Conor Daly lost his ride with Ed Carpenter Racing in the middle of the 2023 IndyCar season. Who might be next before the season wraps up?
Ed Carpenter Racing recently announced that Conor Daly will not be continuing with the team behind the wheel of the No. 20 Chevrolet, a decision that came just seven races into the 17-race 2023 IndyCar season. Ryan Hunter-Reay is set to drive the BitNile-sponsored car for the remainder of the year.
Even going beyond the obvious fact that Daly hasn’t produced much statistically since joining the team in 2020, the move makes sense. Given the overall lack of testing that teams have these days, a team like Ed Carpenter Racing can’t necessarily afford to wait to make a driver lineup decision until after a season ends.
Who else could be on the losing end if other teams take the same approach? Here are three drivers who could get the mid-season axe.
IndyCar drivers who could be cut early: No. 1 – Devlin DeFrancesco
Devlin DeFrancesco is an obvious choice here for three reasons. First of all, his top finish since joining IndyCar last year is 12th place, and he has only finished in the top half of the field three times. That doesn’t cut it when you’re driving for a team of Andretti Autosport’s caliber. Every other driver in last year’s rookie class has at least three career top 10 finishes.
Secondly, there was a rumor going around that Andretti Autosport wanted him out for the Indy 500, with J.R. Hildebrand as the potential replacement if called upon. While that didn’t happen and hasn’t ever been confirmed, the idea suggests that the team have run dry on patience.
And finally, Andretti Autosport have made this move before, releasing Zach Veach before his contract was due to end at the end of the 2020 season. And Veach’s release was even more of a shocker, considering the fact that he is the one who brought major primary sponsor Gainbridge into IndyCar in 2018.
IndyCar drivers who could be cut early: No. 2 – Sting Ray Robb
Many, including Sting Ray Robb himself, were surprised when reigning Indy NXT (Lights) champion Linus Lundqvist didn’t end up behind the wheel of the No. 51 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing for the 2023 IndyCar season himself. But Robb, the runner-up in Indy NXT last year, had the funding to make the deal happen and landed the ride for himself.
To put it nicely, Dale Coyne Racing aren’t the strongest team in the IndyCar paddock. That’s fairly obvious. But on the same note, no driver has had a less impressive season than Robb, even when you consider the fact that he is in Dale Coyne Racing equipment.
Robb has finished just two of the season’s first seven races. His best finish is ironically a DNF, and he has been the cause of a caution flag in four straight races, including three in a row for crashes/incidents he caused. He has brought out the yellow flag in five of the last six events.
We all know that Robb is a great individual not afraid to publicize his faith. But he simply isn’t cutting it on the competition side, and he is proving the critics who doubted the team’s decision to sign him right — and then some.
Fortunately for him, Dale Coyne Racing have struggled as a whole, and second-year teammate David Malukas hasn’t done all that well lately either.
But even Malukas has as many top 10 finishes as Robb has total finishes. He might even have more if Robb didn’t literally drive through him in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course race. And that doesn’t bode well for the rookie, who continues to underperform.
IndyCar drivers who could be cut early: No. 3 – Meyer Shank Racing driver
Meyer Shank Racing have inexplicably taken a massive step backwards since Helio Castroneves won his fourth Indy 500 back in 2021 in what was only his first start with the team and the team’s first race with two cars.
Through the first seven races of the 2023 season, Castroneves sits in 22nd place in the championship standings with a top finish of 10th, and Simon Pagenaud sits in 25th, only higher than rookies Benjamin Pederson and Sting Ray Robb, with a top finish of 13th.
You’d be hard pressed to find someone who thinks the drivers are the issue here. Clearly the team aren’t where they want to be. But at the same time, it is no secret that Castroneves and Pagenaud, who are both in their second full season with the team, are probably nearing the end of their IndyCar careers.
Sometimes a driver change in this situation can do wonders, even if the benefit can’t quite be justified on paper.
Meyer Shank Racing will certainly want to do right by their drivers, who have won a combined five Indy 500s. But at the same time, both drivers compete for the team in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as well, winning the 24 Hours of Daytona in both 2022 and 2023, and they too could see that it is in the organization’s best interests to make a change sooner rather than later.
Any split would certainly have to be mutual, though it’s hard to imagine the team will move on from both drivers before the end of the year.
Many believe that Tom Blomqvist is going to end up running the full IndyCar schedule with the team next year, and given the limited testing time, the best-case scenario for all involved may be getting him some additional seat time toward the end of the 2023 campaign. But which driver would he replace?