franchitti(?). Reports are that the team will likely run a third car in 2008(most likely for 2007 IPS champion Lloyd) and possibly a fourth entry so that the Scotsman could defend his 500 win from this year.

~~Dreyer & Reinbold Racing(1-2): Buddy Rice, Sarah Fisher(?). The team's expected to drop from two drivers down to a one-car team; reports are Fisher is exploring whether to start a one-car team for 2008.

~~Vision Racing(1-3): Ed Carpenter, Tomas Scheckter(?), A.J. Foyt, IV(?). Prior to Chicagoland, both Scheckter and Quattro(a/k/a Foyt, IV) were told to explore all options available to them as sponsorship questions had arisen w/the team(which would explain Scheckter's interest in AGR and vice-versa)

~~A.J. Foyt Racing(1-2): Darren Manning, [second driver, ?]. According to Foyt Racing sources, the team is expected to re-sign Manning for 2008 and is actively looking to expand to two cars next season.

~~Roth Racing(1-2): Marty Roth, [second driver, ?] According to various sources, Roth is expected to return in 2008 and could possibly field a second entry for 2008

~~Rahal-Letterman Racing(2): Scott Sharp, Ryan Hunter-Reay. This team is set for 2008.

~~SAMAX Motorsports(1-2): Milka Duno(?), [second driver, ?]. This team looks to be returning with at least one car(hopefully w/out 2% milka...... ) and could, w/additional sponsorship, field a second entry next year.

Confirmed seats: 9
Open seats: 9-13
Potential new seats: 3
Expected car count: 18-24

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The 2008 IndyCar Series season will be at least two '07 Indy Pro Series graduates as Target/Ganassi Racing announced earleir today that they have signed 2007 IPS champion Alex Lloyd to a multi-year deal that will see the Englishman compete in a partial 2008 campaign(along with several Grand-Am Rolex events for TGR) in a driver development program that will, if all goes well, lead to a full-time ride in 2009....here are some quotes from the principles involved..........................................

Alex Lloyd, Target/Ganassi Racing:

I am thrilled to be racing for (Target/Ganassi Racing)* and would like to thank Chip and the team for giving me this opportunity. I have always regarded the team as one of the best in all of motorsport and for me to be a part of all this is a very exciting dream come true. I am looking forward very much to working with Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon; they're two of the top drivers in the series and I know I will learn a lot from them.

Mike Hull, Managing Director--Target/Ganassi Racing:

Alex has not only proven himself this season in the Indy Pro Series races but we were also able to evaluate him first hand at our test in Sebring and subsequently like him even more. He is a talented driver and a perfect candidate for our development program. In a span of just ten days he took the wheel of two very different race cars for the first time. He showed at Sebring that he is ready to race an IndyCar, and then at Infineon for the Grand-Am event, proved under race conditions, that his skills were immediately equal to the best (Grand-Am) drivers in the very competitive high-horsrpower Daytona Prototypes.

*--Target/Ganassi Racing is officially known as Target/Chip Ganassi Racing; for forum purposes the Chip is dropped from the team's name.....hence, Target/Ganassi Racing

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~~Andretti-Green Racing(4): Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Tomas Scheckter(?), Justin Wilson(?), Hideki Mutoh(?).......no changes at present

~~Team Penske(2-3): Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe, Sam Hornish, Jr.(?)......no changes at present; the only question is whether the team will expand to three cars(w/Briscoe in a third Penske ride) or will stay at two cars next(w/Briscoe driving a satellite Penske entry over at Luzco-Dragon Racing)

~~Target/Ganassi Racing(2): Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon. This team is set for 2008.....with the signing of 2007 IPS champion Alex Lloyd to a multi-year driver development deal, they have three solid drivers in the stable for 2008

~~Aguri-Panther Racing(2): Vitor Meira, Hideki Mutoh(?), Kosuke Matsuura(?). The only reason Matsuura's still on APR's radar screen is that, if Honda pulls the strings and farms Mutoh out to Andretti-Green Racing, Matsuura will likely get his ride back for 2008

~~Dreyer & Reinbold Racing(1-2): Buddy Rice, Sarah Fisher(?), Alex Lloyd(?).....Although Lloyd is a Ganassi-backed driver, the team has hinted they may farm the Englishman out to DRR(w/TGR support) in 2008

~~Roth Racing(1-2): Marty Roth, [second driver tba]. No changes at present; the team is expected to field one full-time ride in 2008 for owner/driver Roth and possibly a second full-ride depending on sponsorship

~~SAMAX Motorsports(1-2): Milka Duno(?), [second driver tba]..........everything that applies to Roth Racing applies here as well....

