Which team that is not part of the Big 3 will win a race in 2013?

[Yannick]

OK, now I have decided to get productive and get a little more traffic to the forum, as was bemoaned on the other thread ...

The question in the headline came to me a few weeks ago. With different teams being on sometimes widely differing budgets, and the new car's 2nd season now forthcoming, it is somewhat likely that the Big 3 teams, namely Penske, Ganassi and Andretti, will win the development race over the smaller teams with the smaller budgets at their disposal, and thus win most of the races in 2013.

Back when the development race of the old car had long gone into saturation mode, the small teams suddenly started winning again because they successfully played catch-up, which is why we saw victories by teams such as Herta, Fisher and Coyne in recent years with the old car.

Last season, with the new car, Andretti successfully made it into the Big 3 again, effectively ending the era of the "Red Cars" in which only 2 teams managed to win regularly. That was a breath of fresh air, especially when you consider the two victories by smaller teams: Coyne at Texas and Carpenter (or you might want to call them Vision/Walker as I do) at Fontana.

So here is my question to you: Which of the teams not amongst the Big 3 will make a visit to the Winner's Circle in 2013, if any?

My pick for this is Schmidt because a) they have felt like the 4th best team over the past few seasons and b) Tristan Vautier has really impressed in testing. I feel he could pull off a win.

Who is your pick?

[Down F0rce]

Ed Carpenter will probably win on one of the big ovals again. Would like to see Bryan Herta's team take another win. Simon Pagenaud can pull off a win on the road/street courses for sure.

[Paradise City]

Pagenaud and Bourdais must be favourites to snag a win or two. I'm a bit coy at mentioning Kanaan as he's a bit elderly.

[Down F0rce]

Kanaan has the speed and ability, I just don't think he has the team to do it. Same with Bourdais really.

[Yannick]

Originally Posted by Down F0rce

Ed Carpenter will probably win on one of the big ovals again. Would like to see Bryan Herta's team take another win. Simon Pagenaud can pull off a win on the road/street courses for sure.

Carpenter would be a safe bet if he had a competent teammate, remembering the race at Kentucky a few years ago when he and Wheldon brought Panther to their best race in years.

I root for Pagenaud, too, like I do for Vautier, because the former FAZZT team of Sam Schmidt has managed to race the big guys ever since they have been in the series. I'm not so sure about Herta but if they had 2 cars, maybe they could challenge for victory at a street course, too.

Bourdais and Kanaan, well, they are solid but their teams would have to up their game to get that elusive victory. The same goes for Panther.

I'm expecting regular Top 5 finishes from Team Rahal, too, but that might not be enough just yet for a win. Wilson and Coyne could pull it off again, though.

Wouldn't it be fun to see somebody win who we don't have on our list, like maybe Viso in the 4th Andretti car? But I digress, sine he is with one of the Big 3 teams ...

[marcostraz]

Originally Posted by Yannick

My pick for this is Schmidt because a) they have felt like the 4th best team over the past few seasons and b) Tristan Vautier has really impressed in testing. I feel he could pull off a win.

Who is your pick?

My pick is Schmidt too...for me Pagenaud would be a title contender in Ganassi, Penske or Andretti car, and Vautier is always impressing during all the off-season...look also Carpenter, Coyne and Panther DRR...

[D.R.T.]

Simon Pagneaud and Tony Kanaan

[ptclaus98]

I look for Graham Rahal to get back to his 2009 form.

[Paradise City]

Sato, Wilson and Newgarden might spring a surprise. It's hard to see Sato or Newgarden being that reliable over a season mind you though.

And yeah young Rahal is often discounted - by me anyway - but that's unfair. He could spring a surprise too as the Rahal team is competitive pending a reliable driver.

[Xpunk75]

I think Joseph Newgarden will get a win this season. He looked racey all last year and will have learned a lot after 1 season.

[Yannick]

Historically, Team Rahal has been 4th of the "Big 4" teams. But they have been part time for a long time and only made their fulltime comeback last season. I root for them, too, to get up to speed quickly but at this point, I guess Schmidt is more likely to win first.

I'd be rather happy if Sato could win in the Foyt car but the team need to work on their pitstops first. If it turns out they have fixed that weakness of theirs from last season, they should be OK.

Newgarden, well, his front row start at Long Beach was impressive, and his Indy speeds were quite good, too, so there is definitely potential. Yet, you have to finish first or something like that the saying goes.

[Paradise City]

If Sato was calmer he would've been a challenger. Rahal was fast in the 2nd tier Ganassi Team often making Dario seem foolish. I expect a strong performance from Rahal Team Rahal this year.

[00steven]

I believe both Paganaud and Vautier will win for Schmidt.

[Xpunk75]

I am a big Sato fan because of how Un-calm he is and how he is willing to put all on the line at any moment. I think he is a great driver but has had a lot of bad luck with a few moments of brilliance in F1 and IndyCar.

I believe one day it's going to click for this guy and he is going to dominate. It's really him realizing sometimes discretion is the better part of Valor. It be nice if he could be mentored by someone like Jackie Stewart of Alain Prost. I feel like someone with that type of cool headed driver mentality could really give him some insight on how to be more successful.

I nearly broke my TV watching the 500 last year when he spun...

He will definitely be someone I'm rooting for this season.