Nine races down with eight to run, the 2023 IndyCar Series has reached the halfway point. Next weekend’s visit to the streets of downtown Toronto in Canada will begin the downhill run to the series finale at Laguna Seca Raceway in California.
It’s been a while since I checked in, so without further ado, ahead of the Toronto weekend, here are my talking points from the last few races, and, indeed, the first half of the season:
The Tennessean won under controversial circumstances that denied Ganassi’s Marcus Ericsson back to back victories. It was Newgarden’s first win at the sport’s most prestigious race, and combined with his two series championships, you can’t have a conversation about the best drivers to ever wheel an IndyCar without mentioning Newgarden’s name. His post-race celebration, going into the crowd on the front straight, was one we won’t soon forget. As was his pass of Ericsson as they rocketed into turn three on the final lap.
The one hundredth and seventh running of the race will be remembered for a fairly pedestrian opening two hundred and fifty miles, but after a caution on lap ninety-two, things got insane, on the track and on pit road.
Kyle Kirkwood’s wild ride upside out of turn two, Pato O’Ward’s crash into turn three, a moment of three-wide madness down the front straight on a restart and Newgarden’s winning pass, plus his celebration afterward all combined to make it an Indianapolis 500 not many will forget. Plain and simple: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway always delivers.
(Photo by Chris McDill/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The 2021 IndyCar Series champion is on a tear. You can make the argument that he should have won the Indianapolis 500 – pit lane contact, not of his own doing, put him right to the back, but he managed to charge home to a fourth-place finish and since then, he’s won at Detroit, Road America and Mid-Ohio, to all but clinch a second championship. It has been an amazing run for the Chip Ganassi Racing hotshot.
It’s going to take a series of calamitous events to stop the Spaniard from winning it all. I’m willing to bet that he is champion-in-waiting by the time IndyCar races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course as part of the now-traditional double header weekend with the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series events in mid-August. And maybe even sooner than that.
Don’t let Palou’s domination fool you. The racing right through the pack at every race this year has been fantastic. With respect to the World Endurance Championship (entering its own Golden Era with the Hypercar class) who put on a show at Le Mans, IndyCar is the best four-wheeled racing on the planet right now. Just because Palou is winning a lot, doesn’t mean there aren’t four or five drivers in contention each race. How many other racing series can claim that?
I was fortunate to be in the stands (actually, in turn three, and Newgarden’s race-winning pass on the last lap happened right in front of me) for the race, back for the first time since the pandemic, and I’ve already renewed tickets for 2024. That’s how much I love the race and the entire week. There is nothing else in the world like it. As someone said to me, “the Indianapolis 500 is unique: for those who have been, no explanation is necessary. For those who haven’t, no explanation could possibly suffice”.
Even if oval racing isn’t perhaps your most favourite discipline, I cannot recommend this race enough. I was in a group of internationals, people from the Netherlands, England and Ireland, all of them first-timers to the Brickyard, and most of them Formula One diehards.
They all loved it, and want to go back. I met some Aussies from Dubbo on the Saturday at the speedway, and they were all super-impressed as well – and that was before race week. The weather was ideal, the racing great, the crowd amazing, the spectacle unmatched.
I highly recommend the Carb Night Classic at nearby Indianapolis Raceway Park to see the stars of the future in the USF2000 and USF2000 Pro categories as well. Many of the youngsters I saw on the short oval that Friday night will be running the Indianapolis 500 in the next few years. The Road to Indy ladder system really works.
Considering the incredible week I had it would be remiss of me not to especially thank Ryan Myrehn from the IndyCar Radio Network for his hospitality across the week, at and away from the track. Brilliant broadcaster, better person, which is indeed saying something. Ditto, in fact, for the rest of the network’s talented commentators and reporters, led by the Voice of the Indianapolis 500 Mark Jaynes. Getting to chat IndyCar racing with those guys is something I’ll never take for granted.
