2014 IndyCar Schedule Preview: Final Prediction

After ten updates over the past two months, we will find out what the 2014 IndyCar schedule looks like  8:00 p.m. ET Thursday night on NBCSN's IndyCar Championship Preview Show.

Recent reports are Milwaukee IndyFest may move to a new date and should be announced Wednesday October 16th in a press conference at the track. The past three years Milwaukee has been Fathers' Day weekend with the past two editions being held on Saturday afternoon.

The question is where would Milwaukee move to? Rumors Iowa could become a IndyCar-NASCAR Camping World Truck Series doubleheader and move to a different date. Houston is reportedly moving to the end of June.

Moving Milwaukee has to be mindful of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship date at Road America August 10th.

Here is a mock schedule with the ovals keeping the current position on the calendar or moving within the what is believed to be final weekend of the season, Labor Day weekend (confirmed dates in bold).


St. Petersburg: March 28-30th.
Long Beach: April 13th.
Barber: April 27th
IMS road course: May 10th.
Indianapolis 500: May 25.
Belle Isle: May 30-June 1st.
Texas: June 7th.
Milwaukee: June 14th.
Iowa: June 22nd.
Houston: June 27-29th (holding out the possibility of night races due to summer heat).
Pocono: July 6th
Toronto: July 19-20th.
Mid-Ohio: August 1-3rd.
Sonoma August 24th.
Fontana: August 30-31 or September 1st (depends if it is a Saturday night, Sunday, Sunday night, Monday or Monday night).

Milwaukee could move to the weekend of July 12-13th but I have been wary of putting a race that weekend, especially July 13th because that is the date of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final which had over 20 millions viewers in the United States in 2010. July 26-27th is the Brickyard 400 weekend and IndyCar has tried to avoid scheduling a race the same weekend as NASCAR's date at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

There are two weeks open in August but neither should be an option. The Tudor United SportsCar Series races at Road America August 10 and IndyCar racing the following weekend at the Milwaukee Mile would oversaturate the market by not allowing enough space between races.

I could see Milwaukee moving to the weekend between Pocono and Toronto. My hope would be if Milwaukee is that weekend, it is Saturday night.

To be honest, I don't see the right dates being available for IndyCar to move Milwaukee. It's bad enough the NASCAR Nationwide Series runs at Road America the weekend after Milwaukee IndyFest. Milwaukee should hold ground where it's at but I part of me thinks Andretti Sports Marketing will move that race.

So here is a final prediction of the 2014 IndyCar calendar before it is announced Thursday night:


St. Petersburg: March 28-30th.
Long Beach: April 13th.
Barber: April 27th
IMS road course: May 10th.
Indianapolis 500: May 25.
Belle Isle: May 30-June 1st.
Texas: June 7th.
Iowa: June 22nd.
Houston: June 27-29th (holding out the possibility of night races due to summer heat).
Pocono: July 6th.
Milwaukee: July 12-13 (I hope it would be a Saturday night event).
Toronto: July 19-20th.
Mid-Ohio: August 1-3rd.
Sonoma August 24th.
Fontana: August 30-31 or September 1st (depends if it is a Saturday night, Sunday, Sunday night, Monday or Monday night).

The other question when the schedule comes out is which races are on ABC and which are on NBCSN. ABC will have six races in 2014, same as 2013 with the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis 500 being the first two known ABC races. With the addition of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, this means one of the 2013 ABC races will not be shown on that network in 2014. Besides the Indianapolis 500, the Belle Isle doubleheader, Texas, Iowa and Pocono were the ABC races in 2013. Belle Isle will likely be ABC races because there is no way Roger Penske and Chevrolet allows that race to move from network TV. So that means anyone of the three ovals will not be on ABC in 2014. My guess would be Texas. They're prime time race was good but apparently Eddie Gossage and the series had to pay a little to get that race on network and I'm not sure after that investment paid off.

Good news is all this speculation will end Thursday night... and don't even bring 2015 up until July 4th, 2014.

2013 IndyCar Team-by-Team Review

In March, I did a 5-part, team-by-team preview of the 2013 season where I set expectations for each team. With eighteen races in the bag and one race to go, each teams grade is pretty much set in stone. Each team can improve a little in Fontana but it won't make a massive change in the overall grade.

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
What I Said: The goal for SFHR and Newgarden should be to keep the pace they had in 2012 and turn it into better results.

What They Did: Currently fourteenth in points. One podium, four top fives, seven top tens. Could have easily won Brazil and had a shot at Baltimore. Josef Newgarden's sophomore year was an improvement by leaps and bounds compared to 2012. The team is finishing races and finding ways to the front. He has yet to score a fastest lap after tying Will Power for the most in 2012 but he has been bringing the car home in one piece.

Season Negatives: Had to qualify on the second day for the Indianapolis 500 and weren't a factor at all unlike 2012. Advancing to the second round of qualifying on road and street courses were few and far between.

Grade: B. SFHR has made great improvements to compared to 2012 and could even sneak into the top 12 in points ahead of the likes of Sébastien Bourdais, Takuma Sato and Graham Rahal.

AJ Foyt Racing
What I Said: The pairing of AJ Foyt-Takuma Sato is as odd as it gets. The pairing seems promising of stealing a win but so did Vitor Meria at Foyt and the best that could produce was 1 podium and 3 top fives in three seasons. The pairing has potential, but as history has shown, a surprise top five, with sporadic trips in the top ten seem more likely.

What They Did: Won Long Beach, second at São Paulo, leading the points entering Indianapolis. Since Indianapolis: One top ten, pole for race one at Houston, eight finishes of twentieth or worse and have fallen to sixteenth in points.

Season Negatives: Could not keep up with their opening six weeks to the season and reverted to their old selves but has shown at times they still have the speed to race up front with the best. Takuma Sato appeared to have grown out of his error prone ways but that has clearly not been the case.

Grade: C+. They started off great but a season isn't five races long. The team has the speed to compete at the front but Sato has to make less mistakes. It appears Sato will return for 2014 but if he can't  become more consistent, Foyt would be better off looking else where and make a midseason change.

