The Indianapolis Star

Silly Season

A simple solution for both would, in essence, mean a Lundgaard-for-Rossi trade, but like just about everything in the annual IndyCar Silly Season chess board, moves are rarely simple.

Could Ganassi sign Alexander Rossi?

It’s notable that Rossi sounds genuinely enthused about the prospect of what may be next for an IndyCar career that will reach its 10th season in 2025. That’s not to say the 2016 Indy 500 winner isn’t somewhat dejected at leaving what he hoped would be a long-term project after just two seasons, not that he already has his next home locked down.

As Rossi hinted Wednesday during his Arrow McLaren exit media tour, there exist a couple key opportunit­ies he and his father Pieter – who serves as his manager – have been eyeing since it became clear two weeks ago that his time in the No. 7 Chevy was limited.

Neither could be pressed on any specifics, but one notable possibilit­y stands well above the rest.

Over a couple weeks near the end of last season, Chip Ganassi Racing announced a trio of what the team termed “multi-year deals” for its three young first-time full-time drivers, Linus Lundqvist, Marcus Armstrong and Kyffin Simpson. In recent years, the term “multi-year” has been so thoroughly abused that its use is almost pointless. One would be smart to presume at least half, if not more, of the full-time driver contingent are either on true one-year deals or contracts that guarantee the first year and then include team-friendly options tacked onto the end.

True multi-year deals with at least two seasons guaranteed are typically reserved for the select title contenders, or perhaps a pay driver at a lesser team bringing a substantia­l annual check – provided that money continues to flow.

And that’s why it wouldn’t be all too surprising for CGR to have at least one opening ahead of 2025, despite being able to claim entering this season that all five of its drivers were locked down. Holding a team option gives you that power.

Among its three young drivers, Simpson

is understood to come with funding that would likely make his ride safe for at least one more year. Though Armstrong sits 15th in points after logging three finishes outside the top-20 over the last four races, his pace and his body of work in his first full-time IndyCar season suggest he’s better than where he presently sits in the standings.

But how safe is Lundqvist? He brings no funding, has just three top-15 finishes this year – albeit, one of them a podium at Barber – and sits 18th in points approachin­g the halfway point of his rookie season. It’s a question I hope to get some clarity on this weekend at Mid-Ohio.

As Chip Ganassi proved across the 13 months of the Alex Palou saga the last two summers, holding onto the twotime series champ despite attempts by Arrow McLaren’s Zak Brown to lure him away, the veteran team owner isn’t one to accept the status quo if there are opportunit­ies to give his team a better chance to win.

Unless Ganassi holds no flexibilit­y in Lundqvist’s purported “multi-year deal,” or has an affinity for the young driver that would counteract the 2022 Indy NXT champ’s underwhelm­ing rookie campaign, it’s hard to imagine the topic of signing a veteran like Rossi, who’s flashed top-4 pace and consistenc­y over the first half of 2024, hasn’t been discussed.

Rossi would give CGR one of the best 500 drivers over the last decade and another potential title-contending driver in the annual fight against a strong Team Penske trio. Rossi’s signing would also give The American Legion, frequently the primary sponsor on a two-time titlewinni­ng entry from 2021-23, a successful, well-known American driver to activate around and one more likely to put them on podiums and the winner’s circle.

Cutting loose a young up-and-comer like Lundqvist wouldn’t be easy to stomach, but it’s the price one pays as a young driver without any funding who less than a year ago was given maybe the top ride on the market.

There remains uncertaint­y in how IndyCar’s charter system will eventually pan out that could complicate this, and certainly if both Lundqvist and Armstrong already have guaranteed second seasons on their respective deals then this idea becomes moot. But until one side eliminates the potential of a union, they have to consider it.

Vips obvious choice for RLL, but finances could prove tough

For RLL, the pressing matter is how badly they want to give reserve driver Juri Vips a full-time shot. And, just as important, can you fund it?

Vips’ relationsh­ip with RLL spans nearly two years since he got a chance to test an Indy car in the fall of 2022, months removed from losing his test and reserve driver role with the Red Bull Formula 1 team for using a racial slur during an online gaming stream. Before his serious transgress­ion, Vips was ranked atop one of F1’s most highly-regarded driver developmen­t programs, having finished 4th in the 2019 Formula 3 championsh­ip he largely competed in as an 18-year-old, and 6th during his second F2 season in 2021.

His Hitech Grand Prix team kept him in his ride for the remainder of the 2022 F2 campaign, and Red Bull didn’t immediatel­y pull their driver developmen­t support, though the 23-year-old Estonian driver is yet to race in Europe since the end of that campaign.

Vips was given his IndyCar debut a year ago in place of the ousted Jack Harvey at Portland and Laguna Seca, where he flashed promising pace, even if his finishes of 18th and 24th didn’t show it. In the 10 months since, RLL has retained Vips as its reserve driver, and he’s performed a rigorous virtual testing program for a team hell-bent on turning around its inconsiste­nt form. Last October, RLL co-owner Bobby Rahal told reporters he wished to give Vips another shot in a fourth part-time car in 2024, and the team has continued pushing towards that goal halfway through this year.

Lundgaard’s decision to leave a team where he finished 8th in points a year ago and clinched his first IndyCar win gives Rahal the theoretica­l opportunit­y to keep a young European prospect on the payroll who, just a couple of years ago, was thought to be one of the most promising talents in the junior formula ranks.

Knowing how much loyalty means to Rahal, if it were that easy, we likely would’ve already gotten the press release in our inboxes.

It’s believed RLL is currently undergoing negotiatio­ns to try and hold onto the No. 45 entry’s primary sponsor HyVee beyond the end of this season. Though the Midwest grocer isn’t expected to follow Lundgaard to Arrow McLaren in a primary sponsor role, RLL losing the driver that for two years has had his face plastered on digital ads and in-store cutouts and who with his successes has delivered a solid amount of air-time, can’t help the cause. That, combined with Vips’ history – even after the young driver has gone through diversity training, atoned for his mistake and come across genuine in his remorse – could reasonably make for a tough sell, should RLL wish to slide him into Lundgaard’s ride for 2025

RLL always has several irons in the fire for potential funding, and its sponsor base is one of the most diverse and deepest in the sport. But whether that rolodex can back Vips in the No. 45 fulltime remains to be seen. One would bet RLL will at least make a run at that route. Should Rossi not find a home at CGR, he could be an easier signing to sell, but the timing of these parties’ searches for what’s next would need to line up perfectly.

With MSR potentiall­y in a position to stick with David Malukas beyond this year, Rossi’s options could disappear quickly. With Ed Carpenter Racing, Juncos Hollinger Racing, AJ Foyt Racing and Dale Coyne Racing, you’re no longer realistica­lly looking a race wins as your ceiling. Newcomer PREMA may be able to offer you a blank check, but until they buy a charter or two, they can’t even guarantee you a spot on the race grid each weekend.

RLL’s other options could include another former race-winner in Rinus VeeKay, as well as young malleable talent in Callum Ilott and Theo Pourchaire, among others. But the prospect of signing a former 500 winner and annual title dark horse candidate who’s just 32 years old to a full-time deal isn’t an opportunit­y that comes every offseason.

You could argue both sides’ safest bet would be to link up immediatel­y, but more tantalizin­g opportunit­ies await.