[IRL/FIL] 2009 Season

Including the Indy 500 and all junior series leading up to IndyCar
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[IRL/FIL] 2009 Season

#1

Post by HC »

Indy Racing League 2009 Season
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2009 Calendar
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2009 will once again see a bunch of changes. First of all there's the calendar, Nashville is out while ex-CCWS events Long Beach and Toronto are added. Motegi has moved to later in the season so that they can run at Long Beach. Chicagoland is no longer the final race of the season and it will now be a night race. Miami will host the finale, just like it does in Cup.

For next year (10) there are also a bunch of rumors. Loudon seems to be really interested and is looking for a 2010 date. Las Vegas wants the finale as they also hold the banquet at The Strip. IRL could replace F1 at Montreal, running together with Nationwide. And last but not least there are two former CCWS tracks that want a spot on the calendar, these are Portland and Cleveland.

There are not many changes in the drivers lineup and most of it was already shown at Surfers. Franchitti moved to the IRL team of Ganassi, Wheldon got booted and went to Panther, which made Meira go to Foyt's operation. Then there's stuntman Stanton Barrett driving for Beck Motorsports, the upcoming talent Raphael Matos for Luczo-Dragon and possibly Sarah Fisher and her own team.

2008 Season Thread
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#2

Post by OSNOF »

Helio could be in the clink by April 11th, so Penske might need to find another driver or he could slim down to 1 car.
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#3

Post by Cynon »

OSNOF wrote:Helio could be in the clink by April 11th, so Penske might need to find another driver or he could slim down to 1 car.
Didn't Honda say they were arranging for Rubens Barrichello to test an IndyCar?
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#4

Post by Sam »

Cynon wrote:
OSNOF wrote:Helio could be in the clink by April 11th, so Penske might need to find another driver or he could slim down to 1 car.
Didn't Honda say they were arranging for Rubens Barrichello to test an IndyCar?
I think they were but IIRC Rubens has said it'll be F1 or nothing for him. Which propably rules him out.

It would be interesting to see what Penske would do if Helio would be sent to jail but hopefully we won't have to see that.
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#5

Post by kals »

In Autosport magazine this week there was an article on Justin Wilson and Newman Haas Lanigan. Appartly Justin has been told he is free to speak with other teams for 2009 as NHL only has enough money to run a one car team at this time. They are trying to secure budget for a second car, but in the meantime Justin is allowed to look for alternatives.
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#6

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On the 8th and 9th of December Bobby D will be testing an IRL car at Homestead Miami. It wasn't announced which team he will be testing for but he's saying its a good one. Lets hope so, because it would be great to finally have a Dutch driver again in the 500.
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#7

Post by aewallace81 »

Maybe Penske could try Pantano, I'm not a great fan of his but winning the GP2 championship should come with some reward even if most of the drivers it turns out are fairly average or accident prone.
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#8

Post by CAXEMIRA »

Sam wrote:
Cynon wrote:
OSNOF wrote:Helio could be in the clink by April 11th, so Penske might need to find another driver or he could slim down to 1 car.
Didn't Honda say they were arranging for Rubens Barrichello to test an IndyCar?
I think they were but IIRC Rubens has said it'll be F1 or nothing for him. Which propably rules him out.

It would be interesting to see what Penske would do if Helio would be sent to jail but hopefully we won't have to see that.
i read something about his wife not wanting him to race in ovals so he wont go to IRL for sure
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#9

Post by Lunatic Armchair »

aewallace81 wrote:Maybe Penske could try Pantano, I'm not a great fan of his but winning the GP2 championship should come with some reward even if most of the drivers it turns out are fairly average or accident prone.
Pantano was in IRL over 4 years ago IIRC.
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#10

Post by Cheeveer »

Pantano did a few races some years ago, and didn't make a fool of himself. As long as he keeps out of the junior formulas and stop aiming for Formula 1.
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#11

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Pantano drove for Ganassi in 2005 when he replaced Darren Manning. Giorgio was recruited as a road course expert and did Sears Point and Watkins Glen. At the first race he was doing really well when he was punted off at T1 with two laps to go. After a wild and bumpy ride he ended up on the inside of the second turn. It was an impressive debut. He came back two races later at The Glen and pulled it off again. This time however the result showed his hard efforts and he finished fourth. His teammate, Dixon, scored the only victory for Ganassi that year at Watkins Glen.

Its gonna be difficult for Giorgio to get a decent drive. He's done it all and with the youth movement many people think he's past his prime. But who knows where he will end up.
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#12

Post by Lunatic Armchair »

I thought he replaced Ryan Briscoe?
Matt wrote:The 1981 Monaco and Spanish Grands Prix had a surprising winner, merely due to the fact that they're the only races in history to have been won by a World War 2 tank disguised as a Formula One car.
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#13

Post by HC »

No, he replaced the #10 in which Manning drove. Remember that Darren was involved in many incidents that year and I even remember an article stating the total amount of damage costs. He was released and the seat was filled by a variety of drivers. Pantano drove at Sonoma and Lazier at Chicagoland. That was the same race in which Briscoe had his horrible accident. Giorgio got into the #10 again next race while Jacques did the last one at California. Ryan´s car was not entered after Chicagoland. So Ganassi drove with only two cars in the last two races, the #10 and the #9 for Scott Dixon.

Also remember Lazier and Patrick crashing in the last ever race at California Speedway. Apparently Danica punched him in the ambulance. :haha:
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#14

Post by OSNOF »

Jacques Lazier wrote:My 3-year-old daughter hits harder than she does.
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#15

Post by HC »

EJ Viso has said that he expects that Robert Doornbos will be his teammate. That would mean that Robert is reunited with the team he drove for in 2007.

Doornbos proved in 2007 that he could quickly adapt to the American style of racing and the street circuits. I think he can do the same on ovals. And for me Viso was the most impressing rookie last year, combining talent and a good team. So I think Bobby D and EJ can really impress people in 2009.
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