IndyCars - The off-season: Series news and comment until the March 2014 kick-off

The Sports Roundtable and Bar
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And in more Robby Gordon news…

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…The indyCar driver will be returning to competition in the DAKAR Rally in 2019, after a two-year absence. The 50-year-old will field three race trucks in the 10-stage / 11-day run in Peru from January 6-17.
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Robby Gordon

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Said Rally director Xavier Gavory, “The Dakar Rally is excited to welcome back Robby Gordon, the most famous American competitor in its history. An absolute legend of the Dakar for his aggressive driving style and showmanship, Gordon and Team Speed will be one of the teams to keep an eye on in the 2019 edition.”

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Gordon knows only one speed - full on, whatever he’s doing. Good luck, Robby!

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Harding Steinbrenner to come into the Honda fold…

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When the Harding Racing team became Harding Steinbrenner Racing at the end of the 2018 season of IndyCars a lot of the other teams became worried about cross-contamination of engineering. It was well known that Andretti Autosport - a Honda team - was helping the new team with engineering expertise, as well as giving it their two best Road to Indy drivers - 2018 Indy Lights Champion Patricio O’Ward and 2018 Indy Lights Vice-Champion Colton Herta. Both young talents drove in Harding Racing Chevrolets at Sonoma, for the season finale.

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Pato O’Ward wheels a Harding Chevy at Sonoma

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The FEAR was that the Chevy team would be telling the Honda team all their secrets, and vice-versa. That fear was erased earlier this month, as Harding Steinbrenner Racing will become the latest Honda team in 2019. That means Andretti can - and will - make Harding Steinbrenner a satellite team for Andretti Autosport and no one will complain about it - at least from an engineering secrets perspective.

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What this also means is that Harding - which struggled with some outdated engineering in 2018, principally in the shock absorber area - will likely become much better contenders in 2019…and isn’t that better for racing fans?

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It’s no surprise to us…

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…That today the SportsCar authority and racing journal, “SportsCar 365”, has named Pro Mazda (now “Indy Pro 2000”) alum Will Owen as their pick for the best bronze- or silver-rated prototype driver of 2018.

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Will Owen

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In 2018 Owen drove his 2nd season for United Autosport in the LMP2 class of several events, including the 2018 iteration of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, co-driving with Hugo de Sadeleer and IndyCar driver Juan Pablo Montoya in the # 32 Ligier JS P217 Gibson. It was Owen’s wonderful quadruple stint in the overnight hours that is largely credited with getting the Ligier from a P14 start to its P3 finish, besting several ORECA 07 teams that were expected to out-perform them. This was Will’s 2nd Le Mans podium in a row.

The reward for that great showing - and several others in 2018 - was the invitation we noted in post # 284 for the 23-year-old to drive the whole 2019 season of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Juncos Racing in their brand new DPi-class Cadillac DPi V.R.

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Way to go on this nod from “SportsCar 365” Will. Proud of you!

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And in more SportsCar news, Kris Wright is coming to Daytona for the Rolex 24…

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The 2018 Champion of the IMSA Prototype Challenge series, Pro Mazda driver Kris Wright, will make his P2-class debut at the 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona, having been confirmed in Brent O’Neill’s Performance Tech Motorsports Oreca 07 Gibson for the iconic event.

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Kris Wright

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The St. Petersburg, Russia-born 24-year-old American drove in several Pro Mazda (now “Indy Pro 2000”) races for BN Racing in 2018 while simultaneously dominating the LMP3 class of Prototype Challenge, where he WON 2 out of 6 races and podiumed in all races, driving a Ligier JS P3 for Extreme Speed Motorsports.
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Wright’s co-drivers for Daytona have yet to be announced, but it is highly likely that they will include former Indy Lights driver James French and former IPC Champion Kyle Masson - 2 very successful Perf Tech drivers in 2018 and before.

James French (left) and Kyle Masson - two of Brent O’Neill’s favorite pilots

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It doesn’t seem possible, but we are only 9 days away from the Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona - the big test for all participant’s in the 2019 Rolex 24.

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A BIG congrats to our guy, Victor Franzoni, for an impressive WIN last weekend…

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…as the Brazilian Indy Lights ace and 2017 Pro Mazda (now “Indy Pro 2000”) Champion drove to victory at the 500 Kilometers of Sao Paulo at Interlagos in the # 19 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 for Via Italia Racing, with co-drivers Marcos Gomes and Chico Longo.

