2023 IndyCar Series season preview: Part One
It's time for #IndyCar! Join us as we start our 2023 season preview looking at the teams from A.J. Foyt Racing, Andretti Autosport, Arrow McLaren, Chip Ganassi Racing and Dale Coyne Racing.
Subscribers and readers, you might be wondering why you never heard from me after the final day of the IndyCar test at Thermal Club.
Quite honestly, I was out of things to say. You can view my Twitter threads, but testing was always going to be difficult to find tangible trends and movement in IndyCar's hierarchy. However, there was enough there that I'm filled with excitement for the 2023 IndyCar season.
Welcome to the 2023 IndyCar Series Season Preview.
We're going to look at every confirmed entry to this season's roster with the season-opener on March 5 at St. Petersburg looming on the horizon.
The biggest changes for the series this year were a switch to 100% renewable fuel from new supplier Shell, which drivers say matches performance from the recent Speedway and Sunoco ethanol blends, and the elimination of double points for the Indianapolis 500.
Championship odds from Bovada Sportsbook.
New to sportsbook odds? +1000 is equal to a 1-in-10 chance to win, sometimes stated as "10-to-1."
(R) denotes Rookies.
A.J. Foyt Enterprises
Drivers: No. 14 Santino Ferrucci (+15000), No. 55 Benjamin Pederson (R) (+40000)
A.J. Foyt's racing team hasn't ever neared the success it achieved when Foyt himself was driving the cars. In other words, anyone born after, say, 1995 hasn't seen a truly successful A.J. Foyt Racing season, or at least one the Texan would expect in a perfect world.
This year, the team is reloading its driver lineup, hiring Santino Ferrucci and rookie Benjamin Pederson.
Ferrucci is a young American firebrand with a talent for showing up and putting a car in the top ten with ease, though he has had issues with attrition (and a highly controversial stint in Formula 2). Ferrucci tends to be an all-or-nothing type driver, so much so it took two years for him to return to a full time IndyCar position. He will have to be comfortable finding a middle ground and helping establish a foundation that the languishing Foyt team can build upon. Though only 24, he's the veteran driver that will have to lead Foyt into a new era.
Pederson finished fifth in last year's Indy Lights (now Indy NXT) championship, a campaign highlighted by a weekend sweep at Portland International Raceway with a win, a pole, and a fastest lap. Pederson was consistently the slowest rookie driver at the Thermal Club test, but it's too early to take too much from his team's performance. Once the month of May is over, Pederson should feel more comfortable in his car.
Andretti Autosport
Drivers: No. 26 Colton Herta (+800), No. 27 Kyle Kirkwood (+2500), No. 28 Romain Grosjean (+5000), No. 29 Devlin DeFrancesco (+40000), No. 98 Marco Andretti (Indy 500: +5000)
After some disappointing showings outside of the Indianapolis Road Course last season, the Andretti team was due for new life. To start, Alexander Rossi is out, and Kyle Kirkwood moves from Foyt's team to replace him. Some additional engineering and staff changes make this a refreshed effort for 2023.
In preseason testing, one of the three stories I watched for was whether this Andretti lineup could take the team back up to the top-tier of the IndyCar paddock. It's too early to tell, but positive signs are there. Kirkwood ran the fastest lap at the Thermal Club test, and he and Grosjean led a mid-February session at Sebring International Raceway.
Colton Herta seems primed for a Formula One seat should the politicking over Andretti Autosport's planned F1 team come to a conclusion soon, and this could be one of his last chances to grab a championship before he heads abroad. Last season Herta overcame the broader Andretti struggles to grab a win, but needs the whole team to take a step up. Luckily, it seems he'll have a boost from his team this season.
Romain Grosjean's last season was, for lack of a better word, "fine." It didn't inspire, but could've been much worse. Devlin DeFrancesco suffered plenty of rookie growing pains as well. Grosjean should compete for more podiums if his equipment is more competitive, and DeFrancesco should be aiming to bring home some top tens this season.
Marco Andretti will attempt the Indianapolis 500 once again. He'll hope to improve on last year's 22nd place finish in the race.
Arrow McLaren
Drivers: No. 5 Pato O'Ward (+600), No. 6 Felix Rosenqvist (+2000), No. 7 Alexander Rossi (+2500), No. 66 Tony Kanaan (Indy 500: +1400)
The second storyline I watched for in preseason testing was whether or not McLaren could reach its lofty expectations to move to level terms with Penske and Ganassi, teams that have won all but one championship since 2008. So far, it's hard to tell if they can.
McLaren added 2016 '500 winner and 2019 championship runner-up Rossi to its lineup this year, and after a baffling contract dispute with Chip Ganassi over Alex Palou (more on that later) decided to retain Felix Rosenqvist for 2023. They join Pato O'Ward, who finished second in last year's '500 and nearly had a pass for the win pulled off heading into turn one on the final lap.
To win a championship, McLaren will need to eliminate the mechanical, electrical and other gremlins that have plagued them since they reignited their IndyCar involvement in 2019, and since they began the collaboration with Sam Schmidt's team in 2020.
In fact, including the team's history as Sam Schmidt Motorsports, only three drivers have won a race for what's now called Arrow McLaren: Simon Pagenaud, James Hinchcliffe and O'Ward. Rossi and Rosenqvist should have every expectation to add their names to that list in 2023, and it's time for the team to take that next step.
