{"id":242,"date":"2013-10-14T19:41:52","date_gmt":"2013-10-14T23:41:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/?p=242"},"modified":"2013-10-14T19:41:52","modified_gmt":"2013-10-14T23:41:52","slug":"potential-contenders-for-the-2014-indycar-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/potential-contenders-for-the-2014-indycar-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Potential Contenders For The 2014 IndyCar Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the this year\u2019s IndyCar season coming down to a battle between veteran drivers Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon, now is perhaps as good a time as any to start looking at the potential cast for next year\u2019s title race.\u00a0 While it\u2019s a given that the sport\u2019s more established drivers (Power, Kanaan, Hunter-Reay, and so on) will be in the hunt, there are a handful of relatively new faces that are worth keeping an eye on.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Simon Pagenaud<\/h3>\n

\"Pagenaud\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one IndyCar driver with momentum on his side, it\u2019s Simon Pagenaud<\/a>.\u00a0 2012 was his first full season in the sport, and he managed to finish fifth in the standings.\u00a0 This year has been even more impressive, with two wins on difficult street circuits and regular top-10 finishes propelling him to third place heading into the last race of the season.\u00a0 While Pagenaud is something of a newcomer in the IndyCar world, he has an extensive background in endurance racing, which has shown itself in the exhausting double-header weekends in Detroit and Houston.\u00a0 If Pagenaud can keep up this consistent momentum and start breaking into the top five on oval tracks, it\u2019s easy to see him taking the title next year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

James Hinchcliffe<\/h3>\n

\"Hinchcliffe\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite a season of highs and lows, this young Canadian has two very good things going for him.\u00a0 First, he has an easygoing kind of charisma and on-camera presence that have earned him a great deal of support among IndyCar fans.\u00a0 Second, he has exhibited both outright speed and racing talent in his three wins this season.\u00a0 James Hinchcliffe<\/a> can both execute passes and defend his position on a variety of track layouts, earning good results on high and low speed circuits.\u00a0 He will need to display that skill on a more regular basis to have a shot at next year\u2019s title, but it\u2019s easier for a fast driver to become consistent than for a consistent driver to go faster.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Simona de Silvestro<\/h3>\n

\"DeSilvestro\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Considering she\u2019s only scored one podium finish in her IndyCar career, one could be forgiven for thinking I\u2019m a bit crazy for endorsing Simona de Silvestro<\/a> as a future title contender.\u00a0 I assure you, I\u2019m perfectly sane.\u00a0 Despite some poor finishes at this year\u2019s mid-season oval tracks, she displayed a great deal of talent in 2013, especially on road and street courses.\u00a0 De Silvestro has also gained a great deal of momentum in the last third of this season, finishing in the top ten in the last four races.\u00a0 Improved oval performance and stronger technical support are all she needs to be a regular contender for wins and a potential challenger for the championship.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The current regulations in IndyCar have made competition incredibly close, and next year is likely to be as close a battle as this season.\u00a0 Perhaps Justin Wilson\u2019s consistency will pay off like it did for Castroneves.\u00a0 Maybe Charlie Kimball or Josef Newgarden will step up to be the next American champion.\u00a0 No matter what happens, it will likely be yet another season to remember.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pit Box One is written by Paul Jensen. You can follow his thoughts on video games and motor racing on Twitter<\/a>.<\/address>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the this year\u2019s IndyCar season coming down to a battle between veteran drivers Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon, now is perhaps as good a time as any to start looking at the potential cast for next year\u2019s title race.\u00a0 While it\u2019s a given that the sport\u2019s more established drivers (Power, Kanaan, Hunter-Reay, and so [Read more…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":251,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242\/revisions\/251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}