Another weekend full of travel kept me away from most of the action on Saturday but thanks to modern technology I was able to catch up by Sunday night. Now the motorsports season is over but there is still plenty to talk about as we prepare for 2015.
Save Bryan Herta Autosport
Indianapolis Star's Curt Cavin gave a car count for the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season and while the grid size appears to be on the verge of increasing but it could also be on the verge of shrinking simultaneously. While gaining a fourth Penske and second AJ Foyt Racing entry, the grid could be losing an Indianapolis 500 winning team, Bryan Herta Autosport.
IndyCar can't afford to lose Bryan Herta Autosport as it would add another casualty to those teams that have died since reunification. Conquest, Panther, HVM, Dragon, Newman-Haas and Dreyer & Reinbold have all faded from being full-time participants. Newman-Haas died peacefully and we should let it go. Panther died less peacefully and left the series was a bruise. HVM's equipment was being used by Andretti Autosport for the last two seasons for EJ Viso and Carlos Muñoz respectively. Dragon decided to focus on full-time competition in Formula E. Dreyer & Reinbold is hanging around and fielded Sage Karam in this year's Indianapolis 500 but a full-time returns seems less than likely. Conquest appears on verge of a comeback in Indy Lights.
Imagine if each one of those teams had been able to keep one car on the grid. IndyCar would be looking at close to 30 full-time entries and I am sure we would have plenty of bumping each May but that is not reality. The reality is IndyCar is on the verge of losing another team, something the series can't afford. People are not lining up to field IndyCars and with potentially half the grid being controlled by three men, the series is one financial disaster from losing a chunk of the field. The series needs single-car teams to be the foundation of the grid. These seats give up and coming drivers opportunities. Think about Jack Hawksworth. BHA took a shot on him when no one else was willing to do so and that turned out pretty good. Think about Simona de Silvestro, who would have never made an IndyCar start had it not been for HVM. Think about Tony Kanaan, who got his shot with Tasman Motorsports many moons ago. Without single car teams, future stars don't get opportunities. Penske doesn't hire rookies. Ganassi rarely hires rookies. Andretti is more open to hiring rookies but have a solid drivers line-up that could be around for the next few seasons.
Had IndyCar kept those teams listed above alive, the series would be in a much better position and drivers would have plenty of opportunities to get a chance to shine. IndyCar can't afford to lose another full-time seat, especially one that has tasted Indianapolis 500 glory not too long ago.
Sign Jean-Éric Vergne
Michael Andretti should sign Jean-Éric Vergne to an IndyCar contract immediately. He started on pole for his Formula E debut at Punta del Este and had his suspension not failed him he could have won on debut. Let's not forget to mention that Saturday was the first time he had ever been in a Formula E car. If he can win pole and compete for a win after just a practice session or two in a car he had never stepped into prior to race day, imagine what he could do with multiple test session and shakedowns of a car and communicating with drivers who have experience.
Don't worry about funding. You didn't worry about funding with Hunter-Reay and look how he turned out. Vergne can compete with the front of the IndyCar grid and if there is one thing Honda needs is another weapon in their arsenal because as of right now, Chevrolet is sitting on a military-esque fire power while Honda only has a revolver. If hired, Vergne will be at the front of most IndyCar races. If he is racking up victories, funds will eventually fall Vergne and Andretti's way.
The Dream Rookie Class
Try not getting goosebumps thinking about what the potential 2015 IndyCar rookie class could look like. Besides Vergne, you could have Davide Valsecchi, Conor Daly, Sage Karam, Alexander Rossi and Gabby Chaves. Let's not forget about Luca Filippi, who for seem reason is always overlooked, Stefano Coletti, who is testing for Schmidt Peterson along with Valsecchi, Charles Pic, who race for Andretti in Formula E at Beijing, Daniel Abt, who tested for Andretti earlier this year and Dean Stoneman, who looks to transition from GP3
These are talented drivers. They aren't going to cause television ratings to increase ten-fold or draw 100,000 people to each race but the only drivers that were going to do that are named Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel, Earnhardt, Jr., Johnson and J. Gordon. IndyCar could have one of it's greatest rookie classes in their over century of history in 2015 and it needs to become a reality.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about AF Corse and David Coulthard but did you know...
Team Nordic of Tom Kristensen and Petter Solberg won the Nations Cup at the Race of Champions, defeated the United Kingdom being represented by Coulthard and Susie Wolff.
Sébastien Buemi won the Formula E round from Punta del Este, becoming the third different winner in as many races.
The Formula Racing Seat León of Mikkel Mac, Bo McCormick, Johnny Laursen, Lars Steffensen and Jose Antonio Monroy won the Maxi Endurance 32 Hours from Portimão.
With no more weekend previews for the remainder of 2014, I will go over the final round of over/unders and predictions in this post.
Last Week's Over/Unders
1. Over: Four drivers (Vergne, Jarno Trulli, Bruno Senna and Nick Heidfeld) scored their first points of the Formula E season at Punta del Este.
2. Under: The Gulf 12 Hours winning #3 AF Corse spent 17 minutes and 43 seconds in the pit lane.
3. Over: All three Americans advanced to the knockout round of the Race of Champions.
Last Week's Predictions
1. Nicolas Prost does not win pole position for the Punta del Este round of Formula E (Correct as Jean-Éric Vergne won pole).
2. Whoever wins part one of the Gulf 12 Hours does not win the Gulf 12 Hours overall (Wrong. The #3 AF Corse won part one and won overall).
3. A European driver does not win the Race of Champions (Wrong as David Coulthard from Scotland defeated Pascal Wehrlein from Germany).
Overall: 1/3. Running Tally: 37.5/68
This is slated to be the last "Musings From the Weekend" column of the year as there isn't anything left on the schedule, however, if thoughts come to mind and I have time to type and share them, I will. While I don't plan on doing "Musings," I have a set of predictions for the 2015 motorsports season lined-up as well as a few other posts as we get deeper into the Christmas season. By the way, Happy Hanukkah as the eight-day holiday begins tonight. Keep an eye on the blog over the next few things, there might be something posted that you will enjoy.
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