Barracuda Racing/Bryan Herta Autosport
What I Said: The possibility is there for Herta and Tagliani to score a win but will not be easy. The Barracuda Boys should be a threat to win but continuing their string of top tens at the end of 2012 would be a large boost for this team.

What They Did: Two top tens and 163 points scored with Tagliani before he was fired after Toronto. Brought in Luca Filippi and JR Hildrebrand. Filippi has shown speed and has scored a top ten and a fastest lap with the team.

Season Negatives: Could not find the consistent speed they had after joining Honda after four races in 2012. Team has shown some positives with both Filippi and Hildebrand but were only a factor in one race this season and that was race one at Houston before having been caught out by pit strategy.

Grade: C-. They can pick this up to at least a "C" if Hildebrand has a good run at Fontana. With the 2014 driver either being Filippi or Hildebrand, one can only hope BHA will be able to put 2013 behind them and get better results next year.

Panther Racing
What I Said: With the depth of the IndyCar field, a win for Panther would be an upset. Should be frequently fighting for top tens and have shots for top fives at a few events.

What They Did: JR Hildebrand finished fifth at Long Beach and started tenth for the Indianapolis 500 before an early accident ended their day and gave them a 33rd place finish which led to the firing of Hildebrand. Since then Ryan Briscoe and Oriol Servià have split the car with Carlos Muñoz making a cameo as a substitution for an injured Briscoe at Toronto. Since firing Hildebrand, two top tens, both seventh place finished by Servià. Briscoe's best finish thirteenth in race two at Belle Isle.

Season Negatives: Never being a factor at any race and with the reports National Guard is leaving for Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan Racing, an uncertain future.

Grade: D. The team still has work to do on road and street course and with the addition of Ganassi by Chevrolet, Panther will slide a little further down the totem pole.

Ed Carpenter Racing
What I Said: This team has an extra bit of confidence in their step. They can compete with anybody on ovals and they know they can win. Realistically, this team should be looking for top tens at all ovals in 2013. Road courses should be about finding a little more speed each time out and bringing the car home in one piece. Do not rule out Carpenter for another victory in 2013.

What They Did: Won the Indianapolis 500 pole-position. Two top fives, four top tens in the five oval races. On road courses, best finish of thirteenth but has improved greatly and has been completing laps but still has a ways to go on road courses if he wants to become more of a threat.

Season Negatives: Clipping James Hinchcliffe's stalled car at the start of race one at Houston. Not capitalizing on pole-position for the Indianapolis 500.

Grade: C+. Should Carpenter win at Fontana, the grade will vault into the "B" range. The team has done what it was suppose to do on ovals and road course but they still have to improve even more but could still finish ahead of Takuma Sato and Graham Rahal in the point standings this season.

Dragon Racing
What I Said: With a legitimate engine package, Bourdais will be a factor to win a race or two in 2013 and, with the balance of road/street course races and ovals, he could sneak into the championship conversation. The four-time champion has not won in open-wheel racing since the final round of the 2007 ChampCar season at Mexico City. Saavedra is in IndyCar for his second stint. He has yet to score a top ten in IndyCar and with the depth of the IndyCar field, it will not be easy for the young Colombian to get one in 2013.

What They Did: After a disastrous first half of the season, Sébastien Bourdais has three podiums, four top fives and six top tens in the second half of 2013. While Sebastián Saavedra did score the teams first top ten of the season and his career at Belle Isle, the Colombian has been anything but consistent and backed into a top ten at Baltimore after all the accidents.

Season Negatives: See St. Petersburg through Pocono where the team was an after thought. The broken trophy for second place in race one at Toronto wasn't good either.

Grade: C. Sébastien Bourdais has salvaged this season for Dragon Racing and if Saavedra had been able to do half of what Bourdais has done in the second half of the season this team might be look at a "C+." If the team can keep Bourdais for 2014, they might be able to take that next step but Saavedra will be skating on line ice and have to improve should he return to the team in 2014.

Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan Racing
What I Said: Graham Rahal will get a race win in 2013 and Jakes should be hanging around the top ten at most races as RLLR looks to take a big step forward in 2013.

What They Did: A podium for each Rahal and Jakes but after that only one other top five with a total of eight top tens for the team. The team struggled throughout the season with the highlights being Long Beach, Belle Isle, Iowa, race one at Houston and Rahal winning the second Iowa heat race from seventh.

Season Negatives: Michel Jourdain, Jr. failing to qualify for the Indianapolis. Graham Rahal and James Jakes constantly struggling week in and week out to find speed. While they improved over the course of the season, they still were not able to turn that speed into consistent results up front.

Grade: C-. Rahal and Jakes are seventeenth and nineteenth in points and it had to be a frustrating season, especially for Rahal who left Ganassi. With the reported pick up of National Guard sponsorship it has to be asked if the team keeps this pair would they consider adding a third driver, preferably one with lots of experience. Both RLLR drivers showed potential but this season was a step back.

KV Racing Technology

What I Said: Kanaan cannot be ruled out for a win. Whether it be at Indianapolis, Milwaukee or Iowa, Kanaan is a threat, especially at ovals. Oddly enough, Kanaan has not won a road or street course race since Belle Isle 2007. De Silvestro results will be a vast improvement from 2012 and a few top tens would not be a surprise at all. With the move to KV, she should have better results on ovals as well. Her best finish on an oval is 14th at Indianapolis 2010 and Iowa 2012.

What They Did: Tony Kanaan won the Indianapolis 500 and was up front at a bunch of races this season however the second half of the season hasn't gone as well as the first and he will finish outside the top ten in points for the first time since 2002. Simona de Silvestro had three top tens in her first four races before getting to the oval portion of the season. While not great on ovals, she did finish eleventh at Pocono, a career best on an oval and was running in the top ten most of the day. Since Pocono, de Silvestro has finished in the top ten for five of the last seven races including a second in race one at Houston and she sits fifteenth in points as she looks for a career best finish in points and finish ahead of Sato, Rahal and Carpenter.

