IndyCar: DragonSpeed, Ben Hanley could still compete at Laguna Seca
By Asher Fair
DragonSpeed and Ben Hanley could still return to IndyCar and make one more start in their maiden season in the season finale at Laguna Seca.
DragonSpeed entered the 2019 IndyCar season, their maiden season in the sport, with plans to field the #81 Chevrolet in five of the season’s 17 races for Ben Hanley, who drives for the team in several other series.
They made their first three starts as planned in the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, the season’s third race at Barber Motorsports Park and the season’s sixth race, the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a race for which they qualified as heavy underdogs.
The remaining two races on their schedule for the 2019 season were the season’s 10th race at Road America and the season’s 13th race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. They did not compete in the former, and visa issues have prevented them from being on the entry list for the latter.
However, their season may not be over.
As they noted in their tweet about missing this Sunday’s race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, they are still planning to return to the series.
@IndyCar Fans! We are still alive!! We’ve had 3 more Endurance races since our magical outing at @IMS. Unfortunately, we have been stung by Visa issues for our crew & driver & are awaiting resolution by .gov. This will NOT discourage us from our eventual planned return. pic.twitter.com/Ydt1WKjwEY
— DragonSpeed (@DragonSpeedLLC) July 24, 2019
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Despite the fact that IndyCar confirmed that Road America and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course were originally slated to be the final two venues at which they competed in the 2019 season, several news outlets are now reporting that they have had plans to compete in the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
This race around the 11-turn, 2.238-mile (3.602-kilometer) WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca natural terrain road course in Monterey, California, the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey, is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 22. This race is one of two remaining road course races on the 2019 schedule aside of this Sunday’s race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The other one is the race at Portland International Raceway on Sunday, September 1.
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Be sure to tune in to NBC at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 22 for the live broadcast of the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Let’s hope that DragonSpeed and Ben Hanley will be able to finish off their maiden IndyCar season in this race after being unable to compete in the races at Road America and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.