Full lineup, schedule for 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season - MotorSportsTalk

Editor’s note: Here is another part of MotoSportsTalk’s weeklong coverage leading up to the IndyCar season-opening weekend, capped off by the marquee event, Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. We will have several stories going forward over the next several days, as well as comprehensive coverage of race day Sunday.

There have been a number of driver changes to the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series lineup.

Several drivers have switched teams, others have departed the series entirely, while there are several newcomers, particularly from other racing series.

Here’s a rundown of every team, its engine choice, car numbers, driver names and how many races each driver is expected to compete in this season (most that indicate just one race are likely to compete in the Indianapolis 500 only, but some could potentially take part in additional races pending more sponsorship secured, etc.). Also below is the 2018 IndyCar schedule:

A.J. Foyt Racing
Engine: Chevrolet
No. 4 Matheus Leist (r) (full season)
No. 14 Tony Kanaan (full season)

Andretti Autosport
Engine: Honda
No. 25 Stefan Wilson (r) (1 race)
No. 26 Zach Veach (r)
No. 27 Alexander Rossi (full season)
No. 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay (full season)
No. 29 Carlos Munoz (1 race)

Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian
Engine: Honda
No. 98 Marco Andretti (full season)

Carlin Racing
Engine: Chevrolet
No. 23 Charlie Kimball (full season)
No. 59 Max Chilton (full season)

Chip Ganassi Racing
Engine: Honda
No. 9 Scott Dixon (full season)
No. 10 Ed Jones (full season)

Dale Coyne Racing
Engine: Honda
No. 19 Zachary Claman DeMelo (r) (10 races)
No. 19 Pietro Fittipaldi (r) (7 races)
No. 63 Pippa Mann (1 race)

Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan
Engine: Honda
No. 18 Sebastien Bourdais (full season)

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Engine: Chevrolet
No. 24 Sage Karam (1 race)

Ed Carpenter Racing
Engine: Chevrolet
No. 20 Jordan King (r) (11 races – street and road courses only)
No. 20 Ed Carpenter (6 races – ovals only)
No. 21 Spencer Pigot
No. TBA Danica Patrick (1 race)

Harding Racing
Engine: Chevrolet
No. 88 Gabby Chaves (full season)

Juncos Racing
Engine: Chevrolet
No. 32 Rene Binder (r) (4 races)
No. 32 Kyle Kaiser (r) (4 races)

Lazier Partners Racing
Engine: TBA
No. TBA Buddy Lazier (1 race)

Michael Shank Racing
Engine: Honda
No. 60 Jack Harvey (r) (6 races)

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Engine: Honda
No. 15 Graham Rahal (full season)
No. 30 Takuma Sato (full season)

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Engine: Honda
No. 5 James Hinchcliffe (full season)
No. 6 Robert Wickens (r) (full season)
No. TBA Jay Howard (1 race)

Team Penske
Engine: Chevrolet
No. 1 Josef Newgarden (full season)
No. 3 Helio Castroneves (1 race)
No. 12 Will Power (full season)
No. 22 Simon Pagenaud (full season)

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2018 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule

Sunday, March 11, Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg; St. Petersburg, Florida (temporary street course); 12:30 p.m. ET; ABC

Saturday April 7, Phoenix Grand Prix; ISM Raceway; Avondale, Arizona; 9 p.m. ET; NBCSN

Sunday, April 15, Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach; Long Beach, California; 4 p.m. ET; NBCSN

Sunday, April 22, Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama; Barber Motorsports Park; Birmingham, Alabama; 3 p.m. ET; NBCSN

Saturday, May 12, INDYCAR Grand Prix; Indianapolis Motor Speedway; Indianapolis, Indiana; 3:30 p.m. ET; ABC

Sunday, May 27, 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500; Indianapolis Motor Speedway; 12 p.m. ET; ABC

Saturday, June 2, Chevrolet Dual in Detroit – Dual 1; The Raceway at Belle Isle Park; Detroit, Michigan; 3:30 p.m. ET; ABC

Sunday, June 3, Chevrolet Dual in Detroit – Dual 2; The Raceway at Belle Isle Park; 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Saturday, June 9, DXC Technology 600; Texas Motor Speedway; Fort Worth, Texas; 8 p.m. ET; NBCSN

