(Photo: James Black / INDYCAR)
By Aaron Bearden
Take a NASCAR legend, Formula E race winner, F1 podium finisher, six-time IndyCar champ and an Australian Supercars star and throw them all together.
That only gives you a small taste of one of the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series field.
After one of the longest offseasons in professional motorsport, the stars of IndyCar are all flocking to the countryside outside of Birmingham, Alabama, this weekend to kick off the 2021 season at the picturesque Barber Motorsports Park.
From an unprecedented rookie class to a returning James Hinchcliffe, the field is among the most impressive in series history. They’ll all contest a calendar that sees a slight return to normalcy (Indiana in May) while also exploring new opportunities like the streets of Nashville.
It’s going to be an eventful year for America’s top open wheel tour. Here are a few of the storylines to follow as it gets underway.
Changing of the Guard
This has been a story of the last five years and will remain one for seasons to come, but there’s a chance that this is the biggest year yet in the modern IndyCar Series for generational change in the pecking order.
For much of the past decade and beyond, the same few figures have led the way in the IndyCar paddock. Scott Dixon (age 40) has been an ageless icon, always capable of mounting a championship assault that no one else in the field can seem to match.
His biggest rivals for the past several seasons have been fellow veteran stars like Will Power (40), Ryan Hunter-Reay (40), Juan Pablo Montoya (45) and Simon Pagenaud (36). Others like James Hinchcliffe (34), Graham Rahal (32) Sebastien Bourdais (42), Tony Kanaan (46) and Takuma Sato (44) have also won races along the way.
But in recent years a youth movement has risen to combat that generation, led by two-time champion Josef Newgarden (30) and Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi (29).
It’s been bolstered even more in the past couple seasons by the additions of young phenoms like Colton Herta (21), Pato O’Ward (21) and Felix Rosenqvist (28), with others including Rinus Veekay (20) and Alex Palou (24) showing glimpses of potential in their first season last year.
With that group continuing to improve their race craft and become more comfortable in the cars, they’re starting to show signs of joining Newgarden in overcoming the old guard and establishing themselves as new faces of the series. This all comes as Dixon and others march into their 40s, on the cusp of their abilities regressing to the mean as all stars eventually do with age.
Dixon still won the title in 2020, with Newgarden on his heels in second. But just behind the two current stars were Herta and O’Ward in third and fourth. Rosenqvist snagged a race win while Veekay and Palou each secured a podium along the way.
With Jack Harvey slowly coming into his own and the arrival of Supercars star Scott McLaughlin, there’s potential for even more breakout performers this year.
But regardless of how many make the push, it stands to reason that a few of IndyCar’s promising prospects might make the next step and become a legitimate championship threat this year. With the sport’s veterans keen to maintain their positions near the top of the standings, it’ll be an interesting dynamic to watch play out.
The Month of May Returns
After a one-off run in August amid the echo of empty grandstands, the Month of May is coming back for 2021… Sort of.
No, it won’t be entirely like a typical Indianapolis 500. But the Greatest Spectacle in Racing will return to its traditional Memorial Day weekend slot next month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Despite being just a handful of weeks away, no one knows exactly what the Indy 500 will look like this year. With COVID-19 remaining an inescapable hurdle for the foreseeable future, the exact amount of fans that will be allowed and procedures that will be followed have yet to be revealed.
“We’re going to have fans here,” track president Doug Boles said last week. “All the protocol and those other pieces, it’s going to be a couple of weeks before we know how that’s going to go.”
Indianapolis already has experience with sporting events containing fans, having held the entirety of the 2021 NCAA men’s basketball tournament in March and early April with limited audiences. That went off without many complications, though one Alabama University student passed away from complications related to COVID-19 after attending the school’s basketball games at the tournament.
But the Indy 500 is an entirely different beast. It has the benefit of being outdoors compared to the basketball games, but also typically plays host to 300,000 people or more. Track owner Roger Penske indicated in a March NASCAR media availability that he has a goal of hosting 250,000 fans, with that amount of attendees certainly feasible given that Penske said then that 170,000 tickets had already been sold.
There have also been indications that spectators should be welcomed in limited quantities for the practice and qualifying activities leading up to the race itself.
Those that do make it to the Brickyard should be in for a strong month. From the usual stars like Dixon and Sato to returning winners in Montoya and Castroneves, there’s going to be a deep field of contenders when the IndyCar Series returns to the 2.5-mile oval. Bumping will also be back, with upward of 36 entrants expected when the traditional May festivities begin.