~~Rahal-Letterman Racing(2): Scott Sharp, Ryan Hunter-Reay. This team is set for 2008.

~~A.J. Foyt Racing(1-2): Darren Manning, [second driver tba]. According to reports, the team is preparing for a 2-car assualt on the IndyCar Series next year

~~Vision Racing(1-3): Ed Carpenter, Tomas Scheckter(?), A.J. Foyt, IV(?).....no changes at present; the team is still expected to field at least two cars in 2008

Confirmed seats: 9
Open seats: 10-16
Expected car count: 19-24

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No silly season driver updates at the moment; instead, there are several silly season announcements of note...........

~~New sponsors.......according to tracksideonline.com, IRL officials are set to announce "major" sponsorship deals involving an energy drink, motor oil and soft drink areas....here are the high points:
(1)all three companies(one from each group) will bring heavily activated sponsorship plans to the IndyCar Series[note...activated means that the companies will promote the IndyCar Series within their own sponsorship programs]
(2)the first of these' is supposed to be Frank's Energy Drink, currently a European-based company which is looking to market inside the U.S.; according to TrackSideOnline(TSO), the deal was worked out between Frank's, Simmons/Abramson Mgmt. and the IRL and will involve both series-wide and team sponsorships[the team in question being Andretti-Green Racing]
(3)all three companies' sponsorship programs are said to be extensive and multi-year activation programs

~~International venues......back at Belle Isle, series officials hinted at running several international races during the off-season; according to TSO and other sources, at least four venues have come up as possible tracks.......(1)EuroSpeedway--Lausitz, Germany; (2)Rockingham, England; (3)Sakhir, Bahrain and (4)Surfers Paradise--Queensland, Australia. The first two make sense; they're oval tracks that NA open-wheel racing has visited before.......Bahrain makes sense as an international venue.....Surfers is the wild-card; the only way IMO this race goes from the ChampCar calendar to the IRL calendar is if ChampCar fails to answer the bell[Mod's note.....even if that happens, I don't see the IRL visiting Surfers, not because they wouldn't want to race there; the likely reason is logistics........the easiest solution would be to pair the race with the one run at the Twin Ring Motegi, but......do you move Surfers to April OR do you move Motegi to late Sept./early October? ]

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Updating some of the silly season items..........

~~Mutoh to AGR.......AGR officials confirmed today that Hideki Mutoh will be driving for Andretti-Green Racing in 2008, joining veterans Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick

~~The first of the new sponsors.........series officials at the SEMA automotive show confirmed to multiple sources that PEAK Motor Oil has come aboard as "the official motor oil of the IRL"; the product is produced by Old World Industries and joins PEAK Antifreeze as a series-wide sponsor.....expect lots of sponsor activation on this one, especially since PEAK Antifreeze is sold by both AutoZone and Advance Auto here in the 'States(which potentially gives the IndyCar Series an additional net of exposure for them; the company has been a long-time sponsor of ICS driver Danica Patrick since 2005......on top of that, PEAK already sponsors one race on the calendar at Chicagoland, which means that PEAK sponsors, [A]a driver, an event, and [C]the IndyCar Series)

~~Farewell, Aguri-Panther Racing.......with the above annoucement that Hideki Mutoh, with support from Aguri Suzuki, is headed to AGR, the team will resume using its' former moniker of Panther Racing(most likely returning to a 1-car team w/Vitor Meira, although as w/other teams, if sponsorship can be found, there's a chance of a 2-car Panther team in '08)

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According to multiple sources, Team Penske is set to fill one of the top seats in the IndyCar Series as the team will formally announce Ryan Briscoe as the driver of the #6 Team Penske Dallara/Honda, joining 2-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves for the 2008 season; silly season projections will be updated...............

