Musings From the Weekend: Give the Drivers the Love

The first IndyCar race is upon us but there we had to get through another jam-packed weekend of motorsports from around the globe. Endurance racing, bikes and NASCAR kept us occupied but IndyCar is walking up the driveway and about to join the party. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.

Give the Drivers the Love

IndyCar announced an increase in Leader Circle payouts for the 2015 season. The series will pay $1.25 million to 21 teams this season. Say what you want about Leader Circle but it's not going anywhere in the near future. The teams need it as a base to run a full-time program but maybe the distribution should be changed. From Schmidt Peterson "hiring" James Jakes and Dale Coyne "hiring" Francesco Dracone and the likes of Justin Wilson, Conor Daly and Ryan Briscoe on the sidelines, maybe the team teams shouldn't directly get the money.

IndyCar needs to put an incentive on getting the best quality on the grid full-time. The teams shouldn't just get $1.25 million. The teams need to show that they deserve the $1.25 million by hiring proven talent that will help the series as a whole. The series needs not just talent but drivers that are able to market themselves and engage with fans, the media and could potentially help the series grow. 

Instead of just giving the money to the teams, IndyCar should have Leader Circle spots tied to drivers from the year's previous standings. IndyCar should increase the amount of Leader Circle spots to 24 with 20 reserved for the top 20 in the drivers' championship the year before with the remaining four left for the Indy Lights champion, American drivers interested in joining the series and other top talent from junior formula racing around the globe. If a team hires one of the 20 guaranteed Leader Circle drivers, they will get the $1.25 million in funding. If they hire someone outside of those 20, that hire will be reviewed based on the drivers success in previous seasons and off-track potential for one of the final four spots. 

Of the top twenty from 2014, only three drivers, Wilson, Briscoe and Mikhail Aleshin are not on the entry list for St. Petersburg. Aleshin will run in the European Le Mans season in 2015. To account for the possibility that a driver will leave IndyCar, the series must set a deadline for the drivers to declare if they will be pursuing a full-time IndyCar ride in the following season. If IndyCar is set on ending the season by Labor Day, I would set the deadline on October 31st, giving the drivers two months to make their decision. After that deadline, those who declare they will be pursuing a ride have until the end of the calendar year to announce their program. If they do not announce that program by the end of the year, they lose the Leader Circle spot. 

If any of the 20 drivers declare they will not be pursuing IndyCar for the following year or do not announce their ride by the end of the year, those additional spots will be added to the four spots left for review by IndyCar. If a driver from the top 20 does not announce their program by the end of the year, they can still be considered for a Leader Circle spot but it will not be guaranteed. 

The purpose of this is to prevent the likes of Dracone, a driver who has done nothing in his career and the likes of Jakes, who did nothing in 2014, from just being "hired" while proven veterans and budding stars are ignored. It will also provide incentive for teams to hire veterans and not let them go without a ride. 

Leader Circle funding isn't enough for these teams to get by but it's a nice drop in the bucket. IndyCar should to hire consultants to mediate meeting between teams and sponsors that way the teams don't have to just pluck any old ride buyer whose check has cleared. IndyCar need more sponsors involved in the series and helping facilitate relationships not just between sponsors and the teams but sponsors and the series. 

You are probably asking yourself, "What about Ed Carpenter?" Carpenter and Mike Conway finished 22nd and 23rd in the 2014 championship but the #20 Chevrolet finished eighth in the Entrants' Championship. I have been racking my brain trying to come up with a solution. There could be a rule stating if a team announces a car being shared by drivers the cumulative point totals will be placed in the Drivers' Championship and if it falls in the top 20, it gets a spot. However, that gets messy. What if Mike Conway had decided to pursue another IndyCar team? Why shouldn't he get the Leader Circle spot? After all, he ran double the races of Carpenter. The best scenario I can come up with is Carpenter and whomever he shares the ride with would have to vie for one of the reviewed spots. I don't think this would put Carpenter and CFH Racing endanger of not getting a Leader Circle spot. IndyCar would see the value of having him and that entry on the grid and he would get a spot to be shared, in this case with Luca Filippi. 

IndyCar needs to take more control in whom the teams hire. They need to make sure the best drivers have no problem returning year in and year out. This creates familiarity with a fan base. The series can't afford to have high turnover on the grid. It would be a chance to make Road to Indy drivers a more intriguing hire. Gabby Chaves and Sage Karam are each Indy Lights champions. Along with the scholarship they received, they deserve a Leader Circle spot to help them get their career going. Conor Daly is a Pro Mazda champion, won a race in Indy Lights and has won a handful of races in Europe. Daly is arguably better than every current IndyCar driver in terms of social media usage. IndyCar needs someone with Daly's talent and personality on the grid. 

It would also provide incentive for developing drivers to come to IndyCar. Defending GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer is currently a Lotus F1 test driver. Imagine if IndyCar could have said to him, "Hey, there is a $1.25 million check waiting for you if you get an IndyCar ride." It would is the type of coup that would give IndyCar the chance to pick up the top talent that Formula One is letting slip away. 

Another plus to this renovated Leader Circle program is it allows easier access to new teams wanting to come to IndyCar. Let's say a driver finishes 12th in the championship and has earned a Leader Circle spot and let's say the likes of Carlin or Mike Shank or Wayne Taylor or Extreme Speed Motorsports want to expand to IndyCar. That driver can go to one of those teams and provide them with the $1.25 million base to get going. An additional team running full-time could mean an additional team at the Indianapolis 500 and given the time, that additional team could expand to a two-car program and lead to another car on the grid. 

Instead of giving the teams the money directly, make them earn it. Make the teams hire drivers with the best interest of the series in mind. At the same time, IndyCar must work with the teams to find sponsors that will hopefully create partnerships with the teams and series for years to come. The time of drivers losing rides just because another driver has more money but not necessarily the results needs to change and giving the drivers the safety blanket of $1.25 million for a team if hired is one way in doing so.