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The Via Italia Racing Lambo at the start of the multi-class race.

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The boys took both the GT3 class WIN and the overall, after starting the race on the front row in P2.
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On the podium, left to right, Marcos Gomes, Chico Longo and Victor Franzoni

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No word yet where the very popular and talented driver will be in 2019. It may be a return to the Indy Lights. It may be another season of Indy Pro 2000, to get another title and the scholarship that goes with it, or it may not be open wheel at all. Time will tell. Proud of you, Victor!

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As we close out the year. let’s do the final "Speedy Award’’ for 2018…

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The folks who keep the statistics all year for IndyCar get to see the trends and performances that casual fans cannot see, without the numbers to crunch, on things like speed through a trap, or number of times a pass was attempted by any particular driver. Thus, THEY know what we can only know when they tell us. They award those performances with the informal “Speedy Awards”, and we have been chronicling the Speedys for 2018, with the last one in post # 338.

It’s now time to award the final Speedy - the Driver of the Year Award. The number-crunchers determined that three finalists for the award were the top three drivers in the championship point standings – Scott Dixon, Alexander Rossi and Will Power - all of whom showed up a number of times in various categories. But the big award has to go to the driver who not only WON more than one Speedy but was also TIED for the series lead in the more better-known categories, with three WINS, four poles and 11 races led - plus, he got the BIG apple, the Indy 500.

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The Speedy Award for Driver of the Year goes to Will Power of Team Penske. Some will say, “Well, he was only 3rd in the points!!” But the numbers guys say, "Yes, he managed to be 3rd in the points DESPITE rotten racing luck that had him not finishing 4 of the 17 races!"

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Will Power with Liz and Beau

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Take a look at Will’s incredible year:

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Congrats, Will and Liz and little Beau Power on a great 2018!

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Gabby Chaves just made the best decision of his life…

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…as the American / Colombian IndyCar driver has this Christmas day finally asked long-time GF Gabby Piccarreta to marry him.
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Gabby and Gabby - the proof is in the ring

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One of the most popular ladies in the paddock , Gabriella Piccarreta met Gabby Chaves some 6 years ago and on a race podium, following a Star Mazda WIN by Chaves. Gabriella was then a Cooper Tires girl - a duty she happily still performs whenever asked to do so.

The first to congratulate the couple was Gabby’s best friend, fellow IndyCar driver Zach Veach of Andretti Autosport. The two, and their ladies, are often found mountain climbing together.

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Left to right, Zach Veach, his GF Kate McConnell, Gabby Piccarreta and Gabby Chaves

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We add our congrats to Gabby and Gabby - a GREAT start to the new year!

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If you don’t believe in fate, check out this episode of “You Don’t Know Jack”…

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In episode 4 of IndyCar driver Jack Harvey’s get-to-know-me series Jack introduces the Kennedy family, which Jack met on a visit to the gym one day. The Kennedys have since “adopted” Jack as their English son and the relationship has also led to Jack finding Jim Meyer who became a co-owner with Mike Shank of Meyer Shank Racing for whom Jack drives.

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Check it out:

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Big change at Heinricher / Meyer Shank Racing for the Rolex 24 at Daytona…

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Back in post # 222 we spoke of the all-female super-squad of ladies who will drive the Meyer Shank Racing # 57 Acura NSX GT3 Evo sponsored by Caterpillar in the 2019 Rolex 24. That was to be Jackie Heinricher and IndyCar driver Katherine Legge as the GTD-class seasonal team in the car with IndyCar drivers Ana Beatriz and Simona de Silvestro added in for Daytona.

Today it was announced that Jackie Heinricher will have to bow out of Daytona due to a back injury that she suspects will not be healed in time for the January race. Replacing her in the car for the iconic event will be two-time IMSA GTD-class Champion Christina Nielsen.

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Christina Nielsen

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As co-owner of the # 57 team it was Heinricher’s decision. Said the Lamborghini Super Trofeo driver, "It was a tough decision to step out but it’s what’s best for me, the drivers and the team. I’ll be right there with everyone from the pit stand and ready to get back in the car for the rest of the season.”

Jackie Heinricher

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Nielsen has to be considered a wonderful “get” for the squad, with her record of two titles, 4 race WINS and 19 podiums in IMSA racing. She is available because her 2018 team, Wright Motorsports, was unable to secure sufficient funding to continue its GTD class program with Porsche in 2019.