Season Negatives: Kanaan's wrist injury at Long Beach, de Silvestro going three laps down in a fifty lap heat race at Iowa. The whole second half of the season has gone poorly for Kanaan, whether it be a mechanical failure or accident.

Grade: B. And that could become a "B+" if Kanaan is able to win at Fontana and collect the $250,000 bonus for taking two of three legs of the Triple Crown. Had Kanaan's second half been going better this grade for the team could be pushing an "A." While de Silvestro is fifteenth, she is tied with Newgarden for fourteenth and only two back of Viso for thirteenth.

Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports

What I Said: The team has the speed to compete with the old guard of Penske, Ganassi and Andretti. SPHM will get a win in 2013 with Pagenaud and Vautier, the de facto Rookie of The Year, should be competing for top tens on a regular basis. Do not be surprised if Pagenaud is a title contender and do not be surprised if other teams start poaching him for 2014.

What They Did: Simon Pagenaud has two wins and will likely finish third in points but could possibly jump up to second. He has been consistently in the top ten excluding a few races after Indianapolis and with Ganassi moving to Chevrolet, Pagenaud arguably will be Hondas best driver in 2014. Tristan Vautier had a great weekend at St. Petersburg making the Firestone Fast Six and picked up his first career top ten at the following race at Barber but since then it has been a struggle for the Rookie of the Year. He has shown speed but the results haven't follow. In Vautier's defense, Newgarden had a very similar rookie season and his sophomore season has been much better.

Season Negatives: Pagenaud not being a factor at St. Petersburg. Not getting Pagenaud out fast enough at Mid-Ohio, a race where if he won he could still be in the championship hunt going into the final race.  As for Vautier, probably just not keeping momentum from the first few races and not being as competitive as they would've liked to be.

Grade: A-. I thought long and hard about this but this team has worked hard enough to earn an A While Vautier struggled, Pagenaud was up front every week and had a better second season with Schmidt than his first which was impressive in itself. 

Dale Coyne Racing

What I Said: Wilson should be able to score solid results at all tracks in 2013. As for the second seat at Coyne, a few top ten finishes would be sufficient and, to some, a great success.

What They Did: Justin Wilson has four podiums, seven top fives and thirteen top tens and sits fourth in the points. While Wilson has yet to win, Coyne has a win in 2013 thanks to Mike Conway. While many including myself thought the second Coyne car was the worst on the grid, the rotating doors of drivers showed the car has legs. Mike Conway won race one at Belle Isle and finish third in race two after starting on pole. Conway scored five top tens in his six starts with Coyne. While Ana Beatriz struggled, she did have a good run at Indianapolis with Pippa Mann having a respectable run at Pocono. James Davison made two good starts at Mid-Ohio and Sonoma with the results not backing how well he ran and Stefan Wilson didn't have a great run at Baltimore but lack of speed probably stemmed from lack of time in the car.

Season Negatives: Wilson not scoring a win in a season where he deserves to. Ana Beatriz's slow start. Conway's poor qualifying results at Toronto. Pippa Mann's engine expiring barely two laps into the Texas race.

Grade: A. This team was thought to be second-rate with a first-rate driver carrying the weight. Clearly that is not the case. With Wilson and chief engineers Bill Pappas and John Dick, the team is as dangerous as any and if they can stabilize the situation with the second car, whether it's Conway for all road and street courses with another top driver for ovals or one driver for all the races, I expect this team to win more races in 2014.

Penske Racing

What I Said: You can almost pencil in both Power and Castroneves for a victory. Both are championship contenders but can they become champions? Penske has not won a title since Hornish in 2006. Every year it seems as all Power has to do is avoid one mistake. As an outsider, that one mistake seems as a heavy burden to have on one's mind. He has the speed to get the job done and the time is now.

What They Did: Helio Castroneves had completed every lap entering Houston and was leading the points. One win, five podiums, six top fives and fifteen top tens for Castroneves but finds himself trailing entering the season finale. Will Power didn't win until Sonoma but has two on the year but only three podiums, six top fives and eight top tens in total. He has lead in fourteen of eighteen races. Castroneves found ways to avoid trouble while trouble just seemed to find Power all season.

Season Negatives: Power getting run over by Hildebrand in St. Petersburg, being taken out late while running up front at Toronto and getting into Dixon at Baltimore. Castroneves' gearboxes from hell at Houston. 

Grade: B+. I'll be honest, Castroneves doesn't deserve to win this title. He pussyfooted his way ever since he won the third heat race at Iowa. He's didn't go for the jugular and kept the door open for Dixon all season. Now Dixon leads and Castroneves is playing from behind entering Fontana. Castroneves could have ended this title with races to go and now look where he is. The telling stat is both him and Power having the same amount of top fives. For all those top tens, Castroneves could only finish in the top five a third of the time. Sure, 83.3% of his top fives have been podiums but constantly finish sixth or seventh isn't good enough. Power has picked it up but things just haven't gone his way.

Andretti Autosport

What I Said: Hunter-Reay is a championship contender, no question about that. Hinchcliffe can break through and get a victory in 2013. Andretti Autosport has been a stalwart on short tracks winning four of the last five race on tracks a mile and a half and shorter. Marco's best shot will be on an oval and the goal for Viso is to bring the car home in one piece.

What They Did: They won five of the first ten races but haven't won since. Marco Andretti is in the top five in points with Ryan Hunter-Reay right behind him and James Hinchcliffe in ninth and EJ Viso in thirteenth. They dominated the Indianapolis 500 with Carlos Muñoz finishing second as a rookie. Hunter-Reay has two wins, six podiums, seven top fives, eight top tens and three poles while Hinchcliffe has three wins, four podiums, five top fives and ten top tens. Andretti has two podiums, six top fives, fourteen top tens and two poles and Viso has two top fives and seven top tens.

Season Negatives: Hunter-Reay being kamikazed by Sato entering the pits at Pocono. Andretti's car breaking down while running up front at Milwaukee and then losing a fuel mileage derby at Pocono after dominating. Hunter-Reay's clutch problems at Toronto and gearbox issue at Houston. The decision to try and two-stop Hunter-Reay at Mid-Ohio instead of going just going flat out and doing a three-stopper. Then there is Hinchcliffe who was checkers or wreckers most of the first half of 2013.

