2003 Entry List - Provisional

[Down F0rce]

here is a list i made of the runers and riders in this years IRL IndyCar Series. car numbers based on what they will be running on the "test in the west", or what has been confirmed by the team.

*only drivers running the full season have been included. Please say if i have missed out anyone!


Target Chip Ganassi Racing - Scott Dixon (9), Tomas Scheckter (10)

Super Aguri Fernandez Racing - Rodger Yasukawa (55)

Malboro Team Penske - Helio Castroneves (3), Gil de Ferran (6)

Andretti Green Racing - Micheal Andretti (7), Dario Franchitti (TBC), Tony Kannan (TBC)

Pennzoil Panther Racing - Sam Hornish jr.(4)

Red Bull Cheever Racing - Buddy Rice (52)

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing - Bobbie Buhl (24), Sarah Fisher (23)

A.J Foyt Racing - A.J Foyt IV (14)

Team Rahal - Kenny Brack (15)

Mo Nunn Racing - Tora Takagi (TBC), Felipe Giaffone (21)

Team Menard - Jaques Lazier/Vitor Meria (2)

Kelley Racing - Scott Sharp (7), Al Unser jr.(31)

Hemelgarn Racing - Buddy Lazier (91)

PDM Racing - Scott Mayer (18)

[Jordi]

22 drivers. Not bad. But I thought there were going to be 30..

[marcus]

good stuff down force , i was just gonna start making a list of entrants

22 isnt bad and im sure more will come along very soon as we are nearing the start of the season.


One question i have is who the heck is Scott Mayer , ive never heard of him , all the others i have but never heard of this guy before , anybody got any information at all about him ??

[racer69]

I'd guess you could probably add a second Red Bull Cheever entry and Foyt entry before the season starts, what about Tony Renna, will he get a start at Kelley? Is Shinji Nakano going to get a ride, i'd have thought he would have been a shoe-in at one of the Honda teams.

[sgw2]

Minor correction: Scott Sharp has car #8. Al Unser gave up his #7 to AGR for it's sponosr 7-11, and will run #31.

Other:

Expect Vitor Meira in Menard's car. Robin Miller says so.

Shinji Nakano will not race in IRL. Honda Japan directed the money Shinji got for CART to Aguris Suzuki and Adrian Fernadez's entry for American Roger Yasukawa. Marketing in the US and Japan will be directed around Roger. The big news that will come out soon for this team however, is that Adrian Fernandez himself will be in a second car for Indy. I speculate that he will skip the CART race in Germany (letting some other driver sub for him there) so that he can concentrateon the 500, giving Mexico it's best shot at a win.

Worth watching is whether IMS can work a deal for Access Motorsports, as it could get a Falcon or two on the grid plus Speedway favorites George Mack (Afro-American) and/or Robby McGehee a ride.

Lots happenning. grids hould be in the low 20s, but with better depth and quality than we have seen in years.

[BootsOntheSide]

It certainly is a strong grid, but its a shame Panther aren't running 2 cars fullseason, and sad to lose guys like Barron, Ward and Mack. What will Nakano be doing then? Maybe the sub slot for Adrian in Germany, and more if they get another sponsor?

[Raven]

Are you sure Sara is confirmed with D&R? Good news if she is.

[Down F0rce]

Originally posted by Raven
Are you sure Sara is confirmed with D&R? Good news if she is.

she will certainly be with them for the Test in the West, and i assume she will race for them also

Originally posted by sgw2
Minor correction: Scott Sharp has car #8. Al Unser gave up his #7 to AGR for it's sponosr 7-11, and will run #31.

ooops my mistake. so i guess that means that Dario or Tony will be running car 11 then?

[racer69]

Originally posted by sgw2
Expect Vitor Meira in Menard's car. Robin Miller says so.

Wasn't menard going to run 2 cars, one for Jacques Lazier and the one for Meira.

What about PJ Jones, how has he recovered from his Indy crash.

[gomick]

is pj jones still hanging around is he - never thought much of pj as a driver.....

[sgw2]

Well the latest word is Michael and Tony will have #7 and #11 respectively, once they settle with A.J. (they had to delay the announcement). Their sponsor will be 7-11. Klein Tools will be Dario's main sponsor on the #27 entry. Motorola will be an associate sponsor only, probably only with Michael. Honda is reportedly picking up Franchitti's considerable salary. Danny Weldon will certainly get a crack at the Indy 500 for AGR, but will only see action otherwise should Michael opt out of some races.

The IndyStar is saying Alex Barron may appear at some races in the #51 Red Bull car, as Eddie Cheever may race as few as three races, although if they stay off the wall, the #51 car may appear at as many as seven or eight races. Barron should be in the teams third entry (#53) at Indy.

Kelley is trying to find a way to get Tony Renna in a third car. He'll at least be at Indy.

[racer69]

Why doesn't Cheever have the budget, has Red Bull cutback their involvement?

[Down F0rce]

Originally posted by racer69
Why doesn't Cheever have the budget, has Red Bull cutback their involvement?

Eddie want to focus more on the team owner aspect of his carrer, he says in his interview on indyracing.com

[Down F0rce]

Originally posted by sgw2
Klein Tools will be Dario's main sponsor on the #27 entry.

that would be sooo ace to see Dario in car #27, it sorta became "his" number in CART and i'd like to see him continue to use it .

[sgw2]

Originally posted by racer69
Why doesn't Cheever have the budget, has Red Bull cutback their involvement?

Cheever's budget is actually somewhat higher because of the funding GM is putting into "Menard Cheever Technologies" or MCT program led by ex-Renault F1 cheif engineer Bernard Dudot.

But the costs have almost doubled - part of that a one time cost for new equipment. Cheever estimates to run the same 2+ car program he ran last year would cost him $14 M, since he has to buy engines, compared to last year's $7 M. The MCT deal probably dropped his outlay a good $2-3 M, so there is budget for 1 1/2 entries. Also Buddy Rice should prove considerably cheaper than Tomas Scheckter.

I think if you add it up you'll see the #52 car at every race, the #51 at half the races or more, and the #53 at Indy and possibly another race or two when Eddie is Racing himself.

[Speedworx]

Andretti Green Racing - Micheal Andretti (7), Dario Franchitti (27), Tony Kanaan (11), Dan Wheldon (26)

Dan will do a few races and run #26.

[BootsOntheSide]

In fact, Andretti will run the races until and including Indy, and Wheldon will do those from Indy and on, using #26.

As for #27 being Dario's number, I don't care for that. It was Gilles Villeneuve's number in Ferrari, then also great F1 fighters like Alesi and Mansell. Dario has only taken it on in a cynical attempts to play up his Italianness. When the ChampCar series came to Britain, he was only too keen to play up the fact that he was a 'home' driver, even though he knew he'd be switching championships. I've dgot no time or respect for the man whatsoever.

[Loki05]

Fact: AGR:
Andretti #39 Motorola
Franchitti #27 Alpine
Kanaan #7 Seven-11

[AGRfan]

yeah boots, if dario was driving an F1 car with 27 on it , then maybe i could understand why it's gets your panties in a bunch. but he's not. he's from scotland, not italy. so what is all that about him playing up his italianness about?

[Mackmot]

Not bad list, I think there are 12 drivers there capable of winning the championship

[BSchneiderFan]

Does anyone know if the Falcon chassis has actually completed any laps yet? And if not, are we expecting it to appear or to sink like a Franchitti title challenge (sorry Dario)?