IRLblog.com would like to congratulate Scott Dixon for his 2008 IndyCar Series Championship win. Equally impressive were the last to first heroics of Helio Castroneves’ victory at Chicagoland Speedway.
Well, we know where Alex Lloyd is. He is sitting on the sidelines of Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Like every other IndyCar Series fan out there, I know I was excited to hear that he was picked up by Chip. We can only hope that an opportunity presents itself for Alex to be placed in a car again. Unless a sponsor steps up for Lloyd, I believe the only time that he will be in an IndyCar is when Chip leases him out to another team. I also think that the chances of Chip placing him in a car has dropped since TCGR put Dario Franchitti back in car. Hopefully we will see this young talent in an IndyCar sooner rather than later.
Target Chip Ganassi Racing announced that Franchitti will return to the IndyCar Series, replacing Dan Wheldon in the No. 10 entry when the ’09 season opens at St. Petersburg.
What we’re questioning is why, with one race left in the season, is this announcement being made? Surely this could have been reserved to generate buzz for a team during the off season instead of letting it get lost in noise that’s sure to follow the season finale. Let us also be clear that Dan wanted to leave TCGR. The reason, all we know is that Chip Ganassi gave Wheldon an offer for next season and he respectfully turned it down. He has already secured a ride with Panther Racing for the 2009 season replacing Vitor Meira in the #4 entry. Vitor’s contract has not been renewed with Panther. Panther did state that if sponsorship and funding became available that they would love to have Vitor back in a second car. What will become of Vitor Meira? Will he have a ride in the 09 season? we sure hope so. Meira, although still winless in the IndyCar Series, has shown that he is capable of running in the front with drivers from “The big three”
