Bryan Herta Autosport announced earlier this week that 2014 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires champion Gabby Chaves will drive their No. 98 Honda for the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season.
“As soon as the deal was announced, I was very happy. It’s been a long journey to get to where I am. We’ve had a lot of sacrifice, a lot of hard times. This is only just the first victory we can get out of it,” Chaves commented. “Now it’s time to get back to work and really looking forward to enjoying a great season.”
Bryan Herta said that the deal came together via conversations that began a few months ago, with the pair agreeing to have Chaves participate in the test at Sebring. The test went “really well on and off the track”, resulting in Chaves being hired. Herta added that he came highly recommended as “his credentials in Indy Lights speak for themselves”. In two seasons of Indy Lights competition, Chaves finished second in points in 2013, followed by the championship last season and four wins.
“For us, we’ve seen from recent past that the guys who have been coming out of Indy Lights into IndyCar have been doing a great job,” Herta added. “We had a good experience with Jack Hawksworth coming out of Indy Lights. Gabby was obviously right from day one a very competitive driver. It was just a case of how can we put a deal together. ”
“We worked very hard to get everything together and we’re pleased to go racing together this season.”
Last season, Indy Lights graduate Jack Hawksworth drove for the organization, following a fourth place finish in the 2013 standings. He had a solid rookie season in Indy Car last year, highlighted by a podium finish. Hawksworth will be moving to A.J. Foyt Racing for the 2015 season.
Bringing young drivers up from Indy Lights is something that Herta feels is very important for both IndyCar and Indy Lights in progressing drivers throug hthe ranks.
“As a team owner, I have to take a narrower view. Frankly, it just comes down to getting the very best guy in our car that we can get,” Herta added. “I’m very pleased with where we ended up this year. I believe Gabby is going to do some great things this year in the car and I believe he’s a guy that we want to try and hang on to and keep on the team for several years to come.
“I think we can build together and we can grow together.”
The thought echos from owner to driver as Chaves feels that the experience from both the Mazda Road to Indy and the Indy Lights Series will pay big dividends this season.
“Especially when it comes down to the first race on the ovals, the whole oval schedule that we have, I think that’s where it’s going to make a bigger difference,” he commented. “I’m really happy. I think the ladder series is how it should be and it’s preparing the drivers, as Bryan said, not only Jack Hawksworth showing some amazing speed, but Carlos Muñoz having demonstrated the quality of drivers that we’re feeding into IndyCar is very high.”
Muñoz, currently driving for Andretti Autosport, is certainly one of the young drivers that Chaves and others graduating can look up to. In his first full season of Verizon IndyCar Series competition, Muñoz posted three podium finishes last season and finished second in the 2013 Indianapolis 500.
Beyond hiring Chaves, Bryan Herta also added John Dick to the team’s engineering staff, stating that he has known Dick for years and emphasized the reason for the hiring was due to Chaves’ previous experience with Dick.
“I never worked physically with John when I was driving. He’s a guy I have a lot of respect for,” Herta commented. “When we were looking for that right combination for Gabby, we had kind of an opportunity signing the driver first and making sure that we’re building a group of people around him that fits.
“Gabby had a good experience working with John. Frankly for me, we wanted to pair a lot of experience around Gabby, and John certainly fits the bill for that. He’s been around a long time. He’s been in IndyCar for a long time. His experience will definitely be a great benefit to Gabby as he’s learning this year.”
Herta also talked about possibly expanding to a full-time two-car program in the future, mentioning that they will have two cars for the Indianapolis 500 in May.
“I think as long as that goes well, we want to make sure we keep the focus on Gabby and his program this year, that we’re doing everything we need to do for him,” Herta explained. “But we do want to grow the program. We would like to be a two-car team sooner than later. I think we’re open to the idea of doing more races later in the year as we work towards hopefully a full two-car program next year. “
