IndyCar: Early Silly Season Driver Lineup for 2018
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)
Silly Season is in full swing for the Verizon IndyCar Series. Which drivers will be with which teams in the 2018 season? What surprise moves will happen?
The 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season is over two-thirds of the way complete, which means there are only five races on the schedule. With the season winding down, “Silly Season” has begun as we begin to speculate which drivers will end up with which teams in the 2018 season.
The future is uncertain for a number of teams and drivers. From Helio Castroneves potentially going to a sports car team to certain drivers that may not be able to fund their rides or have not been performing as they should be, there is sure to be a decent amount of movement of drivers among teams this offseason.
While determining which drivers will go where is one thing, determining which drivers will end up on the sport’s top-tier teams is another. Right now, there are three four-car teams in the series that stand above the rest from a resource perspective.
But because IndyCar does not have as many drivers as a series like NASCAR, this article will not only touch on Silly Season predictions for all of the sport’s top-tier teams. Instead, it will focus on all teams currently in the series as well as a few that may join. Let’s get started with two teams that are not currently in IndyCar full-time but could be once the 2018 season rolls around.
FORT WORTH, TX – JUNE 09: Gabby Chaves, driver of the #88 Harding Group Chevrolet, practices for the Verizon IndyCar Series Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images)
Juncos Racing
Harding Racing
FORT WORTH, TX – JUNE 09: Carlos Munoz, driver of the #14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, leads a pack of cars during practice for the Verizon IndyCar Series Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
AJ Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet
FORT WORTH, TX – JUNE 09: JR Hildebrand, driver of the #21 Fuzzy’s Vodka Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, practices for the Verizon IndyCar Series Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet
FORT WORTH, TX – JUNE 09: James Hinchcliffe, driver of the #5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda, and Tony Kanaan, driver of the #10 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, lead a pack of cars during practice for the Verizon IndyCar Series Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda
AVONDALE, AZ – APRIL 28: Sebastien Bourdais of France, driver of the #18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda drives during practice for the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix at Phoenix International Raceway on April 28, 2017 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Dale Coyne Racing, Honda
FORT WORTH, TX – JUNE 09: Graham Rahal, driver of the #15 Mi-Jack / Bobby Rahal Automotive Honda, practices for the Verizon IndyCar Series Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images)
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MAY 28: Ryan Hunter-Reay, driver of the #28 DHL Honda, 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)
Andretti Autosport, Chevrolet
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
AVONDALE, AZ – APRIL 28: Simon Pagenaud of France, driver of the #1 Team Penske Chevrolet and Josef Newgarden, driver of the #2 Team Penske Chevrolet drive during practice for the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix at Phoenix International Raceway on April 28, 2017 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Which drivers do you think will end up with which teams in the 2018 season? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow me on Instagram as well as Beyond the Flag on both Instagram and Twitter. Also, don’t forget to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions, and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it.
Asher Fair
Asher has been with FanSided since Feb. 2017, primarily covering motorsport – NASCAR, IndyCar, and F1 – for Beyond the Flag. He became an officially accredited media member in Sep. 2019 and was hired as Junior Editor in Oct. 2020. Following a promotion to Associate Editor in Jul. 2021, he continues to manage the site and also occasionally contributes on FanSided's NFL and NCAA sites.
