Indy Car rumour mill running over time

The Indy Car rumour mill is in full swing and the big story revolves around Tony Kanaan. The 2004 Series champion has made no bones about being unhappy at current team Andretti-Green Racing and wants out. The big rumour now has him going to Ganassi Racing, possibly to replace Dan Wheldon, possibly in a third car. This year Ganassi and Penske have proven that a two car team is the way to go and have largely dominated the season and both teams have great drivers currently. A move to replace Wheldon seems more likely but it would be an unfortunate slap in the face for poor Dan as he has been pretty good this year but has been outclassed by Scott Dixon, his teammate. Wheldon has still managed to win two races this year and is third in the standings. The problem Wheldon may be facing is where to go next year? Wheldon will not want to go back to AGR, he didn't exactly leave on good terms after his 2005 championship and there are no other teams with vacancies in position to fight for victories and championships. One rumour suggests that he could be in a second car for Rahal-Letterman racing, but he would probably have to bring some sponsorship and would not get anywhere near what he is making in salary this year. He could go to Vision racing, Tony George would love to have a major star in one of his cars (apart from Paul Tracy) or maybe even a small team like Dale Coyne or Panther racing, but both options would probably require Dan to bring some sort of sponsorship money. If this is true, and it probably is (it was first reported by Robin Miller) then it could have some serious ramifications for Andretti-Green. Kanaan was the workhorse and undisputed number one and has really kept that team in contention to be considered a top team, without him AGR will probably struggle to maintain such a record with four cars. The rumoured replacements include Ex-F1 and current AGR Sportscar driver Franck Montagny and current Atlantic series star Rafael Matos. Both driver are good, but it would be a long way down for the team to have someone with very little IndyCar experience filling TK's shoes and being thrown into the circus that is AGR. Maybe Marco Andretti will suddenly mature and become a legitimate number one, not likely, but one never knows. The only other potential option may be Sebastien Bourdais if he is not re-signed by Toro Rosso in F1, but he may not want to come back to North America as one senses his ego tells him he is too good for the series. He would be a great pickup for the new IRL and he could probably start winning races immediately, although he may look at the AGR shit show and cringe.

The other big IRL news is that they have a new TV deal with........ Versus!!!! Yes the former outdoor life network will be adding the IRL to it's lineup of hunting, fishing, and Hockey. This move leaves one really underwhelmed as Versus has become the abyss that has consumed the NHL and left it a niche sport with very little coverage. One fears that this will be a disaster for the IRL and waste all the good effort of unification. So far unification has not really brought about the rating increases that were hoped, although more arses are in the seats at races (this weekend's race at Kentucky is close to sold out) so there is promise, but the chronic lack of exposure on Versus could undo that. I hope I am wrong but I have a bad feeling about this whole thing.