Double Dip Dixon

I made a comment before the 12 Hours of Sebring that Scott Dixon could have been the sole championship leader in the IMSA Prototype class after Sebring. Action Express Racing and their dominate trio of Christian Fittipaldi, João Barbosa and Sébastien Bourdais had their own ideas however and kept that from happening but Dixon is still second in the championship with 65 points, just four behind Fittipaldi, Barbosa and Bourdais.

I suggested Ganassi run Dixon for the entire IMSA schedule and have the Kiwi pursue another title. The IndyCar and IMSA schedule has one clash and it's possible to overcome. Dixon will already be at Long Beach and Belle Isle for IndyCar competition, Dixon is free for Laguna Seca and Road America and the IndyCar season ends in August, meaning Dixon would have no conflicts whatsoever for Austin and Petit Le Mans.

There are two weekends that could pose a problem. IndyCar at Fontana and the Watkins Glen 6 Hours fall on the same weekend, however, the IndyCar race at Fontana on Saturday June 27th is at 4:00 p.m. ET and Watkins Glen begins at 10:00 a.m. ET the following days. Unless it rains in Southern California in late-June, Dixon could do both. He could race, leave Fontana at 9:00 p.m. ET and be in Watkins Glen hours before the green flag and then run a stint to close out the six hours.

The other conflict involves two races at two different locations in the same day. IMSA and IndyCar both race on July 12, the former at Mosport, the latter at Milwaukee. However, what makes it possible is Milwaukee's ungodly late start time for a Sunday of 5:00 p.m. ET. Mosport begins just a little after noon that day. Dixon could run an opening stint, do enough to meet the criteria to score points, get out of the car and fly to Milwaukee for the IndyCar race.

IndyCar's nonsensical scheduling has opened the door for Scott Dixon to chase titles both in IndyCar and in Prototypes. Ganassi should scrap the Global Rallycross program and field another Prototype for Dixon with Marino Franchitti drafted in to be his co-driver and allow Dixon to chase history. It won't happen because Ganassi and many within motorsport lack the imagination for this to happen. If only these people realize the possibility and tried to chase down something that may never be accomplished again. 

Competing Nationalities

Last week during the Formula One season opener, I mentioned that Max Verstappen, was born in Belgium but races under the Dutch flag, the nationality of his father, and that I wish countries fought over driver nationalities like they do for soccer players.

In soccer, more and more players could represent multiple countries due to differences in birthplace, parent lineage and so on. Take a look at the U.S. National Team roster for the upcoming friendlies against Denmark and Switzerland. Aron Jóhansson was born in Mobile, Alabama to Icelandic parents. He could have represented either Iceland or the U.S. and choose the U.S. and made the World Cup roster last summer. There are a host of German-Americans on the roster. Fabian Johnson, Alfredo Morales and Danny Williams were born in Germany but fathers were American servicemen. Julian Green was born in Tampa, Florida but moved to Germany with his German mother after his parents separated when he was two years old. Greg Garza, Michael Orozco and Ventura Alvarado were all born in the United States but could also represent Mexico because of their parents. Meanwhile, goalkeeper William Yarbrough was born in Mexico to American parents who are missionaries.

The U.S. isn't the only country with many players that could represent many different countries but it got me thinking why don't we see more of this is motorsports. When I first saw the name Patricio O'Ward, I thought that could be anyone of six nationalities. I thought he could be Italian, Irish, American, Canadian, British, heck even Australian. Turns out the 15-year old O'Ward was born in Monterrey, Mexico but moved to the U.S. when he was six years old and attends Texas Military Institute.  O'Ward will compete in Pro Mazda this year for Team Pelfrey and previously competed in French Formula 4. To me, why couldn't he race under the American flag? What makes him any less American at the age of 15 than Mario Andretti at 15 years old, who had just arrived in the United States?

Would Mario Andretti be Mario Andretti if he raced under the Italian flag is entire career? Would he be as beloved by the fans? Things could have been drastically different had Andretti decided to race as an Italian instead of as an American. He might not have gotten the same opportunities that he ended up getting and who knows if his sons Michael and Jeff and if his grandson Marco would have racing careers if he decided to race as an Italian.

O'Ward isn't the only active driver with the possibility of racing other multiple nationalities. Charlie Kimball was born in the United Kingdom, Scott Dixon was born in Australia to New Zealand parents, Gabby Chaves was born in Colombian but his father is American and Chaves attended high school in Florida. Then you have the Brabham family. The famous, first family of Australian motorsports has international flavor. Matthew Brabham, son of Geoff Brabham was born in Boca Raton, Florida and earned the 2012 Team USA Scholarship to race in the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. Matt's cousin, Sam, son of David Brabham was born in Slough, England, races under the Union Jack and is competing for the chance to land a seat in the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year.

As an American, I would love for Matthew Brabham to race under the American flag and for O'Ward to race under the American flag but if they choose not to, they are doing it for themselves. Just because they choose to race under a different nationality doesn't make them bad people or even un-American. I do not envy anyone who has the chance to representation multiple nationalities. It's a difficult decision and I can only support whatever decision a person makes.

Winners From The Weekend

You know about the 12 Hours of Sebring but did you know...

Brad Keselowski won the NASCAR Cup race at Fontana. 

Jonathan Rea had a double at the World Superbike round from Thailand. 

Ratthapark Wilairot won the World Supersport race in his homeland. Kenan Sofuoglu finished second while American P.J. Jacobsen finished third. 

Eli Tomac won the Supercross race from Detroit.

Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis won Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race from Sebring. Greg Liefooghe and Eric Zimmerman won in the ST class. 

Kevin Harvick won the NASCAR Grand National race from Fontana.

Coming Up This Weekend

IndyCar opens their season at St. Petersburg.

All three Road to Indy series and Pirelli World Challenge will also compete at St. Petersburg.

MotoGP begins their 2015 season under the lights at Qatar.

