Nine different winners from six countries. 17 races saw 5,881 passes produced. There were 98,145 laps and 186,224 miles of track covered, with the 41-year-old champion crowned: Team Penske’s Spirit.
The 2022 edition of the IndyCar Series is a frenetic event featuring some of the best in motorsport and after 5 months of slumber, the US Open Wheel Championship is ready to return this weekend and kick off the new season on the Floridian streets of St.Petersburg. Topping last year’s numbers will be tough, but with the largest full-time field in more than a decade, the 27 drivers of 10 teams will have 17 races to claim the next IndyCar title as the schedule rolls around. out the March to September season finale at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
IndyCar’s youth revolution is ready to take down the old guard
“I think it’s going to be the year of the racer,” 1986 Indy 500 winner and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing co-owner Bobby Rahal told ESPN. “You have a really exciting bunch of young drivers and it’s really starting to show the old defenders that a new generation is here and ready to be heard. We have a young man on our team. me, Christian Lundgaardquite a special person. Pato O’Wardhe’s not a newbie, but he’s still very young and he’s already challenged the best in the series.
“Having a child like Callum Ilott, who comes from Ferrari’s Formula 1 development teamand then the American boy Kyle Kirkwood, who was accompanied by Michael Andretti and he certainly showed speed. The new generation, they will be a threat.”
Rahal was in a similar situation when he came to IndyCar in the early 1980s. pitted against long-standing heroes of the series like AJ Foyt and Mario Andretti, the Ohioan would go on to win three bronze IndyCar championships. established himself as one of the greatest racers of his time. By the time he retired in 1998, he was hunted by the O’Wards and Kirkwoods of the day.
“It’s a common practice for ‘senior citizens’ to reach a point in their careers like I did when the new generation wanted to take over, and you get these great years when those who have Famous people are not willing to give the keys to the kingdom so there is a conflicting generational divide,” said Rahal, who has a documentary about his career in the works that will be released later this year.
“We have some people in their 40s like [six-time IndyCar champion] Scott Dixon And [two-time title winner] Will Power, who is still capable of competing for the championship. And believe me, they’re not trying to make things easy for the kids. There are some great drivers between them in terms of age and experience. Alexander RossiHe’s getting off to a fresh start with the Arrow McLaren team and he’s someone who can win any time. My son Graham [Rahal] … people think he’s 40 years old because he’s been around forever, but he’s only 34 and I think he’s going to have a great year. Young versus old, and the guys in the middle want to take them down, it’s going to be a fascinating performance. I can tell you that.”
Who are the title contenders?
Using the most recent championship as a guide, it’s impossible to know how this IndyCar season will be tackled.
Team Penske Josef Newgarden, a two-time champion, has completely dominated the competition in 2022 with five wins. He also lost the title to Power, whose only win was bolstered by devastating performance in other rounds, where the steady payoffs earned after nine podiums took the crown. out of Newgarden’s reach. Power spent the whole season hovering in the top 5 while Newgarden was either winning or facing adversity.
It’s highly unlikely we’ll see another singles-winning champion emerge, and if the 32-year-old Tennessean can reflect Power’s podium-friendly ways, Newgarden could run away with a other titles.
“First and foremost, you have to put yourself in a position and be in the final round with a chance to try and strike a deal,” says Newgarden. “I’m also very aware of the level of competition in this championship. The effort required to win a race has never been higher. And there are no poor teams or drivers in the championship. ; we will have to fight through an amazingly difficult field race that gets closer each year.
“But we had all the ingredients for success. I don’t remember the last time I didn’t feel positive about challenging for championship races.”
Andretti Autosports Colton Herta could win his first IndyCar championship, as well as Arrow McLaren’s O’Ward. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dixon and teammates Alex Palou — IndyCar’s top drivers in 2020 and 2021 respectively — could win. Penske’s Power and Newgarden are the top title contenders, having won it all in 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2022, and their teammates Scott McLaughlinwho finished fourth in last year’s standings, more than capable of ruining everyone’s championship plans.
Those are the seven drivers with the best odds of getting to the top of IndyCar this season, and that doesn’t include some of the threats Rahal mentioned such as Rossi, Kirkwood, Ilott, Lundgaard, Graham Rahal and the defending champion. enemy Indy 500 Marcus Ericsson.
If a year goes as expected, there could be 10 or more winners and a staggering number of passes throughout the multi-industry series, road, street, and oval races big and small. It’s the lack of predictability that makes IndyCar’s annual offerings such a great sport to watch; Trying to pick a winner before the season gets to the final round is stupid.
And that’s where IndyCar’s excellence is found. Formula one have better technology and worldwide fandom, and NASCAR continues to hold the top spot at home with high popularity in the United States, but when it comes to the race itself and all that goes between the blue flags and the checkers, there’s nothing like IndyCar and 5,881 roads line completed in 2022.
Hello, 2023 IndyCar season. If you insist on betting, you will make a lot of money passing the 6,000 mark before closing the curtain on the September finale at Laguna Seca.
