29-01-2025
5 Biggest Offseason Moves for IndyCar Heading Into 2025
It's been a busy offseason at IndyCar, mostly with an eye to the future. He's five stories that will likely have more chapters written in 2025:A renewed wave of energy and excitement washed over drivers as they gathered at Indianapolis in mid-January for preseason media tasks, thanks in large part to the evidence that new broadcast partner FOX will be promoting the series in an aggressive way.
The boldest gesture was the funny but ambitious commercial that emphasized IndyCar's excitement and showcased Josef Newgarden's personality. Complete with a cameo of NFL legend Tom Brady, it targeted NFL fans and signaled that FOX was reaching beyond the traditional audience.
FOX also has said it will use drones in its coverage this season to provide an intriguing perspective. Its telecast team of play-by-play announcer Will Buxton, lured away from the über-popular Formula 1 culture, and former IndyCar racers James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell plays well with the drivers. So that relationship, with more 'Newgardenesque' commercials, is off to a rousing Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman are the faces of the renowned European operation that gives IndyCar the most full-time teams since 2018. It joins Meyer Shank Racing, Juncos Hollinger Racing, and Arrow McLaren as the most recent operations.
British racer Ilott said, 'I think there's a lot of people curious. A lot of people know Prema's history, and if you don't, they are the most successful junior formula team that there is, and they've won in almost everything they've competed in. But IndyCar is another ballgame. We're going to have to work hard. It's not going to be easy, and especially not with everyone else having the same car for 10 plus years. We're going to have a steep learning curve. It's been a long time since anyone has joined IndyCar this way. Normally you do it with a partnership or something like that. This is a bit more hands-on from the beginning.'
Shwartzman (pictured), who races under his Israeli citizenship label, said, 'We are rookies. We have nothing to lose. We have only to gain.'A handful of drivers, including six-time champion Scott Dixon and two-timer Josef Newgarden, are hoping it will be lighter.
Alexander Rossi, the latest Ed Carpenter Racing addition, has seen the initial blueprint. And he said he didn't want to share too much opinion of it, other than to say he didn't think any major tweaks to the current iteration are necessary.
'We already have the best product on track that exists globally. I think it needs to be an evolution of the car we've had,' Rossi said. 'Obviously technology has developed, materials have developed. We have added a lot onto the DW12. So integrating all of that is going to have benefits from a cost standpoint, from a safety standpoint, from a workability standpoint for the mechanics to have things that fit and flow and work a bit better together.
"But ultimately, I don't think we need to do anything that's beyond what we already do because I think what we already do is pretty good. It just needs to be an updated version of what we have.'
Chip Ganassi Racing's Dixon agreed: 'You don't want to change too much, because the fundamentals work really well. It's a great racing series.' However, he did say he hopes the next car will be lighter, have power steering, and produce more McLaren's Pato O'Ward has pressed for another IndyCar race in his home country and has been miffed that NASCAR swooped in and scored a coup as the first premier U.S. series to snag a multiyear date.
The IRL raced at Monterrey, Nuevo León, from 2001-2006, and CART's 2007 season finale was at Mexico City.
But O'Ward has encountered some resistance from Mark Miles, IndyCar and Penske Entertainment CEO, who said that while O'Ward's identity is 'really gaining ground' in Mexico City, 'it's pretty clear that Pato isn't as famous in Mexico as the last previously famous Mexican driver [Adrian Fernandez]. He's probably going to complain that I haven't dragged him in because he really ought to be the guy to go make the deal.'
O'Ward's image is on billboards scattered throughout Mexico City, which boats more than 20 million people. O'Ward has become the series' undisputed fan favorite – he led Penske Entertainment's merchandise sales in 2024.
As an F1 reserve driver, as well, O'Ward has been mobbed by fans across the U.S. and in Mexico. Miles' 2024 remarks appear to be based on a 2021 conversation he had with promoters of the Mexican Grand Prix.
So O'Ward championed the slogan 'Pato Who?' and leased two 'Pato Who?' billboards in Speedway, Ind. – one on each way into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, reportedly so Miles will be unable to miss the cheeky red, while, and black messages on his way to work each day. Today, Miles calls O'Ward 'a natural star' and 'a marquee personality for our series and a terrific partner in our marketing and promotional efforts.'Engineer Ross Bunnell is becoming more recognized and is a key component in this partnership, so look for driver Felix Rosenqvist to make a splash this season as he works with the bright talent who also has had a hand since 2023 at Ganassi's operation in Scott Dixon's continued success. He recently guided former Williams Formula 1 driver Logan Sargeant in the team's test at The Thermal.
Angela Ashmore returns to work with Marcus Armstrong (pictured), like in 2024 at Chip Ganassi Racing. Ashmore, a super-focused Purdue graduate, also was on the engineering team when Marcus Ericsson won the 2022 Indianapolis 500.
Neil Fife, formerly with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing but who worked Meyer Shank's IMSA GTP program a couple of years ago, will serve as MSR's liaison engineer with Ganassi, and he'll engineer Helio Castroneves' quest for a fifth Indianapolis 500 victory this May.
Rosenqvist said, 'Already what I've seen now, it's been very good the way the teams work together and interact. I feel like they're as hungry as we are to listen to what we have to say about our experiences and vice versa. It's been very two-sided so far, kind of where you want it to.'
Dixon said this link to Castroneves could be strategic: 'Excited to see his insight of what's made him so successful at the Speedway.'
