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Andretti Autosport extends Honda deal, starts IndyCar rumor mill

By Brittany Frederick

LEXINGTON, OH - JULY 29: Marco Andretti, of the United States, drives the #27 Honda IndyCar for Andretti Autosport during practice for the Verizon IndyCar Series Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on July 29, 2017, at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, OH - JULY 29: Marco Andretti, of the United States, drives the #27 Honda IndyCar for Andretti Autosport during practice for the Verizon IndyCar Series Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on July 29, 2017, at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Andretti Autosport’s IndyCar team will stay with Honda in 2018, thus starting a busy Verizon IndyCar Series offseason officially in motion.

The biggest decision in IndyCar was made Thursday, as Andretti Autosport confirmed that it will stay with current manufacturer Honda rather than switch to Chevrolet.

Team owner Michael Andretti announced the decision on Twitter.

Which manufacturer Andretti would side with has been largely regarded as the starting point for what’s expected to be an active Verizon IndyCar Series offseason, as the choice of Honda or Chevy would also have consequences for the team’s driver lineup.

With Honda locked in for 2018, last year’s Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi (who has ties to Honda) is expected to remain with Andretti; Rossi is contracted for this season with “multiple options” under a previously negotiated deal.

Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti are already signed for 2018, leaving this year’s Indy 500 champion Takuma Sato—who signed a one-year contract after leaving A.J. Foyt Racing—as the only serious question mark for Michael Andretti’s IndyCar roster.

If Andretti Autosport had switched allegiances to Chevrolet, both Rossi and Sato were rumored to then be on the move, with Rossi in contention for a seat at either Chip Ganassi Racing or Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

Now both those teams will have to look elsewhere, while rumors persist that Sato will depart anyway and be Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s long-sought second driver in 2018. No official announcement has been made yet.

SPM will look to fill the No. 7 Honda next year after dismissing Mikhail Aleshin; the team is using Jack Harvey as a fill-in for this weekend’s race at Watkins Glen and the 2017 IndyCar season ender at Sonoma.

The only driver currently set at Ganassi is four-time champion Scott Dixon, with additional rumors of retirement or a transfer to sportscars surrounding both Tony Kanaan and Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves as Penske may contract down to three cars.

All of this is just rampant speculation going into what’s projected to be another chaotic offseason for IndyCar.

After the 2016-2017 break featured Rossi deciding to stay in the league and the much-ballyhooed signing of Josef Newgarden to Penske, the 2017-2018 hiatus could be just as active with drivers on the move, and it all starts now that fans know which manufacturer that Andretti Autosport is representing next year.

There are still two races left in the 2017 IndyCar season — Sept. 3 at Watkins Glen and Sept. 17 at Sonoma — before the wheeling and dealing gets fully underway.

Next: Josef Newgarden talks being IndyCar's title leader

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