Formula One has their second round of 2015, the Malaysian Grand Prix. 

V8 Superscars makes their trip annual trip to Tasmania and Symmons Plains Raceway.

NASCAR heads to Martinsville. 

Supercross heads to St. Louis.

2015 Verizon IndyCar Team-By-Team Preview: Dale Coyne Racing

This is the preview you have all been waiting for. One of four teams to win in each season of the DW12-era, Dale Coyne Racing returns with a Dream Team driver line-up. I am sorry. I just can't keep up the sarcasm. We all know this will be painful. Let's just get this over with.

2014 Dale Coyne Racing Review:
Wins: 1 (Houston 1).
Poles: 0
Best Start: 6th (Houston 2).
Final Championship Position: 15th (Justin Wilson), 20th (Carlos Huertas), 33rd (Pippa Mann).

2015 Drivers:

Carlos Huertas
The Colombian took a surprise victory in the wet at Houston 1 and became the first driver born in the 1990s to win in IndyCar. His car was found to have violated IndyCar's rulebook with an illegal fuel cell and illegal rear wing height in Houston 1. He finished eighth at Belle Isle 1 and tenth at Long Beach. Outside of those three races, Huertas averaged a finish of 17.8 in the other 15 races. His lone top ten starting position was tenth at Mid-Ohio. Huertas did complete all 200 laps on his Indianapolis 500 debut and finished 17th, the fourth-best of seven rookies.

Numbers to Remember: 2. Amount of times Huertas retired from a race due to illness. First at Iowa, then at Fontana.

18.058. Huertas' average starting position in 2014, the worst of all full-time drivers.

11. Finishes on the lead lap for Huertas in 2014, tied for tenth most with Sébastien Bourdais and Justin Wilson. He had more lead lap finishes than Ryan Hunter-Reay, James Hinchcliffe, Jack Hawksworth, Josef Newgarden, Charlie Kimball and Graham Rahal.

Predictions/Goals: Huertas needs to improve on ovals. He didn't seem comfortable on them and it showed at Fontana. While never being the man to beat at any race or session, Huertas run competent times and brought the car home in one piece. You can't rule him out for getting a top ten finish or two but don't hold your breath on him winning a race in 2015. A top ten finish or two won't be enough for Huertas to break into the top fifteen of the championship let along the top ten. Expect him to finish in the cellar once again.

Francesco Dracone
The 31-year old Italian returns to IndyCar just four years after his last appearance in IndyCar driving for Conquest Racing. Dracone has been signed on for the first four races of the 2015 season. He spent the last four seasons running in Auto GP.

Numbers to Remember: 106. Dracone has made 106 starts over his 13-year career between Italian Formula Three, Euroseries 3000/Auto GP, Superstars Series and IndyCar.

2. Dracone made two IndyCar starts in 2010 driving for Conquest Racing.

21. Dracone's average finish in his two IndyCar starts. He finished 22nd at Mid-Ohio and 20th at Sonoma.

0. Victories in Dracone's 13-year career.

0. Pole positions in Dracone's 13-year career.

0. Podiums in Dracone's 13-year career.

0. Fastest laps in Dracone's 13-year career.

2.83. As in 2.83%. The percentage of races Dracone has finished in the top five. Just to be clear, that's three top fives out of 106 starts.

5. Dracone's best finish in his career is 5th.

1988. Amount of days between Dracone's last top five finish and St. Petersburg. He finished fifth at Monza in Euroseries 3000 on October 18, 2009.

Predictions/Goals: I don't expect Dracone's four races to be pretty but he might break the top twenty if he stays out of harms way, keeps the car out of the barriers and a handful of drivers retire after contact or mechanical failures.

A few Thanksgivings ago my brother came to dinner with a woman no one in my family had ever met. She walked in with a beer in hand, already halfway through the bottle. She proceeded to talk about every inappropriate topic, continue to get hammered and ultimately fell asleep in my parent's basement. All I could do was look at my brother and think to myself, "what was he thinking?" Dale Coyne reminds me a lot of my brother. Every time he accepts a check from a driver of this caliber, what is he thinking? To be fair, Coyne and IndyCar as a whole has done a great job of not giving clearly under qualified drivers rides in the DW-12 era but just two years ago Justin Wilson finished sixth in the championship and Mike Conway won a race for Coyne. This is a team that can compete with the big boys but not with the set of drivers who are currently renting seats from DCR.

IndyCar needs to work with the teams to make sure the likes of Justin Wilson, Conor Daly, Ryan Briscoe, Oriol Servià, James Davison, Davide Valsecchi, Jean-Éric Vergne and Dean Stoneman all get seats over the likes of Francesco Dracone. When you have 32-40 drivers trying to fill 22-24 full-time seats, IndyCar needs to make sure they get as close to the best 22-24 drivers available. IndyCar has been too hands off in with whom the teams hire. If money is the only difference between Justin Wilson being on the grid and Francesco Dracone on the grid, IndyCar needs to get involved and not fund the ride out of their own pockets but work to get Coyne an actual sponsor to put their decals all over the car. It's a win-win-win. Dale Coyne gets money to run a team. Dale Coyne can now hire a respectable driver such as Justin Wilson. IndyCar gets to keep a quality driver on the grid and another sponsor in the sport, which they can form a partnership with.

The 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series seasons gets underway on Sunday March 29th. ABC's coverage will begin at 3:00 p.m. ET with green flag at 3:30 p.m. ET.

2015 Verizon IndyCar Team-By-Team Preview: Andretti Autosport

Andretti Autosport is the leading Honda team heading into the 2015 season. Three drivers return for 2015 as the defending Indianapolis 500 winning team looks for their fourth victory in that event and fifth championship. Ryan Hunter-Reay will lead the way with Carlos Muñoz and Marco Andretti being the other holdovers from 2014. Entered for at least St. Petersburg is Simona de Silvestro as the team explores a fourth car with a driver rotation and possibly even a fifth car.