But can they? Rosenqvist and O'Ward didn't star at testing sessions, which could be as simple as prioritizing things other than outright laptime in those sessions. Rossi's car had mechanical issues at Thermal Club, which prevented him from running in one of the four sessions. Also of note, both Rosenqvist and O'Ward had multiple spins and put their car off track multiple times at Thermal Club.
The team has to hit the ground running at St. Petersburg, as O'Ward and Rossi's perennially stellar 500 performances are worth less points than last year. If they haven't won by Detroit, it might be too late for McLaren's drivers to compete for the title.
The team should have a fantastic platform for the month of May, however, with the aforementioned Rossi and O'Ward in the stable. Rosenqvist keeps getting better at the IMS oval as well.
IndyCar legend Tony Kanaan will close out his career with McLaren at the 500 this year. The 2004 series champion and 2013 Indy 500 winner finished third last year in the race in a one-off and has a great chance at going out on top, but he'll have to fend off all of Penske, Ganassi and his own teammates to do so.
Chip Ganassi Racing
Drivers: No. 8 Marcus Ericsson (+1400), No. 9 Scott Dixon (+900), N0. 10 Alex Palou (+850), No. 11 Marcus Armstrong (R) (road and street courses) and Takuma Sato (ovals | Indy 500: +2000)
Oh boy, where to begin.
Despite bringing home four victories last season, including the Indianapolis 500, 2022 was a season of what ifs for Ganassi.
What if Scott Dixon hadn't gotten a speeding penalty at the '500? He started first after setting the second fastest qualifying attempt in IMS history, led the most laps, but flamed out on the final pit sequence after going too fast on pit entry. His teammate Marcus Ericsson was there to pick up the slack for the team to win the race, but Dixon once again came up short. He might've had a different approach to the final few races of the season had he finished higher than 21st at Indy.
What if Ericsson hadn't faded late in the season? The No. 8 car was secretly the car to beat from June 2021-June 2022, scoring the most points in that period of anyone. Late in the season though, Ericsson only put up good-but-not-great performances, including a five race stretch to close the season with only two top ten finishes. Will Power was unstoppable last year, but Ericsson could've pushed into the top five or even the top three with more consistent success to close the season.
What if Alex Palou's managers could properly interpret clauses in a contract? The drama surrounding the then-defending champion's contract for 2023 was the story of 2022.
If you're unfamiliar with what happened, here's the brief: Palou wanted a raise following his 2021 championship, but was bound to his lower salary by contract. Additionally, Ganassi held an option to extend Palou for 2023, binding him to the team until 2024.
The following is all alleged and deduced through media reports: Palou's managers ALPA negotiated a new contract with McLaren, hoping the promise of Formula One test sessions and a pathway to an F1 seat were enough to meet a clause in Palou's Ganassi contract to get him out. This confluence of conflicting interpretations led to a dramatic day last summer where all within hours of each other Ganassi announced an extension on social media, Palou said he'd not agreed to an extension, and McLaren announced Palou was joining the team.
Palou, Ganassi and McLaren have all settled out of court, Palou will drive the No. 10 car this year and will in all likelihood join McLaren for 2024 on Sept. 1 of this year, the day when Ganassi's exclusive negotiating period ends. The situation was messy enough with a driver's team suing while they're actively driving the car, but was further complicated with Palou losing access to certain team data and support late in the 2022 season due to the drama. Somehow, Palou still won the final race of the year at Laguna Seca to solidify 5th in the championship.
In 2023, Palou will have full access to Ganassi team support, and drove admirably considering the constraints and pressure of your boss filing a lawsuit against you. Palou is very talented and could quite honestly walk into a top five championship finish with less mechanical gremlins in 2023. He'll carry a massive cloud with him though, which could turn any struggles into a sour situation very quickly.
Jimmie Johnson's childhood dream of IndyCar racing is fulfilled, and he's back to a part time NASCAR schedule as a team owner. The No. 48 is now the No. 11, driven by rookie Marcus Armstrong on road and street courses and Takuma Sato on ovals. Armstrong was the fastest rookie in testing, and Sato is an incredible oval talent in better equipment than he had last year. The drivers will be hindered in the championship due to a part time schedule, but the No. 11 car could put up a legitimate fight in the entrant championship.
For now, Ganassi will not enter a fifth car in the Indianapolis 500.
Dale Coyne Racing
Drivers: No. 18 David Malukas (+6600), No. 51 Sting Ray Robb (no odds available)
David Malukas's rookie season was a slow burn, but reached a high point at World Wide Technology Raceway where he pulled off a last lap pass on Scott McLaughlin to breakup a Penske 1-2 and take second place, his career-best finish.
That pass was one of the best overtakes of the year, and emblematic of what Malukas can do when everything is clicking for the team on a given weekend. Dale Coyne Racing has never had the best equipment, but they also never stop trying. Malukas could wheel his No. 18 to a few podiums this year, and I wouldn't be surprised. Good luck to Coyne trying to keep him around if he does.
Sting Ray Robb, despite having one of the best names in sports, has a dauting rookie season ahead of him. Robb finished second in Indy Lights (now Indy NXT) last season, scoring one victory and two poles. He'll be battling Armstrong, Pederson and Juncos Hollinger's Agustin Canapino, and none of them are likely to give up anything easily. Robb will need to get comfortable quickly if he wants to take home rookie of the year.
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