INDIANAPOLIS – IndyCar Silly Season is here, and if the rumors are to be believed, this could be among the silliest of seasons in recent memory.

With four races left on the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series calendar, the whispers have grown louder with teams rumored to be downsizing, upgrading and trading in one manufacturing partner for another. Meanwhile more than a dozen drivers headline rumors that have them leaving IndyCar, leaving their team or helping start a new one.

It's a whole lot of fun to talk about but it's an equally hard time to determine what's true. IndyStar recently spoke with former IndyCar driver and NBCSN analyst Townsend Bell to help sort out the madness.

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Question: Michael Andretti and Andretti Autosport have enjoyed outstanding success with Honda in recent years, highlighted by winning three of the past four Indianapolis 500. However, the team has struggled significantly with sponsorship, and rumor is Chevrolet has offered Andretti an enticing financial package to jump ship. Andretti has been tight-lipped about the pending decision; what’s your best guess on how this plays out?

Answer: It would be really difficult to argue with the results that Honda and Andretti have delivered, especially at the Indy 500. That’s been a very powerful partnership in a race that is at least 50 percent of the reason Honda is in the sport in the first place. And Andretti has delivered over and over again with terrific fast cars and race wins. I’m sure that weighs heavily on Michael’s mind as he decides where he goes from here.

But I also don’t think there are any holes in the performance Chevrolet offers for IndyCar teams. With the universal body kit next year, I expect both manufacturers to be very close in terms of power and reliability. … But Michael’s team lost HHGregg this year ... and Snapple last year. So as a business owner, you’ve got to figure how to fill that hole. It’s no different that Chip Ganassi losing Target last year. He had to fit that hole, and he did that by switching to Honda.

If the speculation is true that Chevy has come with a more attractive financial package, knowing the performance side is probably going to be very close next season, then I would expect Michael to take that opportunity because he needs to keep the balance sheet level. Michael needs to have the ability to spend more money on R & D and engineering talent to further strengthen his team.

Q: When do you expect Andretti might make that decision?

A: When you’re in-season, it’s really hard to deal with that. You don't want to do anything that dampens the enthusiasm of your current manufacturer when you’re in the throes of competing. I think, mathematically, Takuma Sato still has a chance in the championship. 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.

Q: With his contract set to expire, James Hinchcliffe is possibly the biggest free agent fish out there. Do you expect him to be on the move or stick around at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports?

A: I would expect him to stay. He’s got a team completely built around him. He’s the leader there, and I think the continuity would be valuable. They stood by him during the injury, which was fantastic. Then he came back and reminded people why he was desired in the first place. Obviously he has a strong relationship with (Honda Canada). But I do think if you’re a team owner like Sam Schmidt you have to see who is out there and who could be available.

Q: What about the second car at SPM? It does not appear that Mikhail Aleshin will be returning to that seat, so what might Schmidt be looking to do there?

A: I think Tony Kanaan is someone you take a look at, and there’s probably a short list of a few others. But Kanaan’s a guy that can go win you an Indy 500 immediately or win you Iowa or Texas, so that would be pretty desirable. … I have heard rumors that the second car would be a fully funded opportunity to hire someone else to pair with Hinch. Don’t know where they stand on that, but the goal of every team owner is to fund your second car and get the best driver you can afford.

But that is a team that has quietly and methodically strengthened itself. They have a fantastic relationship with Arrow Electronics, and Arrow has continued to invest and grow with the team. They believe in the team, and to me, with Hinchcliffe in a contract year, Sam Schmidt is a team out there that is really hungry to elevate themselves into the Penske, Ganassi conversation in terms of race wins and competitiveness. They’ve really been nipping at the heels there, but I think they are well-positioned to take a step forward.

Q: Though he’s just seven points back of championship leader and teammate Josef Newgarden, is Helio Castroneves’ move to Penske’s sports car program next season a foregone conclusion?

A: Yeah, I would still expect that. I’ve been hearing that rumor for six to eight months now. I love his fighting spirit in this. You know he wants to make it difficult on everybody. He wants to win his first championship and put everyone in an awkward position if he is, in fact, a foregone conclusion with the Acura sports car program. It’d be great for him to either go out as a champion or force them to give him another year if he can win one. But with the momentum that Josef Newgarden has right now, he’s tough to bet against here down the stretch.

Q: Other than Scott Dixon returning to the fold, there seems to be no consensus on what the Chip Ganassi garage will look like next year. We know Kanaan and Charlie Kimball are actively talking to other teams, while rumors that Max Chilton will leave CGR to help Trevor Carlin launch an IndyCar team next year have begun to pick up steam. What does the future hold for one of IndyCar’s top teams?

A: I think Chilton will be back. I don’t know where Charlie stands with his sponsorship, but both those drivers need to facilitate 100 percent of the operating budget to compete, so that’s all sort of a business reality for both of those guys.

Q: A.J. Foyt Racing is in an admitted rebuilding year, but there seems to have been very little progress made this year with their drivers sitting 17th (Carlos Munoz) and 19th (Conor Daly) in the championship. Do you expect Larry and A.J. Foyt to stay with the current program next year or undergo overhaul as they did last offseason?

A: I can’t imagine that A.J. Foyt is going to be happy with the performance of his team the last two years. It’s entirely possible they do something drastic and make some aggressive moves. … I think he probably resets again. Both of his drivers and both of his engineers need some really bright spot in the next four races to warrant him considering that.

Follow IndyStar Motor Sports Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter and Instagram: @jimayello.