2014 Andretti Autosport Review:
Wins: 3 (Barber, Indianapolis 500, Iowa).
Poles: 1 (Long Beach)
Final Championship Position: 6th (Ryan Hunter-Reay), 8th (Carlos Muñoz), 9th (Marco Andretti), 12th (James Hinchcliffe), 25th (Kurt Busch), 36th (Franck Montagny).

2015 Drivers:

Ryan Hunter-Reay
Coming off his Indianapolis 500 victory, Ryan Hunter-Reay is the leading horse out of the Honda stables. His championship hopes in 2014 were dashed with a few poor races, some of his own doing (Long Beach, Belle Isle 1 & 2, Fontana), others because of mechanical failures (Texas, Milwaukee). He finished just two points outside the top five but improved from his seventh place finish in 2013.

Numbers to Remember: 5. Hunter-Reay has finished in the top ten of the championship 5 consecutive seasons.

6. Hunter-Reay is 6 starts away from career start 175.

19. Hunter-Reay is 19th in IndyCar victories amongst American drivers.

Predictions/Goals: Depending on aero kits, Hunter-Reay should get a victory or two and could be a championship contention but he has to limit the amount of mistakes. At the same time, Andretti Autosport has to limit the amount of mechanical issues. In the DW12-era, Andretti Autosport has had far more mechanical failures take their cars out of races than the likes of Penske and Ganassi. Since winning at Toronto in 2012, he has struggled on the street circuit, granted the last two years Toronto has been a doubleheader. Hunter-Reay has another shot at the Indianapolis 500 victory; a championship and improving at Toronto should be his goals for 2015.

Carlos Muñoz
The Colombian won the 2014 IndyCar Rookie of the Year and finished head and shoulders above his fellow class of 2014 alumni. Although Carlos Muñoz did not lead a lap in 2014 but had three podiums with another great run at the Indianapolis 500. Muñoz did have his fair share of rookie mistakes (Houston 2 and Milwaukee) but he showed that those few starts he made in 2013 were not a fluke.

Numbers to Remember: 1. Muñoz made one Firestone Fast Six appearance in 2014.

4. Muñoz has four top ten finishes in five 500-mile race starts.

2. Only two of the six Rookie of the Years since reunification have gone on to win an IndyCar race. They are James Hinchcliffe and Simon Pagenaud.

Predictions/Goals: Muñoz should be going after his first career victory. He had plenty of good results, now he needs to show that he has what it takes to be a race winner. Should he start all 16 races, Muñoz will have made 37 starts in his career. The Colombian is only 23 years old but getting that first victory is crucial. He should aim to stay in the top ten of the championship and cement himself as Andertti Autosport's number two driver.

Marco Andretti
The third-generation driver started off the season with two podiums from the first five races and was fifth in points but Marco Andretti slowly slid down the championship standings. While amassing nine top tens from 18 races, Andretti's final podium and top five finish was third in the Indianapolis 500. He had three eighth-place finishes, two ninths and a tenth in the final thirteen races. While he did manage to finished ninth in the championship, his seventh finish in the top ten of the championship in nine seasons, he finished 20 points behind Muñoz.

Numbers to Remember: 12.66. Andretti's average finish on ovals in 2014.

5. Andretti has at least one podium in five consecutive seasons.

60. Andretti has made 60 starts since his last victory at Iowa in 2011.

77. Andretti went 77 races between his first career victory at Sonoma in 2006 and Iowa 2011. That is the second most starts between victories. Johnny Rutherford holds the record at 97 starts.

3. Only three times has a driver gone more than 60 starts between victories. You know about Rutherford and Marco Andretti. Mario Andertti is the other. He went 74 starts between victories (Cleveland 1988 and Phoenix 1993). The next most starts between victories is 59 by Jim McElreath from Phoenix 1 1966 and Ontario 1970.

Predictions/Goals: Despite what people think of Marco Andretti, he has talent and can consistently finish in the top ten but if he wants to become a championship contender he will need to consistently finish on the podium or top five and pick up a handful of victories. His best chances at victories are on ovals but with the lack of oval races, I don't see him ending his victory drought. A podium or two is possible and he should be on the edge of the top ten of the championship for another season.

Simona de Silvestro
She's back! After a sabbatical to pursue her Formula One dream, Simona de Silvestro will return to IndyCar, however, she is only slated to compete at St. Petersburg but more races could follow. The Swiss driver ran four seasons in IndyCar, three with HVM Racing. Her final season was with KV Racing Technology. In her 2013 season, de Silvestro finished a career-high 13th in the championship, scored her first career podium at Houston 2, scored her first career top ten on an oval at Fontana and finished with a career-highs in top fives (2) and top tens (9) in a season.

Numbers to Remember: 526. Amount of days between de Silvestro's last IndyCar start (Fontana 2013) and St. Petersburg.

12.5. De Silvestro's average finish in four St. Petersburg starts.

5. De Silvestro's average finish in St. Petersburg races held in an odd-numbered year is 5th. She finished 4th in 2011 and 6th in 2013.

5. Amount of consecutive top ten finishes de Silvestro has in IndyCar.

5. Amount of laps led in de Silvestro's IndyCar career.

1302. Amount of days between the last race de Silvestro's led a lap in (Baltimore 2011) and St. Petersburg.

Predictions/Goals: Her goal is similar to Sage Karam's. Win St. Petersburg and make it difficult for any sponsor and Michael Andretti not to support her for a full season.

The 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series seasons gets underway on Sunday March 29th. ABC's coverage will begin at 3:00 p.m. ET with green flag at 3:30 p.m. ET.

2015 Verizon IndyCar Team-By-Team Preview: KV Racing Technology

It was a tale of two seasons for KV Racing Technology in 2014. While Sébastien Bourdais had a respectable season and finished in the top ten in the championship for the first time since his 2007 championship, Sebastián Saavedra had a typical Sebastián Saavedra season with plenty of retirements putting him solidly in the basement. Bourdais returns but Saavedra will not as the team has drafted in a man from a principality.