Included in the group are newcomers Paretta Autosport with Simona de Silvestro and Pietro Fittipaldi, who will drive for Dale Coyne Racing three years after missing his planned Indy 500 debut due to injury. NASCAR regular Cody Ware hasn’t been confirmed, but is likely as well after making test runs with the team at Texas Motor Speedway and Indianapolis.
The race weekend itself won’t be entirely the same. The bass and road of the Snakepit won’t be thumping in Turn 3, while Carb Day isn’t likely to carry its traditional excitement without a concert or Indy Lights race (more on that later).
But on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, there will be 33 cars lined up to race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Fans will likely be in the stands when “Taps” and “Back Home Again in Indiana” are played.
With it all, a slice of normalcy will return to a signature event that missed it dearly last year.
Ridiculous Rookie Class
It’s not uncommon for the IndyCar rookie lass to be strong. Last year saw a Super Formula star in Alex Palou join Indy Lights standouts Oliver Askew and Rinus Veekay, along with a Road to Indy veteran in Dalton Kellett. The year prior brought in a Formula E winner in Felix Rosenqvist, F1 competitor Marcus Ericsson, F2 castaway Santino Ferrucci and Indy Lights stars Colton Herta and Pato O’Ward.
But this year is unique even by IndyCar standards.
A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, three-time Supercars champion and recognizable F1 veteran are all descending upon Barber Motorsports Park this weekend to kick off what they hope will be successful ventures in a stacked IndyCar field.
The leading name for worldwide followers is Romain Grosjean, a 10-time F1 podium finisher that is making his way to America at age 35 following 179 starts in the world’s most popular racing series. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that it’s Grosjean’s first start since his devastating crash in the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, which sidelined the Frenchman for his final two planned starts with Haas F1 Team due to burns on his hands. Grosjean will drive for Dale Coyne Racing.
American race fans will gravitate toward Jimmie Johnson, a 45-year-old legend of NASCAR that’s electing to try out a new challenge after a Hall of Fame-worthy Cup Series career. The Californian is making his open wheel debut in the No. 48 Chevrolet as a member of Chip Ganassi Racing, pairing him with fellow legend Scott Dixon as the New Zealander chases a seventh title of his own.
Those two drivers are each contesting the road and street circuits this year. The third, Scott McLaughlin, is intent to compete for the entire season.
Looking to replicate the success of crossover stars like DTM transfer Robert Wickens, McLaughlin arrives with Team Penske after proving unstoppable for the former DJR Team Penske team in Supercars. He won the last three titles in the Australian series and, at the age of 27, figures to have the greatest potential for long-term IndyCar success of the three standout rookies.
Each driver is in or a unique transition.
Johnson arrives to a discipline totally unique from the stock cars he made his name driving. The veteran has competed in IMSA races to help him adapt to the higher-downforce machines while also running in lower formula cars to gain experience.
But he still has minimal track time, with none of it in a competitive setting. Only a few test have given Johnson time in his Indy car, with the veteran making small gains on his title-contending teammates.
“I’m going in the right direction,” Johnson said. “I’m within a second of my teammates now, which has really been my goal out of the box. But that last little bit, that’s what the elite guys are so good at and chase their whole career. I don’t know if I’ll get to 100 percent with the amount of years that I have to give this a try, but there’s still so many things I haven’t even experienced yet.”
A similar discipline change is ready for McLaughlin, whose only success in IndyCar prior to this season has come in the virtual iRacing INDYCAR Challenge, where he won a handful of races against his fellow competitors. Grosjean has experience in perhaps the closest similar tour in F1, but will still be tested significantly by the many differences between the two cars.
All three drivers are in for one of the biggest challenges of their professional careers. It’s possible that none will reach victory lane or even the podium, but watching them adapt to an entirely different vehicle, series and schedule should make for appointment viewing.
A look down the road
Peek beyond the championship storylines and ravishing rookies and the biggest story may well be a few hot seats at leading teams.
Ryan Hunter-Reay, Simon Pagenaud and Will Power are all champions and Indy 500 winners, having proven their worth to their respective organizations – Hunter-Reay with Andretti Autosport, Pagenaud and Power for Team Penske – with their success over the years.
But auto racing isn’t a sport that caters to past success for long. It’s all about what’s going on now.