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~~Team Penske(2): Ryan Briscoe, Helio Castroneves
~~Andretti-Green Racing(4): Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Hideki Mutoh
~~Rahal-Letterman Racing(2): Scott Sharp, Ryan Hunter-Reay
~~Target/Ganassi Racing(2): Scott Sharp, Dan Wheldon
~~Vision Racing(1); Ed Carpenter

No. of confirmed seats--11


Now, the open seats.....................
~~Panther Racing(1-2): Vitor Meira, Kosuke Matsuura(?). According to reports the team is looking for a major sponsor to field a second team; by all accounts, Meira is set to return for a third season w/Panther
~~Dreyer & Reinbold Racing(1-2): Buddy Rice, Sarah Fisher(?). No change from the last update
~~SAMAX Motorsports(1-2): Milka Duno, second driver tba. No changes from the last update
~~Roth Racing(1-2): Marty Roth, P.J. Chesson(?). No changes at present.
~~Vision Racing(1-2): Tomas Scheckter, A.J. Foyt, IV(?). No changes at present

No. of open seats.......5-10
TOTAL NO. OF SEATS--16 TO 22

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CONFIRMED SEATS FOR 2008.................
~~Team Penske(2): Ryan Briscoe, Helio Castroneves
~~Andretti-Green Racing(4): Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Hideki Mutoh
~~Target/Ganassi Racing(2): Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon
~~Rahal-Letterman Racing(2): Scott Sharp, Ryan Hunter-Reay
~~Vision Racing(1): Ed Carpenter
~~Roth Racing(1): Jay Howard

No. of confirmed seats............12


CURRENT OPEN SEATS FOR 2008.................
~~Vision Racing(1-2): Tomas Scheckter, A.J. Foyt, IV(?)
~~SAMAX Motorsports(1-2): Milka Duno, second driver tbd
~~Panther Racing(1-2): Vitor Meira, second driver tbd
~~Dreyer & Reinbold Racing(1-2): Buddy Rice, Sarah Fisher(?)
~~Roth Racing(1): Marty Roth(?), P.J. Chesson(?)
~~Target/Ganassi Racing(1): Alex Lloyd(likely part of the 2008 ICS season)
~~Foyt Racing(1-2): Darren Manning, second driver tbd
~~Fisher Racing(1): Sarah Fisher(in the event that she loses here current seat at DRR, reports are that she may become a driver/team owner)

No. of open seats....................7-12
Total number of seats for 2008} 19-23

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Confirmed Seats for 2008................
~~Andretti-Green Racing(4): Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Hideki Mutoh
~~Team Penske(2): Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe
~~Target/Ganassi Racing(2*): Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon, Alex Lloyd
~~Roth Racing(1): Jay Howard
~~Rahal-Letterman Racing(1): Ryan Hunter-Reay
~~Vision Racing(1): Ed Carpenter
***No. of confirmed seats: 11-12(*--TGR is expected to run a part-season schedule for Lloyd in 2008)

Open Seats Remaining......................
~~Roth Racing(1) w/Marty Roth
~~SAMAX Motorsports(2) w/Milka Duno and second driver tbd
~~Panther Racing(1-2) w/Vitor Meira; second driver tbd
~~Fisher Racing(1) w/Sarah Fisher
~~Dreyer & Reinbold Racing(1) w/Buddy Rice
~~Vision Racing(1-2) w/either Tomas Scheckter and/or A.J. Foyt, IV
~~A.J. Foyt Racing(1-2) w/Darren Manning; second driver tbd
~~Rahal-Letterman Racing(1) w/driver tbd
***No. of open seats: 11-15
^^^Expected car count: 20-25

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Continuing the silly season report..................several teams will be testing at Sebring this coming Monday, Dec. 17th........
~~Target/Ganassi Racing: Alex Lloyd, Dan Wheldon
~~Panther Racing(IPS): Leliani Munter, P.J. Chesson
--for TGR, this test will be to continue getting Lloyd seat time for 2008; for Panther, they'll be evaluating both Munter and Chesson for their Indy Pro Series seat

On the TV front, its' expected that the IRL will confirm that in 2008 all 16 of their IndyCar Series races will be in high-def next year........

On the RLR/Sharp feud...........nothing new to report; Sharp says he's racing elsewhere in 2008 while RLR says they want to hold him to his contract(why do I see 'gardening leave' in Sharp's future....... )

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According to Speed Channel's Robin Miller, the last remaining charter driver in the IndyCar Series has decided to depart the series for greener pastures as Scott Sharp and sponsor Patron Tequila have signed with Highcroft Racing over in the American LeMans Series.......

While there is still the fate of the lawsuit between Sharp and his former IRL team, Rahal-Letterman Racing to be decided, this cannot be seen as a good thing for the IRL as it now means the loss of three drivers(Sharp plus '06 and '07 Indy 500 winners Sam Hornish, Jr. and Dario Franchitti) plus the loss of a full-time company sponsor in Patron Spirits.