2014 KV Racing Technology Review:
Wins: 1 (Toronto 1).
Poles: 3 (IMS Road Course, Toronto 1, Mid-Ohio).
Final Championship Position: 10th (Sébastien Bourdais), 21st (Sebastián Saavedra).

2015 Drivers:

Sébastien Bourdais
The four-time champion Sébastien Bourdais had his best season since returning to full-time IndyCar competition but still left a lot of room to improve on the table. While winning in dominating fashion at Toronto, he had another great run at Mid-Ohio only to have Scott Dixon's amazing fuel conservation run keep him from victory. The Frenchman also had good races at Indianapolis and Houston. Bourdais did have a few slumps over the course of the season. Outside of the Indianapolis 500, Bourdais' best oval finish was 12th at Milwaukee.

Numbers to Remember: 54.54. Bourdais has won 54.54% of the races he has started on pole position (18 out of 33).

8. Bourdais is 8th all-time in IndyCar victories, second amongst active drivers behind just Scott Dixon. With 32 victories, Bourdais trails Al Unser, Jr. for 7th all-time and is three back of Dixon and Bobby Unser for fifth all-time.

12. Bourdais is 12 starts away from passing George Snider for 50th all-time in IndyCar starts.

Predictions/Goals: We know Bourdais is fast enough to win races but to get himself back into championship contention he is going to have to be more consistently in the top five. A few races he found himself in the tires or just wasn't a factor and sat solidly in the middle of the pack. He has done well at Indianapolis but needs to improve on the other five ovals. Another finish in the top ten in the championship is absolutely possible with a chance at the top five if he is consistently finishing in the top ten this season.

Stefano Coletti
Hailing from Monaco, Stefano Coletti has been the third rookie confirmed to run majority of the season. The Monegasque driver raced in GP2 the last four seasons. He ran in Formula Three Euro Series, GP3 and Formula Renault 3.5 previously in his career. In 86 GP2 starts, Coletti won seven races, had 15 podiums, one pole and 11 fastest laps and finished fifth and sixth the last two years in the championship.

Numbers to Remember: 30,984. Amount of days between IndyCar races that featured a Monegasque driver. Louis Chiron ran the 1929 Indianapolis 500, his only IndyCar start. Chiron started 14th, finished 7th and completed all 200 laps.

15. Coletti is set to become the 15th different driver to make a start in both IndyCar and GP2. This does not include Scott Speed, who failed to qualify for the 2011 Indianapolis 500, the only time he has attempted an IndyCar race.

3. The fourteen previous drivers to have made starts both IndyCar and GP2 have combined to win three races, all at the hands of Mike Conway.

Predictions/Goals: Let's start with the bad news with the Coletti hire and it has nothing to do with him as a driver: You know the ABC broadcasters are going to shove down our throats the fact that Coletti is from Monaco the same way they shove Charlie Kimball's diabetes and Hélio Castroneves' Dancing with the Stars title down our throats. They hear one thing about a driver and then running six feet deep into the ground. I am sure there is more to him than his nationality. Maybe they should take their time to talk to him and learn about whom he is and what he is thinking as a driver.

On track I think Coletti will be the surprise of the season. I will put him as the favorite for Rookie of the Year as currently he and Gabby Chaves are the only two confirmed for the full-season (Luca Filippi will run 10 races and Sage Karam is only confirmed for St. Petersburg but his program might be expanded to more races). He has never run an oval but he will learn to love ovals. Expect a few top fives and top tens and Coletti can easily crack the top fifteen of the championship.

The 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series seasons gets underway on Sunday March 29th. ABC's coverage will begin at 3:00 p.m. ET with green flag at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Musings From the Weekend: IndyCar's Pit Bull

We are less than a week away from spring and everyone is out of hibernation. Formula One just got going from Australia, IndyCar teams are testing the new aero kits, NASCAR is four weeks in to their season and sports cars racing has had a plethora of endurance races already. All we are waiting on are MotoGP and Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters but there are plenty of motorsports options available. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.

Ovals: IndyCar's Pit Bull
Formula E was in Miami this weekend and in an article by Motorsport.com's Nick DeGroot drivers Scott Speed and Bruno Senna voiced their hesitation about running IndyCar due to oval races.

They are each entitled to their own opinion but I feel as if they are not properly versed. Senna has never run an oval and Speed's only IndyCar appearance on an oval was when he attempted to qualify for the 2011 Indianapolis 500. I feel they are making generalization on IndyCar running ovals just on a few events that happened in the not so distant past, such as the death of Dan Wheldon and the decision by Mike Conway to walk away from ovals.

While Conway has decided to step away from ovals, he did make 22 oval starts and had a few big accidents, one that ended his 2010 season prematurely. He gave ovals a fair shake and after all that he went through he decided that ovals were for him and I understand that. Plus, it's probably the best decision he has made in his career as it allowed him to focus on road courses, opened the door to a sports car career for him, which has landed him a factory Toyota ride in LMP1 and allowed him to still run IndyCar road/street courses races where he won three races since deciding not to run ovals.

For Senna and Speed, I think they need to give ovals more of an opportunity before they can completely write them off. The death of Dan Wheldon is still fresh in everyone's mind but they have to realize that IndyCar has changed. The "Death Race 2000" type of racing that we saw on mile-and-a-half tracks is gone. The other misconception is that they believe all ovals are the same but they are not. Short tracks run completely different than the bigger ovals. Maybe if they actually drove at Milwaukee or Iowa and got to experience it, they would change their tune.

There are still improvements that need to be made on ovals. Mikhail Aleshin's nasty shunt at Fontana is a reminder that catch fences need to be improved so cars don't get shredded like cheddar on a cheese grater. However, tracks won't change the current catch fences if drivers just decide not to run them anymore. That's likes if people read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and decided just to become vegetarians instead of improving the meatpacking industry in the 1910s.

