From Arrow McLaren SP on Twitter:
Arrow McLaren SP Announce Oliver Askew and Pato O’Ward for 2020 NTT IndyCar Series Season
Back with some thoughts later.
Category: Auto Racing
An Arrow Through the Heart
I just love it when I have an article in mind and have to do a 180 degree spin in the middle of a turn. As I began setting up my post on the current status of the 2020 NTT Indycar Series grid, the grid experienced a seismic change. James Hinchcliffe, one of the most popular drivers in the paddock, lost his seat at Arrow McLaren SP. The team will announce Oliver Askew and Pato O’Ward as their drivers for next season. The news from Racer magazine’s Marshall Pruett and Robin Miller around 9:15 Monday night sent an earthquake of outrage through the Indycar fan community.
There have been whispers since Labor day that Hinchcliffe’s job was in jeopardy. The rumors persisted despite team owner Sam Schmidt saying at Portland that Hinch would be back with the team. Everyone knew Marcus Ericsson would not be back and that the team was interested in O’Ward. In the last month, Askew entered the picture. My thought was they will pick one of the two rookies and keep Hinch for his experience. Now, we have essentially a combined new team consisting of McLaren, which didn’t qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in 2019 and Arrow Schmidt Peterson, which barely squeaked in.
Hinchcliffe’s choices of a ride are very limited. His Honda choices are cars that currently don’t exist. Dale Coyne looks committed to Santino Ferrucci’s return in the 19. Coyne has said he will not run a third car and is not interested in an alliance. Ganassi has talked about a part time fourth car. I’m not sure that interests Hinchcliffe. Rahal has third car in mind but is still looking for funding. Hinchcliffe and Honda Canada probably don’t have enough money to pull that deal together. Will HPD help? Rahal seems like the best fit at this moment on the Honda side. Hinchcliffe needs to stay in a Honda car for a couple reasons I’ll discuss in a minute.
Chevy rides available are Carlin, Foyt, and the Ed Carpenter road course only car. None of these rides are great options for him other than keeping Hinchcliffe in the series.
The Honda Indy Toronto may take a bit of a hit without a Canadian driver on the grid. Hinchcliffe’s contract with Honda Canada and his Honda commercials in the United states are also on the line here. On a fan basis, Hinchcliffe is a good river who can races, he’s generous with is time, and ha a sense of humor the paddock and the fans enjoy. He has always taken time to talk to me and i appreciate his time.
Conor Daly may be squeezed out of the paddock again. He was looking to be the last driver left with a decent amount of experience. Now there is a six time race winner on the market who has had a full time ride for several years.
I really like O’Ward and Askew. I hope they have great seasons next year. . At the same time, I will find it hard as a fan to root for Arrow McLaren SP as a team. McLaren has entered the team and from my view, they have been a PR disaster already. The new logo left me cold with its starkly corporate look and the exclusion of the SP from the official team name. While I understand the business side of choosing drivers, Hinchcliffe could have been told a month ago and had more time to put something together.
It is sad to see what looked to be a rising team that in 2018 seemed to have found its soul when Robert Wickens joined but lost it in his’ horrific crash at Pocono that summer and never found it again.
First Responders Day
Today, October 28, is First Responders Day. I have a lot of admiration and respect for those who bravely and selflessly rush to help those in need. Below is a story from Indycar .com by Arni Sribhen about a first responder who also is a member of the AMR Safety team.
https://www.indycar.com/News/2019/10/10-28-First-Responders-Day-Eagle
New Name, New Logo – Thoughts
The name change is now official. 2019’s Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports is now Arrow McLaren SP. The new logo above was published via twitter this morning. I find the logo rather blah. It is simply a block A with the bar bent to resemble an M.
Sam Schmidt founded the team after his racing career ended after a practice crash in Texas left him a quadriplegic. After success with his Indy Lights program, Schmidt has been a full time team in the NTT Indycar Seriessince 2011. I understand it’s a business deal, but I think Schmidt deserves more recognition in the team name and logo.
The logo does not give any recognition to Sam Schmidt or Rick Peterson. Even the new team name gives the original team owners little recognition. I would have thought companies like Arrow and McLaren together could have come up with a more dynamic looking symbol for their team. This just doesn’t say this is a racing organization to me.
Arrow McLaren SP has not announced the driver of its second car, although pato O’Ward is now the front runner for that seat. As of now James Hinchcliffe is still in the number 5 car.
Is O’Ward Now the Big Domino?
Oliver Askew’s time as the NTT Indycar Series top Silly season domino appears to have been short lived. With Friday’s announcement that Pato O’Ward was now free to pursue an Indycar ride, speculation revved up that he would sign with Arrow Mclaren SP. Askew had been considered as a possibility either for that seat as well as a possible part time ride with Chip Ganassi Racing .