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Confirmed Seats for 2008.............
~~Andretti-Green Racing(4): Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Hideki Mutoh
~~Team Penske(2): Ryan Briscoe, Helio Castroneves
~~Rahal-Letterman Racing(1): Ryan Hunter-Reay
~~Roth Racing(2): Marty Roth, Jay Howard
~~Vision Racing(1): Ed Carpenter
~~Target/Ganassi Racing(2*): Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon, Alex Lloyd
~~A.J. Foyt Racing(1): Darren Manning
^^^^No. of confirmed seats:13-14(TGR is expected to run a part-time 2008 season for Lloyd)

Open Seats remaining...................
Rahal-Letterman Racing(1): driver tbd
SAMAX Motorsports(1-2): Milka Duno, second driver tbd
Vision Racing(1-2): Tomas Scheckter and/or A.J. Foyt, IV
Panther Racing(2): Vitor Meira, P.J. Chesson
Fisher Racing(1): Sarah Fisher
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing(1-2): Buddy Rice, second driver tbd
A.J. Foyt Racing(1): second driver tbd
****Open Seats............8-11
Expected Car Count for 2008} 20-25

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Well, amigos..........time to update the silly season list one last time for 2007.......only three months 'til they light the engines in anger down in Homestead!

Confirmed Seats for 2008...................................
~~Andretti-Green Racing(4): Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Hideki Mutoh
~~Team Penske(2): Ryan Briscoe, Helio Castroneves
~~Target/Ganassi Racing(2*): Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon, Alex Lloyd
~~Roth Racing(2): Marty Roth, Jay Howard
~~Vision Racing(1): Ed Carpenter
~~Rahal-Letterman Racing(1): Ryan Hunter-Reay
~~A.J. Foyt Racing(1): Darren Manning
****No. of confirmed seats..........13(note......Target/Ganassi Racing is expected to run Lloyd in several ICS races in 2008)

Open Seats remaining from 2007 Teams..........................
~~Rahal-Letterman Racing(1): driver tbd
~~SAMAX Motorsports(1): driver tbd
~~Dreyer & Reinbold Racing(1): Buddy Rice
~~Vision Racing(1-2): Tomas Scheckter &/or A.J. Foyt, IV
~~Panther Racing(2): Vitor Meira, P.J. Chesson
~~A.J. Foyt Racing(1): driver tbd
Open Seats from Potential 2008 Teams............................
~~Fisher Racing(1): Sarah Fisher
~~Luczo-Dragon Racing(1): Patrick Long*
~~Rubicon Racing(1): driver tbd**
~~Racing Professionals(1): Jon Herb***
****No. of open seats(2007 teams)--6 to 7
****No. of open seats(prospective teams)--3
Expected car count for 2008---19 to 25

*--Indy only team in 2007; Long currently drives for the Captain's ALMS program but has open-wheel experience in his resume
**--currently an Indy-only effort co-owned by former Las Vegas ChampCar promoter Jim Freudenberg and former IPS driver/actor Jason Priestley
***--ran a part-time 2007 campaign w/driver-owner Jon Herb

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Drivers confirmed for 2008.....................
~~Andretti-Green Racing(4): Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Hideki Mutoh
~~Team Penske(2): Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe
~~Target/Ganassi Racing(2): Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon, *Alex Lloyd
~~Roth Racing(2): Marty Roth, Jay Howard
~~Vision Racing(1): Ed Carpenter
~~Rahal-Letterman Racing(1): Ryan Hunter-Reay
~~A.J. Foyt Racing(1): Darren Manning
No. of confirmed drivers.......................13
*--TGR is expected to run Lloyd in selected ICS races for 2008

Open Seats Remaining..............................
~~Rahal-Letterman Racing(1) w/driver tbd
~~Vision Racing(1-2) w/A.J. Foyt, IV and/or Tomas Scheckter
~~SAMAX Motorsports(1) w/either Milka Duno or Mario Dominguez
~~A.J. Foyt Racing(1) w/driver tbd
~~Dreyer & Reinbold Racing(1) w/Buddy Rice
~~Fisher Racing(1) w/Sarah Fisher
~~Panther Racing(2) w/Vitor Meira and P.J. Chesson
~~Racing Professionals(1) w/Jon Herb
No. of open seats.................................8-9
Expected car count..............................20-24