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IndyCar: Early Silly Season Driver Lineup for 2018

By Asher Fair

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: Helio Castroneves of Brazil, driver of the #3 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet, leads a group of cars during the 101st Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 28, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: Helio Castroneves of Brazil, driver of the #3 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet, leads a group of cars during the 101st Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 28, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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FORT WORTH, TX – JUNE 10: Scott Dixon, driver of the #9 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, races during the Verizon IndyCar Series Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 10, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX – JUNE 10: Scott Dixon, driver of the #9 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, races during the Verizon IndyCar Series Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 10, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /

Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda

#8. Max Chilton has the money to fund a ride with Chip Ganassi Racing, and his 2017 season has been much better than his rookie 2016 season with the team. Given the fact that he is still improving, he may still have room before he reaches his peak. All of these things combined make it likely that he will once again be driving for this team in the 2018 season. And there is a chance that he could be the team’s #2 driver behind only four-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon next season as well.. Chip Ganassi Racing. Honda. MAX CHILTON

Honda. SCOTT DIXON. #9. Despite being a four-time IndyCar champion, Scott Dixon has had sponsorship issues throughout the entire 2017 season. That issue could be resolved in the 2018 season when NTT Data likely takes its sponsorship from Tony Kanaan’s #10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to Dixon’s #9 machine. This will likely leave Kanaan without a full-time ride with the team, but it will secure Dixon a well-deserved spot with this top-tier organization that he has won his four championships driving for.. Chip Ganassi Racing

#10. Ed Jones has been an impressive all-around driver in his rookie season in IndyCar, and it has not been easy for him. He has had to overcome losing veteran teammate Sebastien Bourdais due to injury and essentially becoming the lead driver of a smaller team as a rookie. Well, overcome is exactly what he has done. He finished in a career-high 3rd place in the Indianapolis 500 and has earned the right to move up to a top-tier organization. Luckily for him, Tony Kanaan’s days in the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda are likely numbered.. Chip Ganassi Racing. Honda. ED JONES

#83. Current Formula E driver Felix Rosenqvist has tested for Chip Ganassi Racing a number of times, with his most recent test at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course being deemed “flawless” by Scott Dixon’s race engineer, Chris Simmons. Rosenqvist has excelled in pretty much everything he has driven so far in his young racing career, including last season in Indy Lights. He drove in just 10 of the 18 races, but he still finished in 12th in the championship standings thanks to winning three of those races. The 2018 season could be his time to drive at the highest level of American open-wheel racing.. Chip Ganassi Racing. Honda. FELIX ROSENQVIST