Zak Brown, President of McLaren, has been interested in O’Ward for a while. I think it is highly unlikely both Askew and O’Ward would be hired by AMSP. I doubt if the team would want two rookie drivers. While I’m still not sure veteran James Hinchcliffe will return, despite what the team and Hinchcliffe have said, a veteran needs to be in the 5 car. Since the 7 car is looking pretty much to have a rookie in it, this makes a stronger case for Hinchcliffe staying. This will be the third straight year Hinchcliffe will have a rookie teammate. In 2017 his good friend Robert Wickens joined the team. Last year Marcus Ericsson was in the second car.
Let’s presume O’Ward does join Arrow/McLaren and Askew goes to Ganassi on a part time basis. This scenario virtually assures O’Ward Rookie of the Year. In fact, O’Ward could be the only full time rookie driver in the series in 2020. Rinus VeeKay may end up in the road course only car at Ed Carpenter Racing, which would limit his chances for top rookie honors for the season. VeeKay could also go to a third car at Dale Coyne Racing. I haven’t heard much about where he is in securing a ride.
For O’Ward, getting a full time Indycar ride would complete a wild roller coaster 2019 for him. He thought he had a full time drive for 2019 with Harding Steinbrenner racing, which fell through at the last minute. After a couple of drives with Carlin and failing to make the field for the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500, O’Ward signed a contract with Red Bull. He an a few races in Japan Super Formula before his early release last week. Stay tuned.
Carlin Wants Limits on Bigger Teams
An article by David Malsher Sunday on motorsport.com discussed concerns Trevor Carlin of Carlin Racing has of the Big Three (Penske, Ganassi, Andretti) getting too big. Carlin fears there won’t be enough room for teams like his to post good results. Andretti and Ganassi are both planning on an extra car next season.
The link to the story: https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/carlin-warns-indycar-multi-car/4560809/
I understand his point, but the competition in Indycar is close and the Big Three don’t sweep every race. In 2018, 14 of 51 podium spots, 27% had drivers representing teams outside of the Big Three The just completed season had similar results with 13 non Big Three podium spots. Last year Penske cars won 9 races, Ganassi 2 and Andretti 2. If you count Colton Herta as an Andretti car, they won 4. Rahal won the other 2 races. 2019 also saw fewer different winners than the series has had in a while. Wins were limited as the seven winners in 2019 each won multiple races.
Of the four Andretti cars, most weekends Alexander Rossi was the only one in contention. Zach Veach and Marco Andretti were not factors most places. Felix Rosenqvist had a few good races for Ganassi, but he wasn’t always fighting for a podium. Penske driver Will Power didn’t win a race until Pocono in August.
Opportunities are there. A top ten finish against good competition is a decent result. A. J. Foyt Racing and Dale Coyne Racing show up every week knowing their chances are limited. I thi nk the more cars, the better. Every sport has its dominant teams. You don’t see the lesser teams folding.
There have been season when just two teams won all the races and there have been years where almost every team has won a race. Winning in Indycar isn’t easy. It takes time for newer teams to put everything together just to contend for a win.
Statement from Pato O’ Ward
Let the speculation begin. More thoughts tomorrow.
Kyle McInnes: The Indycar Circuit through My Lens
Editor’s note: I met Kyle (pictured above) at Barber this year and began using his photos in my race weekend posts. I really like the way he captures the essence of the driver and the track. Today, he shares his story and some of his best photos from this year as well as some nor racing shots he has taken.
If I’m not photographing automobiles or motorsports, I enjoy spending my free time tinkering around with our 1956 Ford F100, 1969 Dodge Charger, or our 1935 Rolls Royce 20/25 Sporting Saloon. I simply have a true enjoyment and appreciation of automobiles, no matter the make or model.
My photography career started in high school, which led me to earn an associates degree in visual communications in college. After college, I worked for a local newspaper as their only staff photographer. I have also freelanced, working for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Marketing Department, photographing both Indy Car and Nascar events.
In my later twenties, I settled down, got married, and my wife and I have two wonderful children. I started focusing more of my time working to provide my family with a more stable income, purchasing a boarding kennel, that my wife and I have run for the past 13 years. However, I have always had the drive to get back into motorsports photography and this year I took the jump.
I made the decision and commitment to dive head first back in, but didn’t have any recent images for portfolio work, so I set out to get some images for my portfolio.
I had heard that some of the Indy Car teams were having a test session at Sebring……..what better place to start in January…. than in Florida? I bought a plane ticket, rented a car, and packed my gear and off I went having no idea if I would even be able to get into the test. I did make it in, along with every other race, besides Texas. It would have been much easier if I could have acquired photo credentials to have better access to photograph from, along with having a place to work other than downloading, editing, and sending images out of my rental car.
It has been an amazing year. I had an image used by Racer, another used for Rookie Driver Santino Ferrucci’s autograph card, just to name a few. Thankful for Mike, for giving me a shot and making use of some of my images. I ended the year with 35,312 Indy Car images. Here are a sampling from each race.
