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IndyCar: Top 5 replacement candidates for Mikhail Aleshin

By Asher Fair

FORT WORTH, TX - JUNE 09: Mikhail Aleshin, driver of the #7 SMP Racing Schmidt Peterson Motorsports 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 Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX - JUNE 09: Mikhail Aleshin, driver of the #7 SMP Racing Schmidt Peterson Motorsports 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 Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MAY 28: Sebastian Saavedra, driver of the #17 AFS Chevrolet, races 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: Sebastian Saavedra, driver of the #17 AFS Chevrolet, races during the 101st Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 28, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Sebastian Saavedra

Sebastian Saavedra, 27, has not had a full-time ride in IndyCar since the 2014 season, but he has driven on and off in the 2015 and 2017 seasons. This season, he has driven in two races. He drove for Juncos Racing at the Indianapolis 500 and he drove for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports at Toronto.

The latter is the primary reason he is on this list as a possible replacement candidate for Mikhail Aleshin in the #7 Honda. Saavedra replaced Aleshin at Toronto because Aleshin was essentially “benched” by the team after having a rough season up to that point.

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Saavedra finished in 15th place after starting way back in 31st at the Indianapolis 500 to tie his career-high Indy 500 finish, and he did that despite the fact that he was driving for Juncos Racing, which was one of the slowest teams at the track all month.

At Toronto, as mentioned above, Saavedra got the call from Schmidt Peterson Motorsports to drive Mikhail Aleshin’s #7 Honda. He qualified in 20th place and ended up finishing in 11th for his best IndyCar finish in over two seasons, and he did it on a moment’s notice.

Because of his ability to do more with less, as he has shown in his two IndyCar races so far this season, Saavedra should be looked at by Schmidt Peterson Motorsports to, once again, replace Mikhail Aleshin in the #7 Honda, this time for perhaps a stint of more than one race.

Next: IndyCar Driver Power Rankings

Which driver or drivers do you think will replace Mikhail Aleshin in the final four races of the 2017 season? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow Beyond the Flag on both Instagram and Twitter. Finally, 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.