At the end of last season, it appeared the NTT IndyCar Series was on a significant upswing. Highlights of the series’ fourth year under the management of Penske Entertainment Corp. included:
■ Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing won his second IndyCar Series championship, establishing himself as a legend in the making.
■ Viewership across the NBC platforms continued to increase, while other racing series experienced a decline in ratings.
■ Car counts were up, with 27- or 28-car starting lineups at nearly all the races on the schedule.
■ Attendance improved, as sponsors such as Hy-Vee helped to spread the IndyCar message. The pending arrival of the Hybrid Assist Unit added to the enthusiasm, creating interest and momentum.
■ Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the hero of grassroots fans around the country, revealed plans to run the 2024 Indianapolis 500 in a joint effort with Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports.
■ 2023 was also a year in which the Indianapolis 500 returned to major prominence with Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske confirming that 335,000 fans watched American Josef Newgarden, one of Team Penske’s three drivers, win the 107th running of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
For Penske, it extended his Indianapolis 500 record as a car owner to 19 wins.
But much of that positive vibe and momentum unraveled during an offseason of discontent.
Supply problems and development issues during Hybrid Assist Unit testing made it obvious there wasn’t enough time to ensure every car on the starting grid would have the necessary parts prior to the March 10 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
On Dec. 7, IndyCar announced the project would not be implemented until after the 108th Indianapolis 500 on May 26. The likely date for the rollout of the Hybrid Assist Unit is the July 7 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
A few days after the delay was confirmed, one of Honda’s top motorsports executives voiced displeasure regarding the cost to participate in the NTT IndyCar Series moving forward.
Without a third engine manufacturer entering the series to help reduce the load that has stretched Honda and Chevrolet beyond limits, Honda Racing Corp., USA (formerly Honda Performance Development) may leave IndyCar after 2026. HRC wants IndyCar to address cost issues before it’s too late to prevent Honda’s departure.
And then on Feb. 14, there was more trouble for IndyCar.
The highly anticipated, greatly publicized Big Machine Music City Grand Prix scheduled for Sept. 15 was moved to Nashville Superspeedway.
Instead of crowning the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series champion on the streets of Nashville with a blockbuster event that included Broadway Avenue, the championship will be decided on the 1.33-mile concrete oval about 45 minutes away from Nashville’s entertainment district.
Although many of IndyCar’s oval-track supporters applaud the move, the optics and buzz of a big-time event on the streets of Nashville to crown its champion could have been a “needle-moving” event.
Construction of a new stadium for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League necessitated the move. Also, with a new mayor in Nashville, the approval process for the necessary permits to stage the race would not begin until the end of April. The NFL schedule isn’t announced until the end of May.
That was too late in the game for race promoter Scott Borchetta of Big Machine Records, and he decided to move the event to the oval in Lebanon, Tenn.
For all the goodwill, hope and momentum IndyCar had created with a great season in 2023, it was back to playing defense, in desperate need of regaining the agenda and the narrative.
That is why the start of the new NTT IndyCar Series season couldn’t come soon enough.
“I absolutely understand the question, and I don’t think we’re tone-deaf,” Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles said on Feb. 29. “We’ve had that sense from a number of different corners.
“Yesterday’s call with the team owners was useful in addressing some of that. I think it’s a long offseason. And I think when we get back on the track and start racing, that will make a difference.”
Getting back on track is key to the NTT IndyCar Series because the focus will be on what IndyCar does best — race.
Miles admits that idle time may be IndyCar’s worst enemy, that the offseason is so long that it gives fans and critics alike time to overanalyze and nit-pick every single thing IndyCar does.
But Miles and Penske remain steadfast in a series that is finished before the National Football League draws attention away from every other sport.
But while the NFL has its Super Bowl, IndyCar has the Indianapolis 500, the largest single-day sporting event in the world. Penske, Miles and nearly all team owners in IndyCar realize that.
The road to the Indianapolis 500 begins on the streets of St. Petersburg this weekend.
Behind the scenes, it’s an important season for IndyCar as a new media-rights deal is being negotiated. Miles won’t go into details, but FOX, The CW and current partner NBC have become major players in negotiations with IndyCar regarding a new television package beginning in 2025.
The goal for Penske, Miles and IndyCar is to increase the rights fee so IndyCar can have the proper funding to grow and regain the storyline.
“I think there are other things that we’ll be unveiling and those things will make a difference,” Miles said. “I think we frankly suffer, in some respects, at comparisons to the two other motorsport series that have billion-dollar annual media revenues.
“And so, while I’m serious and Roger will tell you he’s serious that we’re looking at ways where we can increase our growth more dramatically. We’re not going to make the same investments that might be made if we had a billion dollars a year in TV revenues. So, we’re in it for the long haul.
“I understand the perceptions question. We think that that will begin to be less of an issue as we get back on the track and fans are reminded of our great racing.”
That great racing features legendary names and incredible teams, including six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon and two-time IndyCar champion Palou at Chip Ganassi Racing. They are the two veterans on a five-driver team that includes 2023 IndyCar rookie-of-the-year Marcus Armstrong, 2022 Indy NXT champion Linus Lundqvist and 19-year-old rookie Kyffin Simpson.
CGR is Honda’s top performing team.
Of the teams Chip Ganassi Racing will battle for IndyCar supremacy, the top of that list features Team Penske. Its three-driver lineup includes two-time series champions Newgarden and Will Power, and Australian Supercars graduate Scott McLaughlin. Team Penske is Chevrolet’s leading IndyCar team in terms of performance.
Arrow McLaren Racing is ready to challenge for a championship with a three-driver lineup led by popular 24-year-old Mexican driver Pato O’Ward, 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi and 22-year-old David Malukas.
Andretti Global has jettisoned Romain Grosjean and scaled back from a four-car team to three. Marcus Ericsson, the winner of the 2022 Indianapolis 500 with Chip Ganassi Racing, has moved to Andretti. He joins American drivers Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood on the Honda effort.
Another Honda team ready to improve is Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing anchored by veteran Graham Rahal, IndyCar race winner Christian Lundgaard and Pietro Fittipaldi, the grandson of two-time Formula 1 champion and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi.
Meyer Shank Racing will feature veteran Felix Rosenqvist and rookie Tom Blomqvist in the team’s two Honda entries. They replace the injured Simon Pagenaud and four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves on the full-time schedule. Castroneves has been moved up to an ownership role, and will compete in the Indianapolis 500.
Ed Carpenter Racing’s two full-time Chevrolets will be raced by Rinus VeeKay and Christian Rasmussen. Rasmussen is the 2023 Indy NXT champion. Ed Carpenter will race on the ovals, including a third entry in the Indianapolis 500.
Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Chevrolet drivers include Agustin Canapino and Grosjean.
A.J. Foyt Racing returns with Chevrolet and has formed a technical partnership with Team Penske. That should help the team’s competitive process for drivers Santino Ferrucci and Sting Ray Robb.
Dale Coyne Racing is the only team on the grid that has yet to name its two drivers, but those will be officially announced before IndyCar arrives in St. Petersburg.
More teams and drivers will join the series before the month of May and the 108th Indianapolis 500.
“This is an era of tangible growth and tremendous opportunity for the NTT IndyCar Series,” Miles said. “Rising attendance, combined with incredible fan engagement across our digital channels, increased merchandise sales and rising viewership and visibility are all signs of significant momentum.
“We look forward to continuing this rising tide, on and off the track, as the curtain rises on another intensely fought and captivating season.”