Grade: A-. Despite all the negatives, this has been a good year for Andretti Autosport. Sure, they've struggles as of late but it could have been worse. There are four races Andretti Autosport should of won this year but didn't and but they are a good bet for Fontana. The good news is Marco Andretti has improved leaps and bounds on road and street courses, EJ Viso didsn't have thirty accidents this season, Hunter-Reay still has it with Hinchcliffe breaking through but needing to be more consistent.

Ganassi Racing

What I Said: For 2013, Dixon and Franchitti are championship contenders. They both should be able to win multiple races but they could be limited if Honda can not keep up with Chevrolet on road and street courses. Indianapolis and Mid-Ohio have both been in Ganassi's wheel house for a while now. The only question is can they break through and take away more wins from the Chevrolets. As for Kimball, he has to get respectable results compared to his teammates. He needs to be more of a feature in the top ten and, while unlikely, he maybe be able to do what Rahal was not able to do at Ganassi and that is win.

What They Did: After a mediocre start, Ganassi Racing turned it on over the summer. Scott Dixon won three in a row with Ganassi winning four in a row with Charlie Kimball picking up his first career win at Mid-Ohio. Dixon finds himself leading the points by 25 after a remarkable comeback at Houston. A season-leading four wins, six podiums, nine top fives, eleven top tens and two poles is an impressive season for the Kiwi. Dario Franchitti will go winless in an IndyCar season he's competed in for the first time since 2006, a season where he also missed the season finale due to injury. Before his season-ending accident at Houston, Franchitti scored four podiums, seven top fives, eleven top tens and two poles. Then there is Charlie Kimball. The Californian will likely finish in the top ten in points for the first time in his IndyCar career and will finish ahead of his teammate Franchitti with at least an 18th place finish at Fontana. Along with his Mid-Ohio win, Kimball finished second at Pocono, fourth at Barber and has nine top tens.

Season Negatives: Indianapolis as a whole. Franchitti scoring back-to-back twenty-fifths to begin the season. Sonoma and Baltimore for Dixon. The fact Franchitti went winless.

Grade: A. The team had a poor start and didn't win until after July 4th but they were still finishing up front. They are tied with Andretti Autosport for the most wins by a team this season and are looking to get Scott Dixon his third career IndyCar title. Alex Tagliani will be substituting for Dario Franchitti at Fontana and I expect him to be up front. They picked up Tony Kanaan for 2014 and though Franchitti will go winless, remember after going winless in 2006, he went on to win the title in 2007.

Breakdown

What I Said:

1. The IndyCar field is as deep as it gets.
2. Easily 14 driver could win a race in 2013 and no one would be surprised if they won.
3. There are 7 drivers that could win the championship and no one would be surprised if they won.
What Happened: 
1. The field arguably got deeper and it looks like it will continue to get deeper.
2. Nine drivers have won races but there are easily five drivers without a win (Wilson, Andretti, Bourdais, Carpenter and Rahal) who could pick up their first of the season at Fontana.
3. There hasn't been a deeper top ten in IndyCar in some time and that excluding drivers outside the top ten which include Kanaan, Bourdais, Newgarden, Sato, Rahal, Briscoe and Servià.

The field only appears to be getting deeper. Potential 2013 GP2 series champion Sam Bird is interested in IndyCar, as is Karun Chandhok. Carlos Muñoz is likely to be promoted into the IndyCar series and he may not even finish in the top three in Indy Lights points. Luca Filippi could be full-time next year. The field could get so deep the likes of Servià, Hildebrand and Tagliani could all be without rides. This has been one of the best IndyCar seasons ever and there is still one race to go.

Don't Go To Bed Saturday Night

If you are a racing fan, you might want to pull an all-nighter Saturday into Sunday. Do whatever it takes. Sleep all day, go on a caffeine binge, mix your coffee with Red Bull just don't pull an AJ Allmendinger and take adderall. Whatever you do, do not fall asleep Saturday night because from 7:00 p.m. ET to 5:00 a.m. ET there will be plenty you will not want to miss.

Let's start in Charlotte for the fifth race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR stays home in North Carolina as Matt Kenseth looks to hold off Jimmie Johnson while the likes of Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and the other eight drivers in the Chase look to keep their championship hopes alive. Gordon will start on pole and joined on the front row by Harvick. Harvick is coming off a dominating performance as Kansas last week and he won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in the spring. But they won't have their work cut out for them as Johnson starts fourth. Matt Kenseth was the lowest qualifying Chase driver and start twentieth. Kenseth starts between two drivers making their Cup Series debut with Brian Scott ahead of him in nineteenth and Kyle Larson twenty-first.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. turned 39 on Thursday and he will start sixth for his 500th career Sprint Cup Series start on Saturday night. A win for Junior and he would become the third driver to be victorious in their 500th career start joining Richard Petty and Matt Kenseth.

While the Cup guys will be lining to take the green at Charlotte, 9598.8 miles away, the V8 Supercars will also being taking the green for their biggest race of the year, the Bathurst 1000. Jamie Whincup leads the points standings as he and co-driver Paul Dumbrell look to keep up momentum from winning the Sundown 500 a month ago and pick up their second consecutive Bathurst 1000 victory. Holden has won the last five Bathurst 1000s and are in good position to extend that streak to five as the GM manufacture has won twenty-three of twenty-nine races in 2013 with Whincup himself having scored nine wins so far.

Whincup was fastest qualifier ahead of Ford driver Mark Winterbottom in second. Winterbottom is look for his first Bathurst 1000 victory and he is paired two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Steven Richards. Jason Bright was third ahead of 2010 V8 Supercars champion James Courtney and his co-driver, four-time Bathurst 1000 winner Greg Murphy. Shane van Gisbergen was fifth ahead of Whincup's teammate and five-time Bathurst 1000 winner Craig Lowndes. 2009 Bathurst 1000 winner Will Davison was seventh ahead fellow Ford driver David Reynolds in eight and the Gary Rogers Motorsport Holdens of Scott McLaughlin and Alexandre Prémat. These ten drivers will compete for pole in the top ten shootout on Saturday.