Said Nielsen, “The whole program that Jackie has put together is a great initiative and something that I’m very excited to be a part of. It is amazing what she has done with Caterpillar and bringing them into sports car racing. Mike [Shank] is somewhat of a legend in the paddock and I have had the pleasure to race against him for many years. He runs a very professional program and they showed their strength in 2018 with a near championship. MSR is a team that you want to be with and I am grateful for the opportunity.”
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Christina’s co-drivers, left to right, Katherine Legge, Ana Beatriz and Simona de Silvestro - IndyCar gals all:

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The big test for Daytona - The Roar Before the Rolex 24 - is a week away.

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Speaking of Daytona, as we did in the post above…

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Daytona International Speedway is going to host the Roar Before the Rolex 24 next weekend, but THIS weekend they are hosting the big WKA Daytona Kart Week and the Margay Sprint Nationals - two big karting events - and there are a lot of IndyCar guys there, staying sharp in the off season, including Zach Holden, Gabby Chaves, Zach Veach, James French and Juan Piedrahita.

On Friday the TOP TIME in practice out of 44 entries for the Margay Ignite Dash was turned in by newly-minted fiancee Gabby Chaves:

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Ready to go, IndyCar driver Zach Veach

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left to right, Juan Piedrahita, Gabby Chaves, Zach Veach and James French - kart buds

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We’ll keep abreast of the action.

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Let’s get back to Pato O’Ward’s video series, “Behind the Visor”…

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…wherein the 2018 Indy Lights Champion chronicles his season - the highs and the lows - by narrating the description of each and every race that brought him to his title. We last saw the two triumphant races at Barber Motorsports Park - races 3 and 4 of the season - in post # 341.

Now, it’s on to Episode 3 - races 5 and 6, the two Grands Prix of Indianapolis, where fortunes changed for the young Mexican:

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Great stuff!

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Daytona Kart Week closes out…

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…and the IndyCar guys competing had a ball and did some fine racing, with a number of TOP TENS in the 44-strong field in the Margay Ignite Senior class over the three days of kart racing.

Something like this:

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Best IndyCar driver in practice on Friday was Gabby Chaves in P1 for the final practice.
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Gabby Chaves

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Best IndyCar qualifier on Saturday was Gabby Chaves in P4, while Indy Lights driver Juan Piedrahita was P7 and IndyCar driver Zach Veach was P8

left to right, Gabby Chaves, Juan Piedrahita and Zach Veach

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Best finish in the pre-final on Saturday was by IndyCar driver Gabby Chaves who WON the pre-final, with Zach Veach pulling in P8

Gabby Chaves (left) and Zach Veach

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Best IndyCar finish in the Saturday final was Zach Veach in P4, while Indy Lights driver James French pulled in P5

Zach Veach (left) and James French

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And today, the best IndyCar qualifiers were James French in P1 and Zach Veach in P4

James French (left) and Zach Veach

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The best IndyCar finish in the pre-final today was James French in P5, while Gabby Chaves posted a P9 and Zach Veach made P10.

left to right, James French, Gabby Chaves and Zach Veach

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Finally, in today’s final the best IndyCar finish was Gabby in P6 while Juan Piedrahita stuffed it into P8 at the end.

Gabby Chaves (left) and Juan Piedrahita
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That’s a bunch of TOP TEN showings for the boys, but the BIG WINNER of the weekend had to be Evan Stamer who WON both the Saturday final and the Sunday final.
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Evan Stamer (right) with Sunday’s P2 finisher, Charlotte Lalonde

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Evan at work in the Saturday final

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That’s it for any kind of racing at Daytona International Speedway for 2018. Next up for the track is the Roar Before the Rolex 24, this next weekend - the big test that all 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona participant cars MUST attend to be in the January classic.

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It’s officially 2019, and we’re enjoying Pato O’Ward’s video series, “Behind the Visor”…

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…so much that we wanna do another episode, following Episode 3 in post # 357, where the 2018 Indy Lights Champion recounted his disastrous weekend at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

In Episode 4 the Mexican phenom speaks of the 2018 Freedom 100 - the Indy Lights equivalent of the Indy 500 - run on the same 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Take a look:

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Such a good-looking series!

