By ZECH YODER
With the Formula 1 completing its final race of the season in Abu Dhabi last Sunday, the (major) motorsports season has come a close. I provide a brief wrap-up and rating for each championship below:
NASCAR Cup Series (A-)
Overall: Much like last year, the introduction of the NextGen Car has given new life to the Cup Series and has tightened the competitive advantage to the top-tier teams. There were 15 different winners over 36 races, and eight different race organizations made the Cup Series playoffs. The racing on intermediate tracks continued to impress and featured wheel-to-wheel action and last lap passes for the wins. The superspeedway racing package was improved, though there is still work to be done. The short track racing package continued to suffer, and NASCAR still has a great deal of work in order to get short track racing back to what it was before the NextGen Car. Ryan Blaney was exceptional in the Playoffs and deserved to win his first Cup Championship.
Best Moment: Shane Van Gisbergen winning on the Street of Chicago.
Driver to Watch: My driver to watch next year is Ty Gibbs. In his rookie season, Ty barely missed making the playoffs. He was extremely consistent the second half of the year and showed speed in qualifying and during the race. I believe he wins a race next year and makes it out of the first round of the Playoffs.
Organization to Watch: Spire Motorsports. A team that we have grown use to running at the back made tremendous strides this season. Corey Lajoie finished inside the top 25 in points, ahead of drivers from top-level organizations. Spire has made significant financial investments over the last twelve months. They may not win next year, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Corey running inside the top 10 consistently.
NTT INDYCAR Series (B)
Overall: The INDYCAR Series put on a great show last year. Certainly, the highlight of the year was Josef Newgarden, the Oval King, winning his first Indianapolis 500 and celebrating on the front stretch grandstands with the fans. It is always awesome when an American wins the Indy 500 but Josef, a two-time series champion and fan favorite, was spectacular. The other story was Alex Palou. After a disappointing 2022 season, Palou put an utter beatdown on the rest of the field for two-thirds of the season, winning five times and never finishing outside of the top 10. I was disappointed by the performance of Andretti Autosport, which appeared to have speed but could not finish out races. Likewise, Arrow McLaren was lackluster. With the addition of Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren had a great deal of hype. Unfortunately, it could not turn the hype into victories.
Best Moment: Josef Newgarden winning his first Indianapolis 500.
Driver to Watch: Although not full-time during his rookie season, Marcus Armstrong was impressive. He notched five top 10s in 12 total starts, running only the road/street races in 2023. Look for him to have opportunities to win in 2024. However, he is not my driver to watch. The biggest IndyCar debut in years is Kyle Larson, who will be running the Indianapolis 500. One of the best all-around drivers in motorsports, all eyes will be on Kyle Larson come May. He is fast in everything he drives and has a shot at winning his first Indianapolis 500.
Team to Watch: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. After a difficult start to the 2023 season, and an absolute disastrous Indianapolis 500, RLL made significant progress with Christian Lundgaard winning his first career INDYCAR race and Graham Rahal nearly winning the Fall Indy road course race. If they continue their progress into 2024 and fix the problems they had at Indy, RLL make a push to the front of the field.
Formula 1
Overall: What can I say? Max Verstappen had the greatest single season in the history of Formula 1. Most wins (19); most podiums (21); most consecutive wins (10); most points (575); most laps led (739); highest win percentage (86.4 percent). Max has proven that he is the best Formula 1 driver in the world. Will he do it again? I sure hope not! Max’s dominance made the season quite boring. Two years ago, the FIA set out to make the racing more competitive and Red Bull completely torn down the FIA’s plan. I think the other team will catch Red Bull, but it may not happen before the regulations change in 2026.
Best Moment: Max Verstappen’s record setting 10th consecutive win at the Italian Grand Prix.
Driver to Watch: Lando Norris. Lando is quick and consistent but does not have a Formula 1 win. Given his talent and race craft, he should be a multiple race winner. If McLaren ups its game in 2024, Lando will be on the top step of the podium.
Team to Watch: McLaren. McLaren had an awful start to the 2023 season, even missing valuable time due to testing. They made significant gains toward the end the year with Lando Norris winning a pole at the Sao Paulo GP Sprint. Zac Brown has proven to be a resourceful leader and righted the ship when he arrived at McLaren in 2018. He is one step away from turning McLaren back into a top-tier team. I would not doubt him and McLaren in 2024.
Zech Yoder is a local resident, an attorney at Adler Attorneys in Noblesville, and a lifelong race fan.