Other notable starters: Three-time Bathurst 1000 winner Garth Tander qualified eleventh, the all-star pair of Mattias Ekström and Andy Priaulx in eighteenth, 2005 Bathurst 1000 winner Todd Kelly is twenty-third ahead of his brother, two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Rick Kelly. Two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Russell Ingall and co-driver Ryan Briscoe will start twenty-fifth.

For about three hours, you will have the opportunity to flip back and forth between Charlotte and Bathurst before Bathurst takes over and the sights of Mount Panorama will take you into Sunday morning. As the Bathurst 1000 draws closer to the finish, the start of the Japanese Grand Prix will draw near as Sebastian Vettel looks to clinch his fourth straight title with what would be his fifth consecutive win and Fernando Alonso finishing ninth or worse. Vettel has won three of his four starts at Suzuka with his worse finish being third in 2011, a race in which Vettel clinched his second career title.

While Vettel looks to have a coronation at Suzuka, there are plenty of other battles to watch out for. The Lotus teammates of Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean are coming off a fierce battle for the second spot on the podium at Korea last week. Grosjean has only finished ahead of his teammate on three occasions this season. Nico Hülkenberg looks to keep his points scoring streak going. The German has scored points in the last three races including two top fives and matching his career best finish of fourth last week at Korea. Daniel Ricciardo looks to picked up the pieces after retiring from the last two rounds. Meanwhile Esteban Gutiérrez, Valtteri Bottas, Caterham and Marussia look to not only score their first points of the season but first points of their careers.

After the corks pop and Bizet's Carmen Overture plays, the Formula One races nicely transitions into the MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix from Sepang. Marc Márquez leads Jorge Lorenzo by thirty-nine points as the rookie looks to inch closer to a World Championship. Márquez won the 2011 125cc race at Sepang while Lorenzo has one win in Malaysia, the 250cc race in 2006. Last year, Dani Pedrosa won the MotoGP race giving him wins in each the three class at Sepang.

Once the bikes quiet down, it will be about 5:00 a.m. ET. I don't know about you but it seems like after all that racing, it would be the perfect time to find a diner, get some french toast and sausage and start Sunday off on a good note. As for sleep? Who needs it?

2014 IndyCar Schedule Update #10

Hitting the double digit mark on the 2014 schedule updates. It looks like Thursday October 17th, the 2014 IndyCar schedule will be announced.

From the October 8th edition of Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee, Cavin said most of the schedule was in place and it would look similar to 2013 with a few dates flipping around.

Cavin said Barber moving from the second round of the season to the third round was likely and he said Houston appears will remain a doubleheader and be moving to late June and possibly become night races. Moving Houston to June would raise questions about the position of Milwaukee and Iowa as June has been a very busy month for IndyCar.

Cavin also said Austin appears likely to be added to the IndyCar schedule for 2015.

Here is a mock 2014 schedule (Confirmed dates in bold):

St. Petersburg: March 28-30th.
Long Beach: April 13th.
Barber: April 27th
IMS road course: May 10th.
Indianapolis 500: May 25.
Belle Isle: May 30-June 1st.
Texas: June 7th.
Milwaukee: June 14th.
Iowa: June 22nd.
Houston: June 27-29th (holding out the possibility of night races due to summer heat).
Pocono: July 6th
Toronto: July 19-20th.
Mid-Ohio: August 1-3rd.
Sonoma August 24th.
Fontana: August 30-31 or September 1st (depends if it is a Saturday night, Sunday, Sunday night, Monday or Monday night).

With this schedule, Barber now fills the gap between Long Beach and the IMS road course. My one concern is moving Barber too close to the NASCAR race at Talladega. Should Barber move to April 27th and NASCAR's schedule remain the same, Barber would be the week before Talladega. I'm not sure that is a good thing.

Moving Houston to late-June and keeping the schedule before that date as it is would create a seven consecutive week, nine race stretch. I don't see that happening. There were talks of IndyCar at Iowa running with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The Trucks ran this year the weekend IndyCar was at Toronto but since Toronto will be pushed back for 2014 it opens up that weekend but I have said before, it would be smart for IndyCar to take that weekend off because it is the weekend of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final. Say what you want about soccer in America but the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final had 15,545,000 viewers on ABC and I only expect that number to go up in 2014.

Could Iowa be run on a Saturday night? Maybe and then there isn't a conflict with the World Cup Final. Or as I've suggested before, a race could be lead-in to the World Cup Final broadcast. Could Iowa move to the weekend between Toronto and Mid-Ohio? That is usually Brickyard 400 weekend and IndyCar tries to avoid scheduling a race that weekend. The Nationwide Series ran at Iowa the same weekend IndyCar was at Mid-Ohio this year. Could we see some dates shift for IndyCar, Truck and Nationwide to allow for a IndyCar-Truck doubleheader at the beginning of August? Maybe. For now though I will put Iowa in-between Pocono and Toronto.

One-other note: Still no word on Brazil. Should that race return, it appears it will see a date change due to the addition of the IMS road course race.

One final mock schedule:

St. Petersburg: March 28-30th.
Long Beach: April 13th.
Barber: April 27th
IMS road course: May 10th.
Indianapolis 500: May 25.
Belle Isle: May 30-June 1st.
Texas: June 7th.
Milwaukee: June 14th.
Houston: June 27-29th (holding out the possibility of night races due to summer heat).
Pocono: July 6th.
Iowa: July 12-13 (holding out the possibility for a Saturday night race).
Toronto: July 19-20th.
Mid-Ohio: August 1-3rd.
Sonoma August 24th.
Fontana: August 30-31 or September 1st (depends if it is a Saturday night, Sunday, Sunday night, Monday or Monday night).

The good news is we are getting closer and closer from the schedule being released and these updates coming to an end.

Thought From The Racing Weekend October 4-6th

I had a day to think about what happened over the racing weekend and here is what I came up with.

