Three bold American motorsports predictions for 2023

If motorsports in 2023 are anything like 2022, you can be assured some of the greatest sports moments on the planet this year will come in the form of American auto racing.

New prototypes in sports car racing, the second year of NASCAR's NextGen car and the perennially competitive IndyCar calendar are sure to offer plenty of intense battles and incredible finishes.

What might 2023 have to offer? Twin Checkers' Colin Kulpa has three bold predictions for the three major American motorsports series.

1: Penske completes a Triple Crown of championships with IMSA victory

Team Penske put two dream seasons together in 2022, winning the IndyCar championship with Will Power and the NASCAR championship with Joey Logano. Never before had a team won both in the same year.

Though it didn't have the opportunity to win last year, I think Penske can win the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship in its first attempt with the Porsche 963.

Team Penske is infamous for being a death star of sorts, achieving at the highest level it can in all aspects of the sport. Its motto, "effort equals results," leads to those in the industry knowing and expecting everything the team does to be "Penske perfect."

Last year, the first of the NASCAR NextGen car, Penske and Logano executed the NASCAR playoff format to perfection, winning the Cup Series championship with a dominating performance in the last race of the year at Phoenix Raceway.

Many teams experienced a difficult learning period with the NextGen car, and no teams truly pulled ahead of the rest. Part of that was due to the nature of the car, created with many specific parts designed to induce parity to the Cup Series — proven successful with 19 different drivers winning a race last year, the most since 2001.

Which team pulled together and found the necessary advantage when it mattered most? Team Penske.

I'm expecting the same in IMSA's new top prototype category. The LMDh cars, which utilize a battery and energy recovery system for a bit of extra power, are bound to be a headache for teams as they work out new car issues. Two of the longest and most punishing races of the year, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, kick off the season. There's no reprieve if you can't figure out your car until the summer.

I expect Team Penske to handle any issues the best. It might be a gritty, difficult championship battle for Penske and its Porsche, with stiff competition from the BMW, Cadillac and Acura efforts.

But if I'm picking any team to handle a first-year car the best, I'm picking Penske.

2: Arrow McLaren breaks through for first Indy 500, IndyCar title

The last five years of IndyCar, though highly entertaining and competitive, have been fairly cut and dry when it comes to the biggest stage. Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing lead, and everyone else follows.

Only drivers from those two outfits won a title from 2018-22. In fact, the last non-Ganassi/Penske IndyCar champion was Ryan Hunter-Reay with Andretti Autosport in 2012. Before that? Andretti again, with Dario Franchitti.

For years Andretti Autosport occupied the "best of the rest" slot, winning multiple Indianapolis 500s and the only team ever really capable of approaching the Ganassi and Penske empire. In recent years, though, Andretti's charge has stalled out. Driver changes, team shuffling and the time required to develop their new, young drivers have put Andretti back for the time being.

Now, McLaren is quickly rising to be the third major player at the top. With Pato O'Ward and Felix Rosenqvist returning and Alexander Rossi joining, I think Arrow McLaren are ready to take the next step.

O'Ward was a nose ahead of Marcus Ericsson into turn one on the final lap of the 2022 Indy 500 before backing off, ultimately finishing second. He was in contention for the championship in the final race at Long Beach in 2021, and was a factor in 2022 before a string of bad luck knocked him out of the running — though only to seventh, just ahead of Rosenqvist in eighth.

McLaren's biggest issue in 2022 was establishing consistent reliability. Though some of it was out of the team's control, due to accidents or incidents, O'Ward and Rosenqvist had too many DNFs to get the championship.

If that can change in 2023, McLaren can add itself to the top tier of IndyCar and compete for its first Indy 500 and IndyCar championships.

That's not to mention the addition of Rossi, an Indy 500 champion who brings a wealth of technical knowledge and a fresh set of eyes to the organization.

Rossi and O'Ward are real championship contenders, and all three of the McLaren drivers could find themselves in the driver's seat in the closing stages of the Indy 500. If Rosenqvist can take his full season campaign to the next step, I think we will see one of these three take home the two biggest prizes in the sport.

3: Tyler Reddick makes the NASCAR final four

One of the biggest dominos to fall this NASCAR offseason was Tyler Reddick joining 23XI Racing. Reddick announced what was initially a 2024 move out of Richard Childress Racing, his home for his first few seasons in the Cup Series, in the middle of the season, leading to a strange statement about the "timing" of the move by RCR.

His contract was bought out, and now Reddick is fully committed to the Denny Hamiln-Michael Jordan led 23XI Racing in its third year in the Cup Series.

I think this move benefits all parties, and Reddick, much like Rossi joining McLaren's IndyCar effort, can be a serious championship contender.

Though maybe not a NASCAR superstar, Reddick is close to breaking through to that level. He won three times in 2022, twice on road courses, and made the playoffs with RCR. He finished third at Darlington and started first at Kansas, before an incident in the race and the proceeding race at Bristol eliminated him from the playoffs.

This year is a key test for the parity of the NASCAR NextGen car. Can it maintain an even playing field in year two? I think it's likely a no, and a few teams and drivers are going to emerge above the rest.

23XI, with Reddick and Bubba Wallace, gives me a similar vibe to Arrow McLaren, in more than just the Rossi-Reddick way. Both Wallace and Reddick had wins in 2022, but lacked consistently great results. I expect both of them to up their game in 2023, with both making the playoffs.

Predicting the NASCAR playoffs is a bit of a crapshoot, and races at Daytona and Talladega often look more like a random number generator than a motorsports contest.

Reddick doesn't need Daytona and Talladega to make the final four, though. He's arguably the best road course driver in the series currently, and if he gets the high line worked in at an oval he's up there with Kyle Larson in terms of talent and ability. If Reddick can minimize DNFs and get a few more top fives, expect him to be fighting for a championship at Phoenix.