Montoya back to Indycars...with Andretti? Michael Andretti is trying to find a sponsor to bring #42-Juan Pablo Montoya back to IndyCar with Andretti Autosport. "I have talked to Juan about IndyCar and told him 'Hell yeah, let's find a way to put something together,' " Andretti told The Associated Press on Monday. "I've driven against him and I think he's one of the best drivers I've ever driven against. It just comes down to sponsorship. So we're looking, and if it's a possibility, we want to do something with him." Andretti only had conversations with Montoya last week after the Colombian learned from Chip Ganassi that he wouldn't be re-signed to Ganassi's NASCAR team for an eighth season. Montoya has been out of open wheel racing since he left Formula One in 2006 to rejoin Ganassi in NASCAR, and he's not ruling out any series now that he's looking for work. He told AP on Monday a return to IndyCar isn't out of the question, but wouldn't reveal what teams he's spoken to so far.(Associated Press)(8-19-2013)

Here's a couple of easy options for Michael to consider for getting Montoya in his team:

1 - Get rid of Marco
2 - Get rid of Marco

I think both options are easily viable.

Here's a couple of easy options for Michael to consider for getting Montoya in his team:

1 - Get rid of Marco
2 - Get rid of Marco

I think both options are easily viable.

AW: So what's been lacking to get to the point of being a consistent front-runner or race winner in Cup?

JPM: If you look at the bigger picture, how many employees are at Hendrick [Motorsports]? More than 600, and we have 170. Somebody told me that there's more engineers at Hendrick than personnel at Ganassi. So when you're racing every week against them, yeah, you might have a shot a couple weeks a year because they screw it up and you got it all right, but being realistic, year-round ain't gonna happen.

AW: If you could choose your destiny today to do anything as a race driver, what would you choose?

JPM: Right now? Anything? The 24 [Jeff Gordon's car at Hendrick]. That would be an ideal scenario because to be honest, how many years Jeff's got left? But it's timing. The timing is not there to be there.

For me right now it's not about money, for me right now is about winning.

IndyCar has targeted a move outside of North America by 2015 with a series of off-season races around the world that could form a winter championship.

The aim of the races would be to give IndyCar teams new revenue streams over an off-season that looks likely to grow from next year, when the calendar could climax as early as the end of August.

Plans for the internationalisation of IndyCar have been laid out by new president of operations and competition Derrick Walker.

He outlined a number of different scenarios, including non-points races, a winter or regional championship, and even the possibility of the IndyCar Series starting overseas in January or February.

"We have teams that from the end of September or October through to the start of the season in March don't have an awful lot to do; there is only so much testing you can do," the former the former CART and IndyCar team owner told AUTOSPORT.

"Our teams need income and an international component to their season would help strengthen their financial position."

Walker stressed that there were no plans to add any flyaway events to the Sao Paulo street circuit in Brazil, which has had a place on the IndyCar schedule since 2010, to the beginning or end of the season.

"We are not going to tear up our existing calendar and we don't want our champion crowned at 1am in some far away place," he explained.

"But if there are races in January or February leading into the domestic series, then it might make sense to include them in our championship."

A European group called World Series Operations - which has links to the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in 2005-09 and subsequent attempts to relaunch the championship - is known to have put forward plans for a winter series under the IndyCar Global Challenge banner.

It already has draft agreements in place with a number of promoters and has proposed a five-event schedule starting at the end of 2014.

The idea for winter races appears to have the backing of the teams.

Andretti Autosport vice-president J-F Thormann said: "We are very much in favour of it.

"The domestic schedule ends so early, but we employ our personnel all year round, so it would be a good utilisation of human resources and assets."