Although the IZOD IndyCar Series lost its most identifiable driver with the move of Danica Patrick to NASCAR, possible changes could raise the level of competition to new heights.
The IZOD IndyCar season starts on March 25 and there is a chance a veteran Formula One driver could be in the mix. Rubens Barrichello, who has made 322 Formula One starts during his career recently tested an IndyCar for KV Racing Tehnologies at Sebring, Fla.
As reported Barrichello was quick right out of the box in the newly designed IndyCar. He would be a natural on the road and street courses the series competes at and he indicated the oval races were not a concern.
In the past several F1 drivers made the switch to IndyCars, most notably Nigel Mansell and Emerson Fittipaldi. Mansell never won the Indianapolis 500 and Fittipaldi recorded wins in 1989 and 1993.
It was also recently announced that Takuma Sato, a F1 driver, will be competing full-time with the Rahal Letterman Racing team in 2012.
I don’t expect Barrichello or Sato to generate the kind of excitement that Mansell or Fittipaldi generated. But they add to more drivers to the mix of potential winners at any IZOD IndyCar race.
During the past few seasons the IndyCar series has been dominated by the Penske Motorsports drivers Will Power, Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves. The team of Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti driving for Ganassi Racing was the other dominant team.
Of course other drivers have recorded win in the series, but the reality has been the Penske and Ganassi were always the favorites to win. Now Barichello and Sato, if their equipment is competitive, should be in a position to win at every race.
In other racing news: Illinois open-wheel standout Chris Windom, winner of the Payless Little 500 at Anderson Speedway and a competitor with USAC, will be looking to make his first ARCA Series start at Daytona on Feb. 18.
Windom is driving for former American Speed Association champion Kevin Cywinski and his Minnesota based team.
As of Tuesday there were 51 cars entered in the ARCA race at Daytona including multiple time champion Frank Kimmel and Bobby Gerhart, who has won several times on the high banked oval.
It appears the JEGS/Champion Racing Association All Star Tour presented by GM Performance Parts for late models with a spec engine will be a part of Kroger Speed Fest at Lucas Oil Raceway during Brickyard 400 weekend. A tentative date has been set for July 26 for a 100-lap race. That’s the same night the USAC Silver Crown and Midget series will be in action.
The CRA Super Series for late models will be in action on July 27 at LOR, the same night ARCA returns for a second consecutive year.
Fantasy Racing entries will be appearing in the CNHI newspapers in Indiana in the coming week.
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Contact Ken de la Bastide: 454-8580, ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com
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Ken de la Bastide: Barrichello might move to IndyCar
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