IndyCar Drivers Shuffling Around in off Weekend

Three Izod IndyCar drivers announced they will be competing in the final three races.

2004 Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Rice announced this week he will be piloting the No. 44 Honda for Panther Racing in the series final two events in Kentucky and Las Vegas.

Rice has run one event this season, and it was for Panther in the Indianapolis 500. He started seventh and finished 18th.

Another announcement came from Japanese and former Andretti Autosport and Newman/Hass driver Hideki Mutoh, who will race the No. 17 AFS/Schmidt Racing Honda in Japan. This will be Mutoh's first start of the year, which happens to be in his home country.

Rookie Martin Plowman has been behind the wheel of the No. 17 Honda since Mid-Ohio. The team didn't race from Indy until Mid-Ohio due to not having the funding from not making the centennial Indianapolis 500. Raphael Matos was the driver for the team from the season opening race in St. Pete to Indy.

The other driver making an announcement this week was rookie Pippa Mann. Mann was cleared to race in Kentucky and Las Vegas for Rahal/Lannigan Racing. Mann was injured in a qualifying wreck for the Move That Block 225 in New Hampshire back in August. She suffered a broken vertebrae and a concussion in that incident.

2012 News:

Newman/Hass is close to announcing they will be using Honda engines for 2012.

Newman/Hass has also said they will most likely be fielding two entries and return current drivers Oriol Servia and James Hinchcliffe.