IndyCar: A tame 2020 Silly Season? Think again

When Alexander Rossi was confirmed at Andretti Autosport for the 2020 IndyCar season, Silly Season was over, right? Not even close.

A few months ago and even up to a few weeks ago, most if not all of the talk regarding a potential shakeup of the 2020 IndyCar driver lineup pertained to Alexander Rossi. The Andretti Autosport superstar had been rumored to sign with Team Penske.

However, at the end of July and prior to his fifth place finish in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the 27-year-old Nevada City, California native re-signed with Andretti Autosport to return to the team for the fifth consecutive season next year.

For many reasons, Silly Season would undoubtedly be a whole lot crazier had Rossi signed with Team Penske instead of Andretti Autosport. But if you thought it would be tame simply because he is set to continue driving the #27 Honda on a new multi-year contract, think again.

As for the sport’s top three teams, everything that was set in stone for this season appears to be set in stone for next season. Rossi, Zach Veach, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti are all set to return to Andretti Autosport while Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Simon Pagenaud are all set to return to Team Penske and Scott Dixon is set to return to Chip Ganassi Racing with rookie Felix Rosenqvist poised to do the same.

But that’s where the full-time confirmations effectively end among entire teams.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing are set to return their two cars next year, with Graham Rahal under contract through the 2023 season. Takuma Sato is only under contract through the 2019 season, but given the team’s and his long-time ties to Honda, he is expected to get another contract extension.

But the team are eyeing a third car for next year, and according to team co-owner Bobby Rahal, they are as close to securing the funding to do so as they’ve ever been. Who will drive their third car?

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Dale Coyne Racing are set to return two cars next year as well, with Sebastien Bourdais set to return to the team via a partnership with Vasser-Sullivan. Rookie Santino Ferrucci has a contract extension lined up to return to the team as well, but he is currently exploring his other options.

Could Ferrucci end up as a teammate to Rahal and Sato, and if so, who would Dale Coyne Racing sign?

As for Ed Carpenter Racing’s full-time entry, it would be shocking if anybody but Spencer Pigot ends up driving for the team. He has made solid strides since the start of the 2018 season when he became the team’s full-time driver, and team owner Ed Carpenter has been more than impressed with his efforts.

Carpenter himself is set to return to the team for the oval races next year, and Ed Jones could return for a second season running the road and street course races for the team via a partnership with Scuderia Corsa. However, Juncos Racing Indy Lights driver Rinus van Kalmthout (Rinus VeeKay) is also in the mix after impressing the team in a test at Portland International Raceway.

The two most interesting situations of the 2020 IndyCar Silly Season are those of Harding Steinbrenner Racing and Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, and for one major reason: IndyCar Silly Season regulars McLaren.

Harding Steinbrenner Racing have confirmed that 19-year-old rookie sensation Colton Herta is under contract with the team through at least another season, and his contract binds him to Andretti Technologies.

That’s all well and good, but Santiago Urrutia, Gabby Chaves and Patricio O’Ward were also “under contract” with Harding Racing before. None of these three drivers ever ended up driving full-time for the team, with Urrutia and O’Ward never doing so at all. In fact, Urrutia has never even competed in an IndyCar race.

Herta already has a leg up on those two drivers since he has actually driven for the team and will likely finish out the 2019 season, but their current sponsorship runs out at the end of the year.

With Herta being tied to Andretti Autosport, could they run a fifth car for him next year? They were going to do so for O’Ward, who won the 2018 Indy Lights championship driving for the team, this season even after Harding Steinbrenner Racing released him less than one month before the 2019 season began, but only in eight of the season’s 17 races, and O’Ward ultimately turned down this offer.

Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ contract with Honda began the 2019 season lasting until the end of the 2020 season, as did the contract of driver James Hinchcliffe, who works closely with the Japanese manufacturer by appearing in various commercials.

McLaren, meanwhile, were rumored to form a partnership with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports for the 2020 season to field a two-car effort following their failed Indy 500 qualifying attempt with two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso in May, and they are targeting Herta to drive one of their cars.

Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports previously confirmed that they will only run two cars in the 2020 season. But McLaren cannot work with Honda, as Honda remain disgruntled with the Woking-based team after their relationship deteriorated during their three-year partnership in Formula 1 from the 2015 season through the 2017 season.

Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team co-owner Sam Schmidt has made this clear, but the supposed talks between these two teams continued.

Now this partnership is official, as Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and McLaren have come together to form Arrow McLaren Racing Schmidt Peterson (Arrow McLaren Racing SP). Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and Honda ultimately agreed to end their contract one year early.

But this story is far from over. What will come of this?

