Season 22 Team Predictions

by **f1fan** December 27th 2016, 2:22 am

PETRONAS Honda

6- Tuomas Sarrinen
9- Kyle Basaglia -R-
12- D.J. Kurtis

-PETRONAS I think once again needs to be in the considered in the running for best team in the OES. They have D.J. Kurtis, Tuomas Sarrinen, and arguably the leading Rookie of the Year contender in Kyle Basaglia. Many are calling Basaglia the second coming of Kenny Myatt. The main downfall might be the start of the year. Both Basaglia and Sarrinen are not locked into the first 4 races, and while I think they should make the races no problem, little issues could prevent them from starting a race or two early on.

Cathenix Engineering- Jaguar

14- Jake Baskinger
15- Joki Lethinen -R-
44- Joshua Micheals

-Cathenix had a bit of an up and down year. They were idiotic in letting John Ardnt leave. Baskinger had a bad year last season. Lethinen has proven he can wheel a car around the track. But Joshua Micheals is a bit of a wild card here. Yes, he did survive his way into scoring a win in Argentina, but Micheals was incredibly inconsistent last season.

D&C- Mercedes
2- Charles Sandfer
3- Kyle Collins
4- Alex Allen

-Arguably the best lineup in ARCSOA. Sandfer probably should have been champion. Kyle Collins performed really well coming back from injury, and Alex Allen preformed really well in a crummy NOPEA Finland car. The Mercedes might be a bit of a problem though, not much development has gone into the engine, and it sounds like they are using the same car from two seasons ago.

Durbinsport- Audi

39- Lucian Eckdahl?
86- Ethan Moore -R-
93- TBA

-Still no word on the 93 car's driver. Ethan Moore was the most impressive rookie in rookie testing. The jury is still out on Eckdahl. Rumor has it that Andrew Cross will pilot the #93. This team will make the grid pretty easily. Not sure about winning contention though.

Silverspeed- Dodge

1- Nick Pericles
82- Ryan Griffin
83- Tristan Wilhoit

-The Michigan based team is coming in with the reigning champion with Nick Pericles. Ryan Griffin has always been considered the lead driver for this team, but Pericles has stamped his mark on that position. I don't really think the two of them should be on the same team without some type of fireworks developing this season. They are friends off the track, but when it comes to driver development, Pericles and Griffin's relationship could crumble. Tristan Wilhoit only adds to the possibility of an inter-team rivalry. Wilhoit was arguably the 4th or 5th best driver last season, but bad luck kept taking him out of races. Wilhoit is no slouch, and both Pericles and Griffin ought to be wary of him. Gerald Silver needs to handle this situation carefully, or the inter-team rivalry will only cause heartbreak to the team. Which in turn can hurt performance.

FBR- Toyota

18- Noah Hart
19- Benjamin Dover -R- "Seriously you guys are childish... But considering I have met a person actually named Benjamin Dover, I'll allow it"
47- Jacob Hart

-The FBR squad has it's typical Noah Hart and Jacob Hart. Recently, the two brothers have found dirt track/power boat racer Ben Dover... yes you are reading that right. Surprisingly, without even developing him, the California native is expected to pilot an OES car. This may either go really good, or end in disaster for Dover.

Red Bull Racing

7- Christian Van Der Pesch
8- Vincent Allen
94- Jessica Shelton

-Red Bull has a solid line up. Christian Van Der Pesch has come in to really solidify the team after Kurtis' departure. Vincent Allen really needs to step up and be the team leader here. Jessica Shelton finally has a car that can maybe show off her talent. Now we get to see if her lack of performance recently was due to her talent, or the under-performance of the S3 car.

CJ Racing- Chevy Impala
#05: John Arndt
#08: Chris Dodd
#38: Zachary Fitzwater

-CJ Racing didn't have a half bad season last year. But I am not seeing much development from their car this year. Which might make them the first team listed here to possibly struggle to make the grid occasionally. They do have an engine though, and a powerful one at that. But their car doesn't look that strong on some of the short tracks, or the technical road courses like Road Atlanta. Dodd and Fitzwater both need good seasons this year, especially Fitzy! No clue on why Ardnt is here... He should be on a better team than this. The team also got royally screwed by Porsche and Scott Roush, so that may draw up some controversy in the qualifying races.

Checkered Flag Autosport - Renault
#21 - Etisham Phadkar
#31 - Jay Stella
#32 - Skyla Johnson

-CFA is the factory Renault team. The Renault doesn't look that great though. The team has brought in Skyla Johnson after a year's sabbatical in order to lead the development. Both Phadkar and Stella looked lost last season. I honestly think that Skyla is this teams only shot to make the grid on a weekly basis.

Freya and Saito - Marlone Faraday
#46- Aidan Shepard
#60 Treck Tauger
#74-Tanya Jackwater

-I like the F&S team. But the Marlone Faraday looks pretty hopeless. Maybe as the season goes on they can string together good results. I highly doubt any of their cars make the grid in Daytona. The Marlone by far is the slowest car in a straight line. On the technical tracks however, the Faraday may end up doing something. The benefit for this team, is that they have reliable Treck Tauger as the lead driver, and a young star in Aidan Shepard as driver #2. Jackwater on the other hand is a bit of an surprise. The only thing she did last season, was crash into her future teammate.

Team NOPEA Finland - Koenigsegg Agera R
#34 - Sean Angel
#37 - Roman Rehall
#73 - Tyler Thabor

-Oh the Koenigsegg! When it runs, it is the FASTEST THING OUT ON THE TRACK! All 3 drivers are also locked into the first 4 races. However, the car barely can make 5 laps of Homestead at this time before it catches on fire or something. The car also sounds way different from the rest. It has a prototype engine in it, that could be scary fast if they could get it to run. The engine has a built in engine recovery system that takes wasted brake energy and coverts it into horsepower. The Koenigsegg is also the only car on the grid with TWIN SUPERCHARGERS! If they can get the car to run, they will be a TERRIFYING team for the rest of the field to deal with.

