Yahoo Autos IndyCar silly season update: the Nashville edition
The current state of IndyCar’s silly season is slow and measured, all thanks to the paddock’s collective waiting to see what happens to two of the biggest names on the market.
The curiosity starts with championship leader Alex Palou and the most coveted available seat in all of open-wheel racing, the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. No answers on Palou’s replacement are expected before September 1, which is the first day the 2021 IndyCar champion is eligible to sign with another team.
Once Palou confirms where he’s driving, the logjam of talent scrambling to gain access to the No. 10 car will start to untangle itself. Ask any of the free agents who aren’t Palou, and they all want is clarity on who will drive that 10 car, because if it isn’t them, they will need to pursue their second and third options.
Palou’s Sept. 1 negotiating window is an important one, but yesterday, August 1, was the big day when Marcus Ericsson — the other top free agent — and a few others became eligible to grab a pen and finalize their futures. Like Palou, once Ericsson’s settled, a better picture of the remaining options will emerge, and there’s no shortage of drivers who want to claim Ericsson’s No. 8 Honda as their own.
While it’s true that everything about the silly season revolves around Aug. 1 and Sept. 1, we won’t necessarily see a flurry of announcements this week. With that being said, you can expect a lot of private meetings to go down this weekend in Nashville where face-to-face engagements between drivers, agents, and teams will continue to shape the market.
Then we have the overarching preference by many teams to hold their news — for drivers who are either inbound or exiting — until the last race of the year, or right after the season has concluded. Although I expect some business to get done by the end of the week in Tennessee, most of it will stay under wraps.
The one exception is when a team and driver agree to continue working together, and in those instances, August could produce a couple of press conferences.
As we wrote on Monday, the Ganassi team is in no rush to fill the numerous vacancies that are anticipated across three of its four entries. But what if one of those seats remains filled? More on that later, so let’s roll through the 10 full-time teams and what we know or have heard about their status in the silly season.
A.J. FOYT RACING
With rookie Benjamin Pedersen signed to a multi-year deal, the fate of his teammate Santino Ferrucci is the only question mark for the Foyt team. Ferrucci would like to return and the team is also interested in continuing with him, but the need to secure a proper budget comes first. The item to track here is the timing of that budget’s arrival, and if it arrives in a timely manner, I’d expect the relationship to continue.
ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT
One or two seats? That’s the main item to process with Andretti’s role in the silly season, and by all accounts, the team is shopping for two drivers to complement its young stars in Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood.
Herta’s on a long-term deal with Andretti and Kirkwood’s understood to be in the first of a two-year deal, so they are in position through at least 2024.
Grosjean and Rosenqvist both face unclear futures with their current teams…and so could fit into other teams’ calculations. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images
Kirkwood, however, continues to be mentioned as a perfect fit for Team Penske when Will Power retires. If Andretti wants to protect its assets, extending Kirkwood before he hits the market next summer — assuming he wants to stay — could be a wise move. If we look ahead, Andretti’s only race winner so far in 2023 would be among the top free agents one year from now.
Regardless of the car number, we know there’s one seat to fill in the No. 29 Honda, and until the team states its intent with the No. 28 Honda to keep or part ways with Grosjean, we’ll have two potential hirings to complete.
The cast of candidates hasn’t changed, with Ericsson seemingly destined to join Herta and Kirkwood. Felix Rosenqvist is another significant name who is unsigned for 2024, and like his countryman Ericsson, he’s drawing a lot of interest among those who have money to spend.
Add in Callum Ilott, provided he can be acquired from Juncos Hollinger Racing, and David Malukas, another quality driver who’s said to be on Andretti’s radar. In the Swedes, Andretti has a pair of race winners to consider, and in Ilott and Malukas, he has next-generation talent who could develop into winners. Would signing one of each be the right way to go?
Looking outside of IndyCar, there’s no lack of international options for Andretti, or its rivals. In no specific order, and without any implied or specific ties to Andretti, a ton of recent and current Formula E and WEC talent has been spoken of in relation to IndyCar, with Oliver Askew, Nyck de Vries, Brendon Harley, Jean-Eric Vergne, Sergio Sette Camara and Stoffel Vandoorne among the many I’ve heard from team owners and managers could be in the mix.
Reigning Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich is another, and while he’s been mentioned as an Andretti Formula E candidate for 2024, the Brazilian is also known to have met with a few IndyCar teams.