1. Let's start in Korea. Another dominating performance for Sebastian Vettel but he wasn't the main story for me. Nico Hülkenberg finished fourth in an impressive drive for Sauber and he still doesn't have a ride for 2014. He has driven exceptionally better than his teammate all season but for 2014 the choices are slim pickings. Apparently Lotus is running low on money and he hasn't been getting paid by Sauber for most of 2013. You want to repeat that in 2014? McLaren is going into a lame-duck season before Honda returns in 2015. Sergio Pérez is going to have a seat because he has Telmex support. Jenson Button's future is uncertain. While some think he will return, he isn't confirmed as returning. It would make sense, especially when Honda returns knowing his relationship with the manufacture.

After that, where would be a beneficial place for Hülkenberg? Red Bull? Full. Ferrari? Full. Mercedes? Full. Force India? Is it all that better than Sauber? Williams? Been there, done that. Toro Rosso is Red Bull's junior team and Catheram and Marussia aren't in the discussion. Hülkenberg is too talented to not be paid but currently there are no paying rides that will compliment Hülkenberg's driving ability. He isn't going to IndyCar. He is only goes to sports cars if it's Porsche's LMP1 program but that is nearing capacity with Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Neel Jani and it appears Porsche factory driver Marc Lieb and Brendon Hartley are front runners for the final two spots. I don't envy Mr. Hülkenberg at this current time but where ever he lands, he will be competitive.

Meanwhile, Felipe Massa finished 9th and made a move by Pastor Maldonado, Esteban Gutiérrez and Sergio Pérez in one lap that showed he is too talented to be completely left off the grid. Not many driver's could have done what Massa did, especially the three driver who were passed by Massa. He's in a similar situation as Hülkenberg but is more likely to find the funding to land at Sauber especially since they will be Ferrari powered in 2014.

2a. Let's go to IndyCar and Houston. Not much more left to be said. Glad Dario Franchitti is ok. Glad the championship will come down to the final race. Of course there are the questions over safety and future safety standards at events, especially those on temporary circuits.

The fact the catch fence was separated from the barrier and thrown into the air when Franchitti's car made contact is most concerning. The fence kept the car on the circuit but the fence then became a projectile into the crowd. Should the stands have been place there in the first place? It's easy to bring hindsight into the equation but the stands were there because fans were going to be able to see the cars fly by a high speed. It would give the fans the adrenaline rush of a car going by when it's pushing it's limits. Move those seats, you remove the fans from what they came to see. 

No fan goes to race wanting to be in harms way but at the same time fans don't want to sit somewhere and watch cars go by at 35 MPH. It's a double-edge sword and as a fan who has been to races, the fans have to realize what they could be getting themselves into in if they are sitting in row one. Racing isn't alone. At other sporting events, fans run the risk of injury. Whether it be a foul ball in baseball, puck over the glass in hockey or shanked drive at a golf tournament, fans are at risk but a race car going over 100 MPH coming at you is understandable more frightening than a golf ball. 

I've thought what if there was another catch fence that went over the grandstand to further protect fans from flying debris? At the same time, another catch fence would obstruct the view of the fans. What if the grandstands were raised higher? That could be an option but how much would it cost a promoter to raise a grandstand say twenty feet off the ground?

Money is the one thing that hinders further advances in safety and while that doesn't seem like a good enough excuse to way things aren't being made safer, it's the truth. Should there be a safety standard all venues from ovals to road course to temporary street courses have to adhere to? Of course but you run the risk of losing events because a promoter can't afford it and that creates a catch-22: Yes, a racing series should not go to a place that doesn't meet a safety standards but the series risks losing races, sponsorship dollar and support from different markets.

2b. Racing is funny isn't it? When it comes to an event and a sponsor getting behind it, location takes over as to whether to gets involved or not. What prevented Mike Lanigan and Shell from having last weekends races at Circuit of the Americas over a temporary circuit at Reliant Park? Key word: location. Shell wanted a race in Houston because they are based at Houston but is sacrificing safety and a proper racing circuit to meet a sponsors demand worth it? 

Here is where it get funny to me: Shell sponsors the Shell Houston Open a PGA golf tournament but they don't want the tournament played in downtown Houston, it is played at Redstone Golf Club in Humble, Texas, about a half hour outside the city. Circuit of the Americas isn't a half hour outside of Houston but it is a venue up to standard to host a proper racing event. If Shell wouldn't host a golf tournament at a course where bunkers are grown over and the course if full of divots, why would you host a auto race on a circuit that launches cars and doesn't drain properly? Some concessions have to made by a sponsor to put on a proper event over a convenient event. Shell and Lanigan could have very well run an event at Circuit of the Americas or Road America or any oval and it be just as successful  if not more than Houston was this weekend but Shell wanted a home race. 

Should all temporary circuits go away? No. If they are up to standard and are suitable for a proper race, they can be on the schedule.

3. Unfortunately, it appears Dario Franchitti will likely miss the season finale at Fontana. Unless he pulls a Buddy Lazier, we won't be seeing Franchitti on track again until 2014. With that said, who would substitute for him at Fontana? The real question is does Ganassi even run the #10 at Fontana? They could easily put all their focus on Scott Dixon who is going for the title and Charlie Kimball. I think they should run the #10 at Fontana. No need to sit out for one race and why not give a deserving driver a good ride at Fontana? And not running the #10 could hurt Dixon's title hopes. The #10 could take points away from Castroneves and remember last year? Ryan Hunter-Reay was stuck in sixth and needed to finished fifth. Marco Andretti fell back, got penalized (whether intentional or not, doesn't matter) and Hunter-Reay benefited by moving up to 5th. Will Power winning on Sunday and leading the most laps dropped Dixon's possible points lead entering Fontana from 38 to 25. Who is to say Dixon won't need that kind of help at Fontana?

If a driver is put in the #10 for Fontana, it likely won't be a driver moving from a current IndyCar team. So Tony Kanaan isn't leaving KV a race early, Hinchcliffe won't volt from Andretti even if the team announces he will become the fifth Ganassi driver as the team expands even more in 2014 (Note: I have no idea what Hinchcliffe is doing). 

