IndyCar offseason blues
A handful of the news and events that you can look forward to heading into the IndyCar and racing off season.
( palabras)
That time of year has once again come. The fall months have arrived and with that, majority of the major racing series have closed doors on the season of 2018 to make way for the new 2019 season. While there are fun things to look forward to in the off season such as the holidays and spending time with loved ones, there is a lot of down time to be sitting there saying "Where are they racing this weekend? Oh yeah that's right" .
Luckily there are quite a few things already to look forward to coming in 2019 and it is only November. Let's look at some of the things that are confirmed for 2019.
Marcus Ericsson coming to IndyCar for 2019:
At the end of October it was announced that Schmidt Peterson Motorsports would again be fielding 2 full-time IndyCar entries for 2019 with not only James Hinchcliffe as the number 5 driver, but F1 Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson driving the number 7 Honda Dallara. Ericsson will takeover for the injured Robert Wickens at SPM and will be driving on ovals for the first time in his career with his first beng Indianapolis. He is looking forward to the challenge.
COTA and Laguna Seca being added to the IndyCar schedule:
Circuit of the Americas has been only been around for 6 years but it has quickly become one the top circuits in the country. Built specifically with F1 intentions, they have added different racing series over such as IMSA and Pirelli World Challenge. Now you can IndyCar to that list. It is going to be interesting to see what IndyCar's can do around a track that is about twice as long as some of the other circuits the series attends. And Laguna Seca is an absolute crown jewel that was missing from the scheudule for years. The twisty and winding curves through the hills of Monterrey, California and the world famous corkscrew turn have provided some fond racing memories and 2019 is ready to make way for some more.
Santino Ferrucci gets a full time shot:
After making quite an impression in his first IndyCar outing in Detroit last june, Santino Ferrucci claimed that he would be driving full time for Dale Coyne in 2019 and was just confirmed this week. Santino Ferrucci has been some what of a controversal figure in the racing community lately, but based on his performances in his few IndyCar outings he will be something to watch in 2019.
Chili Bowl and Rolex 24:
Some other races that occur before the start of the IndyCar season are the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals and the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Quite a few IndyCar drivers compete in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and have so for years. The sports car endurance classic has become an icon and has been helping open up the racing season for decades check it out on NBC Sports on Jan. 26-27. The Chili Bowl midget nationals takes place a couple weeks before the Rolex 24 and is quite a different atmosphere than the Rolex but is just as big in its own right. Typically over 200 midgets gather for a week of racing with one final night on Saturday holding a 30 lap shootout to determine who can make it through the rough and tumble world of dirt midget racing, you can check that out on Jan.12 on MAVtv.
And last but not in any galaxy not least, Fernando Alonso returning to Indianapolis:
Fernando Alonso and McLaren will be returning to Indianapolis in May for their 2nd attempt at capturing a borg warner. It has not been confirmed what engine the team will be running, but Fernando and Zak Brown have made it clear that after the success they had in their first outing in Indiana, they are not satisfied and are coming for you Indianapolis.
Again these are just a few of the many headlines heading into the 2019 season, and there will be more to come. That is one good thing about the off season, you never know what to expect going into next season and the off season.
In the meantime if your racing itch still has not been satisfied, check out all the old races uploaded on YouTube. One I highly recommend is the 1997 Molson Indy Vancouver CART race. After watching it you will be convinced that Alex Zanardi is probably the best driver CART or IndyCar has ever seen. Believe me, go watch it!
Luckily there are quite a few things already to look forward to coming in 2019 and it is only November. Let's look at some of the things that are confirmed for 2019.
Marcus Ericsson coming to IndyCar for 2019:
At the end of October it was announced that Schmidt Peterson Motorsports would again be fielding 2 full-time IndyCar entries for 2019 with not only James Hinchcliffe as the number 5 driver, but F1 Sauber driver Marcus Ericsson driving the number 7 Honda Dallara. Ericsson will takeover for the injured Robert Wickens at SPM and will be driving on ovals for the first time in his career with his first beng Indianapolis. He is looking forward to the challenge.
COTA and Laguna Seca being added to the IndyCar schedule:
Circuit of the Americas has been only been around for 6 years but it has quickly become one the top circuits in the country. Built specifically with F1 intentions, they have added different racing series over such as IMSA and Pirelli World Challenge. Now you can IndyCar to that list. It is going to be interesting to see what IndyCar's can do around a track that is about twice as long as some of the other circuits the series attends. And Laguna Seca is an absolute crown jewel that was missing from the scheudule for years. The twisty and winding curves through the hills of Monterrey, California and the world famous corkscrew turn have provided some fond racing memories and 2019 is ready to make way for some more.
Santino Ferrucci gets a full time shot:
After making quite an impression in his first IndyCar outing in Detroit last june, Santino Ferrucci claimed that he would be driving full time for Dale Coyne in 2019 and was just confirmed this week. Santino Ferrucci has been some what of a controversal figure in the racing community lately, but based on his performances in his few IndyCar outings he will be something to watch in 2019.
Chili Bowl and Rolex 24:
Some other races that occur before the start of the IndyCar season are the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals and the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Quite a few IndyCar drivers compete in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and have so for years. The sports car endurance classic has become an icon and has been helping open up the racing season for decades check it out on NBC Sports on Jan. 26-27. The Chili Bowl midget nationals takes place a couple weeks before the Rolex 24 and is quite a different atmosphere than the Rolex but is just as big in its own right. Typically over 200 midgets gather for a week of racing with one final night on Saturday holding a 30 lap shootout to determine who can make it through the rough and tumble world of dirt midget racing, you can check that out on Jan.12 on MAVtv.
And last but not in any galaxy not least, Fernando Alonso returning to Indianapolis:
Fernando Alonso and McLaren will be returning to Indianapolis in May for their 2nd attempt at capturing a borg warner. It has not been confirmed what engine the team will be running, but Fernando and Zak Brown have made it clear that after the success they had in their first outing in Indiana, they are not satisfied and are coming for you Indianapolis.
Again these are just a few of the many headlines heading into the 2019 season, and there will be more to come. That is one good thing about the off season, you never know what to expect going into next season and the off season.
In the meantime if your racing itch still has not been satisfied, check out all the old races uploaded on YouTube. One I highly recommend is the 1997 Molson Indy Vancouver CART race. After watching it you will be convinced that Alex Zanardi is probably the best driver CART or IndyCar has ever seen. Believe me, go watch it!
