2024 INDYCAR SERIES PREVIEW

The wait is over. IndyCar is back.

There's been a tremendous amount of shuffling among drivers and teams since the checkered flag flew at Laguna Seca in September. What's the same? The top five drivers in last year's championship remain with their teams, and appear to be locked up for the foreseeable future. It's up to the rest to challenge them.

It all starts this Sunday at Noon E.T. at the 20th Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, live on NBC and Peacock.

Series Updates

We'll leave out the bulk of the drama for the sake of brevity, which has been chronicled significantly by other outlets like Racer.com, IndyStar.com, Forbes and NBC Sports.

That said, important questions regarding the future of the series will likely pop up throughout the 2024 season, including a proposed charter agreement between teams and IndyCar and discussions for a new chassis and engine formula as soon as 2027. Those engine discussions will determine if Honda remains as an engine supplier, and could bring additional new engine manufacturers Toyota and Hyundai into the fold, according to reports.

What's guaranteed by the series? A fast, flying start to 2024.

IndyCar will introduce hybrid power units this season, with reports suggesting the Mid-Ohio weekend in July as the likely introduction. These units will work similarly to those in Formula 1 and IMSA prototype categories — they'll regenerate and store electric power to be deployed by drivers for a extra speed from an electric motor as they see fit.

Drivers and teams will have to balance deployment of the stored energy with regeneration, which will slow the cars down. The electric boost will be available on both road courses and ovals, requiring an unprecedented strategy adjustment for the field in the second half of the season.

Due to supply chain issues, the series opted months ago to push back the implementation of the hybrid units from March to the summer. A side effect to that move? The weight-saving adjustments made by teams and suppliers to compensate for the heavier power units will be in place right from the start of the season.

In other words, expect records to be broken. The cars will be lighter and faster when they hit the track in St. Pete, Long Beach, and yes, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

If conditions are right this May, this could be the year the longstanding one lap (237.498 mph) and four lap (236.986 mph avg.) Indy 500 qualifying records set by Arie Luyendyk in 1996 are surpassed.

Additionally, the schedule received a tweak last month: the much-anticipated finale on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee, has been moved to the Nashville Superspeedway oval in Lebanon, Tennessee. The Tennessee Titans NFL team is constructing a new stadium, and race promoters worked with the series to find the next best thing with construction timelines limiting access to streets downtown, including paddock and pit road space.

The Nashville round will take place at the Superspeedway through at least 2027, according to promoters. This year, that means the series will conclude with three consecutive oval events, including the Labor Day weekend doubleheader at the revived Milwaukee Mile in Wisconsin.

The Teams and Drivers

Alphabetical by team name. Changes in italics.

Full time entries: 27. Indianapolis 500 entries confirmed: 35.

Abel Motorsports — Chevrolet
50. R.C. Enerson (Indy 500 only)

Last year, Abel Motorsports and R.C. Enerson surprised many by comfortably making the Indianapolis 500. They'll try to improve on that this year with another one-off effort this May.

A.J. Foyt Racing — Chevrolet
14. Santino Ferrucci
41. Sting Ray Robb

A.J. Foyt Racing surprised the world last May with a great showing at the 500. This year they'll try to apply that success across the season. Santino Ferrucci returns to the squad, and Sting Ray Robb joins as the other full-time driver.

Andretti Global — Honda
26. Colton Herta
27. Kyle Kirkwood
28. Marcus Ericsson
98. Marco Andretti (Indy 500 only)

2022 Indianapolis 500 champion and 4-time IndyCar winner Marcus Ericsson signed a multi-year deal with Andretti Global (formerly Andretti Autosport) this offseason. He'll join Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood for Andretti's trimmed-down three-team effort to win an IndyCar championship. Marco Andretti will return to chase an elusive Indy 500 victory.

Arrow McLaren — Chevrolet
5. Pato O'Ward
6. David Malukas
7. Alexander Rossi
17. Kyle Larson (R) (Indy 500 only)

McLaren filled the No. 6 car with rising star David Malukas after a great end to the season at Dale Coyne Racing. He'll join last year's 4th place championship finisher Pato O'Ward and veteran Alexander Rossi. Kyle Larson, NASCAR Cup Series champion, will join the team in an Indy 500 effort with Hendrick Motorsports, his NASCAR team.