IndyCars on ovals are like pit bulls. A lot of people will comments about how they would never own one and say that they are bred to fight and are dangerous to humans but that's not entirely true and most are basing their opinion off never having been around a pit bull in real life. If a pit bull isn't trained properly than it could lead to that stereotypical image but if an owner spends their time properly training the dog, a pit bull can be a fine household pet. However, people create their image of pit bulls based off the few bad stories we hear once in a while from the media.

We could easy start painting road and street courses as extremely dangerous just off recent incidents such as Jules Bianchi at Suzuka, Dario Franchitti at Houston and Allan Simonsen at Le Mans but we all know those three incidents aren't an accurate portrayal of all road/street circuit races the same way Aleshin, Conway and Wheldon aren't an accurate portrayal of all oval races. I would really like drivers to give ovals a chance before commenting and, if there are safety concerns, I would rather have drivers unite and work on improving safety measures than just deciding to never run ovals altogether.

Formula One Number Fun
The great thing about Formula One allowing the drivers to pick their numbers is we are seeing numbers that haven't been used in decades on the grid.

For example, Roberto Merhi picked #98. The last time the #98 ran a Formula One race was the 1960 Indianapolis 500 with Lloyd Ruby behind the wheel. In fact, the Indianapolis 500 is the only Formula One race the #98 has appeared in. Should Merhi ever get a chance to drive for Manor this year, it will be the first time the #98 has been used in a Formula One road/street course race and first time the #98 has been used outside the United States.

Max Verstappen chose #33. The #33 has led once in the history of Formula One and like Merhi, it ties back to the Indianapolis 500. The only time the #33 led was the 1958 Indianapolis 500 when Tony Bettenhausen led 24 laps before finishing fourth. By the way, that 1958 Indianapolis 500 was the first of 35 for one Anthony Joseph Foyt from Houston, Texas.

The #33 has finished on the podium twice. Argentine Onofre Marimón finished third in the 1954 British Grand Prix and Mike Hailwood finished third in the 1974 South African Grand Prix.

Verstappen's Scuderia Toro Rosso teammate Carlos Sainz, Jr. chose #55. This past Australian Grand Prix was the tenth time the #55 made a Formula One start, the first since Jean-Pierre Jarier in the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix. Jarier started from pole that day and led 49 laps but retired from the lead. Like the #33, it's the only time the #55 has led a Formula One race.

Sainz, Jr.'s ninth place finish at Melbourne is the first time the #55 has scored points but it's not the best finish for the #55 in a Formula One race. Mario Andretti finished seventh in the 1974 Canadian Grand Prix but only the top six scored points at that time.

To bring this full circle back to Manor, Will Stevens selected #28, which has not made a Formula One start since the 1995 Australian Grand Prix when Gerhard Berger retired in his final race with Ferrari. Berger is the last driver to win using the #28. He won the 1994 German Grand Prix from pole. Other drivers to win in car #28 are Sterling Moss, Tony Brooks, John Watson, Clay Regazzoni, Carlos Reutemann, Didier Pironi and René Arnoux.

Winners From The Weekend
You know about Lewis Hamilton but did you know...

Kevin Harvick won the NASCAR Cup race from Phoenix, his second consecutive victory.

Nicolas Prost won the Formula E round from Miami, the fifth different winner from five races.

Ryan Dungey won the Supercross race from Indianapolis.

Joey Logano won the NASCAR Grand National race from Phoenix.

Coming Up This Weekend
The 63rd 12 Hours of Sebring.
NASCAR runs the final race of their western swing at Fontana.
World Superbike makes their Thailand debut.
AMA Supercross heads to Detroit.

2015 Verizon IndyCar Team-By-Team Preview: Chip Ganassi Racing

Chip Ganassi Racing was not able to retain the Astor Cup in 2014 after starting slow and not winning until August. However, it was not a bad season. Scott Dixon did what he normally does, win at Mid-Ohio and finish in the top three of the championship. Tony Kanaan started slow in his first season with Ganassi but made great strides over the summer and broke through into victory lane at Fontana. Ryan Briscoe was consistent and Charlie Kimball was consistently crap in qualifying but likely he is a great passer and Kimball and Briscoe ended up tied for fifth in top tens in 2014.

2014 Chip Ganassi Racing Review:
Wins: 3 (Mid-Ohio, Sonoma, Fontana).
Poles: 1 (Iowa).
Final Championship Position: 3rd (Scott Dixon), 7th (Tony Kanaan), 11th (Ryan Briscoe), 14th (Charlie Kimball).

2015 Drivers:

Scott Dixon
The Kiwi wasn't able to defend his title but put up a late charge in hopes of retaining the Astor Cup. The first two months of his season were marred by top five finishes being followed by finishes outside the top ten. His month of May ended in a turn four accident while in contention for his second Indianapolis 500 victory. Outside of Belle Isle 1 and Houston, Dixon's worst finish was seventh at Toronto 2 and that was his lone finish outside the top five in the final eight races. That Toronto 2 finish was Dixon's only top ten finish that was not in the top five. Along with his annual victory at Mid-Ohio, Dixon was able to get redemption at Sonoma after a pit lane penalty cost him in Wine Country in 2013 and he finished second in the Fontana season finale.

Number to Remember: 9. Consecutive seasons Dixon has finished in the top four of the championship.

8. Consecutive seasons Dixon has finished in the top three of the championship.

35. Career wins for Dixon. He is tied for fifth all-time with Bobby Unser.

4. Amount of wins trails Al Unser by for fourth all-time.

11. Top fives for Dixon in 2014. Most of any driver. Three more than Will Power, Simon Pagenaud and Juan Pablo Montoya who were tied for second most.

