2010 IndyCar Series season
 | |
| Season | |
| Races | 17 |
| Start date | March 14 |
| End date | October 2 |
| Drivers | |
| Drivers' champion | TBA |
| Teams' champion | TBA |
| Rookie of the year | TBA |
| Most popular driver | TBA |
| Indy 500 winner | TBA |
| Chronology | |
| Previous season | Next season |
| 2009 | 2011 |
The final 2010 schedule was announced on July 31, 2009,[3] with revisions announced on August 26, 2009.[4] New events include a season-opening street race in São Paulo, Brazil, and the new Alabama Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park. Richmond will not return, and Milwaukee is off the schedule due to ongoing concerns over outstanding sanctioning fees owed.[5] All races will be broadcast, in the United States, on ABC[6] or Versus in HD.
2010 series schedule
Oval/Speedway Street/Temporary Circuit Road Course
- All times Eastern standard time
Series news
- Announced in a press conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on November 5, 2009, clothier Izod has signed on as the series' new title sponsor from 2010 to 2015, with an option for two additional years.[1] According to Robin Miller,[7] the deal is worth $10 million per year with at least $5 million toward promotions and marketing. It would additionally include a payout of $100,000 per car, per year to teams eligible for the TEAM revenue-sharing program, and possible partial funding for a full-time car for Ryan Hunter-Reay, whom received sponsorship backing from the brand in 2009. This will be the third title sponsorship in the IndyCar Series' history; previous sponsorships were provided by Pep Boys (1998-1999) and Northern Light (2000-2001).
- On November 25, 2009, a season opening race in São Paulo, Brazil was confirmed by city authorities and an Indy Racing League press release.[8][9] The race, the São Paulo Indy 300, will take place on a 2.3-mile temporary street course. Despite the long travel distance for the teams, the event is expected to be lucrative with Terry Angstadt claiming each participating team will receive a six-figure sum from the event promoters in addition to all expenses paid.[10]
- The possibility was left open for a race at Milwaukee, however, ongoing issues involving unpaid sanctioning fees from the management have put the race, and the future of the facility, at risk. In November, Historic Mile, LLC. announced they were going out of business.[5] It was announced on December 16 that no national racing series would race at the Milwaukee Mile in 2010 due to the inability for Wisconsin State Fair Park officials to find a replacement promoter for the season.[11]
- The July 25 race in Edmonton will go ahead, despite event organizers losing $9.2 million on the race over the previous two seasons.[12][13]
- 2010 rule changes were announced on January 12, 2010. The 4-position fuel mixture switch will be removed so that cars will only be able to run on "full rich" or "yellow" fuel settings. The Honda Overtake assist will return with an approximate doubling of bhp increase from last year's 5-20 bhp upon pressing the button. All cars will now have a reverse gear on the road and street courses in 2010.[14]
- IRL founder and IMS board member, Tony George, resigned from the IMS effective immediately on January 19, 2010.[15]
- Former chief executive officer of the Professional Bull Riders, Randy Bernard, was announced as the new IRL CEO on February 2, 2010.[16]
Team and Driver Chart
- This chart reflects confirmed championship participants ONLY. All drivers will compete in Honda-engined, Firestone-shod, Dallara chassis. (R) reflects an IZOD IndyCar Series rookie.