Whilst on the topic of myself, I should point out that, incredibly, Team Penske has won the last four IndyCar Series events I have been to: Will Power at Gateway in 2018, Simon Pagenaud at Indianapolis in 2019, Josef Newgarden at Gateway in 2022 and Newgarden against at the Brickyard this year. All I can say is, “Send the private jet for me next year, Roger!”
Word leaked out at Mid-Ohio that David Malukas would not be re-signing with Dale Coyne Racing for 2024, and there are whispers that he might be headed to Andretti Autosport.
Marcus Ericsson is no certainty to return to Chip Ganassi Racing. The 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner wants to be paid for his services rather than bringing a budget along. Maybe that occurs at Andretti? What about Kiwi rookie Marcus Armstrong, who is driving street and road courses for Ganassi this year – there are rumours he’ll do the full season in 2024. Where does that leave Takuma Sato?
(Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
Alex Palou is out at Ganassi after the season, and appears headed to a Formula One gig or perhaps McLaren in IndyCar. He tried to leave at the end of last year and I am amazed that he would want to leave now, given the hot streak he is on. McLaren is rising fast in IndyCar racing, but they aren’t quite at the same standard as Ganassi currently, on a week-in, week-out basis. Any Formula One gig isn’t going to be in a race-winning car, that’s for sure.
What happens with Palou probably dictates whether Felix Rosenqvist has a McLaren ride next year, so that’s a large domino to fall.
Hard to believe there wont be major changes at Meyer Shank Racing, whose drivers Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud are both outside the top twenty in points. Tom Blomqvist, driving for the team in IMSA sports car competition, is heavily favoured to get one seat. He’ll get an audition this weekend, subbing for an injured Pagenaud. Who gets the other? One of Pagenaud or Castroneves? My money is on Pagenaud, with Helio running a third car for the Indianapolis 500.
The situation at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, despite some bursts of speed in recent events, is uncertain. Assume Christian Lundgaard stays and probably Graham Rahal as well, but Rahal is at the back end of his career and if he’s offered a more competitive ride, might take it. He’s driven for other teams in the past, so it’s not as though he is tied to his dad’s outfit. Jack Harvey may not be with the RLL team in 2024.
I was able to watch all six episodes of the IndyCar equivalent of F1’s Drive to Survive, and it is fantastic. Plenty of brilliant content from the races leading up to the Indianapolis 500, and plenty more from the 500, the series does a solid job of introducing people to the sport and the personalities without dumbing it down, which Drive to Survive is sometimes guilty of doing.
Kudos to CW and Vice Media for the slick production, and for perfectly capturing the personalities of all involved. I loved every second of it. Hopefully the exposure on a network as widely-available as The CW (not to mention social media) has gained the series some new fans.
Hopefully an international broadcast arrangement is sorted ahead of a season two (which IndyCar’s Mark Miles strongly hinted would happen) or sooner.
The IndyCar Series is in action this weekend on the streets of Toronto in Canada, the only trip outside American borders for the year. Always an epic event, and there is word of an imminent contract extension to keep the annual event on the IndyCar Series calendar for many years to come.
Looking for great odds on racing and sport? Get into the action with PlayUp today. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Team Penske is under the same umbrella of ownership as the IndyCar Series itself, so it was imperative for to drop the hammer and protect their integrity—which, thankfully, they did.
Red Bull can’t rest on its laurels and if Perez can’t provide them with cover on the rare days that Verstappen is having trouble, it's time to look elsewhere.
The absolute vitriol against the Canadian that has come from the incident is beyond reprehensible.
The Long Beach Grand Prix is the Monaco of American motorsport, and this past weekend, the IndyCar Series reminded everyone exactly why. We witnessed…
New Zealand made a triumphant return to the Supercars championship calendar since the demise of the much-loved Pukekohe Park Raceway – as Taupō delivered…
It’s time that serious questions are asked of his Lance Stroll and his future in the team.
