INDYCAR: January Silly Season Update

Marshall Pruett looks through the paddock for the remaining drivers and teams in search of deals to complete the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series grid.

Marshall Pruett | Posted January 21, 2013

Ryan Briscoe continues to garner the most interest from teams, but with a number of vacancies about to be filled, the Aussie's presence and place on the 2013 grid could soon be decided. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)

With most of the grid already locked into place, some familiar faces are still looking for new homes while a few others have had to adjust their open-wheel plans since our last silly season entry.

The most desired driver on the market continues to be ex-Penske driver Ryan Briscoe. That’s almost five straight months at the top of the “must have” charts for the Aussie, and there are actually more teams that want him now than ever before.

I won’t bother placing odds on where I think he’ll land at this point, but I’m most intrigued by Dragon Racing’s interest in seeing the 31-year-old partner with Sebastien Bourdais in one of its Chevy-powered Dallaras.

Dragon owner Jay Penske has been one of Briscoe’s many suitors, and likely represents his best shot at a genuinely competitive full-time ride. Rahal Letterman Lanigan, which has had designs on landing Briscoe since last summer, continues to work on finding the budget to run him in anything from a part-time to a full-time opportunity alongside Graham Rahal. And if those scenarios fall through, it’s believed Briscoe could partner with Alex Tagliani to form a fearsome duo for the Indianapolis 500.

Multiple sources have said that Penske Racing’s recent filing for a third Leader Circle contract is not an indicator that Briscoe will be back with the team, or that a third Penske entry is guaranteed.

Tagliani, whose omission from a recent Barracuda Racing sponsor announcement led some to think he was no longer with the Honda-powered program, should have pending news of a contract extension being in place with the Bryan Herta- and Steve Newey-owned team.

It has been a while since a stirring performance by a rookie at an IndyCar test caused team owners to take notice, but 2012 Firestone Indy Lights Series champion Tristan Vautier did wonders for his reputation after posting the second-fastest time behind Team Penske’s Will Power at Sebring in December.

The 23-year-old Frenchman, who tested countryman Simon Pagenaud’s Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara-Honda, continues to edge closer to a ride with the team. Since that test, the team has been re-branded as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, in deference to Ric Peterson who reportedly purchased a 50 percent stake in the team.

That has left Davey Hamilton searching for a new role. If he decides to stay, that could include placing his Hewlett-Packard sponsorship behind SPM’s second entry for Vautier.

Beyond straight sponsorship, Vautier should have some money coming to him from IndyCar. And just as 2011 Lights champion Josef Newgarden experienced, determining the exact amount the series will actually pay—or if it will even cut the check--as a graduation award has slowed the process.

If IndyCar’s new management honors what former CEO Randy Bernard had outlined, Vautier would receive $500,000 if he signs a full-time deal with a team that has a Leader Circle contract, and $1M for joining a non-LC team.

It’s only a slice of the roughly $5M minimum most teams require to run a single entry, but that award could be the difference in a team like SPM wanting to work with Vautier to bridge the gap or electing to search elsewhere for a driver with more funding. Whatever, all of the key partners involved with the team are keen on seeing Vautier in the cockpit, and with the recent addition of Allan McDonald to its engineering staff, SPM would have every right to feel bullish about its chances this year if they can make the Vautier deal happen.

Vautier has also reportedly drawn interest from Dragon Racing, which puts him in pole position to join either Pagenaud or Bourdais as half of an all-French driving squad.

For those of you who recall some of my past silly season updates, you might be asking how anyone other than Katherine Legge, who drove for Dragon in 2012 and has multi-year driving and sponsorship contracts in place, is capable of serving as Bourdais’ teammate.

While I can’t answer the ‘how it’s possible’ portion of that question, I understand she could indeed return to the team, but if someone like Briscoe can be signed, another scenario which involves Legge being run as a third, satellite program by HVM Racing on behalf of Dragon is said to be the fallback position.

The ever-evolving status of E.J. Viso’s 2013 plans should hopefully be rounding third base and heading for home. Discussions with Barracuda Racing ceased a while ago and talks to take over Graham Rahal’s former seat at Ganassi Racing have also slowed.

Of late, Viso has been linked with options from HVM to Panther, but with Andretti Autosport determined to expand back to four cars, the 27-year-old driver/businessman has been one of the prime candidates to join the reigning series champions. An inaccurate report on Monday had a Viso-to-Andretti deal as being completed.

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