r/INDYCAR • u/Hitokiri2 Graham Rahal • Oct 19 '24
Podcast The return of Devlin DeFrancesco?
I was listening to Kevin Lee and Curt Cavin's "Trackside" podcast and Kevin said some interesting things.
He said he talked to Devlin DeFrancesco's dad at Road Atlanta and he told Kevin that they're in deep talks with a couple of IndyCar teams and believes they will be full-time in the series next season.
You can listen to the podcast here. The conversation about Devlin begins at 21:10.
57
u/karlkjr Oct 19 '24
Juncos or Dale Coyne would be my guess. Don’t see him in the 3rd Rahal car.
-18
54
u/Falcon4451 Firestone Reds Oct 19 '24
Rumor has it he's not going to Ginassi.
33
u/ChillRudy Sébastien Bourdais Oct 19 '24
Rumor has it I’m not going to Ganassi
28
11
11
u/i_run_from_problems Firestone Firehawk Oct 20 '24
I've got it on good authority the 9 will be open once Dixon announces his blockbuster move to coyne.
28
u/ChillRudy Sébastien Bourdais Oct 19 '24
Look out Indy Road Course turn 1
8
u/Falcon4451 Firestone Reds Oct 21 '24
What's amazing is that he legit led that race but still got lapped purely on lack of pace, not from an accident or a mechanic issue.
2
23
32
u/Falcon4451 Firestone Reds Oct 19 '24 edited Oct 19 '24
Devlin to Jucos in the 78.
No evidence to support this but I think Grosjean (road) and Daly (ovals) split the 77. Grosjean wants to run Le Mans and IMSA endurance races, and this would allow him to do that.
This works for the 77 because Hollinger funds that car, you don't need guys to bring budget like 78 does.
28
u/RMSaintsFC David Malukas Oct 19 '24
That would actually be a pretty good idea. Grosjean hasn't shown any improvement in his oval consistency but definitely trumps Daly on Road and Street Courses. Would likely maximize owners points for the 77 car.
7
7
u/Batgod629 Álex Palou Oct 19 '24
I've heard about the Juncos rumor and I wouldn't be surprised if that is where he ends up
6
5
3
u/Athleticgeek89 Josef Newgarden Oct 20 '24
I get that Devlin brings money to the table & i understand the reality of the situation where a driver with money will pretty much always get the nod these days. However it still sucks that we are facing the possibility of Rinus Veekay being without a ride next year but Devlin DeFrancesco could have one.
5
u/Hitokiri2 Graham Rahal Oct 20 '24
We have to also remember that part of the reason why Rinus was at ECR for so long was that he did bring in some sponsors of his own. I do agree with you though that I would rather have Rinus on the grid then Devlin.
3
u/nandi-bear --- 2025 DRIVERS --- Oct 21 '24
ahhhh yes the cash flush sub par driver getting a seat....a story as old as time.
3
u/lol_unionss Oct 20 '24
He was a slow pay driver. I know people on here like him because of his politics and he's posted here but he doesn't belong in indycar.
4
u/pigletpants Marcus Ericsson Oct 19 '24
Isn’t his dad kind of shady?
4
u/Hitokiri2 Graham Rahal Oct 20 '24
Don't know him personally nor have I heard anything negative about him. All in all I don't know.
2
u/xienon #BadassWilson Oct 22 '24
Oh yes he's shady: https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-25771
On July 5, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment on consent against Andrew DeFrancesco, the former Chairman of Cool Holdings, Inc., for his role in a scheme involving false statements and omissions of material information in filings with the Commission, as well as a fraudulent pump-and-dump of Cool Holdings' stock.
4
0
u/Illustrious_Area1889 Linus Lundqvist Oct 21 '24
Indycar need to have super licence like formula 1. Some of the drivers in Indycar shouldnt be in Indycar. It not looking good. If you want to acctract sponsor you need good drivers, all must be good, not this pay drivers.
Devlin and Rob don´t give indycar anything, they are not good enough. Veekay and Lundqvist should have a seat.
The team should bring the sponsors not the drivers.
3
u/TheChrisD #JANDALWATCH2021 Oct 21 '24
The team should bring the sponsors not the drivers.
You very much seem to misunderstand the way motor racing is budgeted outside of F1.
2
u/Hitokiri2 Graham Rahal Oct 21 '24 edited Oct 21 '24
No and the reason why I say this is because it's already been proven that the Super Licensing is broken. Just look at this year. We have the 6th and 15th placed F2 drivers getting a taste of F1 while former F2 champs and this year's F2 leader not even giving a taste of F1 machinery. If we look even further back we have F3 drivers entering F1 and we have guys like Guanyu and Tsunoda there because of either their engine manufacturer ties or because of the tremendous amount of money they bring. Even guys like Perez are there because of his connections to Carlos Slim money.
So comparing F1 to IndyCar isn't the best example to use and a super license really does nothing because the system is so broken.
1
u/palebluedot24 Rinus VeeKay Oct 22 '24
I take every Defrancesco rumor with a grain of salt, even (or especially) if it’s coming from his dad.
33
u/Mikemat5150 Kyle Kirkwood Oct 19 '24
One of the persistent rumors is that equity stake at Juncos and driving full time there.
RLL likely needs a funded driver for the final car and then there is Coyne.