Beyond the Flag
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IndyCar: Updated Silly Season driver lineup for 2018

By Asher Fair

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: The cars coross the line for the start of the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 28, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 28: The cars coross the line for the start of the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 28, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /
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FORT WORTH, TX – JUNE 09: Gabby Chaves, driver of the #88 Harding Group Chevrolet (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX – JUNE 09: Gabby Chaves, driver of the #88 Harding Group Chevrolet (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

Harding Racing, Chevrolet

No. 88. Harding Racing, Chevrolet. GABBY CHAVES. #88.

Gabby Chaves drove the #88 Harding Racing Chevrolet in the three superspeedway races this season, and he did a solid job driving for the new-one car Harding Racing team, finishing in the top 15 all three times with two finishes in the top 9, including a 5th place finish at Texas. Chaves has one full-time season of IndyCar experience as well as races in two other seasons as a part-time driver under his belt. In 26 career races, he has never crashed, and his lone DNF came at Pocono in the first race he ever led laps at, and that DNF was due to a late engine failure. Chaves knows how to keep it clean, and that’s what a new underfunded team like Harding Racing needs in a driver.

Carlin Motorsport, Chevrolet

#8. . No. 8. Carlin Motorsport, Chevrolet. MAX CHILTON

It’s pretty clear that Max Chilton will not be returning to Chip Ganassi Racing for his third career IndyCar season. When he was parked at Pocono simply because the team felt he could not make up any positions, he made it clear that he “could not wait for next year”. That’s probably because he is looking forward to having a ride with the team he had success with in Indy Lights in 2015, and that is Carlin Motorsport, a team that many believe will make the move to IndyCar next season. Carlin may end up being Chilton’s only hope for a full-time ride in 2018.

Carlin Motorsport, Chevrolet. CHARLIE KIMBALL. #83. . No. 83

Charlie Kimball, like Max Chilton, currently drives for Chip Ganassi Racing, but he likely won’t be back with the team in the 2018 season thanks to a sponsorship reduction as well as the fact that he hasn’t won a race in over four years and is in the midst of arguably his worst season since he was a rookie back in 2011. However, he isn’t completed losing his Novo Nordisk sponsorship. It is just getting reduced. A reduction of sponsorship from a sponsor that helped him maintain his ride with Chip Ganassi Racing for seven seasons will likely mean he has enough money to secure a ride with a team like Carlin Motorsport.