Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Penske to announce IndyCar Series drivers Tuesday


Penske Racing will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and will answer one of the biggest questions of the off-season so far: Who will drive the No. 3 IndyCar car that usually features Helio Castroneves?

Castroneves was indicted on federal tax charges in October, and his trial in Miami is scheduled to begin March 2, just five weeks before the IndyCar Series season opener in St. Petersburg, Fla. Penske attorneys previously asked the court to move the trial to a date after the season concludes and said that Castroneves would not be able to drive this year--regardless of the verdict--if it remained in March. The court denied the request.

It is unclear whether Penske will back away from its original stance and allow Castroneves to drive if he is found not guilty. But either way, the team needs a plan in place should Castroneves be unavailable for any amount of time. Rumors have circulated that leading candidates for the ride include IndyCar drivers Justin Wilson (formerly of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing), Ryan Hunter-Reay (who drove for Rahal Letterman Racing last year; the team does not yet have sponsorship in place for 2009) and Will Power (KV Racing Technology in 2008).

A fourth name has now emerged as a strong possibility: Romain Dumas, the sports-car champion who drove for Penske's now-defunct American Le Mans Series Porsche prototype team and who was recently named as a Penske driver for the entire 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series season.

Castroneves is also scheduled to appear at the press conference, but expect whichever new driver Penske confirms--along with returning teammate Ryan Briscoe--to be behind the wheel in place of Castroneves when the Indy Racing League holds preseason tests in late February at Homestead-Miami Speedway and in late March at Barber Motorsports Park.