IN THE PITS: The Silly Season
by
Steve “The Wrench” Ratchett
by
Steve “The Wrench” Ratchett
It has been a little while since I had to write one of these dog and pony columns about the silly season as I've been in Europe covering the HO Bundesliga in Germany for the last few seasons.
The 19th season of the IndySlotCar Series is in the books. 16 races. 14 different tracks. A four time defending champion and a four time Indy 500 winner. So where will the drivers that made up the season of competition and controversy be in season 20?
Here are my thoughts based on my own observations and the quotes of one driver who talked on the record.
Here are my thoughts based on my own observations and the quotes of one driver who talked on the record.
Lets start with the four time champ Mark Walczak. There is a rumor he will retire or be severely penalized for next year. I say neither will happen because Mark wants six championships and the all time lead for wins to knock Phil Cianciola from the top of the record books. Target likes the idea. Mark and Target did find a solid partner in Dean Strom who will carry some of his water and not be too serious of a title challenger. Mark stays at Target with Dean for at least one more season. Don't expect this pairing to stay together for long though. Dean's improvement will make him more of a threat at any race and pretty soon he will get tired of the being the #2 at Target and want to go where he will get more respect, maybe Lotus.
Speaking of Lotus, John Wiedemann, Mike Lack, and Mike Fitzlaff are the Penske team of 1994. Three stars. Three title contenders. Three drivers that seem to get along and work together well. Three drivers ticked they didn't do better in 2011-12. John wants to win after a winless season. Mike Lack really wants to take a title. He will be a new father next season so his participation might be limited, however "The Machine" will always be a threat. Mike Fitzlaff is always one of the fastest but has some bad luck. The speed will still be there next season and I've played enough craps to know that eventually the dice will hit the point or come up 7-11 on the come out roll. HIs luck will change too.
"Did I hear someone mention craps?"
Yes, Everet Kamikawa. I did. When you roll the dice where will you land for season 20?
"This season didn't have the sponsorship to race a full season for a team so I had to scramble for rides like so many other drivers. I raced for Ferrari, three races for Penske, five for Spehert Autosport, one for Target, and six for Super Kamikawa Racing sponsored by Too Clean Laundry. I still had a pretty good season with three wins. I've gotten one offer from Spehert Autosport and I've heard that there was maybe one other team that might be interested in maybe starting a rumor that they might be interested in me. I won't make any decision until later this summer. I'll be somewhere."
Yes, Everet Kamikawa. I did. When you roll the dice where will you land for season 20?
"This season didn't have the sponsorship to race a full season for a team so I had to scramble for rides like so many other drivers. I raced for Ferrari, three races for Penske, five for Spehert Autosport, one for Target, and six for Super Kamikawa Racing sponsored by Too Clean Laundry. I still had a pretty good season with three wins. I've gotten one offer from Spehert Autosport and I've heard that there was maybe one other team that might be interested in maybe starting a rumor that they might be interested in me. I won't make any decision until later this summer. I'll be somewhere."
That brings us to Spehert Autosport. It was a frustrating season for the team with brothers Tom and Andy and son/nephew Chris missing several races. No one has heard from Andy in several races so there is the possibility that he may have called it quits, hence the interest in Kamikawa. For this coming season Chris and Tom will stay together. Since blood is thicker than sponsorship contracts they will maybe be joined by Andy for some races and possibly Kamikawa in case that doesn't happen. Chris has said that he is also entertaining other drivers in addition to Kamikawa for the opening. Is it a bluff to get Kamikawa signed or is it a hotter seat than most believe?
[Editor's Note: Andy Spehert's contract has been allowed to expire by Spehert Autosport and will not race in 2012-13]
John Shea retired to race stock cars in the south. I can’t see him making any other starts on the series. Amy Butler is another racer who looks to be winding down her career. A welcome presence on the track, she had a couple of decent runs to top 10's, but nothing close to her wins from a few years ago. Team management sold the testing track so that definitely hurts her preparation for the coming season. Is IndySlotCar losing their version of Danica? Lets hope not. If she does hang it up, maybe a career in broadcasting is in order as she does look a lot like Kitty BoPeep. Our over under on races she will run is six. It would be fun if she teamed back up with Larry Rotter!
Larry Rotter ran a few races. The three time champion's over under appearances in the next season is four. He retired at the end of season 18. He even cut back on ISF competition. Now that he has mostly been away for a season will the siren song of racing lure him back? Not yet I think.
Mike Kristoff’s 11th season seems to be the same as the previous 10…nothing spectacular. Having said that he is partnered probably again with Matt Hayek. Matt took two Indy 500 wins in a row but this year only had a couple of final four appearances. That didn’t sit well with him and I think his drive to get more finals and wins will pull Kristof up as well. Kristof is good for at least one final a year. His commissioner duties keep him from fully concentrating on his driving, however I’m going to go on a limb and say both he and Hayek have a win in the upcoming season.
Dan Margetta is the other wild card in the off season. Bounced from or quit from the Butler, Margetta, Walczak team a couple of years ago, then dumped by Wiedemann and Lack the day before the season started he had been teamed back up with Butler for this year in a loose partnership. Was it a strong pairing? No. He took one win to keep his streak intact of wins but still no championships in 19 seasons. Will he be champion in season 20? I doubt it.
So the 20th Indyslotcar season will have surprises and more than four winners, but in terms of drivers changing teams, I doubt there will be much movement. Here is some ideas that are interesting talk for the off season:
1. What if Margetta and Kamikawa teamed up? They were briefly teammates (for one race) in 1998 and again for a few races in 2002 when Kamikawa famously gave up the Indy 500 pole to get Margetta closer to Rotter in the championship fight which Margetta ultimately lost by one point. If either of these two drivers had a top notch teammate that would be a force Walczak would have to reckon with.
1. What if Margetta and Kamikawa teamed up? They were briefly teammates (for one race) in 1998 and again for a few races in 2002 when Kamikawa famously gave up the Indy 500 pole to get Margetta closer to Rotter in the championship fight which Margetta ultimately lost by one point. If either of these two drivers had a top notch teammate that would be a force Walczak would have to reckon with.
2. Even though they are rivals, a Margetta-Strom pairing would also be entertaining.
3. They teamed up for one race in season 19, but Walczak-Kamikawa would be another Senna-Prost as the two don’t have respect on the track for each other judging from comments made in the paddock and press. This pairing would help Walczak as Kamikawa’s mouth would deflect some of the attention that is solely having to be dealt with by Walczak. That being said I doubt it will happen until after Walczak breaks Cianciola’s records.
4. Hayek-Strom-Kristof would be a good solid mid-pack team.
5. Hayek-Kristof-Margetta is a good bet or even Kamikawa in some capacity would add instant credibility and an additional threat to this team.
There is a long way to go this off season. Anything can happen. In terms of an interesting silly season…lets hope it does!
Until next time…It’s not bad being in the pits!
Steve “The Wrench” Ratchett
