By ZECH YODER
Turning the calendar to January means the Indianapolis 500 is less than four months away, and the INDYCAR season begins at St. Petersburg in less than two months.
A season ago, INDYCAR was dominated by 2021 Series Champion Alex Palou, who finished every race of the 2023 season inside the Top 10 and won a series high five races.
The oval master, Josef Newgarden, managed a last-lap pass and captured his first Indianapolis 500 and nearly swept the oval-track races but ended up drifting high and hitting the wall at Worldwide Technology Raceway in late August, ending his chance at the season sweep.
The INDYCAR driver lineup for 2024 has seen significant changes and questions still exist for several teams:
A.J. Foyt Racing
It was recently confirmed that Santino Ferrucci would return to A.J. Foyt Racing for 2024. Along Ferrucci is series sophomore Sting Ray Robb, who moves to Foyt from Dale Coyne Racing and will replace Benjamin Pedersen.
Andretti
The Andretti race team will add Marcus Ericsson to its driver line-up. Ericsson replaces Romain Grosjean, who had another disappointing year in 2023. Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood remain with Andretti. However, Devlin DeFrancesco loses his ride for 2024 as Andretti will only run three full-time teams for the upcoming season.
Arrow McLaren
After added Alexander Rossi in 2023, Arrow McLaren has replaced Felix Rosenqvist with up-and-comer David Malukas. Rossi and Malukas will be accompanied by Pato O’Ward, who surprisingly went winless in 2023.
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi will field a massive five-car team in 2024, led by defending series champion, Alex Palou, and six-time champion, Scott Dixon. 2023 rookie, Marcus Armstrong will move into a full-time roll with Ganassi and will make his Indianapolis 500 debut. Fellow Swedish driver Linus Lundqvist will replace Marcus Ericsson, and Kyffin Simpson will field a new, full-time team for Ganassi.
Ed Carpenter Racing
After a tumultuous 2023 season and the departure of Noblesville native Conor Daly, Rinus VeeKay returns and will be accompanied by Ed Carpenter and Christian Rasmussen, who will be dividing the 17-race season.
Juncos Hollinger Racing
Ex-Andretti driver Romain Grosjean shifts gears and will take over Callum Illot’s ride at Juncos Hollinger Racing. Argentinian driver Austin Canapino remains with Juncos and will attempt to build on a solid 2023 rookie campaign.
Meyer Shank Racing
Felix Rosenqvist will attempt to bounce back after Arrow-McLaren decided not to renew his contract. He is paired with rookie Tom Blomqvist, who ran several races in 2023 for the injured Simon Pagenaud, who is not returning to INDYCAR in 2024.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Both Graham Rahal and Christian Lundgaard return for 2024. They will be joined by Pietro Fittipaldi, grandson of Indianapolis 500 Champion and Formula 1 Champion, Emerson Fittipaldi who spent the last several years as a reserve driver for the Haas Formula 1 team.
Team Penske
Team Penske is the only INDYCAR returning all its drivers from 2023. Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, and Will Power look to improve on a (somewhat) subpar 2023 performance.
Aside from some uncertainty in the team field cars on a partial schedule, Dale Coyne Racing is the only full-time team not to have its driver lineup set. It is unclear at this point who will fill the final two full-time sets in INDYCAR for the 2024 season.
As the season get under way, check back in for updates on who will be filling the remaining seats, and which teams plan on bringing additional cars to the 2024 Indianapolis 500.
Zech Yoder is a local resident, an attorney at Adler Attorneys in Noblesville, and a lifelong race fan.