What have you done for me lately? Do the sponsors still buy in?
All three drivers will roll into contract years this season, with pressure to perform and continue finding victories and podiums as they enter the late portion of their careers.
This is nothing new for Hunter-Reay or Pagenaud.
Hunter-Reay, 40, spent much of the last year hearing his name in the rumor mill. It appeared he might not make it back to Andretti for 2021, but the 2014 Indy 500 winner was finally confirmed for another year with the team in January.
To his credit, the Floridian claimed during media day that it’s a familiar experience for him.
”My whole career has been that way,” Hunter-Reay said. “It’s been, Hey, here is your opportunity. Get in the car, we’ll let you know if you’re going to be in the car the next race.”
But after going winless for the fourth time in the past five years last season, Hunter-Reay’s seat may be warmer than ever – particularly with prospects like Kyle Kirkwood and Robert Megennis in the team’s Indy Lights program and hoping for a chance to move up.
Pagenaud found himself in a similar place back in 2019, with scuttlebutt that Alexander Rossi could be a leading candidate to replace him. Whether true or not, the 2016 IndyCar champ quashed those rumors with a perfect Month of May, claiming Indianapolis Grand Prix, Indy 500 pole and, ultimately, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing itself after getting the better of Rossi in the closing laps. The 36-year-old has won races in six of the past eight seasons.
Power has been a consistent winner in Indy cars, claiming at least one win in each season since his 2007 run in what was then the Champ Car World Series. The Australian is a 39-time winner, 2014 champion and 2018 Indy 500 victor. He also claims to have the same passion for the sport at 40 that he’s had in the past, expressing a keenness to race well into his 40s similar to Johnson, Tony Kanaan and others in the field.
Whether Pagenaud and Power will continue on with their current teams remains to be seen. Fellow veterans Juan Pablo Montoya and Helio Castroneves found themselves in a similar position in 2016 and ’17 before making pivots to IMSA.
But Pagenaud and Power could fare better. Penske indicated in March that they’re each likely to return, saying “there’s no reason we wouldn’t renew for sure” while claiming that the current precautions due to COVID-19 have delayed the process.
Turn On the Lights
After taking a year off in 2020, Indy Lights is returning to action this year.
With its return comes a stronger field and a trio of champions hopeful to secure another title and jump to the next level.
The top rung of the Road to Indy ladder system has 13 drivers on the entry list for this weekend’s season-opener, up from the 10 that contested the 2019 opener in St. Petersburg. Among them are 10 rookies and a trio of returning drivers.
Davis Malukas is one of the returning competitors, keen to make the most of this year with HMD Motorsport. He led the way in the spring training test ahead of teammates Linus Lundqvist and Benjamin Pedersen.
While they weren’t quickest in testing, Andretti Autosport drivers Robert Megennis, Kyle Kirkwood, Danial Frost and Devlin DeFrancesco figure to be among the title favorites this year. Andretti fielded the two most recent champions in 2018 (Pato O’Ward) and 2019 (Oliver Askew) and can consistently be seen near the front of the field.
Eager to stop Andretti are HMD as well as Juncos Racing and a returning Carlin, which each fielded recent champions in 2017 (Kyle Kaiser/Juncos) and 2016 (Ed Jones/Carlin). Alex Peroni and Christian Bogle are set to compete for Carlin, with Toby Sowery and Sting Ray Robb leading the charge for Juncos.
For Lundqvist, Kirkwood and Robb, this year presents a chance to parlay a prior championship into future opportunities. Kirkwood won the 2019 Indy Pro 2000 title and Indy Lights scholarship, but was forced to effectively sit out a year when the 2020 season was canceled. Robb secured the 2020 Indy Pro 2000 title for a similar prize, while Lundqvist claimed a scholarship as part of an expansion of the award system to FR Americas, where he dominated in 2020.
They and the rest of the field will be competing for a chance to secure an increased $1.25 million scholarship good for entry into a minimum of three IndyCar races in 2022, including an opportunity to qualify for the Indy 500.
The 2021 season will be a bit different for the Indy Lights field. Gone is the standout Freedom 100 event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Carb Day, with the lone oval weekend coming at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in August. The season will see 20 rounds ending at Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca if all goes to plan, up two races from the 18-round campaign in 2019.
But schedule shifts aside, the intense racing and key goal of earning an IndyCar opportunity will remain for the baker’s dozen competing at the top of the Road to Indy this year.
