Hmm? Talk about Damage Control, eh? After Thy
Cheepsters' squad had a fairly disappointing weekend at Daytona, specifically
the Rolex 24 where all four of Chip Ganassi's Ford "Eco-boost"
powered entries had less than stellar outings...
Tuh-Duh! bright 'N early Monday morning came
news of Chip Ganassi Racing having signed Great Britain's 24yr old Max Chilton
as the newest chauffer of its fourth car, the No. 8 Dallara-Chevy shared last
year by "Flotsam 'N Jetsom;" Hya! Err Sage "Dangerboy"
Karam and Sebastian Saavedra,
with NO word on whether or not Joey Hand uses the same hair gel as Sebastian;
Hooah!
Chilton, the ex-Marussia F1 driver who was
the late Jules Bianchi's team-mate spent
the bulk of last year piloting one of Carlin's Indy Light entries in what
apparently was a tune-up season for IndyCar, along with being a Nissan Factory
World Endurance Championship driver where he took part in le 24 Heurs du Mans
last year.
Meanwhile, Sage Karam who dispatched Ryan
Briscoe from the No. 8 Ganassi ride last season, who was subsequently let go by
Chip has signed on with Lexus to partner Scott Pruett aboard Paul Gentilozzi's
F Performance Racing Lexus GT3 Sports Car entry, along with a most interesting
alliance at DRR.
As Dreyer & Reinnbold Racing in Kahoots
with Davey Hamilton and his Kingdom Racing affiliation will run Karam aboard
the #24 Gas Monkey Garage Special for this year's 100th running of the
Indianapolis 500.
And with Ganassi's four cars filled for the
season, that leaves Saavedra looking for
employment elsewhere, as perhaps he'll fill the vacant fourth seat at Andretti
Autosport that was originally planned for Justin B-I-G' UNIT Wilson this year? Since
after all Saavedra's longtime backer
Gary Peterson and his AFS Fire Sprinkler brand have a long affiliation with
Mikey A's team.
Then again, I'd rather see the vacant fourth
Andretti seat go to Jack Harvey, who seems better qualified than Saavedra,
but as always it largely comes down to that ugly word Sponsorship! While I
suppose Saavedra could always run
the "Double" at Mother Speedway this year for Cheep', a la last year's fifth wheel at
Indianapolis.
just hit me,
why not put Sebastian into one of Ganassi's Ford
"Econobox" Global Rally Cross entries with the caveat being a ride at
both Indianapolis races this May, eh?
