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Finally, the monkey is off Australian Will Power’s back. Coming into the 2015 IndyCar series season, Power is the man to beat, not just because he is the defending champion, but because in pre-season testing at Barber Motorsports Park he was the fastest.
It must be a good feeling for Power, a perennial championship runner-up who could never quite close the deal, to be racing with the #1 plate on his Team Penske Chevrolet.
Now that the major focus is off him shaking the bridesmaid tag, Power will doubtless be looking ahead to the fabled month of May, and the Indianapolis 500.
As per usual, there has been plenty of uncertainty away from the racetrack since we closed the 2014 season at Auto Club Speedway. IndyCar was supposed to open its season in Brazil, but the race there was cancelled, which means that the Grand Prix of St Petersburg (a temporary street/airport runway circuit) reverts to its oft-held position as the opening race of the new season. The street circuit race in Houston has also been cancelled for 2015.
It’s a shame that IndyCar isn’t more widely-known, because the on-track product over the last few years with the DW12 chassis has probably been the best open-wheel racing in the world. Although Formula One is seen as the pinnacle of global motorsport, its on-track product doesn’t hold a candle to IndyCar’s.
Right now, two or three cars can win any given Formula One race, but there are about a dozen possible winners at any given IndyCar event. The variety is fantastic!
To bolster the racing product comes the introduction of manufacturer-specific body kits, so the Chevrolets will look different from the Hondas, giving us a little variety in terms of car appearance despite the series persisting with a one-make chassis, the dependable Dallara.
Others disagree on the spec chassis’ appearance, but the new body kits – or, at least what we’ve seen sparingly during testing – seem to be striking a cord with the IndyCar fan-base, leading to a nice chunk of positive momentum entering the season. That’s not always the case in IndyCar land, so there’s reason for plenty of positivity.
Schedule-wise, despite the cancellation of Brazil, the 2015 IndyCar Series remains arguably the toughest test of a driver in the world. To be crowned champion, a driver must excel on temporary street circuits, permanent road courses, short ovals, intermediate speedways and superspeedways like Indianapolis and Auto Club Speedway. What other series tests its drivers so diversely?
All the fan favourites return, including the classic street circuit race, the Grand Prix of Long Beach. It’s America’s answer to Formula One’s Monaco, and is the most prestigious event outside of the Indy 500.
The series visits Toronto for the popular street circuit race around Exhibition Place, and Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, which has provided some great racing in recent years, features early in the year.
Short tracks at Iowa and the legendary Milwaukee Mile are part of a three-event stretch of oval races (along with Auto Club Speedway) and Texas Motor Speedway’s Saturday night race, long a big event on the IndyCar Series schedule, returns in 2015.
A Triple Crown of super-speedway races will feature again in 2015. The 99th Indianapolis 500 (a double points race) is the jewel in the IndyCar crown, and there will be 500-mile events at Auto Club Speedway and Pocono. The season-ending Grand Prix of Sonoma will also feature double-point hauls.
The Grand Prix of Indianapolis will be run on the revised infield road course at the Indy two weeks before the 500, and a new event, at NOLA Motorsports Park near New Orleans, means that there are four permanent road course events in 2015, including the popular Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
So, who comes out on top? Based on pre-season testing, Power will be tough to beat. There will be stiff competition from with Team Penske, a especially new recruit Simon Pagenaud. The Frenchman is ridiculously talented, and I can’t wait to see what he can do with Penske equipment. Also, watch out for the two wily veterans, Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan can never be discounted, so the long-running Ganassi versus Penske battle should be on once again. Talented rookie Sage Karam will be running at least a partial schedule, and figures to be fast. Fellow American Charlie Kimball rounds out Ganassi’s 4-car assault.
Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay will spearhead the flagship Honda squad, which welcomes Simona de Silverstro for St Pete, after losing the services of the very popular Canadian James Hinchcliffe. The ‘Mayor of Hinch Town’ takes Pagenaud’s spot at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. At AJ Foyt Enterprises, Takuma Sato gets a teammate in Jack Hawksworth, which should allow for further development.
Sarah Fisher Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing have merged and the team, now known as CFH Racing, will run one car split between Carpenter (ovals) and Luca Fillipi (road courses) and a full-schedule ride for American youngster Josef Newgarden. Don’t count out Sebastien Bourdais at KV Racing or Graham Rahal at Rahal Letterman Racing. Bryan Herta Autosport are running Indy Lights champion Gaby Chaves this year. Even perennial backmarkers Dale Coyne Racing return with two cars.
Overall, the field is as even as it’s been in years. I see five drivers who have a realistic chance at the championship – Power, Pagenaud, Dixon, Kanaan and Hunter-Reay. You can also expect the likes of Bourdais, Hinchliffe, Newgarden and Carpenter to challenge for wins at various times. Hopefully, the same will be true of one of my favourites, Graham Rahal.
Two fearless predictions to end:
Indianapolis 500 winner: Will Power – finally, with the championship done, he gets his face etched on the Borg Warner Trophy.
IndyCar champion: Simon Pagenaud – the Frenchman has everything he needs to win a title, and I think he claims it in his first season with Team Penske.
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