Honda being willing to end their deal with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports may have been easier than most think. One of the reasons why O’Ward had to leave Harding Steinbrenner Racing was because there was no full-time engine lease.

Why? When the team signed O’Ward, they were still a Chevrolet-powered team. It took two and a half months later, roughly three months before the season began, before they confirmed their switch to Honda. At this point, suffice it to say that Honda were not in a position to field 14 of the 23 full-time entries, especially considering the two late additions were at the underfunded Harding Steinbrenner Racing team.

With the potential Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing expansion and the opportunity for a potential fifth car at Andretti Autosport, perhaps Honda welcomed a mutual severance of ties with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports despite the closeness that their relationship has entailed over the years. It’s not like they parted on bad terms.

Depending on Harding Steinbrenner Racing’s situation for next year, McLaren could very well land Herta. Then again, they might not given his ties to Andretti Autosport.

With this partnership having come to fruition, where will Hinchcliffe end up given his ties to Honda? He could certainly end up driving Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s third car or Dale Coyne Racing’s second car if Ferrucci ends up driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. A fifth Andretti Autosport car may also not be out of the picture either since Herta could be at McLaren.

But he could also end his ties with Honda and return to Arrow McLaren Racing SP. In fact, that is what he indicated would happen, as did Schmidt and McLaren CEO Zak Brown.

Let’s not forget that his contract with the team does not end until after next year, and it was never officially canceled. He also drove Chevrolet-powered cars in the 2012 and 2013 seasons when he drove for Andretti Autosport.

Rookie Marcus Ericsson could also return to Arrow McLaren Racing SP, and fellow former Formula 1 driver Felipe Nasr recently tested for the team. O’Ward could also be in the mix if he opts to return to IndyCar after joining the Red Bull Junior Team to compete in the Super Formula Championship with aspirations of competing in Formula 1.

Let’s also not forget about Andretti Autosport Indy Lights driver Oliver Askew. Askew, who recently tested for Chip Ganassi Racing at Portland International Raceway, is poised to win the 2019 Indy Lights championship, which would put him in a position to compete in at least three races in the 2020 season on a $1 million scholarship.

If they don’t have Herta or Hinchcliffe, would Askew be an option for the team’s potential fifth car, at least for a few races like they had planned for O’Ward? If not, it’s not too off-the-wall to picture him driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing or Dale Coyne Racing, or even perhaps for Arrow McLaren Racing SP.

Now, finally, moving on from McLaren.

A.J. Foyt Enterprises’ situation is hairy to say the least, as they are in need of an overhaul after a disastrous 2019 season. However, compared to the situations of Harding Steinbrenner Racing and Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (and McLaren), it’s nothing special.

At least one of the team’s two current drivers, Brazilian veteran Tony Kanaan and Brazilian youngster Matheus Leist, could very well be cut. As to which one has a better chance to return, it’s anybody’s guess.

There was a rumor going around that former Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves could replace one of these two drivers, but that rumor may have been based on the possibility of Rossi signing with Team Penske. Team Penske are only planning to field four cars in the Indy 500, so the addition of Rossi would have sealed their Indy 500 driver lineup.

With Rossi having re-signed with Andretti Autosport, Castroneves could still end up driving Team Penske’s fourth car in next year’s Indy 500, and this is a scenario that he and team owner Roger Penske would both like to see come to fruition for what would be the three-time winner’s 20th start for The Captain in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.

So if A.J. Foyt Enterprises do change their driver lineup for the 2020 season, who will they sign? They could certainly target Askew or VeeKay if they do not land rides elsewhere. However, at this point, they may be better off retaining both Kanaan and Leist, because it’s far more than a driver issue within the team.

As for Carlin’s situation, Max Chilton is expected back next year for at least the road and street course races and the Indianapolis 500, but whether or not he will compete in all of the oval races is unknown with the new Aeroscreen cockpit protection device. It is also expected that the team will run several drivers in their second car like they’ve done throughout the 2019 season.

Finally, Meyer Shank Racing are set to return to the series next year, although their commitment (full-time or part-time) is unknown. They will likely remain with Honda, so their partnership with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports will come to an end.

There are rumors that they could former a partnership with Andretti Autosport like they did for the 2017 Indianapolis 500, especially given the common ties they share with sponsor AutoNation. If not, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing are two other possibilities.

These rumors involve the team fielding one or two cars. Jack Harvey is the favorite to drive the team’s car or one of the team’s two cars once again should a partnership with one of these three teams come to fruition.

When the 2020 IndyCar season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida gets here next March, which teams will be competing in the series, which teams will be aligned with which engine manufacturers and which drivers will be driving for which teams? Many unknowns remain pertaining to next year’s lineup as the 2019 season winds down.

The possibilities are truly endless.