Another couple of dominos fell this week, in regards to seats being confirmed in the NTT IndyCar Series for the 2021 season. No one was surprised on Tuesday, when James Hinchcliffe was announced as the driver of the No. 29 Honda for Andretti Autosport. It will be a fulltime ride, with sponsorship coming from Genesys for ten of the seventeen races including the Indianapolis 500. If you recall, Genesys was his sponsor for the 500 last year along with Texas and the IndyCar GP. The sponsorship for the other seven races will be announced later.
Archive for January, 2021
A Mixed Bag of Signings This Week
Posted in IndyCar on January 29, 2021 by OilpressureIs an Indianapolis 500 Win a Requirement?
Posted in IndyCar on January 27, 2021 by Oilpressure
This past Monday morning, following the NFL Conference Championships – my local sports talk radio station was having the tiresome, but predictable, discussion of which quarterback was the greatest of all time – all due to the fact that Tom Brady had just qualified for his record-extending tenth Super Bowl. Of course, they were continually using the GOAT acronym (you know…Greatest Of All Time) that I detest. Don’t sully a great athlete by referring to them as a goat – I don’t care how hip you sound.
What is the TV Future For IndyCar?
Posted in IndyCar on January 25, 2021 by Oilpressure
Heading into the weekend, we got confirmation on what had been rumored since early December – NBC will shut down their sports network, NBCSN, by the end of the year. As you know, that could have a direct impact on the NTT IndyCar Series – assuming the series chooses to stay with NBC, when the current contract expires at the end of the 2021 season.
Taking the Chill Out of January
Posted in IndyCar on January 22, 2021 by Oilpressure
Earlier this week, the first tangible sign of the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series season took place with far less hoopla than usual. There was a private test at Sebring International Raceway among seven cars on Monday and nine cars on Tuesday of this week. Only two drivers turned laps on both days – Dalton Kellett for AJ Foyt Enterprises and Max Chilton for Carlin. What was the most important thing learned from the two-day test? That racing season is getting closer and closer.
Welcome Back, Simona de Silvestro
Posted in IndyCar on January 20, 2021 by Oilpressure
I will probably catch flack for this, but I don’t intend for it to be derogatory – yet I know as sure as I’m sitting here typing away, someone will find fault with my next sentence. When Roger Penske, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the NTT IndyCar Series announced their “Race for Equality and Change” initiative last summer – it never dawned on me that it was created for women too.
The Pressure on Being Marco Andretti
Posted in IndyCar on January 18, 2021 by Oilpressure
It’s odd that the last couple of posts on this site have been dedicated to speculation on the careers of older drivers; Simon Pagenaud, Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay. In those posts, I don’t think I once mentioned Marco Andretti, nor his future. I just assumed he had several more fulltime years left in the cockpit.
Hunter-Reay Gets One More Year in IndyCar
Posted in IndyCar on January 15, 2021 by Oilpressure
Yesterday, we got official confirmation that Ryan Hunter-Reay would continue with Andretti Autosport in the No. 28 DHL entry for the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series season. I don’t think anyone was surprised at all that this happened. Nor do I think anyone was shocked that it was only a one-year extension to the four-year deal that Hunter-Reay and Andretti inked prior to the 2017 season.
Oilpressure 