Ryan Briscoe is out of the question because he will be at Petit Le Mans. My short list for the seat is Alex Tagliani, Townsend Bell and Conor Daly in that order. Tagliani has shown pace on the big ovals and was a contender for the race win last year at Fontana. Bell is another guy who can always find speed especially on the ovals. Daly is young talent who has shown flashes of talent but is inexperienced. 

A sentimental pick for me would be Bruno Junqueira. He has raced for Ganassi before, his last couple of appearance at Indianapolis he has gotten about six practice laps and then went out and qualified with one of the top ten four-lap averages of the month but he will be at Road Atlanta for Petit Le Mans like Briscoe except driving for RSR Racing in the PC class.

4. Kevin Harvick won at Kansas from pole position and keeps his Chase hopes alive. Jimmie Johnson finished sixth and Matt Kenseth in eleventh, reducing Kenseth's lead over Johnson to three points. Harvick is now twenty-five back in third with Jeff Gordon in fourth, thirty-two back. Kyle Busch fell to fifth, thirty-five back after retiring after an accident. Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne round out the top thirteen. 

I'll be honest. The Chase just isn't doing it. It's a two horse race and we're only halfway through the ten races. Meanwhile, while the point system was reconfigured to make winning worth more and has done that with the top two having the most wins but you have four of the top ten winless and two of the three drivers in the Chase but outside the top ten have multiple wins. Having one point increments between positions have actually made it worse. I tout the 9-6-4-3-2-1 point system Formula One used for thirty seasons because their was a substantial difference in position. You didn't race for points. You raced to be up front where it matters. You can argue every position matters now it NASCAR but do you really have to make 24th matter more than 25th. You're not even in the top half of the field. 

Then there is the Nationwide Series championship. 29 races in and 25 have been won by drivers not eligible for the title. It has merely become a great way promote another two-horse race but this time for the owner's championship between two teams who could be labelled as the Joe Gibbs All-Stars vs. the Roger Penske All-Stars. It's not that it is boring, it's just doesn't pique my interest. The drivers in the car are racing to win but they aren't doing in for a championship they are eligible for. They have no reason not to take risks but it isn't exciting. Probably because they race in Cup and that's what they care about. These aren't two drivers such as Austin Dillon and Sam Hornish who are potentially racing for their future or how about Regan Smith trying to race his way back into the championship picture. Let's not forget to mention Dillon has yet to win in 2013 and could win the title. That just doesn't sit right. Something has to change.

5. Sébastien Ogier clinched the World Rally Championship with two rounds to go while Sébastien Loeb retired from his final career rally after an accident. Ogier is the first champion not named Sébastien Loeb since Petter Solberg in 2003. It's amazing to think Loeb won nine straight championships. He won the 2006 title despite missing the final four rounds due to injury and Marcus Grönholm winning three of the final four. Loeb came from behind to Grönholm in the final two rounds in 2007 to win by four points. In 2009, Loeb was one point behind Mikko Hirvonen entering the final round at Rally GB. He went on to win the race and the title, extending his streak to then six consecutive world titles. If Jimmie Johnson had a golden horseshoe, Loeb had one for each foot. 

As for WRC's future, Citroën will return, Volkswagen appears to be the new top dog with Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala and we will have to see how Hyundai does when they enter next year. There are reports of "radical format changes" for WRC in 2014 and they sound interesting. We will have to wait and see what happens.

As for Loeb, he's already had success in the FIA GT Series and next year he will lead Citroën into the World Touring Car Championship where they will take on the likes of Honda, Lada and customer Chevrolets. 

Also, Robert Kubica picked up his fourth win in the WRC-2 season as he leads that championship. I really hope to someday see Kubica in single-seaters again.

6. Congratulations to Pickett Racing for their eighth consecutive win in the LMP1 class by taking the win at VIR over Dyson Racing in a hard fought battle. Pickett Racing will look to go out with a bang at Petit Le Mans in just under a fortnight. Ryan Briscoe and Scott Tucker won their second consecutive race at VIR and that locked up the LMP2 team title for Level 5 Motorsports. Kyle Marcelli and Chris Cumming won the PC class for the second consecutive race as Marcelli keeps his championship title hopes alive. He trails Mike Guasch by 11 with one to go.

In GT, Risi Competizione with Matteo Malucelli and Olivier Beretta won their first race since Road America in 2011. The CORE Autosport Porsche of Patrick Long and Colin Braun finished second as Jan Magnussen and Antonio García finished third and increased their lead over Dirk Mùller. With Corvette finishing in third, they locked up the GT title with one round to go. Damien Faulkner and Ben Keating won in GTC at VIR with Jeroen Bleekemolen and Cooper MacNeil heading to Petit as GTC point leaders over Henrique Cisneros.

It's sad realizing there is only one round of the ALMS championship to go before it is all gone. Despite their being two sports car series, each had their own aurora. The glory days of ALMS for me were the Audi LMP1-Penske Porsche LMP2 battles especially when the Acura program entered the equation. Interclass battles for overall were exciting and showed the all powerful Audi program wasn't as invisible as they seemed in Europe. I'm going to miss seeing LMP1 cars at Sebring, Petit and Road America and hope one day we could see LMP1 cars fly around the high banks of Daytona for the 24 Hours of Daytona.

7. The Indy Lights championship comes down to the hire with Sage Karam leading over Gabby Chaves by 16 points. Jack Hawkswoth is all not mathematically eliminated if twelve or more drivers enter at Fontana. Should twelve enter, and Hawksworth score max points and have Karam finish twelfth or worse and Chaves finish fourth or worse, Hawksworth will win the title on a tiebreaker of four wins to Karam's three. If thirteen drivers enter Fontana, Carlos Muñoz is alive for the championship but he would need to score max points, have Karam finish thirteenth or worse and Chaves finish fourth or worse to win the title on a tiebreaker over Karam. Muñoz would have four wins to Karam's three. 