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The first 2019 major weekend for American SportsCar racing is close upon us…

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This weekend IMSA will hold the Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. This will be the REQUIRED test for any WeatherTech SportsCar Championship car that wants to be in the 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona, later in the month. Also testing will be all the cars that will race the same weekend in the Michelin Pilot Challenge series. Lastly, this weekend we will have the FIRST race of the year, as the IMSA Prototype Challenge Series holds their Round 1 of their season, making The Roar a true competition weekend.

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We follow IMSA racing because a LOT of IndyCar drivers - past and present and from all four IndyCar series - will be SportsCar racing this year, as in every year, but never so many as during the Rolex 24 at Daytona weekend - to say nothing of the fact that it is simply great racing. So, let’s get reacquainted with the series that IMSA sanctions, and the changes from 2018 to 2019, starting with the big one - the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship:

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The WeatherTech series has one big change for 2019, as it goes from 3 classes back to 4 class - two prototype classes and two GT classes - by taking the 2018 P class and dividing it into the DPi class and the LMP2 class. This is deemed a whole lot better than trying to “even up” the performance differences between factory-designed DPi prototypes and off-the-shelf LMP2 prototype cars. Since their inception, DPi cars have grown hugely in stature as an endurance and sprint prototype and so has the size of the field. There will be no less than 11 different DPi cars at Daytona and for much of the season, compared to 4 LMP2 cars.
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the 2018 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi car of IndyCar driver Juan Pablo Montoya

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the 2018 AFS / PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports LMP2 of IndyCar driver Sebastian Saavedra

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The two WeatherTech GT classes remain the same - GTLM class is the highly-competitive factory-backed class with home-grown engineering and all pro drivers while GTD class cars are the more off-the-shelf GT3-spec machines with at least one silver or bronze-rated driver in each car - “amateurs,” but in name only.

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The GTLM-class Ford GT of IndyCar driver Sebastien Bourdais for Ford Chip Ganassi

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The GTD-class Acura NSX GT3 of IndyCar driver Katherine Legge for Meyer Shank Racing

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continued…

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The first 2019 major weekend for American SportsCar racing is close upon us…(part 2)…

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The street car series that in 2018 was called the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge in now called the Michelin Pilot Challenge series, due to the fact that Continental is out and Michelin is now THE tire for IMSA. The MPC series has also changed in one more respect, as it goes from 3 classes down to only 2 classes. Dropped is the small Street Tuner class, but surviving is the top GS or Grand Sport class, filled with GT4-spec machinery. The other class is the TCR or Touring Car class, which is growing in participation this season. There will be 31 GS class cars and 9 TCR class cars at the Roar.

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the GS-class McLaren 570s GT4 of IndyCar driver Jesse Lazare for Motorsports in Action

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the TCR-class Audi RS3 LMS TCR of IndyCar driver Michael Johnson for JDC-Miller Motorsports

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Finally, the IMSA Prototype Challenge or IPC series returns for 2019, but without the MPC class that was populated by the older open-bodied Elan DP02 cars that were the genesis of this prototype feeder series many years ago. The series will be only the closed-bodied LMP3 class in 2019, and the shortest IPC races will now be 1 hour and 45 minutes, while two of the 6-race calendar will be a full 3 hours - This weekend at Daytona and the early July race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. All entries must have at least 2 drivers for each race, though a 3rd driver is allowed.

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The LMP3-class Ligier JS P3 of 2018 IPC Champion, IndyCar driver Kris Wright for Extreme Speed Motorsports

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IMSA is set to begin revealing driver line-ups on Wednesday for all series at the Roar and when we get them we will post the names of the IndyCar folks.

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While we wait for the full driver line-ups for the Roar Before the Rolex 24…

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…we CAN tell you that new GTD-class team AIM Vasser Sullivan has finally made their choices for the full season, as well as the four Michelin Endurance Cup races - the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 6 Hours at the Glen and the Petit Le Mans.

AIM Vasser Sullivan, which will campaign two Lexus RCF GT3 machines this season, had already nailed down Frankie Montecalvo and IndyCar drivers Townsend Bell and Jack Hawksworth for the regular season squad, as we reported in post # 289.

left to right, Jack Hawksworth, Frankie Montecalvo and Townsend Bell

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The fourth driver, to be paired all season with Jack Hawksworth in the # 14, will be Porsche Supercup series driver Richard Heistand.
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Richard Heistand

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For the Rolex 24 at Daytona the team have enlisted Super GT and Super Formula whiz kid Nick Cassidy, whose success in Super GT has been with Lexus. Additionally, teamed with Nick, Jack Hawksworth and Richard Heistand in the # 14 will be IndyCar, SportsCar, Rally and NASCAR standout Austin Cindric, who did the 4 Tequlia Patron Endurance Cup races in the Lexus last year.

