IndyCar: Could Harding Racing field two full-time entries in the 2018 season?

Could Harding Racing field two full-time entries in the 2018 IndyCar season, or will Gabby Chaves be the team’s lone full-time driver?

Harding Racing made their IndyCar debut this past May in the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 with Gabby Chaves behind the wheel of the #88 Chevrolet. The team ended up fielding the #88 car in two more races, the two remaining superspeedway races, before the conclusion of the 2017 season.

Not much was expected of the team, especially after Chaves qualified back in 25th place on the inside of the ninth row for the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”. But after a solid 9th place finish in the race, which tied Chaves’ career-high result, people started to notice.

In the team’s second race of the season with Chaves at Texas, the Colombian set a new career-high finish with a 5th place effort. He then went on to qualify in 8th at Pocono before finishing back in 15th after the team struggled for much of the race, a race he nearly won back in 2015 driving for Bryan Herta Autosport.

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After confirming that they would run full-time with Chaves in the 2018 IndyCar season, there has been mounting speculation that the team could end up being a two-car full-time team. After all, there is no cleaner driver than Chaves, whose lone DNF in his 26-race IndyCar career so far was a result of an engine failure and whose lone wreck was in a practice crash as a part-time driver. With a projected crash bill as low as Harding Racing’s with Chaves, adding a second driver would almost seem like a no-brainer, especially after the team’s success in their three races in 2017.

Back in August during the weekend of the team’s third and final race of the season at Pocono Raceway, Harding Racing owner Mike Harding had this to say about the prospects of running a two-car team for the duration of the 2018 IndyCar season, according to thecheckeredflag.co.uk.

"“It’s 100 percent we’re going to run one car full-time with Gabby [Chaves] for 2018 and we’re working on sponsorship for a second car and it looks good. I’ve got one Leader’s Circle for next year and I’m working on a second.”"

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There has been no word yet on who that second driver could be, but there are plenty of options. One possible driver could be 2017 Indy Lights runner-up Santiago Urrutia, who has stated that he was “getting close” to securing a ride in the 2018 IndyCar season. Will there be a second full-time ride open at Harding Racing in 2018? If so, will Urrutia be the driver? As of now, there has not been anything confirmed, but we still have over two and a half months before the 2018 season kicks off with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, March 11th.