Moraes to move up the IRL food chain

Mario Moraes

Mario Moraes made so much improvement as an IndyCar Series driver this season that his boss wants him reclassified.

"The kid eventually needs to get paid like a professional," Jimmy Vasser said. "He's not a money (providing) guy."

It's difficult to argue with the 1996 CART champion, co-owner of Indianapolis-based KV Racing Technology, as Moraes drove more competitively than his 14th-place standing would suggest.

Moraes delivered a strong month of May until he made contact with Marco Andretti on the first lap of the Indianapolis 500. He handled the death of his father midseason and finished with four consecutive top-seven finishes, including a third at Chicagoland when he went three-wide for the lead with only a few laps remaining.

Paddock perception of the 20-year-old driver is changing.

"I took a lot of (grief) for calling him the new (Juan Pablo) Montoya, but I saw some similar things in him," said Vasser, who was Montoya's teammate for two seasons at Ganassi Racing. "I think a lot of people are coming around, like Dario (Franchitti)."

Moraes said he speaks frequently with Vasser and Kevin Kalkhoven about returning to KV, but he has stressed to them the importance of having a strong teammate to help him.

KV certainly has been stronger with multiple cars. After a productive 2008 with Will Power and Oriol Servia, it fielded Paul Tracy alongside Moraes in four races and had Townsend Bell in a third car at Indianapolis. All three drivers had good showings in May, with Bell finishing fourth in the 500 and Moraes leading a practice and qualifying seventh.

"It made a lot of difference without (a teammate)," Moraes said. "Jimmy and Kevin want that, too, so we'll see. I'm pretty happy with the team."

Michael Andretti's team could be a destination for Moraes, although there are no current signs of that happening. It's worth noting Moraes' U.S. affairs are handled by Andretti driver Tony Kanaan's company.

Moraes said his goal is to strike a deal by next month. Indianapolis Star