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Nick Cassidy

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Austin Cindric

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For the # 12 Lexus of Bell and Montecalvo, the Daytona adds will be SportsCar driver Jeff Segal and 2016 Pro Mazda Champ and Indy Lights driver Aaron Telitz. Aaron is also confirmed in the car for Sebring, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta - the other 3 Endurance Cup venues. Jeff, with Townsend Bell and Bill Sweedler, WON both the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona (driving for AIM Vasser Sullivan’s Ian Willis), and the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, so it’s a great reunion with Townsend.

Jeff Segal (left) and Aaron Telitz.

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No word yet on whether Aaron can pull together another season of Indy Lights, but it’s great to see he will be working in 2019 for AIM Vasser Sullivan, at least.

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Righteous!

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Every year Autoweek magazine names the Driver of the Year from all of motorsports. This year they picked IndyCar 2018 Champion Scott Dixon:

Congratulations to Driver of the Year Scott Dixon. Last season, Dixon won his fifth IndyCar Championship, further cementing himself as one of the sport’s greatest drivers.

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'Nuff said!

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IMSA has finally released a preliminary driver list for the Roar Before the Rolex 24…

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…and as we suspected would be the case, there are a BUNCH of IndyCar folks on it - more than 35, so far. These are all folks who will either be driving in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series or the Michelin Pilot Challenge series or the IMSA Prototype Challenge series - and will be RACING - either this weekend or the last weekend in January.

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Let’s see who the IndyCar folks are, starting with the 4 classes of the WeatherTech gang who will compete in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in late January:

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DPi class - IndyCar driver Juan Pablo Montoya will drive the full season in the # 6 Acura ARX-05 with co-driver and former champion Dane Cameron, for Acura Team Penske. Added in for Daytona will be IndyCar driver Simon Pagenaud.

Juan Pablo Montoya (left) and Simon Pagenaud

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IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves will be in the sister car all season, the # 7 Acura ARX-05 DPi for Acura Team Penske, with co-driver and former champion Ricky Taylor. Added in for Daytona will be IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi.

Helio Castroneves (left) and Alexander Rossi

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Pro Mazda (now called “Indy Pro 2000”) alum Pipo Derani will run the full season in the 2018 Champion’s car, the # 31 Whelen Cadillac DPi-V.R. for Action Express, with co-driver Felipe Nasr. Added in for all four Michelin Endurance Cup races will be Eric Curran. Felipe and Eric were the 2018 Champs of the P class.

Luis Felipe “Pipo” Derani

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Pro Mazda alum Will Owen is running the full season for Juncos Racing in their first year campaigning the # 50 Cadillac DPi-V.R. Added in for Daytona are Agustin Canapino, IndyCar driver Rene Binder and fellow IndyCar driver and 2017 Indy Lights Champion Kyle Kaiser. All three of the adds are - like Will Owen - former or current Juncos drivers in other series - it’s a family for Ricardo Juncos. Rene is slated to do all 4 Michelin Endurance Cup races in the car.

left to right, Will Owen, Rene Binder and Kyle Kaiser

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Indy Lights alum Juan Piedrahita is slated to drive the # 84 Cadillac DPi-V.R. for JDC-MIller Motorsports as an add for Daytona to the regular squad of Stephen Simpson and Simon Trummer. Also added for Daytona will be Chris Miller. Juan was just at Daytona last weekend for Kart Week, tuning up for this event. (see post # 356 and 358)

Juan Piedrahita

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Indy Lights Champion and IndyCar driver Tristan Vautier will be in the other Cadillac DPi-V.R. for JDC-Miller, the # 85, for the full season with co-driver Misha Goikhberg. Formula 1 legend and IndyCar driver Rubens Barrichello is an add for Daytona, along with GP3 young gun Devlin DeFrancesco.

Tristan Vautier (left) and Rubens Barrichello

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LMP2 class - 2018 IMSA Prototype Challenge Champion and Pro Mazda (now “Indy Pro 2000”) driver Kris Wright will drive the # 38 ORECA 07 for Performance Tech Motorsports at the Roar. His co-drivers will be season regular Kyle Masson and adds Cameron Cassels and Dr. Robert Masson. At this time Kris is just driving the Roar and Daytona and Indy Lights driver James French is slated to drive the full season in the car. No word on whether James will jump into the car at the Roar.