Blue Flare Motorsports - Lexus
#11 - Madeline Myatt -R-
#41 - Kyle Shock Jr.
#81 - William Brock

-BFM looks great this year. William Brock is hunting for his first win. Kyle Shock Jr. is making his ARCSOA comeback. But all eyes are on Car #11. Kenny Myatt's 16 year old daughter looks really strong. Maddie has a TON of talent! The only downside to her is that she is FAR more aggressive than her father. She lost the ARCSOA Lights championship last year to Ethan Moore by making an insane move on her teammate in Lights. If she can calm her aggression, she will be serious threat for Rookie of the Year. BFM also has Kenny Myatt as a drivers coach. Myatt for the most part is working with their developmental program, and is working with Kyle Shock Jr on his re-acclimation to an OES car. Shock has always had the talent to be strong, but has lacked a real mentor to bring it out of him. The Lexus looks really good for next season. The only concern that I have is that William Brock is the lead driver. Brock is a solid driver, but I don't think he is ready to lead a team. He probably needs Kenny Myatt just as much as Shock to be honest. Brock and Shock have similar driving styles, and similar past results.

RUS-Matthews
#16- Yevgeny Kuznetsov
#61- Ryan Matthews
#??- TBA

Not much is expected to change with the RUS-Matthews brigade. They are expected to be their typical, reliable selves. Matthews, who was the Rookie of the Year last year, can be a dark-horse for the title, if he has a car that cooperates.

Team Kwik Fit - ???
#20- Ben Atkins
#22- Gabe Macena
#??- Casey Lester?

-Kwik Fit is in the same boat as RUS-Matthews. Macena had a bunch of bad luck. Atkins had flashes of brilliance. They are also expected to bring in Casey Lester. Which is a good move considering his past experience in the series. Even if he spent most of his career upside-down.

FPM- Mustang

97- Mifune Sanjuro -R-
98- Moshe Gurion -R-
99- Nicholas Vernier

-FPM is back! They left because they weren't huge fans of the Season 21 model car. Now that the series has gone back to the Season 20 car, FPM is using their rejected car for Season 21 that they developed in hopes of the 21 car being rejected. The only issue I see here is with their drivers. Gurion has had minimal success in the series in the past. Sanjuro has had no former OES experience. Vernier has been hit or miss in the past. But as a lead driver, he is reliable enough to develop a team. I think this team may struggle to qualify. Not because the fact that their car is junk. Their car actually looks pretty good. But for the fact that I am not sure how talented their drivers are.

Mentervini- TBA

77- Anton Pulyakov -R-
78- Damir Baizhiyenov -R-
79- Juan Pablo Corona -R-

-Oh Mentervini, how we love you. But this team isn't making a race unless they get divine intervention. At least now. Maybe they will squeak into a race or two... but not much more than that. They are strong at Daytona historically, even picking up a win. So that will be their best shot.

Team Flame Racing- BMW

29- Jeffery Finguy
30- Luca Fontana
33- Vance Caldwell -R-

Team Flame is a new team. They are using some old CBM equipment. The interesting thing is that their lead driver is Jeffery Finguy. Finguy who was nearly killed in a horrific wreck at Road America a few seasons ago, is back! However, this team is more of a project for Season 23 rather than being strong this season. They may make a handful of races off of the sure talent of Finguy, but I don't expect Fontana or Caldwell to make many races. Their equipment is a few seasons out of date, and there has been little to no development done on their cars since then. Those BMW's were fast back in Season 17, but 5 years is a long time for a car to be run. If they pull off making races consistently, it will be a miracle. Word has it, that they are already developing their Season 23 car. With production on it coming that early, I would expect Season 23 to be a scary year for Team Flame.

Ferrari
5- Phaula Thenos
27- Henry Sandfer
28- Mathias Paulsson -R-

-Ferrari has been gone for a while. With longtime developmental driver Phaula Thenos and lead driver Henry Sandfer coming back from injury. Coupled with the man who nearly won the American 700 last season with Norwegian Mathias Paulsson, this team has a solid lineup. The problem is, their car is fast in a straight line, but apparently it doesn't handle well! The handling is so bad, that there are fears that it might not make a few races. However, the car has enough straightline speed that it should qualify easily.

Porsche Developments
10- Scott Roush
17- Audra Baranauskas -R-
84- Nathan McKane

-Porsche have been little dirtbags this offseason. They initially thought that they weren't going to return, and fired both Van Der Pesch and Wilhoit. Then Porsche decides it wants to come back. But they don't have any drivers. So they steal Scott Roush from CJ Racing, and recruit Nathan McKane to drive two of their cars. Baranauskas is getting the shot of her life driving that Porsche. Her ARCSOA Lights career was overshadowed by her teammate Madeline Myatt. This is Baranauskas' shot to forge her own career.

Richard Baxter Motorsports- Dodge Viper
13- Blaze McKinney -R-
23- Hans Goldwulf -R-
26- Satori Yamatashi -R-

-Billionaire Richard Baxter has formed a team. He has bought the Dodge Viper model, and is planning on running it next season. But the Viper, isn't the best car, and by far the Baxter team has the most unknown driver lineup on the grid. Who the heck is Blaze McKinney? They will struggle to qualify.

S3- Hyundai
24- Erin Perkins
25- Arttu Nikkula -R-
96- TBA

-S3 still hasn't hired a driver for the #96. James Shelly and Tamur Delic have been linked to that car, but it is anyone's guess. S3 in the past has been a really hard team to judge. They are good, but not great. I honestly have no clue on what they will do here.