IndyCar enters ’18 with new champ, new hope
it safer for drivers and cheaper for teams to field.
It also could help the small teams close the gap on Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Autosport, winner of three of the last four Indianapolis 500s.
“I do think it will equalize things,” said Graham Rahal, who this year at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is joined by 2017 Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato.
“If you do your job and you nail the setup, you will be right there contending for wins,” he said. “Before, there were certainly cases and tracks where that wasn’t the way it was for us, and it is nice now to feel like we can be rewarded for lots of hard work.”
IndyCar has been chipping away for years at rebuilding its fan base and stabilizing the series, and leadership feels good headed into the opener. The car count of 24 entries at St. Petersburg is the highest since 2015 and includes three new teams. Gabby Chaves will race for Harding Racing, Juncos Racing has a split lineup and Max Chilton and Charlie Kimball left Ganassi at the end of last season to form Carlin.
IndyCar’s television audience has continued to slowly grow, the series is returning to Portland International Raceway this year for the first time in more than a decade, and Danica Patrick is coming back for one last hurrah in the Indianapolis 500. She will retire after the May race, her first in an Indy car since 2011.
The series still has obstacles. American driver Conor Daly, a fan favorite who just completed a popular stint on the reality show “The Amazing Race,” can’t find sponsorship for anything more than an Indianapolis 500 ride right now. Daly was a full-time driver the last two years.
The field has seven rookies this season, four of whom — Rene Binder, Jordan King, Matt Leist and Robert Wickens — will be making their series debut at St. Pete. The leading candidate for top rookie right now might be Zach Veach, a six-time Indy Lights winner racing for Andretti. His teammates will be Indy 500 winners Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi, as well as veteran Marco Andretti.