When the green flag drops on another NTT IndyCar Series season next week in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, several part-time entries will increase the size of the field in the season opener.
One of those is DragonSpeed Racing and 34-year-old driver Ben Hanley.
DragonSpeed is an American racing team based in Jupiter, Florida, with Elton Julian serving as the team principal. The team has deep roots in sports car racing, having raced in the Pirelli World Challenge, European Le Mans Series, FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of LeMans.
In 2019, it’s adding the NTT IndyCar Series to the list and has an IndyCar shop in Indianapolis.
DragonSpeed will compete in five races, including the 103rd Indianapolis 500. The others include races at St. Petersburg, Barber Motorsports Park, Road America and Mid-Ohio.
Hanley said he is “more than he is properly allowed” excited about finally getting a chance to compete in IndyCar.
“It’s a huge opportunity for me,” Hanley said at IndyCar Media Day earlier this month. “I’ve been through all of the junior karting and single-seater route in Europe like Formula Renault World Series, some GP2 and the F1 Young Driver Program. The funding got pulled two races into the 2008 GP2 season.
“I realized then: I had to get a job.”
Hanley returned to go-karting from 2008 until 2015. He picked up some racing opportunities as they came along, but never gave up on returning to racing.
He got that chance with DragonSpeed in 2015 in LMP2 advancing into the WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“It didn’t go anywhere for a few years and then in a short space of time, it has really taken off,” Hanley said of his career. “I’m really grateful for the opportunity to get back and into a single-seater as well, where my career started.”
Hanley is from Manchester, England, and believes IndyCar is becoming a “destination series” to drivers in Europe. He said two-time Fernando Alonso’s interest in the Indianapolis 500 in 2017 and again in 2019 has created more awareness for IndyCar in Europe.
“I’ve always been interested in IndyCar, but never followed it closely until three years ago,” Hanley said. “I realized how close the racing is and how interesting the races are.
“For me, it has more appeal to it than Formula One. I have more experience in what those two ladders are like and what those outcomes will be like. IndyCar all the way for me.”
Julian announced his part-time IndyCar team late in 2018. According to Hanley, he was impressed with how much help the IndyCar Series provided to help get his team started.
The five-race schedule is highlighted by the 103rd Indianapolis 500, an event Hanley calls “immense.”
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