Andretti also has its new Formula E champion Jake Dennis, who impressed the team in an IndyCar test in 2022 and would seem ripe for the big team if he wasn’t just crowned last weekend in London. I’d struggle to find the logic in yanking Andretti’s best FE driver to give him a tryout alongside Herta and Kirkwood when there are so many options that wouldn’t involve destabilizing its title-winning FE program.
Like Ganassi, Andretti has some hard decisions to make. Should it extend Grosjean? And who’s the best fit in terms of talent and chemistry? Lastly, as much as I’d like to say Ericsson or any other driver is a sure thing, I’ve yet to get that feeling with Andretti at this stage of the silly season.
ARROW MCLAREN
If we work from the assumption that Alex Palou won’t be driving for an AlphaTauri-type F1 team next year, we can expect him to be racing for Zak Brown in IndyCar. I’ve probably had 50 people tell me Palou’s already signed a deal with Arrow McLaren which, we know, would not be possible because of the Sept. 1 date, but there is a significant segment of the paddock that believes the Spaniard is already betrothed to McLaren, even if it’s not in the form of a legally binding contract.
Regardless, as we detailed in our last silly season piece, Palou’s straight-to-McLaren plans have been fuzzier than anticipated due to his management team’s efforts to find him a race seat in F1. Barring that coming to fruition, we’d look for Palou to replace Rosenqvist in the No. 6 Chevy next year.
And what if Palou defies the odds, gets an F1 seat, and Arrow McLaren has a sudden driver need? The team loves Rosenqvist and would happily hold onto him. And if Rosenqvist decides he wants to leave, just look at most of the names listed above with Andretti and they’d all jump at the chance to wear McLaren’s papaya orange and wield the No. 6.
Although the Palou situation is the one that sits in the middle of the spotlight, Arrow McLaren’s interest in running a fourth full-time entry is where I’m focused. As we previously chronicled, expanding to four cars would require the outsourcing of that extra program due to the space limitations at the team’s current shop.
I understand a decision on whether to green-light or pass on the fourth entry is imminent, and if we look to the other Chevy-powered teams in the series who would want to function as a satellite McLaren team, it’s hard to find a suitable candidate in the paddock. Team Penske isn’t running a car for Arrow McLaren, and arming a Carpenter, Foyt, or Juncos Hollinger with its setup information would not be wise.
A team that isn’t a full-time rival makes the most sense, which is why the Chevy-loving folks at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, with full funding, engineering support, and a driver supplied by McLaren, stand out as the first solution to consider. And if it isn’t DRR, I’m not sure who would fit the bill.
Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi are locked in. Palou, Rosenqvist, and the fate of a fourth car aren’t, and have our full attention.
CHIP GANASSI RACING
As mentioned, the Ganassi team does not expect to hold onto Palou and they’ve been quietly exploring options within the IndyCar Series and internationally. I keep hearing the team will stay at four cars, and I also continue to hear that in the search for the next Palou, there’s been little that excites the team among IndyCar’s free agents.
If a Drugovich-type is interested in leaving their F1 reserve driver role behind, or a F2 front-runner is keen to go for an IndyCar championship, Ganassi appears to be the perfect destination.
Circling back to Ericsson, he’s on every team’s wish list and could choose between offers from Andretti, Meyer Shank, Rahal, and more. But the latest rumor to make the rounds suggests the Ganassi team has made an offer for its Indy 500 winner to stay.
If true, and if Ericsson accepts, it would turn the silly season upside down and take one of the two most coveted seats off the market. And if it’s not true, or if Ericsson is dead-set on leaving, a lineup of Herta, Kirkwood, and the Swede would take Andretti to another level, etc.
Key unanswered items exist with the Nos. 8 and 10 entries and whether Ganassi would move Ericsson — if they were to come to terms — to the 10 or keep him in the 8. And if Ericsson joins the ranks of paid drivers, does that mean Ganassi has two cars waiting for paying drivers, or one? The team is infamous for keeping a tight lid on such things, so your guess is as good as mine as to how it will play out.
The for-hire No. 11 Honda with Marcus Armstrong and Takuma Sato is the last entry to ponder, and Armstrong would like to hold onto the seat and go full-time. Malukas is another driver who is believed to be in the running for a Ganassi opportunity, and with his family’s HMD Motorsports Indy NXT team looking to step up to IndyCar in 2025 or so, forging a link with a team like Ganassi, or one of the others where Malukas is being considered, would have added value if the team is open to a co-entry and maybe even a technical alliance if HMD steps out on its own.
