Every year there are several talented drivers left off entry lists for the upcoming season. It’s just part of racing; it always has been and always will be. The sad thing is how quickly a driver drops off the radar after taking a year or two off. In an effort to help keep some names out there, I thought I’d create a list of -a few- drivers that are on the sidelines for 2010. All of whom would make an excellent addition to a team looking for a driver.
(Ed. note: Some of the drivers on the list are currently racing but they have yet to sign a contract for the full-season to my knowledge)
Whenever a person creates a list involving names of competitors, there will be controversy. It goes without saying. So, in order to take the easy way out and eliminate the threat of “hate mail”, I’ve decided to leave this post open for comments from you – the readership.
I came up with the following list of 30 drivers off the top of my head so I’m sure I’ve left several deserving drivers off of it. Think of this as your opportunity to add a name to the list. Feel free to contribute driver names or comments in the appropriate section.
Make the jump to see the full list of drivers who, I feel, shouldn’t be on the sidelines for 2010. For anyone that I left off this, I apologize (in most cases it wasn’t on purpose).
- Peter Dempsey
- J.R. Hildebrand
- Josef Newgarden
- Jonathan Summerton
- James Davison
- Joel Miller
- Daniel Herrington
- Frederic Vervisch
- Wade Cunningham
- Alex Ardoin
- Richard Philippe
- Matthew Inge
- James Kovacic
- Richard Kent
- Mike Vincec
- Felipe Guimaraes
- Giancarlo Vilarinho
- Stefan Rzadzinski
- Remy Audette
- Bobby Wilson
- Ron White
- Logan Gomez
- Corey Lewis
- Tom Dyer
- Charles Hall
- Richard Antinucci
- Tom Gladdis
- Ryan Booth
- Ricardo Favoretto
- Cole Morgan
From last year’s British F3 field, Riki Christodoulou (Adam’s cousin) and Wayne Boyd are too good to be spectators.
Absolutely. Admittedly, my list is biased towards those who have been competing in North America.
Thanks for your contribution.
That’s a really depressing list. I can’t believe how many good drivers are out of a seat.
Kevin Lacroix
Steven- Kevin is a truly talented driver and shouldn’t have been left off the list. Thanks. He and Alan Sciuto both came to mind after I hit publish. That’s the trouble with this type of post.
Ian- Indeed. The list is very depressing and doesn’t account for even close to all the talented drivers out there without rides for 2010.
This is in fact depressing but a sign of the times. I hope Summerton makes it back to Europe because he deserves to be battling it out there where he really wants to be.
And I have heard that Carlin have confirmed Josef Newgarden but can’t seem to get anything out of them yet. I certainly hope so as he is fast. I just hope the jump from FFord to GP3 is not too steep.
And here is another potential US hopeful left in the cold. Seattle’s Sean McDonagh who was the 2008 Formula BMW Pacific runner-up. The last time he appeared was a test drive in a Formula 3 car. Another Indy Lights driver is Jonathan Klein. I have no idea where Carl Skerlong is.
For sure this list needs to be expanded – but then – on what criteria? Don’t want to be criticizing here but at least 6 of the drivers mentioned have had it coming to them – snotty and so far up the nose that they cannot see their own REAL future.. sorry to be the “damper” on all for the well meaning folks out there but a driver also needs to consider the fact that he cannot just cheese off teams as had won a championship and now being “celebrated” – therefore does not “need” to be in the esprit de corps.
So in short – extent the list and cut off the ones as mentioned above, we all know them! again – sorry for the damper but without teams there are no drivers!
ingo – sorry but we don’t “all know them’. Care to elaberate name names?
I appreciate all the input and have no problem receiving criticism on my list but let’s please refrain from singling out drivers. No one is perfect and I didn’t make my choices based on personality.
By all means, feel free to continue adding names of drivers who you feel should have made the list.
Ryan,
completely agree with you as this is not a blacklisting venue! All I said was that one has to realize also the facts why some drivers, even though they excelled in performance on the track, are / were misguided and this resulted in not getting higher up in racing. Perhaps when they mature they see the mistakes. Just acting as a human being with tremendous driving talent is all what is needed.
Good point.
Since these are all young guns racing in junior formulae they often lack in maturity, that has always been the case. As they get more experience in a professional team their maturity increases along with their driving skills. Professional teams know how to deal with young drivers and I believe the amount of quality drivers on the sidelines has less to do with their attitude or maturity level and more to do with the economy. Heck the F3 Euro Series currently has only 13 drivers this year!
Please add Daniel Erickson (Australia). He made a great debut in F2000 at VIR two weekends ago: pole in both races, a close second in the first race, and leading the second race clearly until a spark plug lead came loose).
Also, please list the drivers alphabetically and by nationality. This will help any prospective sponsors find a driver to support.
@ Morris Dancer – Daniel Erickson would make an excellent addition to this list. I was very impressed with his F2000 debut. In addition, he boasts a very solid resume. I haven’t received any additional updates on his status for the season, but it would be a shame to see him sitting out in 2010.
I also want to add 2 other drivers who just vanished from the spotlight: Adrian Carrio and Ryan Justice.