The events of this season is not on Hawksworth's or Muñoz's side. The most cars to enter an oval race this year is 11, with 12 entering at Houston being the largest field this season. However, three of the drivers at Houston have never raced on an oval before. Those three are Axcil Jefferies, Giancarlo Serenelli and Matthew Di Leo. Eight cars have entered every race this season and Kyle O'Gara who entered Indianapolis with Sam Schmidt's team will return for Fontana. That brings the grid up to nine with the #22 Team Moore Racing entry being the next likely car  on the grid. Conor Daly finished third driving the #22 at Houston.  

If either Karam or Chaves win the title, I don't think they have to rush into IndyCar. Karam turned 18 only weeks before this season began. He could easily spend another year or two in Lights and then go to IndyCar in 2016 when he is 21 years old. Chaves is 20 but another year in Indy Lights wouldn't hurt him either. 

That's will be all for now. Keep an eye for more as IndyCar's season finale is fortnight away, Formula One heads to Japan, NASCAR heads to Charlotte and MotoGP returns to the track in Malaysia. 

Houston 2013 Race Two: First Impressions

1. Glad hearing Dario Franchitti is all right after that brutal final lap accident. Same to Takuma Sato and EJ Viso who were also involved.

2. And just like that, it's a whole new ball game. From 49 back to 25 up, Scott Dixon heads to Fontana with the ball in his court as he looks to pick up his third career title. Not to forget mentioning $250,000 if Dixon is able to win what is in essences the California 500 and take two of three legs of the Triple Crown.

Point scenarios heading into Fontana.

3. It was the drive Penske needed after Helio Castroneves had another gearbox issue from Will Power. He won and prevented Dixon from entering Fontana with as high as a 38 point lead. Second win of the season for Power. A step back from runner-up the last three seasons but he recovered nicely from what has been a rough season.

4. Ganassi, you sure you want to go to Chevrolet next year?

5. Nice to see James Hinchcliffe on the podium after stalling on the grid in race one. Justin Wilson not only had a great weekend but a great season. Ten years ago, who would have thought Dale Coyne Racing would be in the top five in points? Amazing what the team has done not to forget mentioning Mike Conway finished in the top ten.

6. Another good run for Sébastien Bourdais. Simon Pagenaud has had a great season but unfortunately he has been mathematically eliminated from the title. 

7. Seventh for Oriol Servià. Hopefully he finds a ride in 2014. Once again, a lot of talented drivers looking for rides, only a few will find one though.

8. Charlie Kimball gets another top ten, as does Simona de Silvestro. This has been a breakthrough year for Kimball as de Silvestro continues to rack up results as her future isn't entirely certain.

9. Been a rough season for Ryan Hunter-Reay. It started well but mechanical failure after mechanical failure has cost him dearly. Marco Andretti had a poor day. It hasn't been a bad year for Andretti Autosport but after the championship anything but a repeat is easily a disappointment.

10. Despite there being single-file restarts, the racing was fine, we still had a ridiculous amount of cautions and I don't think many even noticed.

11. Luca Filippi has put the pressure on JR Hildebrand to the point that Hildebrand pretty much has to win at Fontana to give him any shot of driving the #98 in 2014. I hope both can land a ride in 2014. 

12. Despite the hellish weekend this was at Houston, the track produced two really good races. Yes there are a few things that have to be improved but let's talk about that later. According to Robin Miller, this race is going to somehow be in June next year. That will surely please Eddie Gossage and it could be raced under the lights which could be nice. 

13. It didn't feel like IndyCar was off for a month before Houston. Maybe it is because I filled my time with other series but it wasn't that bad. Granted I don't want it to happen again. 

14. And now a week off before Fontana. To think this time last year the champion had already been crowned and IndyCar had been in the offseason for three weeks. I look forward to the season finale as autumn slowly sets in. 

Morning Warm-Up: Houston 2013 Race Two

After qualifying was washed out this morning for race two of the Grand Prix of Houston, Scott Dixon will start on pole position as he looks to take the points lead from Helio Castroneves. Castroneves starts second after being docked 15 points after the Texas round for failing technical inspection. Due to the wash out, no bonus point will be given for pole.

Simon Pagenaud will start third ahead of the Andretti Autosport teammates Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay. Justin Wilson will start sixth ahead of fellow Brit Dario Franchitti and Will Power. James Hinchcliffe and Charlie Kimball round out the top ten. Tony Kanaan will start eleventh ahead of the Chevrolets of EJ Viso and Sébastien Bourdais. Josef Newgarden starts fourteenth with Simona de Silvestro in fifteenth.

Takuma Sato starts sixteenth. Sato sustained a slight wrist injury in race one yesterday and Conor Daly is on stand-by. Daly finished third in the Indy Lights race yesterday. Mike Conway will start seventeenth ahead of Graham Rahal, Ed Carpenter and James Jakes rounding out the top twenty.

Oriol Servià starts twenty-first ahead of Tristan Vautier, Luca Filippi and Sebastián Saavedra rounding out the field.

Here is a list of possible points for the top three in the championship. Helio Castroneves can still clinch the championship today but has to outscore Scott Dixon by 38 points.

NBCSN's coverage of the penultimate round of the 2013 Izod IndyCar Series Championship begins at 1:00 p.m. ET with green flag around 1:40 p.m. ET.

Update (11:40 a.m. ET): Helio Castroneves will start on pole position for today's race due to Rule 8.01.10.1 which states the grid will be set by entrant points entering the weekend. Helio Castroneves' #3 Penske Chevrolet held a thirty-four point lead over Scott Dixon's #9 Ganassi Honda entering the weekend, therefore he will be on pole for race two today.

Other rest of the starting grid will go as follows: Simon Pagenaud, Marco Andretti; Ryan Hunter-Reay, Justin Wilson; Dario Franchitti, James Hinchcliffe; Will Power, Charlie Kimball; Tony Kanaan, EJ Viso; Sébastien Bourdais, Josef Newgarden; Takuma Sato, Mike Conway; Simona de Silvestro, Ed Carpenter; Graham Rahal, James Jakes; Oriol Servià, Tristan Vautier; Luca Filippi, Sebastián Saavedra.