Team and driver news
- Team Penske/Penske Racing: Hélio Castroneves signed a multi-year contract extension with Penske Racing before the 2009 season. Penske will run three full-time teams in 2010, with Castroneves in one car, Ryan Briscoe in the second, and Will Power in the third.[17] Penske is shutting down their Grand-Am operation to make room.[18]
- Andretti Autosport: Before the 2010 season, the ownership of Andretti Green Racing was split and therefore the race team will be known as Andretti Autosport.[19] Co-owners Kim Green and Kevin Savoree will own the promotion side of AGR that stages the St. Pete and Toronto races, while the race team itself will be fully owned by Michael Andretti. According to Andretti, "We owed it to our business to do this because neither side was getting 110 percent and both sides were suffering".[20] Tony Kanaan was signed to a multi-year deal with AGR before the 2009 season. Danica Patrick has agreed to terms for a three-year contract extension through 2012, and the agreement was announced on November 30, 2009.[21] Patrick will have Go Daddy taking over as the new primary sponsor in on the #7 machine in 2010. Marco Andretti is confirmed and Venom Energy has signed a multi-year deal to sponsor his #26 car.[22] Ryan Hunter-Reay has signed as the team's fourth driver,[23] but he currently only has sponsorship for a partial schedule that includes the Indy 500 and a few other early-season races.[23] Hunter-Reay will pilot the #37 machine, with primary sponsorship from series title sponsors, Izod.[24] The team is also strongly considering running a fifth car for the Indy 500.
- Chip Ganassi Racing: 2008 IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon is signed through the 2011 season. The team is working to sign Dario Franchitti to a new contract, with a deal expected to be formally announced within a couple weeks.[25] Developmental driver Alex Lloyd has left the team to pursue other opportunities including one race with NHL at the season-ending event at Homestead. E. J. Viso was working on a deal to join the team in a third car before he joined KV Racing.[26]
- Luczo Dragon Racing: Luczo Dragon signed 2008 Firestone Indy Lights Champion Raphael Matos to a multi-year contract before the 2009 season.[27] On February 16, 2010, it was announced that de Ferran Motorsports had merged with the Luczo Dragon team to form de Ferran Luczo Dragon Racing.[28] Davey Hamilton will join the team for Indianapolis, Texas, and one other oval.[29] It is not known if the team will have a partnership with Kingdom Racing.
- Panther Racing: Dan Wheldon will return as the team's driver in 2010.[30] The team would like to add a second car if funding is available.[25] 2008 GP2 Series champion Giorgio Pantano is in talks with Panther Racing and he believes there is a 60% chance of racing for the team.[31]
- A. J. Foyt Enterprises: Driver Vitor Meira has signed a contract to return to the #14 car through the end of the 2010 season.[32]
- De Ferran Motorsports: Current ALMS team De Ferran Motorsports was hoping to field two full-time IndyCar entries in 2010; however the team is currently working on sponsorship that would allow it to compete. Owner Gil de Ferran has retired from racing and will not be one of the drivers.[33] An announcement occurred on August 7, 2009 with de Ferran announcing his retirement from racing, along with the intention to run a two-car IndyCar Series operation in 2010 alongside his sports car team.[34] Though things had gone quiet recently concerning the new team, Robin Miller reported on the December 6 edition of The Speed Report that de Ferran will probably just run one full-time car in 2010. Miller reported the following week that de Ferran may partner with Tony George's Vision Racing to field a combined two-car effort. Former team-mate Simon Pagenaud, who had been linked with drives in other series including the IndyCar Series,[35] has joined Patrón Highcroft Racing to continue racing in the American Le Mans Series.[35] De Ferran released a statement on December 18 that he and his team are still interested in running a team in the 2010 season.[36] On February 16, 2010, it was announced that de Ferran had merged with Luczo Dragon Racing.[28]