Ganassi development driver Kyffin Simpson, who the team placed with HMD in NXT, is headed to IndyCar with Ganassi when he’s ready. Currently ninth in the standings, Simpson has a pole and a few podiums, but has yet to reach victory lane. With no rush to make the leap, he needs another year of seasoning in NXT before taking on IndyCar’s best.
Sometimes the smartest move is not to make a move, something that Marcus Ericsson and Chip Ganassi Racing are now contemplating… Motorsport Images
With Ericsson, stay tuned because the thing that seemed impossible might now be possible. And with Scott Dixon entering the last few years of his IndyCar career, the prospect of having to play teacher and babysitter to IndyCar and oval racing newcomers might have limited appeal. Maintaining consistency by having Ericsson as a trusted teammate and fellow title contender — and not having to go through a total rebuilding process — would make the 43-year-old’s life much easier.
If the Ganassi-Ericsson relationship continues, it’s one Palou-esque driver away from maintaining its current championship-leading form.
DALE COYNE RACING
Dale Coyne Racing is headed for a 100-percent changeover with its drivers. Within the paddock, Andretti’s DeFrancesco is routinely mentioned as a perfect candidate for the “senior” car to lead the team and help one of the many Indy NXT drivers who will have serious budgets to offer for the “junior” car.
HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing Indy NXT race winner Danial Frost was said to be among those in contention to drive the No. 51 cars this year, and impressed DCR when he tested for them last year while he was part of Andretti Autosport’s Indy NXT program. He’s said to be a front-runner to join the series next year with Coyne.
I’ve heard the No. 51’s current driver, Sting Ray Robb, is also an option to stay in the No. 51 if he can raise the budget.
ED CARPENTER RACING
Rinus VeeKay has one more year on his deal with ECR, so it’s the No. 20 formerly driven by Conor Daly and currently driven by Ryan Hunter-Reay that awaits a resolution. Malukas in an ECR-HMD co-entry is one scenario that’s been mentioned, and I’ve also heard the struggling team could hold onto Hunter-Reay to continue the quest to address its operational and competitive shortcomings.
It’s too early to say if RHR would want to return for another season of rebuilding, but if changes are made to improve ECR’s on-track product, there’s a lot of upside to having a champion and veteran in the team who can help VeeKay with all facets of his growth as a young professional.
And in the same vein as Simpson with Ganassi, ECR has young Josh Pierson as its development driver in NXT with HMD. If the chatter is accurate, he’ll do another season of NXT and then step up to IndyCar with ECR in 2025.
JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING
Ricardo Juncos recently told me that he wants to continue with Agustin Canapino, and while they need to get the budget figured out for the Argentinian’s No. 78 Chevy, Juncos is an ace when it comes to turning his wishes into reality. It would be a surprise if Canapino isn’t back in 2024.
Callum Ilott continues to draw interest from most of the teams with jobs to offer, but again, it’s unclear whether he’s free to sign elsewhere or if he’s tied to JHR for another season. I’ve heard both versions, and wouldn’t pretend to know which one is correct.
But I do know the Englishman is someone who’s been spoken of in high regard by some of IndyCar’s best teams, so if he can be had, there are a few new homes to consider. And if he is bound to JHR for another year, he’ll likely be one of the bigger free agent targets 12 months from now.
MEYER SHANK RACING
I’d put money on Mike Shank being sick of the color pink, and not because of the hue of the pair of IndyCars he runs with Jim Meyer, but because of the gallons of Pepto Bismol he’s consumed this year. The season was going horribly before Simon Pagenaud’s Mid-Ohio crash and has only gotten worse since the Frenchman has been sidelined in what will become five races by the end of the weekend.
And now, with less than six weeks left in the season, Shank and Meyer have some tough choices to make on where to steer their underperforming team.
Pagenaud and Castroneves entered 2023 with the prospect of becoming free agents if things didn’t go well. The hope was for both to earn extensions, but as we’ve mentioned ad nauseum, change is expected with Helio. Granted, Castroneves has been the best MSR performer this season, but holding 20th is not what he or the team had in mind. And when an Indy 500-winning operation has both cars sitting 20th or worse in the championship — no matter who’s driving — it can lead a proud and well-funded team like MSR to pull the plug and start over.
