Jim Ayello | IndyStar

Jenna Watson/IndyStar

Bob Goshert / For IndyStar

INDIANAPOLIS -- Michael Andretti has lined up the dominoes. Now all he has to do is push.

In the coming days, weeks, or months, the Andretti Autosport boss has a major decision to make, one that is critical to the future of the Verizon IndyCar Series.

On one hand, he can stay with Honda, a manufacturer he’s won three of the past four Indianapolis 500s with, and the shakeup around the paddock could be relatively tame.

On the other hand, Andretti could elect to return to Chevrolet -- rumored to have offered the sponsorship-strapped team an enticing financial package -- and set in motion what could be one of the wildest IndyCar Silly Seasons in recent memory.

When will he make this monumental decision? About two weeks ago, Andretti told Autoweek he’d know which direction his team was heading in a couple of weeks, yet no decision has emerged. Perhaps, Andretti has made his choice but is waiting for an opportune time to let the rest of the racing world in on his secret. According to former Indianapolis 500 Andretti driver and NBCSN analyst Townsend Bell, it probably makes more sense to announce such a decision after the championship season comes to a close.

“You don't want to do anything that dampens the enthusiasm of your manufacturer when you’re in the throes of competing,” Bell said. “I think, mathematically, Takuma Sato still has a chance in the championship. He might still be in the hunt and he certainly has a chance at a top three. So this is something where you want to plan to make the decision immediately following Sunday at Sonoma and get going down the road whichever way you want to go.”

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If that’s the case, then we might be waiting awhile for Andretti to give that first domino the momentum it needs to change the face of IndyCar.

If Andretti does make the switch, the ramifications are seemingly endless, but here are six dominoes that could fall immediately after.

Takuma Sato: One thing we know for certain: If Chevy bags Andretti Autosport, it loses the 2017 Indianapolis 500 winner. As one source told IndyStar recently, never mind his sponsorship deal with the Japanese automaker, Sato wouldn’t be allowed back into the country if he were caught driving a Chevrolet-powered car.

Of course that was a joke, but Sato and Honda are tied at the hip, and an Andretti move to Chevrolet would send Sato looking for a new ride. His options should be plentiful. He carries with him the prestige of being the reigning 500 champion along with significant sponsorship dollars. There are more than a couple of teams in the paddock that make a good deal of sense as landing spots for the good-matured and knowledgeable driver, including his former team (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) which could have a second car next year, or Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, which might have one or maybe even two open seats to fill.

One interesting footnote to this possibility is that while it is rare for a 500 winner and his team to part ways the season after the victory, it is not unprecedented. In the past decade, Tony Kanaan found himself at Chip Ganassi Racing in 2014, a season after winning the 500 with KV Racing, and Dario Franchitti left Andretti Green Racing and IndyCar for NASCAR after winning the 2007 Indy 500. He returned to IndyCar in 2009 with Ganassi.

Alexander Rossi: Honda is said to be quite fond of the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner, but he doesn’t have the same financial connection to the manufacturer as Sato. So it’s not out of the question that Rossi would drive a Chevrolet for Andretti next year, though Honda likely wants to keep the budding star in the fold.

Still, if Andretti makes the move, it's possible that it will lose the past two 500 champions. And much like Sato, there wouldn’t be any shortage of suitors for Rossi. If Max Chilton and/or Charlie Kimball and/or Kanaan leave Chip Ganassi Racing, perhaps there’s a spot for him there. Or maybe with RLL’s rumored forthcoming second car. Or maybe he replaces Mikhail Aleshin at SPM. Or maybe … well, you get the idea.

A host of other drivers: While Team Penske and Chip Ganassi are rumored to be downsizing, the same cannot be said of Andretti, who is believed to want to keep his four-car garage even if he switches to Chevrolet. If he does, he could have two potential openings alongside Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti that a host of drivers would love to occupy.

What free agent wouldn’t at least explore the option of joining a team with the kind of success Andretti has enjoyed at the 500 in recent years?

That means there will be no shortage of suitors for Andretti to consider, including possible free agents Charlie Kimball, Spencer Pigot, Tony Kanaan and ...

James Hinchcliffe: The biggest of free agent fishes could be looking for a new home, but would a return to his former team be in the offing if it shifted to Chevy? Hinchcliffe has ties to Honda Canada, but would those ties preclude him for driving for his old boss, the man who oversaw his first career win? If not, Hinchcliffe would have to be a prime target for Andretti, assuming he could afford a driver with Hinchcliffe’s price tag.

And if Hinchcliffe did make a move to Andretti, where does that leave SPM? Safely assuming Aleshin doesn’t return next season, the team would be looking at a complete driver overhaul entering 2018. Enter Kanaan? Kimball? Ed Jones? Esteban Gutiérrez?

McLaren: This is a long way down the road, but if McLaren stays with Honda for its Formula One program and wanted to return to the 500 next year, McLaren boss Zak Brown would likely have to find a new partner to team up with. While that’s certainly possible -- there are Honda-powered teams that would surely be interested -- it might make things complicated. Between its history of success and impressive resources, Andretti gave McLaren and Fernando Alonso a very real chance at winning the 500. Not every team can offer that, and if Andretti moves to Chevrolet, that eliminates McLaren’s easiest path back to Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

New teams: It is far from certain that Harding Racing or any other new team will put together a full-season program in time next year, but if one did, it probably does not know which engine it will be using yet -- largely because of Andretti.

“Let’s say Chevy takes on Michael,” said Harding team manager Larry Curry. “Michael has four, Roger (Penske) has three, Ed (Carpenter) has two and the Foyts have two. That’s 11. How many more full-time rides and how many more teams does Chevy or Honda want to support? We need to see where the bigger players are going here, then we’ll know our options.”

These are but a few of the dominoes that will fall when Andretti makes his decision. Now we’re just waiting for him to push.