Where we ended off in 2015
10 teams
39 drivers (19 fulltime/14 partime/subs, 6 Indy Only)
16* races at 15 venues (*one dbl header in Detroit)
Champion: Scott Dixon
ROTY: Gabby Chaves
Last season could be split into 3 sections (actually, most season can) Pre-Indy, Indy, Post Indy.
Pre-Indy: A very rocky, lop-sided start to the season with the as yet untried and barely tested aero-kits, which saw Chevy dominating, Honda struggling, yellow flags and parts flying everywhere, and replacement parts becoming a commodity.
Indy: Flying cars and compromises.
Post-Indy: Things levelled out once the focus came back to the remainder of the ICS season. Honda made some changes and their teams slowly became competitive, though not quite competitive enough as Chevy still walked away with the Championship.
Where we are so far in 2016
9 teams
20 Full time drivers (*so far)
16* races at 15 venues (*one dbl header in Detroit)
Racing continues to fly so far under the radar in the mainstream it might as well be subterranean. Not just IndyCar either, but all genres.
Out of sight, out of mind in a world dominated by stick and ball sports and election coverage.
With IndyCar out of sight since last summer (yes, you read that right) it's like starting fresh again as we ramp up for the season.
Schedule:
We say goodbye to some old friends, reunite with others, and welcome the new kid on the block… maybe… hopefully.
Kicking off in March in St. Petes, and ending at the end (!) of September in Sonoma.
Click here for full schedule: http://www.indycar.com/Schedule
Indy 500:
With this being the 100th Running of the lauded race, it's no surprise that this has been, is, and will be the main focus of everyone at 16th and Georgetown, at least until May.
The news and announcements and events are constant, and started before the haulers packed up and left the grounds last May. The hype will only ramp up the closer we get, so for our sanity and yours we will be devoting special, weekly, separate attention leading up to the big event. (not like we'll have a choice)
Silly Season:
The silliest part of the season so far is that we already know who is driving for Dale Coyne Racing. Yes, you read that right. This isn't an alternate universe, or an episode of Punked. We already know who will be rolling to the grid in St.Petes, at least in one of the Coyne cars. (congrats Conor Daly!)
As usual, there are far more available and eager drivers than teams and cars to accommodate them, though with everyone's focus on running the 500, and gathering funding for that (a more economical prospect for smaller teams and seatless drivers) don't expect to see much scrambling to secure a full-time seat from the outliers.
The economy continues to wreak havoc on sponsorship, though there are conflicting reports from some drivers that sponsor interest is high. Again, there are not many seats to be had at this point anyway unless another team pops up. This seems highly doubtful as we've seen two teams affected by a lack of sponsorship. The most glaring example happening when it was announced that Wink Hartman was pulling out of his partnership with Carpenter/Fisher/Hartman Racing. The fallout from that returns the team to "Ed Carpenter Racing", and see's Sarah Fisher on the sidelines looking in. It could have been worse of course, and everyone is breathing a sigh of relief that Josef Newgarden still has a seat from which to hone his craft and showcase his talent to the bigger teams, who really need to be courting this kid NOW to get him into a proper seat in 2017.
This past month we saw a merger of BHA and Andretti Autosports, with BHA becoming the "fourth" car. This means, one team down, and one seat gone. With Alexander Rossi announced for that fourth seat for the full season (the fourth seat was filled with rotating drivers last year at AA) Gabby Chaves finds himself with very few options, and no team to go back to, which is a crying shame. Earning nothing but praise from his team and fellow grid mates in 2015, the 2014 Indy Lights Champion, and 2015 IndyCar ROTY is on the outside looking in suddenly sidelined just weeks from the season opener.
What to expect this season:
Expect both manufacturers and all teams to be competitive out of the gate, unlike last season when the first handful of races were essentially wasted trying to figure out the very late to the plate aero kits and how to keep them attached to the cars, teams have had the winter to tweak and test these elements. Expect a strong, competitive field right out of the gate in St. Petes. (at least that's how it better play out, or there will be a lot of grumbling all around)
Coming up in the next week we take a closer look at the teams & drivers, Venues, changes to the engine and aero packages, Rulebooks and the folks newly knighted to enforce them, the state of the Indy 500 so far, and of course a preview of the first race of the season.
Welcome back IndyCar fans! Let's wave the flag and get 2016 started.
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