IndyCar and Indy Lights will be simulated using sophisticated spreadsheets, but there aren't going to be any graphics. It will be updated on the wiki, once access is restored for new users, and news items will show up in the IMSA thread.
But I want to hear what you think the 2021 Road To Indy should look like. Here are the basics:
Anyone or anything you'd like to see in IndyCar or Indy Lights? Drivers - real or fictional - teams or tracks?IndyCar Insight wrote: 2021 AirBnB IndyCar Series:
Schedule:
18-20 races, depending on a possible two-race trip to Europe for races at the Lausitzring and (maybe) Zandvoort.
These races are locked into the schedule:
Ovals: Indy, Michigan, Texas
Street: Long Beach, Belle Isle, Toronto, St. Petersburg
Road: Road America, Barber Park, Indy, Watkins Glen, Sonoma, Laguna Seca
That's 13 - 14 if Belle Isle keeps the doubleheader - with a lot of possible tracks out there.
Teams and Drivers:
1) Team Cassidy
#1 - Ashley Cassidy (3rd in 2020)
#65 - Nicholas Latifi (12th)
As the winner of the 2020 team championship, they get the #1 car and there's no reason to break up a winning combination.
2) Team Penske
#2 - Simon Pagenaud (10th)
#3 - Will Power (2nd)
#12 -
#22 - Thomas De Bock (5th)
James Hinchcliffe's 17th-place finish isn't getting him a contract for 2021. Scott McLaughlin has been the hot rumor, but is he worth passing up Danny Ricc, Alex Palou, Rinus VeeKay and Romain Grosjean?
3) Chip Ganassi Racing
#?? - Ryan Hunter-Reay (9th)
#9 - Josef Newgarden (Champion)
#10 - Patricio O'Ward (7th)
#?? -
Carlos Munoz isn't coming back. Does Ganassi give Jimmie Johnson a full-time ride or does he go with a younger driver? Speaking of which, Ryan Hunter-Reay just turned 40 and his team just sold his #8. Would Ganassi ditch the 2019 champion?
4) Andretti Autosport
#26 - Felipe Massa (6th)
#27 -
#28 - Scott Dixon (4th)
4a) Andretti-Herta
#98 - Colton Herta
4b) Andretti-LXIV Racing
#44 -
Marco is off to IMSA, and #27 is the betting-line favorite for Daniel Riccardo. Colton Herta replaces Alexander Rossi in the #98 because of racing nepotism, and also because Rossi had a terrible year before winning the season finale at Laguna Seca.
No one really believes the other thing is going to happen, even for just the 500. Right?
5) Rahal Letterman Lanigan
#15 - Graham Rahal (10th)
#16 - Esteban Guerrieri (13th)
They are probably stuck with Rahal, but with all this new talent, is Esteban Guerrieri worth it?
6) Ed Carpenter Racing
#19 -
#20 - Robert Wickens (21st)
After finishing 8th in road-course points and taking the pole at Laguna Seca, Wickens gets a full-time seat in 2021. Sergio Sette Camara is off to bigger things in Europe.
7) Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
#5 - Ryan McReynolds (14th)
#7 - Jack Christopherson Jr. (18th)
One podium all season, and the highlight was the old man finishing 7th in the Indy 500. This situation needs some re-evaluation.
8) Carlin
#11 -
#13 - Antonio Felix da Costa (7th, ROTY)
Ed Jones didn't qualify for the 500 and finished 25th in a series with 24 full-time drivers. Carlin is reportedly considering dropping out of IndyCar to focus more energy on its young-driver programs, but da Costa's going to get a ride somewhere.
9) Dale Coyne Racing
#51 -
#8 - Romain Grosjean
This will be Coyne-Ware Racing in 2021 and Grosjean is already talking about his contract on Twitter. Does Cody Ware get the other seat, or is he getting a Ware Racing seat in NASCAR?
10) A.J. Foyt Enterprises
#4 -
#14 - David Malukas
Last year was another disaster for Foyt Enterprises, with Matheus Leist finishing 22nd and Collin Pratchett finishing 24th. The rumor is that Malukas ends up here in a Foyt-HMD Motorsports deal.
11) ?????
#17 -
#18 -
Nothing official here, but IndyCar sources confirm this is a new team with 2019 Rookie of the Year Lance Stroll taking the #18 seat and a "well-known North American driver" getting the #17. That's probably Sergio Perez, unless it isn't.
2021 Indy Lights Series
There's going to be one, which is more than we could say last year at this time.
Plans are for a dozen races, mostly on street and road courses. Milwaukee was a success last year, but it might be the only oval they see this season. There are concerns about safety at Michigan and Texas, and they simply get lost in the shuffle at Indianapolis. Gateway is a possibility.
The usual developmental teams - Andretti, Juncos, Carlin and HMD - will all be back with some of the same drivers as 2020. However, there will be plenty of spots left on the grid with the one-year IMSA deal coming to an end. Eight drivers - four each from Menlo Park Motorsports and Nighthawk Racing - were given sponsorship deals in Indy Lights as part of the deal to provide testing for the new hybrid and electric sports cars.
Seven of the eight are moving to IMSA for the first year of competition with the new cars, and Menlo Park has left the series entirely to focus on electric-car racing. However, one of their drivers, 18-year-old Abbi Pulling, has decided to stick with open-wheel racing after winning at Milwaukee. She will be driving the #20 car for Nighthawk Racing, which will also be fielding a car for American Allison Mays.
