This begins a 12-part series previewing every team set to compete in the 2019 IndyCar season. I will be previewing two teams per week on Push2Pass leading up to the season opener in St. Petersburg on March 10. Today’s team: DragonSpeed
The team with one of the coolest names in racing will enter their first year in IndyCar with plans to compete in five races during the 2019 season. DragonSpeed will have 33-year-old Ben Hanley of England behind the wheel of their Chevy-powered Dallara DW12 chassis this season.
The team plans to run a one-car effort at St. Petersburg, Barber, Indy 500, Road America and Mid-Ohio. This small group of races will allow the team to dip their toes in the IndyCar pool and see if the series is right for them. The racing will vary significantly from their current prototype racing in endurance categories in the U.S. and in Europe.
The field at the season opener in St. Petersburg could have as many 27 cars in the field after the December news from Racer that DragonSpeed would be making their debut. There are still some driver confirmations that need to take place at smaller teams like Juncos, Carlin and Meyer Shank Racing, but their will undoubtedly be more than the 24 cars that lined up for the season opener in 2018.
Other teams have taken part-time efforts and turned them into full-time rides in the past few seasons. Harding had success in 2017 by only racing in three ovals with former IndyCar driver Gabby Chaves. They secured two-top 10 finishes that season before going to a full-time one-car effort in 2018. They split time between Chaves and Conor Daly before running two cars in the season finale in Sonoma with Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta, both in their first career IndyCar race. O’Ward finished in ninth for the team’s only top-10 finish of the season, and both drivers were retained for full-time rides this season with Harding Steinbrenner.
Juncos Racing is another team that has made big strides to move up to IndyCar, competing in the lower levels of the Road to Indy series system since 2009. They ran two cars in the 2017 Indy 500 before racing in 12 of 17 races last season, but they have yet to place higher than 15th in any race they’ve competed in. The team had a rotating cast of drivers in 2018, which could be the case this season as their two-car effort hasn’t had any drivers confirmed for 2019. However, Rene Binder and Kyle Kaiser have a good chance of gaining seats after news of them racing with Juncos in their new prototype car in the IMSA (American Endurance Racing) 24 hours of Daytona in January.
The Driver
Ben Hanley (#81): IndyCar Rookie
Hanley has had an interesting career path before coming to DragonSpeed for endurance racing. He competed in Formula 3.5 Renault and GP2 in the late 2000’s, but spent most of the following years in karting and testing open-wheeled cars. It wasn’t until team owner Elton Julian brought him on in 2016 to race in European endurance racing that Hanley was back to a full-time ride at a team. He’s raced in multiple series for the team over the past few seasons.
The races at Barber, Road America and Mid-Ohio seem to be good choices in picking free-flowing road courses that would better resemble what Hanley has more commonly driven in Europe. There are always multiple teams that put together a one-car effort for only the Indy 500, but committing to these other races shows that DragonSpeed is more serious about expanding their racing efforts.
Outlook for 2019
DragonSpeed seems to have the luxury of not needing to rotate drivers who can pay for their seat, but the odds are they will face some of the same struggles Juncos and Harding faced in 2018. Being a one-car team in IndyCar is a massive disadvantage, and every team other than DragonSpeed will be running two cars this season. One car means less data, less track time and fewer replacement cars and funds for when serious crashes occur.
The Verdict
A top-10 finish at one of the road courses would be the ideal result for the team. With higher car counts and the growing talent in the series, Hanley is going to have his hands full in his first IndyCar effort. Avoiding any serious damage to the car will be the most important, especially in the run up to the most publicized event of the year at the Indy 500. Last year brought about the re-introduction of bump day at the Indy 500, which meant only 33 of the 35 cars qualified for a spot in the race. This differs from past years when every car that entered would qualify. Qualifying for the 500 should be DragonSpeed’s biggest goal in 2019, especially since it will be Hanley’s first time on an oval.
Later this week- Preview #2: Ed Carpenter Racing
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