Kris Wright

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DragonSpeed Racing has entered 2 ORECA 07s in the LMP2 class but no drivers have been confirmed for the cars as of now. There is a rumor that Ben Hanley - to be an IndyCar driver in 2019 - might be in one of these cars.

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GTLM class - Two-time IndyCar Champion Alex Zanardi will come to Daytona as an add in the # 24 BMW M8 GTE for BMW Team RLL. Co-drivers will be team regulars John Edwards and Jesse Krohn and fellow add Chaz Mostert of Supercars fame. The car is fitted with a special steering wheel so that double-amputee Zanardi can compete. (see post # 342)

Allesandro Zanardi

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In the # 25 sister BMW M8 GTE for BMW Team RLL will be season regular Connor de Phillippe - a Pro Mazda alum and also a Team USA Scholarship WINNER. Co-drivers will be fellow regular Tom Blomqvist and adds Philipp Eng and Indy Lights / IndyCar driver Colton Herta.

Connor de Phillippe (left) and Colton Herta

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continued…
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IMSA has finally released a preliminary driver list for the Roar Before the Rolex 24…(part 2)…

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4-time IndyCar Champion Sebastien Bourdais will jump into the # 66 Ford GT for Ford Chip Ganassi for Daytona, helping out regulars Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller. This same teaming has been very successful at both Daytona and Le Mans in the past.

Sebastien Bourdais

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The sister car, the # 67 Ford GT for Ford Chip Ganassi, will be piloted by IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe for the season, with co-driver Richard Westbrook. Added in for Daytona will be 5-time - including 2018 - IndyCar Champion Scott Dixon. As with the other Ford, this teaming has yielded a lot of success at both Daytona and Le Mans.

Ryan Briscoe (left) and Scott Dixon

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GTD class - Scott Hargrove - the holder of multiple race WINS in the Road to Indy and the holder of multiple Porsche Cup titles - will make his IMSA season debut with fellow Canadian and 2018 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada Champ Zacharie Robichon, driving the # 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R for PFAFF Motorsports. Added in for Daytona will be Lars Kerns and Dennis Olsen.

Scott Hargrove

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New team AIM Vasser Sullivan will put IndyCar driver and broadcaster Townsend Bell in the # 12 Lexus RCF GT3 for the season, with co-driver Frankie Montecalvo. Added in for Daytona will be Jeff Segal and Indy Lights driver Aaron Telitz, the 2017 Pro Mazda Champion.

Townsend Bell (left) and Aaron Telitz

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In the sister car, the # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 for AIM Vasser Sullivan, the drivers for the season will be IndyCar driver Jack Hawksworth and Richard Heistand. Added in for Daytona will be Nick Cassidy and the very versatile USF2000 alum Austin Cindric.

Jack Hawksworth (left) and Austin Cindric

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2017 Pro Mazda (now “Indy Pro 2000”) Champion and Indy Lights driver Victor Franzoni will drive the # 13 Ferrari 488 GT3 for Via Italia Racing at the Roar, along with co-drivers Chico Longo and Marcos Gomes. This young trio is coming off a spectacular WIN at the 500K of Sao Paulo in a Lamborghini Huracan GT3, also for Via Italia Racing (see post # 351). No word yet on the future of this team and this squad.

Victor Franzoni

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IndyCar driver Katherine Legge will campaign for the full season in the # 57 Acura NSX GT3 for Meyer Shank Racing with co-driver Jackie Heinricher, but Jackie is out for Daytona with a back injury, so 2-time GTD-class Champion Christina Nielsen will substitute at Daytona. Added in for Daytona will be former IndyCar drivers Ana Beatriz and Simona de Silvestro, making this an all-female squad with a lot of talent on board. Beatriz will also do Sebring, Watkins Glen and the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

left to right, Katherine Legge, Ana Beatriz and Simona de Silvestro

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In the sister car, the # 86 Acura NSX GT3 for Meyer Shank Racing, IndyCar alum AJ Allmendinger returns to drive for MIke Shank for Daytona, with co-drivers and team regulars Trent Hindman and Mario Farnbacher. Also added in will be Justin Marks.