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Newgarden at Belle Isle
Newgarden at Texas
Sato at Gateway
Sato at Barber
Richmond Raceway Excited for Indycar Return
Photo: Team Penske car ready for the aeroscreen test at Richmond Raceway. Josef Newgarden drove the car in today’s sessions. The aeroscreen looks much better painted. Photo from Team Penske
You could hear the excitement in track president Dennis Bickmeier’s voice as he talked about the NTT Indycar series returning to Richmond Raceway.
“…it’s really exciting to hear the sound of IndyCars going and Richmond Raceway again. A buzz around town, a luncheon around here with some of our invited guests, some of our partners, hopefully some of our potential new partners as well that are getting a glimpse of seeing IndyCars back on the track here at Richmond Raceway after a decade. Certainly exciting. Much quicker than even I anticipated. Again, given my previous history watching open cars around two-mile tracks, this is a different experience.”
“The track has sold tickets to fans in 26 states and two areas of Canada for the June 28 race. After the season ticket renewal period ends, more seats will be available for the Indycar race.
I asked Bickmeier to explain how Indycar’s return to the schedule happened. He said discussions began in 2018.
“But really it was about trying to find an opportunity in
the schedule. We were open to a lot of different dates.
This June date is more along the traditional date where
IndyCar raced here before. We love this date. It works
well between our two NASCAR races. For us, it really
presents kind of a big cadence to our year as we’re
promoting all of our racing events here at Richmond
Raceway…
one of the most
asked questions I got in the time I’ve been at
Richmond is, When are the IndyCars coming back? I’m
happy to say we’re able to answer that question now.
It really wasn’t that complicated. These guys made it
easy, Jay and the team, to discuss the possibilities of
having IndyCar return. I’m just thankful we were able to
get it all together.”
It looks to be a promising successful event for the series.
Morning Testing Session Focuses on Tires
The morning part of the Richmond test was mainly dedicated to Firestone tire testing. Today was Josef Newgarden’s first time in the car with red Bull Advanced Technologies Aeroscreen. He found the transition pretty seamless
“It was my first time with the screen. Just getting a feel
for that. It honestly was pretty seamless. Honestly
didn’t feel that different. Perception-wise it was a little
different when I got in. It took maybe 30, 40 laps, after
that you’re used to it. It feels kind of normal at this
point.”
Newgarden said the track was like “a smooth Iowa.”
“I’m hoping a second lane comes in. If it does, I could see it
racing very similar to that place.”
Scott Dixon said the car felt pretty much the way it did at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last month. he thinks the oval configuration is fine. Dixon believes lap times may be slightly down because of the added weight, but thinks overal there will be a net zero effect on performance.
The final aeroscreen test will be at Sebring November 5 with Sebastien Bourdais and James Hinchcliffe driving. The test there will be the closest the series can come to testing on a street course.
Harding Steinbrenner Releases Al Unser, Jr.
Al Unser, Jr. announced in a Tweet this morning that he has been released from Harding Steinbrenner racing. The release is part of the ongoing transition of the team as it becomes part of Andretti autosport. I wish Al well and hope he can find another team with a young driver to help.
Silly Season Focus Turns to Askew and VeeKay
Editor’s note: A huge thank you to all of you who read my posts. Last week I went over the 10,000 view mark. it is a figure I never imagined four years ago when i began hunting and pecking on my keyboard. I appreciate everyone’s support.
With just a couple of 2019 full time drivers not confirmed for seats in 2020, Silly Season turns its attention to two potential rookies who finished 1-2 in Indy Lights.
It was just one sentence at the end of the Chip Ganassi Racing announcement regarding Marcus Ericsson joining the team in a third car for 2020. It said the team was trying to put together a deal for 2019 Indy Lights champion Oliver Askew. Askew ‘s name has also come up in speculation about the second car at Arrow McLaren SP.
Meanwhile, Indy Lights runner-up Rinus Veekay had his second Indycar test with Ed Carpenter Racing. The test may have been an audition for the road course races in the 20 as Carpenter plans to drive the oval races again. A ride for the Indianapolis 500 may also be included.
Veterans Tony Kanaan, Santino Ferrucci, and Max Chilton don’t have officially confirmed deals. All three should return to the teams they drove for this season. Conor Daly, meanwhile, is still looking for a ride. Ed Jones may be out of the series next year. I really don’t see where he fits.
Aeroscreen Gets a Rain Test
The aeroscreen’s second test at Barber Motorsports Park passed another test. Drivers Ryan Hunter-Reay and Simon Pagenaud drove cars fitted with the new cockpit protection device for its first road course outing. Rain during the test allowed the drivers to check visibility in the wet. Both drivers said the water dispersed off the screen better than it does coming off their helmet visors. neither driver saw a problem with rain.
I think it’s great that they had the chance to observe what happens in wet conditions, but how will it do at the start of a wet race with 24 cars on track? What will happen to the last driver in a group of three or more? I hope they can get a rainy test day at an open test when more cars are on track.
On Wednesday, Kyle McInnes, whose great photographs have been featured in many race weekend stories this year, will be a guest columnist. Kyle took many amazing shots this season and will share them here.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 