3 IndyCar rookies set for full-time rides
INDIANAPOLIS – If 2019 was the “Year of the Swedes” in the world of IndyCar rookies, 2020 is shaping up to be the “Year of the Rivalry.”
A fierce one has been brewing for three years on the Road to Indy ladder, and even longer outside it. Oliver Askew and Rinus VeeKay, two of IndyCar’s three full-season rookies for the 2020 season, dominated the developmental program. Combining for 31 victories over the 48-race span from 2017 to 2019, the two created a pretty simple measuring stick in the process: finish ahead of the other and you probably had a pretty successful weekend at the track.
“I’ve been racing Rinus since 2014. Every time I show up to the track, he’s always there,” Askew said. “He’s always that guy I’m fighting for the win with. But it’s kinda cool to have someone like that. In the moment, it’s not cool at all, but looking back at it, he’s made me better, and I’ve made him better, because we’re always competing against each other and using each other as a bench mark.”
Added VeeKay: “I think we’re both here (in IndyCar) because of each other. It’s just a healthy rivalry, two drivers just trying to beat each other, but we’ll always have respect for each other.”
For 2020, though, they’ll have so much more to focus on than just each other. Longer races, more intricate cars, brand-new racetracks and some competitors who have been competing in American open-wheel racing since before the rookie duo was born. It’s all part of the drastic increase in difficulty that, in recent years, the best rookies have handled with relative ease.
Look no further than Alexander Rossi’s 2016 Indy 500 win, Robert Wickens finishing two points out of eighth (despite missing the final three races) and Colton Herta and Felix Rosenqvist combining for four podium finishes, four poles and two wins a year ago. On the other hand, Ed Jones, the 2017 series Rookie of the Year, currently is out of the sport.
“This is all like having 20 other ‘Rinuses’ out there now,” Askew said. “I’m not worried about him at all anymore. There’s way more people to worry about than just Rinus.”
Can either VeeKay, Askew or Alex Palou manage to insert themselves square into the series title conversation like Herta and Rosenqvist did a year ago? It’s hard to imagine IndyCar getting blessed with such instant talent for the third consecutive year, but these three just might be able to do it.
Oliver Askew, Arrow McLaren SP
When you talk to other drivers and team owners around the series, there’s a lot to love about the 23-year-old reigning Indy Lights champion. After a relatively rough start to the season a year ago in St. Pete, Askew finished off the podium just twice over the final 16 Lights races.
Paired next to speedy, aggressive, energetic teammate Patricio O’Ward, who won the Lights title in 2018, Askew’s unique personality and driving style are easy to spot. He’s meticulous and calculated, viewed as an incredibly smart driver who’s quick to adjust and thrive.
“It’s hard to say with him. I’m not quite sure what he’s going to be, other than very focused, very intense,” said defending series champion Josef Newgarden.
It’s important to note that, with all of the hype surrounding O’Ward landing a full-season ride, it was Askew who was Arrow McLaren SP’s initial youthful target in the offseason before his now-teammate left his short stint in Super Formula for another crack at IndyCar. And for Askew, as reserved as he might seem, there’s no shortage of brash confidence when you ask him about what he expects out of his own 2020.
“I think it’s a realistic goal to win Rookie of the Year. That’s really important to both myself and the team,” he said. Obviously, we want to win races, but we really don’t want to run outside the top five or top 10. We expect to be up toward the front right away.”
Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
ECR dropped two of its three drivers from the year prior – leaving only driver-owner Ed Carpenter – but there wasn’t a ton of surprise at who filled one of those slots. VeeKay had been on Carpenter’s radar for some time, and not only did he come with a strong budgetary boost but with speed in the car that always mentioned in conversations about the 19-year-old Dutch driver.
“Really fast.” “Lots of speed.” That’s what you hear about the latest rookie to join Carpenter’s team, and it feels like this one might stick. A driver with innate speed combined with ECR’s knack for putting together lightning-fast cars for the Indy 500 is a tantalizing combination just two months away.
But there is some concern, or at least perception, that VeeKay could struggle at times in 2020 – in part because of his aggressive driving style. With much more caution and diligence needed in regards to tire wear, fuel consumption and other aspects of racing in this more-advanced series, some around the paddock wonder how well VeeKay’s high-energy persona in the car might translate.
Newgarden said he was impressed just how interested VeeKay was to pick the series champ’s brain from their first meeting, but he expects some rough patches – certainly not uncommon. Herta and Rosenqvist finished outside the top 20 three times each a year ago.
“He’s really enthusiastic and wants to be better, and you love to see that. It reminds me of how I was and still try to be,” Newgarden said. “But I think he’s going to tear too much stuff up, personally (to win Rookie of the Year). I think he’s going to be fast, but it’s going to take some time. Don’t take it wrong; he’s going to be fast, but I think he’s probably going to have to learn some lessons.”
Alex Palou, Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh
No, not that Spanish driver. Still, despite the relative unknown factor compared to Askew and VeeKay in terms of notoriety around the American open-wheel racing circuit, Palou has the track record of someone expected to be a force from the start.
A year ago, he finished third overall in the Super Formula series in Japan, whose cars perform similarly to Indy cars on the road and street circuits.
There, Palou won three poles, won one of the seven races and was firmly in contention for the series championship before mechanical issues with his car in the season finale dropped him to 19th in the race and third overall.
He was still named Rookie of the Year there.
But that season-long performance earned Newgarden’s respect, as well as his nod for the early favorite for 2020 IndyCar Rookie of the Year honors.
“I know nothing about him other than that,” Newgarden said. “But I’ll say this about him, he’s got the most experience (at that level) out of anybody.”