[h=2]PRUETT: Conjuring a Penske Honda DPi dream team[/h] Tuesday, 02 May 2017


By Marshall Pruett / Image by Paul Webb, LAT



Honda and Penske have yet to confirm the Daytona Prototype international program we know is coming, but that shouldn't stop us from having some fun by looking at a few of drivers that could fill the part- and full-time seats.

I continue to hear the two parties will split the driver selections, with HPD slotting two of its preferred full-timers into one car and Penske controlling the names of who will lead the other entry. If that's the case, the DPi partners can expect a Black Friday situation on their hands as dozens of drivers try to cram through a small door to get in line for IMSA's newest and biggest program.


Once we factor in the extra drivers that will be needed for the long races on the calendar, the hiring spree could expand to fill eight positions for 2018. We already know Penske's two-time Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya will occupy one of the Captain's seats, so who should Roger and the gang at HPD consider for the other openings? And where might they look for talent?
Answers can be found from within their respective racing organizations, in IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship paddock, and possibly from the Verizon IndyCar Series.

Helio Castroneves (Scott LePage/LAT)

PENSKE'S ALL-STARS
Of the two companies, Penske has a deeper pool of drivers to call upon for the 2018 DPi project. With Montoya in place, the second full-time seat would appear to be waiting for Penske IndyCar star Helio Castroneves to fill, and while I'm confident he'll end up in the car, I'm not sure he's ready to make the transition at the end of the year. Yes, he turns 42 next week, and yes, he's been racing open-wheel cars forever, but he's also captured two poles this year (from four races) and sits sixth in the championship heading into Indy.

Helio might be getting up there in age compared to IndyCar's young lions, but he continues to produce at a high level for Roger. If he'd lost a step and was struggling to run with the Simon Pagenauds and Will Powers and Josef Newgardens, sure, a return to sports cars with Penske would be a natural fit. Considering his pace in the old Penske Porsche RS Spyders he demonstrated in the ALMS, more can be expected when the Honda DPi transition happens. I'd just be surprised if it takes place next year.
Penske's championship-winning Porsche LMP2 effort built enduring relationships with many of the drivers who wielded the bad-fast prototypes, and with the demotion of 2016 WEC LMP1 champion Romain Dumas to a state of flux within Porsche, the Frenchman's strong ties with RP and team president Tim Cindric lead me to believe a reunion in a Honda DPi could be possible.
There's also Ricky Taylor to consider. The Prototype points leader tested an Indy car for Penske earlier this year, and while there were suggestions he was being evaluated for something in open-wheel, I'd have to think RP was using the closest thing he has to a DPi to get a feel for the Floridian's talent and feedback. Knowing the type of driver Penske and Cindric prefer – clean cut, focused, more reserved than outspoken, a proven winner – Taylor is everything they could ask for.