10. Consecutive seasons with a victory for Dixon. Should he win a race in 2015, Dixon will become the fourth driver to win a race in 11 consecutive seasons joining Bobby Unser, Emerson Fittipaldi and Hélio Castroneves. No driver has won a race in more than 11 consecutive seasons.

Predictions/Goals: Dixon should be a championship contender barring the aero kit letting him down. There is nothing Dixon has to improve on. He will likely have 2-4 victories, approach finishing half the races in the top five and pick up a pole position or two. He will surely break the Foyt-Andretti-Unser stranglehold on the top five in all-time IndyCar victories and could even put Al Unser behind him leaving just two Andrettis in his way of Foyt.

Tony Kanaan
Kanaan was consistent through the first half of the 2014 season but unfortunately it was in the back half of the top ten as he had just one top five (a third in Belle Isle 1) through the entire first half of the season. He came on strong in the second half. After missing on pit strategy cost him a podium if not victory at Pocono, Kanaan reeled off three consecutive podiums. He dominated at Iowa, leading 247 of 300 laps but was a sitting duck as Ryan Hunter-Reay and Josef Newgarden diced through the field after taking fresh tires before the final restart with ten to go. A first corner accident at Mid-Ohio was his only major blemish in the second half of 2014 and he ended his season with a cherry in a victory at Fontana, leading a Ganassi 1-2.

Number to Remember: 6. Tony Kanaan is six starts way from making his 300th career IndyCar start. Should everything go to plan, Kanaan's 300th start will come at the 99th Indianapolis 500, just two weeks after Hélio Castroneves makes his 300th start in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. He would become the eighth driver to reach the 300 starts plateau.

407. Laps led by Kanaan in 2014.

3. Laps led by Kanaan on road courses in 2014. All three came at Sonoma.

2. Two of Kanaan's 17 career victories have come on road/street courses.

2,765: Amount of days between Kanaan's last road/street course victory (Belle Isle 9/2/2007) and St. Petersburg

Predictions/Goals: Kanaan is 40 years old and on the back nine of his career. If he wants another shot at a title he will have to improve on road and street courses. While three of his six podiums were on street courses, the Brazilian hasn't won on a road/street course race in the post-reunification era and 2007 was the last season in which he had a shot at a title entering the final race. That was also the last season in which Kanaan won multiple races in a season. Kanaan should be able to get a victory and he will end up comfortably between sixth and tenth in the championship.

Charlie Kimball
If Charlie Kimball averaged a starting position within the top ten, the Californian would have been a championship contender in 2014. Kimball found himself on the back half of the starting grid in 14 of 18 races in 2014 but scored ten top tens. Nobody passed more drivers than Kimball did in 2014 but those he could only do so much from those poor starting positions and ended up 14th in the championship.

Number to Remember: 16.411. Kimball's average starting position in 2014.

1- Kimball made it to the Fast Twelve just once out of nine opportunities. His lone appearance in round two of road course qualifying came at the final road course race at Sonoma.

15- Kimball was running at the finish in 15 of 18 races in 2014.

Predictions/Goals: Kimball has to improve in qualifying. He can bring the car home in one piece and we saw what he has the capability of doing in 2013 after scoring a victory at Mid-Ohio and finishing ninth in the championship. A victory wouldn't surprise me but with the unknown of aero kits Kimball's season should see him get a fair amount of top tens with the occasional podium as he will be on the edge of the top ten.

Sage Karam
So far only St. Petersburg has been confirmed for Sage Karam but the man who turned 20 years old just a week ago is ready for a full season. The 2013 Indy Lights champion only competed in the Indianapolis 500 in 2014 and it was a stellar performance. After starting on the inside of row elven and tapping the wall on Carb Day, Karam went to from the back to the front before falling to the back again and make one final charge to ninth, the second-best rookie behind only Kurt Busch in sixth.

Number to Remember: 17- Karam won 17 of 52 starts in his four seasons in the Road to Indy ladder system. Nine of those victories came in his 2010 U.S. F2000 championship-winning season.

5.6- Karam's average finish at St. Petersburg in five Road to Indy starts.

22 and 80. The age in years and days of Troy Ruttman when he won the 1952 Indianapolis 500 driving for J.C. Agajanian. Ruttman is still the youngest winner in Indianapolis 500 history. Karam will be 20 years and 79 days old the day of the 99th Indianapolis 500.

Predictions/Goals: While only St. Petersburg has been confirmed, Karam will likely also be at Indianapolis. The goal should be to convince GE or some other corporation to fund him for the full season. On the track his goal should be to win St. Petersburg to make it difficult for GE or any other corporation to say no to sponsoring him and then win the Indianapolis 500 to make it near impossible for anyone to say no.

The 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series seasons gets underway on Sunday March 29th. ABC's coverage will begin at 3:00 p.m. ET with green flag at 3:30 p.m. ET.

2015 Verizon IndyCar Team-By-Team Preview: Team Penske

Fresh off their first title in eight years, Team Penske looks to win back-to-back title for the first time since 2000-01. Will Power will carry the #1 on his Verizon Chevrolet as he defends his title. Juan Pablo Montoya returns for his second season with the team. Hélio Castroneves is on the brink of making history in his 18th season in IndyCar and 16th with The Captain. Joining the three-headed monster from Schmidt Peterson Motorsports is Simon Pagenaud as the Frenchman is in search of silverware of his own.

2014 Team Penske Review:
Wins: 5 (St. Petersburg, Belle Isle 1 & 2, Pocono, Milwaukee).
Poles: 8 (Barber, Belle Isle 1, Texas, Houston 2, Pocono, Milwaukee, Sonoma, Fontana).
Final Championship Position: 1st (Will Power), 2nd (Helio Castroneves), 4th (Juan Pablo Montoya), 5th (Simon Pagenaud).