AJ Allmendinger

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continued…

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IMSA has finally released a preliminary driver list for the Roar Before the Rolex 24…(part 3)…

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Next, let’s look at the IndyCar guys in the Michelin Pilot Challenge series, formerly known as the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge. These folks are going to race on the same late-January weekend as the WeatherTech gang in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. There are 7 listed at this time, starting with 3 in the GS class:

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Grand Sport class - Road to Indy ace driver and multiple Porsche Cup title-holder Scott Hargrove will pull double duty, as in addition to his debut in the GTD class of the WeatherTech series, he will also debut in the Michelin Pilot Challenge in the # 13 Porsche Cayman GT4 MR for AWA. His co-driver will be fellow Canadian Orey Fidani.

Scott Hargrove

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Also pulling double duty this year will be multi-talented USF2000 alum Austin Cindric. Not only will Austin be in the WeatherTech GTD class for AIM Vasser Sullivan but he will also campaign the # 22 Ford GT4 Mustang for Multimatic Motorsports - a duty he has done in years past. His co-drivers will be Chase Briscoe and Billy Johnson.

Austin Cindric

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Champ Car veteran driver Jan Heylen will drive the # 28 Porsche Cayman GT4 MR for RennSport 1. His co-drivers will be Charlie Luck and Fred Poordad.

Jan Heylen

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Touring Car class - USF2000 driver Russ McDonough will drive the # 12 Audi RS3 LMS TCR for eEuropartsDotCom ROWE Racing. His co-driver will be New Yorker Ryan Nash.

Russell McDonough

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Pro Mazda alum and paraplegic Micheal Johnson will once again drive the # 54 Audi RS3 LMS TCR for JDC-Miller Motorsports, using hand controls. MJ’s co-driver will be Stephen Simpson. Simpson and Johnson earned 8 podiums last season, including their first series WIN.

Michael Johnson

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Indy Lights driver Shelby Blackstock will drive the # 73 Honda Civic TCR - a new car make to the series - for LA Honda World Racing. His co-drivers will be Mat Pombo and Road to Indy Shootout entrant and Team USA member Colin Mullan. Mat and Colin were a WINNING team in the Street Tuner class last season, driving a Mini JCW.

Shelby Blackstock (left) and Colin Mullan

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Finally, let’s look at the IndyCar guys in the IMSA Prototype Challenge series.These guys will actually be racing this weekend, as the series does Season Round 1 - a three-hour endurance race. All cars are LMP3-class.

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Dakota Dickerson will make his IPC series debut in the # 2 Ligier JS P3 for Ansa Motorsports. Dakota is a USF2000 alum, a Team USA alum and the current F4 United States Champion. His co-drivers will be veterans Jon Brownson and Michal Chlumecky - a stout squad.

Dakota Dickerson

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Indy Lights driver Neil Alberico will also be making his series debut in the # 4 Ligier JS P3 for Ansa Motorsports. Neil, a Vice Champion in both USF2000 and Pro Mazda, will have Leo Lamelas as a co-driver.

Neil Alberico

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USF2000 alum Austin McCusker was the 2018 Vice-Champion of the Prototype Challenge series. He returns to drive the # 47 Norma M30 for Forty 7 Motorsports. His co-driver will be Rodrigo Pflucker from Lima, Peru.

Austin McCusker

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Indy Lights driver Garett Grist will pilot the # 51 Ligier JS P3 for K2R Motorsports. The multiple race-winning Canadian will co-drive with Rob Hodes.

Garett Grist

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IndyCar veteran Alex Barron will make his series debut in the # 64 Ligier JS P3 for K2R Motorsports. His co-driver will be Californian Naveen Rao.

Alex Barron

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Indy Lights alum and WeatherTech 2017 PC class Champion James French will drive the # 75 Ligier JS P3 for Performance Tech Motorsports. His co-driver is Cameron Cassels. French is slated to drive the team’s LMP2 car in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series for the season, but is not yet placed in that car for the Roar. It’s not yet clear if James will do the full season of IPC, as well. Perf Tech’s boss, Brent O’Neill, is moving all his chess pieces around.

James French

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That’s it for the current Entry Lists for all three series at the Roar, but there are a lot of “TBA” - to be announced - in several cars, so more IndyCar folks may yet show up. We’ll keep you abreast.

Friday will be the first day of practice and all three series will be out to do just that. Each series will get two practices and then the IMSA Protoype Challenge gang will also qualify late in the day for Saturday’s race.

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Let’s GO!

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