Yahoo Autos Inside the Insanity of IndyCar's Off-Season Driver Changes
Blockbuster moves happen every couple of years in Formula 1 and NASCAR. It was Sprint Cup phenom Joey Logano leaving Joe Gibbs Racing for Team Penske in 2013. It was Sebastian Vettel departing Red Bull after six seasons and four championships to heed Maranello's call in 2015. And in IndyCar, the same infrequent news of big driver changes also takes place.
It makes the current IndyCar silly season-that wonderful period that ramps up in July and extends to the end of the year-a genuinely abnormal fit within recent history as it's chock full of rumors and possibilities of significant ride swapping.
At least 25 percent of the cars that ended the Verizon IndyCar Season last weekend at Sonoma could have new drivers by the time the 2017 championship opens, and within the silly season movement, some heavy hitters could find themselves in new homes.
Four-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais was the first (and highly unexpected) piece of the puzzle to drop into place with his departure from KVSH Racing. The Frenchman's pending move back to the Dale Coyne Racing team would normally rank as the one enormous shocker for the off-season, but there's more in motion.
We learned on Monday that two-time Indy 500 winner, 1999 CART IndyCar champion, two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup race winner, and seven-time Formula 1 race winner Juan Pablo Montoya was invited to look for new opportunities by Team Penske. The Colombian, who turned 41 on Tuesday, is far from being finished in open-wheel racing, and has spoken with Andretti Autosport, Chip Ganassi Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing, and every other championship-caliber team about joining forces.
JPM should be back in IndyCar, with a fighting chance, and visiting holy hell on Team Penske whenever possible. The availability at Ed Carpenter's team comes courtesy of young American hot shot Josef Newgarden, who will replace Montoya at Penske.
And for those who love a good revenge story, the tantalizing thought of a driver swap between Penske and Carpenter, the natural desire for the next generation to bury the old guard, the need for aging lions to exert their dominance over the rest of the pride, and the compulsion to prove an ex-employer wrong could make for high drama next year.
At Ganassi's team, 2004 IndyCar champion and 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan has The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go" on steady rotation during silly season. He has offers to remain with Ganassi, is entertaining the idea of changing zip codes to help revitalize the serial underperformers at AJ Foyt Racing, and will eventually choose whether he wants to ride into retirement on a wave of benevolence or with a regular shot at winning.
If Kanaan elects to drive for Foyt, JPM is the easy choice to replace him and would return to the team where he won his IndyCar title, his first Indy 500, and scored those NASCAR victories. And if Kanaan stays, Andretti would love nothing more than to pair Montoya with 2012 IndyCar champ and 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay who just signed a three-year extension with the team.
Combined, we already have two moves in Bourdais and Newgarden, one with options to stay or go in Kanaan, and another in Montoya with a handful of strong opportunities.
Together, that's three of the biggest names in IndyCar that comprise six championships, three Indy 500 wins, and the kid regarded as the heir to the IndyCar crown once the old guard hang up their helmets. And we aren't done.
The hapless Japanese hero Takuma Sato might have hit his final wall for AJ Foyt, which means his personal sponsorship and free engines from Honda would be available to any team with the odd desire to train mechanics through frequent crash rebuilds. His teammate, Jack Hawksworth, also had a rough time during two seasons with Foyt, and while I think the young Briton could thrive in the right environment, he isn't expected to return and I don't know of anyone looking to take on a project.
Whether it's Kanaan taking over Sato's seat or someone else slotting in, one vacancy or more is on the horizon at Foyt.
Andretti's interest in Montoya is enhanced by a change in funding for JPM's countryman Carlos Munoz. At just 24, the Colombian prodigy has become an annual threat to win the Indy 500 and led the entire Andretti team in the championship this year, but with his father cutting off the funding that allows Carlos to race, Andretti can either try to find the sponsorship to keep an up-and-comer like Munoz in a ride or focus those efforts on securing a proven champion like JPM.
It means Munoz could be finished before he turns 25, but with his recent performances in mind, there are some teams that have shown interest in hiring him for 2017. Going from paying to paid is one of the rarest feats in motor racing, but Munoz has the kind of speed that warrants the transition.
Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi has a three-year extension on offer from the Andretti-Herta team, and is expected to sign, but I've also heard his management team is slow-walking the process while exploring other deals.
Conor Daly is a free agent who could stay with Dale Coyne Racing and benefit from Bourdais' mentoring or try to assert himself as a team leader with Carpenter or Foyt. Daly's end-of-season teammate RC Enerson, a 19-year-old Floridian who stunned the field with his instant pace and exceptional maturity, should be on every team's radar. He hasn't done enough to earn a free ride after a three-race sample with Coyne, but he is worth a cut-rate deal at any team willing to gamble on a possible star in the making.
Kanaan isn't the only one at Ganassi with a decision to make. Former F1 driver and 2016 IndyCar rookie Max Chilton could return with his family-based sponsorship or jump ship to Carlin Racing-a team where his father is the majority stakeholder-as it looks to enter IndyCar next season.
And then we have the final piece of IndyCar's silly season puzzle with Carpenter's second car. Ed drives it on the ovals, hires a road racing specialist to wheel the thing when he's not in the cockpit, and for most of 2016, that responsibility went to 2015 Indy Lights champion Spencer Pigot.
The rookie showed flashes of promise in a part-time gig, and would benefit from a return engagement, but there are a dozen other drivers who would give anything to earn the opportunity.
Bourdais, Kanaan, Montoya, Newgarden, Rossi, Chilton, Munoz, Sato, Daly, Hawksworth, Pigot, Enerson… That's more than 50 percent of the Sonoma grid primed for something new or different.
Call it instability or intrigue-one thing is for sure: IndyCar fans will need to channel their inner Carrie Mathison, buy a supply of cue cards, sharpies, thumbtacks, and string, and dedicate an entire wall to tracking the continual movement until the first race gets under way in March.
We've never seen this volume of change and I doubt it will happen again in my lifetime.
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