MSR IMSA champion Tom Blomqvist is anticipated to take the full-time role in Helio’s No. 06 Honda, but we’ll wait for the team to confirm that.
Pagenaud’s No. 60 has been the real area of interest because the debate that’s said to exist is whether it would be better to start fresh with a pair of rookies and deal with the downside of their learning curves, or if the smarter way forward would be to pair a rookie with a veteran who can be a mentor while delivering immediate results. I’d love for that guy to be Pagenaud, but a lot of things need to happen first.
The timing of the brake failure was terrible for Pagenaud; the No. 60 was 24th in the championship entering Mid-Ohio, and while he and the team felt great about the direction they were headed, he didn’t get the chance to show it in qualifying or the race and he has been parked ever since. If it weren’t for the shaky results prior to the crash, I’m confident Pagenaud would have been extended.
But since the No. 60 program got off to such a worrying start, Pagenaud and the team were being patient and waiting for a breakthrough event to signal that continuing in 2024 was a worthwhile venture. That breakthrough never happened before the crash, which has left an injured driver like Pagenaud, who’s in a contract year, in the unenviable position of needing to go out and prove that he deserves a new deal from MSR. This is the unfortunate part of the sport. The choice to pay someone millions of dollars is based upon many factors, with the driver’s most recent results at the top of the list. Sadly, it’s not for what they’ve done in the past. The results of 2023 are the determining factor.
Tom Blomqvist and Linus Lundqvist have both had fill-in opportunities at Meyer Shank Racing and are among a number of 2024 options for the team. Jake Galstad/Motorsport Images
The team has Linus Lundqvist ready to make his debut this weekend, and he’s been on MSR’s radar for a while. MSR’s other IMSA star, Colin Braun, could be a sleeper pick if the No. 60 is available next season. He’s a rocket like Blomqvist, has been racing professionally since he was 16 in sports cars and NASCAR, and has vast oval experience that can’t be overlooked.
MSR loved Nyck de Vries when he tested for them, and I’ve also heard Drugovich’s name mentioned. If the team ends up seeking a new IndyCar veteran, Rosenqvist ticks every box imaginable. On that theme, I’ve had a few folks ask if Jack Harvey would be in line for a seat at his former team, and it’s unlikely.
If Pagenaud can get back in the car soon and perform well, it would go a long way to assuaging any fears about his health and ongoing capabilities. And if he can’t, it’s going to be more bottles of Pepto for MSR during a brutal offseason filled with fundamental changes to its roster.
RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING
Among the many shoppers in the IndyCar paddock, RLL has its No. 30 Honda to fill next year and most of the familiar names like Ericsson, Ilott, Malukas, and Rosenqvist have been linked to the opportunity.
Throw in former F2 driver Juri Vips and Linus Lundqvist, and RLL finds itself in the same spot as Andretti, Ganassi, and Meyer Shank, where an overabundance of talent to consider is a wonderful problem to have. The only difference here is RLL isn’t chasing two or more drivers; it needs one pilot who will complement its race winners in Christian Lundgaard and Graham Rahal and turn the team into a three-car threat.
Harvey, who is pursuing his options after his contract is up in September, hopes to earn another chance elsewhere in the series.
Ongoing rumors that the team might sample some new talent towards the end of the season — possibly in an extra entry — refuse to die down. To RLL’s credit, it has supported Harvey throughout nothing but rough results since he arrived on a two-year contract in 2022, but change is on the horizon.
TEAM PENSKE
There’s no business to be done in 2024 as all three of Penske’s current drivers have at least one more year to go on their contracts. It’s Will Power’s tenure with the team after 2024 and whether he’ll retire that will have the next silly season humming like Joe Tanto.
One interesting Penske-related item to ponder is the future of Force Indy’s USF Pro 2000 championship leader Myles Rowe. His USF Championships presented by Cooper Tires career has been bankrolled by Penske, and if he wins the title and moves to Indy NXT by Firestone, we’d expect him to remain in Penske’s HMD-led Force Indy program. But what happens from there?
Provided he’s on a long-term agreement with Penske, I could easily see him in IndyCar with the team a few years from now. But if he’s not, I do wonder if a Michael Andretti, Zak Brown, or Chip Ganassi type would get in early and sign him to a development deal.
The same goes for Rowe’s USF Pro 200 rival Michael d’Orlando, NXT championship leader Nolan Siegel, and a few others — select few — who IndyCar team owners and team managers have told me they are watching from afar right now.