Chip Ganassi Racing — Honda
4. Kyffin Simpson (R)
8. Linus Lundqvist (R)
9. Scott Dixon
10. Álex Palou
11. Marcus Armstrong

Ganassi's Palou and Dixon, 1-2 in the championship last year, are perhaps the best and most accomplished drivers its three young prospects could hope to have as teammates. Kyffin Simpson joins the new No. 4 entry following a 10th place Indy NXT championship finish and a European Le Mans Series class championship win. Linus Lundqvist replaces Ericsson in the No. 8 car following a 2022 NXT championship and a part-time schedule last season. Marcus Armstrong, 2023 Rookie of the Year, moves up from a road/street only schedule to full-time this season.

Dale Coyne Racing — Honda
18. Jack Harvey, Nolan Siegel (R)
51. Colin Braun (R) (Races 1 & 2)

Dale Coyne waited until less than 1 week before St. Petersburg before confirming his driver lineup for 2024. Jack Harvey joins the team with a part-time schedule confirmed in the No. 18 car. Nolan Siegel, 3rd in Indy NXT last season, fills out the schedule with entries at Thermal Club, the Indy 500 and Toronto confirmed. Journeyman driver Colin Braun will drive the 51 for at least the month of March at St. Pete and Thermal Club, with the rest of the schedule for the 51 not yet confirmed. Marshall Pruett at Racer.com reported the team is considering Katherine Legge for ovals in the car, but nothing is confirmed at this stage.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing — Chevrolet
23. Ryan Hunter-Reay (Indy 500 only)
24. Conor Daly (Indy 500 only)

2014 Indy 500 champion and 2012 series champ Hunter-Reay returns to DRR for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Conor Daly joins him in the 24 car. They're likely to be fan favorites this May, and both have had success at Indianapolis in the past — as has DRR.

Ed Carpenter Racing — Chevrolet
20. Ed Carpenter (ovals), Christian Rasmussen (R) (Road/Street + 500)
21. Rinus VeeKay

Rinus VeeKay started 2nd in last year's Indianapolis 500, but that's about as far as the highlights go for ECR in 2023. This year, VeeKay returns after an encouraging finish to the season, and Christian Rasmussen joins Ed in a part-time role — Ed takes the ovals, Rasmussen takes everything else and gets a third team car entered into the Indy 500.

Juncos Hollinger Racing — Chevrolet
77. Romain Grosjean
78. Agustin Canapino

Romain Grosjean started 2023 off strong, seemingly destined for a win at Andretti. A falling out and poor performance, however, set the stage for his exit. Callum Illot was shown the door at Juncos following internal issues, and Grosjean replaces him in the No. 77 car. Agustin Canapino returns following a solid rookie campaign.

Meyer Shank Racing — Honda
06. Hélio Castroneves (Indy 500 only)
60. Felix Rosenqvist
66. Tom Blomqvist (R)

Hélio will continue his pursuit of unparalleled immortality — 5 wins at the 500 — but will do so in a one-0ff effort. He is now a part-owner of MSR. Felix Rosenqvist joins after his contract ended at McLaren. Tom Blomqvist, a veteran of Formula E, Rolex 24 winner and IMSA champion, joins IndyCar full time for MSR this season.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing — Honda
15. Graham Rahal
30. Pietro Fittipaldi
45. Christian Lundgaard
75. Takuma Sato (Indy 500 only)

2023 was a season of highs and lows for RLL to say the least. Graham was bumped from the 500 field by then teammate Jack Harvey (later filling a seat with Dreyer & Reinbold for the injured Stefan Wilson on race day). However, Christian Lundgaard broke through for a victory at Toronto and ran well at many road courses. Graham even fought for the win at August's Gallagher Grand Prix at IMS, losing to Scott Dixon on a fuel mileage run. The team will hope to be more consistently good — and faster on ovals — this season. Though not a rookie, Pietro Fittipaldi has only run nine IndyCar Series races, and all before the aeroscreen era. Sato rejoins the team he won the 2020 Indy 500 with following an oval-only campaign last year with Chip Ganassi.

Team Penske — Chevrolet
2. Josef Newgarden
3. Scott McLaughlin
12. Will Power

Champions at Indianapolis last year, Team Penske couldn't turn May success into a championship celebration in September. Josef Newgarden is likely salivating at the idea of the series ending three consecutive oval races this season, but he'll need to improve on road and street course performances to be a factor come August. Scott McLaughlin only won once last year, but was the "best of the rest," finishing third in the championship behind Palou and Dixon. Will Power had an up-and-down year, and rightly so considering a scary health issue with his wife, Liz. With her in better health, hopefully the 2022 champion is happier, healthier, and able to compete at the championship level he knows he's capable of — one that won him the 2022 title.