Sunday, June 24, Kohler Grand Prix; Road America; Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin; 12:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN

Sunday, July 8, Iowa Corn 300; Iowa Speedway; Newton, Iowa; 2 p.m. ET; NBCSN

Sunday, July 15, Honda Indy Toronto; Streets of Toronto, Ontario, Canada (temporary street course); 3 p.m. ET; NBCSN

Sunday, July 29, Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio; Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course; Lexington, Ohio; 3 p.m. ET; NBCSN

Sunday, August 19, ABC Supply 500; Pocono Raceway; Long Pond, Pennsylvania; 1:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN

Saturday, August 25, Bommarito Automotive Group 500; Gateway Motorsports Park; Madison, Illinois; 8 p.m. ET; NBCSN

Sunday, September 2, Race name TBA; Portland International Raceway; Portland, Oregon; 2:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN

Sunday, September 16, Grand Prix of Sonoma; Sonoma Raceway; Sonoma, California; 6:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN

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Media and fan attention focused on a controversial run-in between Haiden Deegan and his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Jordon Smith during Round 10 of the Monster Energy Supercross race at Detroit, after which the 250 East points’ Hunter Lawrence defends the young rider in the postrace news conference.

Deegan took the early lead in Heat 1 of the round, but the mood swiftly changed when he became embroiled in a spirited battle with teammate Smith.

On Lap 3, Smith caught Deegan with a fast pass through the whoops. Smith briefly held the lead heading into a bowl turn but Deegan had the inside line and threw a block pass. In the next few turns, the action heated up until Smith eventually ran into the back of Deegan’s Yamaha and crashed.

One of the highlights of the battle seemed to include a moment when Deegan waited on Smith in order to throw a second block pass, adding fuel to the controversy.

After his initial crash, Smith fell to seventh on the next lap. He would crash twice more during the event, ultimately finishing four laps off the pace in 20th.

The topic was inevitably part of the postrace news conference.

“It was good racing; it was fun,” Deegan said at about the 27-minute mark in the video above. “I just had some fun doing it.”

Smith had more trouble in the Last Chance Qualifier. He stalled his bike in heavy traffic, worked his way into a battle for fourth with the checkers in sight, but crashed a few yards shy of the finish line and was credited with seventh. Smith earned zero points and fell to sixth in the standings.

Lawrence defends Deegan — *Jordon Smith failed to make the Detroit Supercross Main and fell to sixth in the points. – Feld Motor Sports*

“I think he’s like fifth in points,” Deegan said. “He’s a little out of it. Beside that it was good, I don’t know. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Deegan jokingly deflected an earlier question with the response that he wasn’t paying attention during the incident.

“He’s my teammate, but he’s a veteran, he’s been in this sport for a while,” Deegan said. “I was up there just battling. I want to win as much as everybody else. It doesn’t matter if it’s a heat race or a main; I just want to win. I was just trying to push that.”

As Deegan and Smith battled, Jeremy Martin took the lead. Deegan finished second in the heat and backed up his performance with a solid third-place showing in the main, which was his second podium finish in a short six-race career. Deegan’s first podium was earned at Daytona, just two rounds ago.

But as Deegan struggled to find something meaningful to say, unsurprisingly for a 17-year-old rider who was not scheduled to run the full 250 schedule this year, it was the championship leader Lawrence who came to his defense.

“I just want to point something out, which kind of amazes me,” Lawrence said during the conference. “So many of the people on social media, where everyone puts their expertise in, are saying the racing back in the ’80s, the early 90s, when me were men. They’re always talking about how gnarly it was and then anytime a block pass or something happens now, everyone cries about it.

“That’s just a little bit interesting. Pick one. You want the gnarly block passes from 10 years ago and then you get it, everyone makes a big song and dance about it.”

Pressed further, Lawrence defended not only the pass but the decision-making process that gets employed lap after lap in a Supercross race.

“It’s easy to point the finger,” Lawrence said. “We’re out there making decisions in a split millisecond. People have all month to pay their phone bill and they still can’t do that on time.

“We’re making decisions at such a fast reaction [time with] adrenaline. … I’m not just saying it for me or Haiden. I speak for all the guys. No one is perfect and we’re under a microscope out there. The media is really quick to point a finger when someone makes a mistake.”

The media is required to hold athletes accountable for their actions. They are also required to tell the complete story.

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