2015 Drivers:

Will Power
The Australian finally broke through in 2014. While three victories are below average for Power, he completed all but one of the 2,395 laps run in 2014. Power led IndyCar in 2014 in victories (3, tied with Hunter-Reay for most), podiums (7), top tens (15), poles (4), Fast Six appearances (6, tied with Hunter-Reay for most), races led (11), laps led (623) and average finish (6.44). In the categories Power did lead he was at the top of as he was tied for the second most top fives (8. Scott Dixon had 11), had two fastest laps only one behind Pagenaud, Castroneves and Josef Newgarden for the lead and was second in average start (7.64. Castroneves was 6.05).

Numbers to Remember: 4921. Amount of days between Team Penske's last victory with car #1 and St. Petersburg. That victory came on October 7, 2001 at Houston with Gil de Ferran.

16. Power is currently tied for 16th on the all-time IndyCar win list with Ted Horn and Bobby Rahal at 24 career victories.

4. Since being a full-time Penske driver in 2010, Power averages four victories a season.

Predictions/Goals: Everybody believes the floodgates have opened now that Power got his first title. On sheer talent, Power will be a championship contender once again but it will all come down to the difference in aero kits. If Honda comes out and scorches Chevrolet, it could be a long title defense for Power. If Chevrolet continues their dominance of Honda, you can pretty much pencil Power in for being in contention when the series gets to Sonoma. Winning an Indianapolis 500 will put Power in Roger Penske's good graces for eternity and I bet that is on top of Power's list of things to do in 2015 now that he has a title.

Hélio Castroneves
For the second consecutive season, Castroneves finished runner-up in the IndyCar championship and he did it with only one victory to his name. Consistency has kept Castroneves in the fight the last three seasons as he has 38 top tens in the 52 races in the DW12-era. However, since 2012 Castroneves has only 13 podiums compared to Ryan Hunter-Reay's 18, Power's 17 and Scott Dixon's 16 in the same time period. He won at Belle Isle and was within 0.060 seconds of his fourth Indianapolis 500 victory.

Numbers to Remember: 5. Hélio Castroneves is five starts away from his 300th career IndyCar start. He would become the seventh IndyCar driver to reach the 300-start milestone joining Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Jr., Al Unser, Michael Andretti and Johnny Rutherford. The Grand Prix of Indianapolis is tentatively set to be Castroneves' 300th IndyCar start.

1.7. Average amount of victories per season for Castroneves.

5. Castroneves ended 2014 with five consecutive finishes outside the top ten after entering the final five races as the championship leader. This is Castroneves' longest stretch of race with out a top ten since 1999-2000 when he finished the final four races of 1999 (Laguna Seca, Houston, Surfers Paradise, Fontana) and 2000 season opener (Homestead) outside the top ten. Twice has Castroneves gone longer than five races between top tens. In 1999, Castroneves had a slump of six races finishing outside the top ten (Milwaukee, Portland, Cleveland, Road America, Toronto and Michigan) and in his rookie season back in 1998, the Brazilian had seven consecutive finishes outside the ten (Michigan, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Vancouver, Laguna Seca, Houston and Surfers Paradise).

Predictions/Goals: This is a defining season for Castroneves. He has been in championship contention the last two seasons by doing the bare minimum. With another teammate, resources will be spread just a little thinner. The last time a driver won an IndyCar title with only one victory or fewer was the inaugural IRL season when Buzz Calkins and Scott Sharp were co-champions. Calkins had one victory and Sharp went winless that year. Expect Castroneves to take a step back in 2015 as Castroneves is set to turn forty on May 10th.

Juan Pablo Montoya
After almost 14 years away from IndyCar, Juan Pablo Montoya returned and it felt as if he Colombian never left. He did struggle on road and street courses at the start but was the best on ovals with a victory from pole position at Pocono be the highlight to his season. He was one of the best drivers on fuel mileage in 2014 and it nearly paid off at the Indianapolis 500 only to have a pit lane speeding penalty end his chance to go 2-for-2 in his Indianapolis 500 starts.

Numbers to Remember: 13.8. Montoya's average finish on street courses. That is improved from 15.5 when he started the 2014 season.

342. Amount of points Montoya scored on ovals in 2014, the most of any driver.

244. Amount of points Montoya scored on road/street courses in 2014, 12th most.

Predictions/Goals: Road and street courses are one area the Colombian clearly has to improve on if he hopes to win the title. He has ovals down pat and should be a contender in all six on the 2015 schedule. While, Montoya should have a fair amount of success and score at least one victory, he won't be in contention for the championship. He should be on the fringe of the top five of the championship.

Simon Pagenaud
After three seasons with Schmidt Peterson and Honda, Simon Pagenaud has jumped ship to Penske and Chevrolet. Since returning to IndyCar in 2012, the Frenchman has finished in the top five of the championship each season. He has also won two races the last two seasons and he scored his first career pole at Houston 1 last year. Pagenaud was the top finishing Honda driver in 2014. This is the second consecutive year in which Honda has lost their top-finishing driver in the championship from the year before. In 2014, Honda lost Scott Dixon to Chevrolet after they won the title in 2013.

Numbers to Remember: 17,444. The amount of days between the last IndyCar victory for car #22 and St. Petersburg. The last victory for the #22 was Wes Vandervoort on June 25, 1967 at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. It was the only victory of Vandervoort's IndyCar career.

6. Total victories for the #22 in IndyCar with six different drivers.

0. Amount of times Pagenaud has scored consecutive podiums in IndyCar.

Predictions/Goals: Just like Castroneves, this is a defining season for Pagenaud. After running so well for Schmidt Peterson, a team in terms of funding and resources far behind the likes of Penske and Ganassi, Pagenaud now has all he needs to make that next step and win a championship. There are no excuses as to why he shouldn't win a title. Pagenaud has eight top tens in 17 ovals starts but that is one area in which he will need to improve if he hopes to dethrone Power. His should be in the thick all the way to Sonoma.

The 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series seasons gets underway on Sunday March 29th. ABC's coverage will begin at 3:00 p.m. ET with green flag at 3:30 p.m. ET.