In motorsport's silly season - that cycle of rumour, gossip and seat-swapping that afflicts every series from mid-summer, and can extend through to January or February the following year - generally the "big-name signings" are drivers. They're the guys or girls who are most famous because they get 90 percent of the glory after a race win or championship.
Yet in IndyCar racing, there is an exclusive club of top-ranked engineers who have the history and track record that prove they too make a huge difference. Just as there are drivers who can find the three-or-four tenths of a second that turn a midfield team into a regular podium contender, or a podium-contending team into a regular winner, so too there are engineers who can provide a racing group with that crucial boost.
There has been no shortage of big-name engineering moves over the off-season, with Michael Cannon switching from Dale Coyne Racing to engineer Scott Dixon at Chip Ganassi Racing, and Tony Kanaan's 2004 title-winning engineer Eric Cowdin moving to Coyne from AJ Foyt Racing.