- Conquest Racing: Conquest plans to run one car for the entire 2010 season in addition to a second car at selected events including the Indy 500. The team is currently talking with a few different potential drivers,[37] including the team's former Champ Car driver, Jan Heylen of Belgium. Curt Cavin of The Indianapolis Star reported on December 11 that 2009 driver Nelson Philippe had split from the team since his season-ending crash last August at Infineon.[38] Brazilian media outlets are reporting that Tomas Scheckter has signed for the team, as well as the possibility of running two more cars for a pair of Brazilian drivers.[39] Brazilian journalist Victor Martins has reported that Brazilian Mario Romancini has signed a full-season deal with the team,[40] with the agreement confirmed on February 23.[41]
- HVM Racing: Robert Doornbos will drive for the team in 2010, having signed midway through the 2009 season.[42]. E. J. Viso's contract with the team has expired and HVM is currently exploring driver options for the second car that it intends to run in 2010.[43] Simona de Silvestro, third place in the 2009 Atlantic Championship, tested with HVM over December 8–9 at Sebring International Raceway. The test was run in conjunction with her former Atlantics team Team Stargate Worlds.[44] The car tested was numbered #78 with Stargate Resistance sponsorship.[45]
- Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing: 2009 driver Graham Rahal is a free agent, but expects to sign a new contract with the team "soon". Former driver and four-time Champ Car champion Sébastien Bourdais, recently released by Formula One team Scuderia Toro Rosso has been linked with a return to IndyCar. He drove for Newman/Haas/Lanigan for all four of his championship seasons and has indicated to the media that he "still keeps in touch with his old team" - presumably referring to Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing.[46][47][48] 2007 Indy Pro Series champion Alex Lloyd ran the final race of 2009 in the team's No. 40202 (usually the No. 06 but renumbered to promote a cancer research fund associated with Lloyd's sponsor) entry. He is attempting to put together a sponsorship package to secure one of the team's seats for 2010.[49] During the VERSUS television commentary on the final race of the 2009 season, it was stated that Alex Lloyd "had the seat for 2010" although there is not official announcement or citation. The Indianapolis Star reported on November 6 that Hideki Mutoh and sponsor Formula Dream may join Rahal and Lloyd in 2010 at NHL,[50] and Speed's Robin Miller backed up that report on the November 22 airing of The Speed Report, stating that the team are looking to field three cars for Rahal, Mutoh, and Lloyd. Mutoh announced on his website that he had signed with the team on 19 February 2010, for a third year in the IndyCar Series.
- Newman Wachs Racing: Team owner Eddie Wachs said the team wanted to leave the Atlantic Championship and race in the IndyCar Series or GP2 Series in 2010. The team's driver would be the 2009 Atlantic Championship and 2008 Star Mazda Championship winner John Edwards. The team intended to test Edwards in an IndyCar,[51] but ultimately entered the Rolex Sports Car Series GT class with Edwards and Adam Christodoulou as drivers.[52]
- Sarah Fisher Racing: SFR announced the addition of a second car at selected 2010 events. Fisher will run nine races (St. Pete., Barber, Kansas, Indy, Texas, Iowa, Chicagoland, Kentucky, Homestead). Jay Howard will run the #66 car at four races (Indy, Texas, Mid-Ohio, Chicagoland).[53]
- Vision Racing: Team owner Tony George had been hopeful of returning to a two-car team, with Ed Carpenter set to be returning.[49][54] However, it was announced on January 28, 2010 that Vision Racing had suspended operations due to a lack of sponsorship.[55] The team is still seeking sponsorship to return to the grid.
- FAZZT Race Team: The new team owned by Montreal entrepreneur Andre Azzi, Jim Freudenberg, and Jason Priestley has purchased all of the equipment of Roth Racing, including four Dallara chassis. They will compete full time in 2010 with driver Alex Tagliani, who they have signed to a four-year contract to drive the #77 car.[56] Walker Racing veteran Rob Edwards will be team manager.[57][58]
- Rahal Letterman Racing: Owner Bobby Rahal is currently seeking backing for the team to once again compete full-time in 2010. [59] The team may return to give son Graham Rahal a ride for the 2010 season.
