Where is Gabby Chaves now?

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ 2015 Rookie of the Year is likely somewhere in the Indianapolis area overseeing the business he owns and manages – Mobile Pitstop, which sends its nine service vehicles for on-site customer auto maintenance. That’s oil changes, brake servicing, tire rotations and the like.

Or, the 31-year-old Chaves could be racing sports cars as he has the past several seasons, including three with Andretti Motorsport alongside Jarett Andretti in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Last month, Chaves got a late invitation to co-drive with Zach Veach, another former INDYCAR SERIES driver, in IMSA’s Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Road Atlanta.

Or, Chaves could be testing an INDYCAR SERIES machine at Texas Motor Speedway as he did a few weeks ago. This was the most unlikely of places where he could be found given that the veteran of 39 series races last competed in a series race in 2018.

Chaves drew the Texas assignment when Andretti Global requested him for a test day. Series rules allow a team a test session if it uses a driver not currently a regular in the series, and Chaves was up for it even as it was one of the fastest oval tracks going. The relatively high-banked oval is where Chaves had two of his best results in the series: 10th as a rookie in 2015 (driving for Bryan Herta Autosport w/Curb-Agajanian) and fifth in 2017 (with Harding Racing).

Despite not competing in the series for six years, Chaves was eligible to do the test as a result of having an active series license as a frequent driver of the Indy Racing Experience’s two-seater. Chaves often gives rides at NTT INDYCAR SERIES races.

“A good perk of driving that two-seater is that I can take any late calls to jump in an INDYCAR right away,” Chaves said. “But if I had to choose a track to be back after six years, Texas wasn’t at the top of my list, I’ll tell you that much (laughing). But knowing that I had run there (before) and had some good races, it certainly made me feel more at ease, that’s for sure.

“(Texas) is an awesome track, and it did not feel any less fast than it did back then.”

Speeds that day approached 220 mph, about 40 mph faster than the two-seater goes on superspeedways.

“One hundred and eighty is by no means slow,” Chaves said of the two-seater’s limit at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, “but (an INDYCAR at Texas) wakes you up in a hurry.”

Chaves shared the 1.5-mile track with INDY NXT by Firestone veteran Jacob Abel, who was experiencing the series in a car fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing.

Many might forget just how promising of a career the Colombian-born Chaves began with. He finished second in Star Mazda in 2012, then debuted in INDY NXT by Firestone in 2013 with Schmidt Pedersen Motorsports, the top team of the era. Sam Schmidt-owned entries won four consecutive series championships and seven in all. Chaves finished second to teammate Sage Karam, but the most noteworthy race of the year was the four-wide finish to the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Peter Dempsey edged Chaves by .0026 seconds.

Chaves moved to Belardi Auto Racing for the 2014 season, winning four races, including the Freedom 100, en route to the series championship. The effort landed him a ride with Bryan Herta’s team for the 2015 INDYCAR SERIES season. Chaves’ best race of the year was at Pocono Raceway where he led 31 laps – second only to Josef Newgarden -- and was in front under green on Laps 194-196 before being passed by Ryan Hunter-Reay, who went on to win the race. Chaves’ chance at a first podium finish was thwarted by engine failure with three laps to go.

Chaves couldn’t secure the sponsorship necessary to keep the ride for 2016, and the team turned to another driver to fill the seat of the No. 98 entry. That driver was Alexander Rossi, who won the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in his sixth race with the team.

Chaves competed in seven races that season with Dale Coyne Racing, then landed a three-race deal with Harding Racing for 2017. In his first race with the new team, he finished ninth in the “500” after starting 25th. At the next oval event, he finished fifth at Texas.

Chaves got most of the 2018 season with Mike Harding’s team, but that was it for his competitive time in INDYCAR.

Chaves is appreciative of any opportunity he receives, especially those with INDYCAR ties. This one, he said, doesn’t suggest he has a path back to the series as a race-day driver.

“I haven’t thought about it that deep, to be honest,” he said getting another ride. “I was happy to get the call (for Texas) and to keep my part within the Andretti family … so that was nice to stay involved somehow. I think there’s more of an opportunity to maybe help in some of the developmental roles with the new (simulator) that’s being built (by the organization) and perhaps some of the developmental days that some of the full-time drivers (see) as mundane – to do some straight-line testing.

“You never know, it might lead to something else at one point, if needed.”

Regardless of what comes next, Chaves is happy to still being a paid race car driver.

“The more time I spend in the sport and especially the sports car world, there’s a real big craving for experience,” he said. “As a young driver, that’s something that’s hard (to obtain). You can be really fast but especially in the endurance races, that’s only half of the equation. So, experience carries a lot of weight.

“I’m getting to that point now where I’ve got a couple of seasons of INDYCAR, a couple of seasons of sports cars and basically (have driven) everything from the bottom up. … I’ve kind of done almost all of (the divisions), and I think that really helps with teams that are just trying to gauge where they’re at. I’ve been getting interest that way, and I’ve been able to do races here and there and stay active, which is ultimately all I can ask for.”