- Walker Racing: The team hopes to rejoin the IndyCar Series in 2010 if sponsorship can be found, however the team recently lost longtime Team Manager Rob Edwards to the FAZZT Race Team.[60]
- Dale Coyne Racing: The team is yet to announce the driver for the #19 Boy Scouts of America entry (which was aimed to be announced by the end of January),[61] but Dale Coyne hopes to have a second car in place for the entire season.[25] Coyne announced during a January 11 teleconference with Versus lead announcer Bob Jenkins that he would run two cars in 2010, however after Dreyer & Reinbold Racing signed Dale Coyne Racing's 2009 driver Justin Wilson with Wilson's Z-Line Designs driver sponsorship, it looked like Coyne would field just one entry full-time, but in an official press release Coyne reiterated that the team's "drivers" would be announced soon and that Wilson's departure, while unfortunate, was not completely unexpected.[62] In the same press release he mentioned Graham Rahal and J. R. Hildebrand as the team's top targets.[63] Hildebrand revealed on his Twitter account that he would be testing with Coyne's team at Sebring on February 15.[64] Robin Miller has reported that Milka Duno is the likely teammate of Hildebrand and that Rahal has turned down Coyne's offer of a seat.[65]
- Dreyer & Reinbold Racing: British pairing Justin Wilson and Mike Conway were presented to the media at a February 2 press conference, at the team's race shop in Carmel, Indiana.[66][67] The team left the #23 entry open for a 3rd car, should the funding become available.[68] Ana Beatriz announced on her website that she would be driving that entry in the season-opening race in São Paulo.[69] E. J. Viso also tested with the team on December 9, 2009 at Sebring.[70]
- KV Racing Technology: Team owners Kevin Kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser would like to expand from one to three cars for 2010.[25] According to a radio interview on "Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee", Paul Tracy has a verbal commitment with KV Racing to drive for the team in the Indy 500, Toronto, Edmonton, and one other race airing on ABC with sponsorship from Geico and Honda Canada. Mario Moraes is expected to return in light of Jimmy Vasser returning from Brazil recently, according to Robin Miller's mail bag. On February 13, the team announced that E. J. Viso would test for the team at Sebring International Raceway on February 15, with the intentions of securing a full-time deal. Former Formula One driver Takuma Sato was confirmed by the team on February 18.[71] On February 22, the team confirmed that Viso would drive for the team,[72] driving the #8 car.[73] Former Honda Formula One test driver James Rossiter joined the team as a third full-time driver,[74] with Tracy in a fourth car part-time.[65]
- CURB/Agajanian/3G Racing: In a statement made on October 7, 2009, Stanton Barrett claims "We CURB/Agajanian/3G Racing are all working to find the proper sponsorship for next year" and that the team is, "working to see which races Stanton can run next year."[75] Team co-owner Steve Sudler said in an interview with blog 16th and Georgetown that Richard Antinucci would be one of the team's drivers in 2010 and the team was building its program around him. The team is exploring possibilities for a second car, most likely for Jaques Lazier or Stanton Barrett.[76] However, the team has yet to make an official announcement and is not participating in the open test at Barber Motorsport Park.[77]
- Bryan Herta Autosport: Having formed the team in 2009 in a partnership with Vision Racing, Bryan Herta is keen to enter a car into the Indianapolis 500.[78] On 23 February 2010, The Indianapolis Star's Curt Cavin reported that Sebastian Saavedra had signed full-time with BHA in Firestone Indy Lights and will run this year's Indianapolis 500. Blog Da Indy reports that Saavedra could also run the Indycar races at Texas, Toronto, Sonoma and Homestead.[79]
- Sam Schmidt Motorsports: Townsend Bell will compete in the Indianapolis 500 in the #99 car, run in conjunction with Chip Ganassi Racing.[80]
- Robby Gordon Motorsports: Former CART and IndyCar series driver Robby Gordon, who will not be competing full time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this year, has stated he is "giving serious consideration" to returning to the Indianapolis 500. In a 10 February radio interview on "Totally Off-Road Radio", Gordon said that the he was "about 90 yards down the field" to signing a partnership deal with Derrick Walker for the Indy 500. The team would be Robby Gordon Motorsports with Walker racing's assistance.[81] Curt Cavin of The Indianapolis Star reports that the car would be sponsored by Monster Energy and run in a partnership with Derrick Walker.[82]
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