EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story used the headline “The White Zone: Yeah, this race sucked.” After discussing it with Tucker, he understood this was too mean-spirited of a title. Furthermore, he rewrote several paragraphs for the same reason.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Even IndyCar puts on lackluster races.
I’ve worked enough NTT INDYCAR SERIES races to know what makes a good race. You won’t see bumping and banging, and multiple on-track lead changes like NASCAR. And if you understand and accept that, there’s a lot of fun to have with IndyCar. Which, in my opinion, is more strategy-heavy than NASCAR.
All weekend, I heard beat writers and even NBC take potshots at Formula 1 for how stale and boring its product is (and rightfully so). Now by no means was Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Pete near the level of the Max Verstappen Invitational.
But it had some elements of it.
Josef Newgarden led 92 of 100 laps and won by a margin of roughly eight seconds. All the lead changes happened during pit stops. Three times, a driver braked wrong, overran a corner and a caution flew. In one case, Romain Grosjean clipped Linus Lundqvist in Turn 10 and put him in the tire barrier (for which, he served a pass-through penalty).
Outside of that, Sunday’s race didn’t give me much to discuss.
Look, there was a lot of good from this weekend. This race drew an insanely huge crowd, which crowded pit road, pre-race. I found it more difficult than normal to move my way through the sea of people. Furthermore, St. Pete is an amazingly intimate venue. Everything’s centralized to an excellent walking distance radius of the deadline room and once you figure out the basic layout, it’s insanely easy to navigate.
Would I come here to cover a race, again? ABSOLUTELY!
Moreover, this race was probably an outlier.
For now, however, the kickoff to the 2024 season could’ve been better.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Josef Newgarden told NBC’s Marty Snider, Friday, in the Mahaffey Theater that despite his Indianapolis 500 victory and wins on all but one oval, he was bummed to not win a pole in 2023.
He rectified that in Race No. 1 of 2024.
“Crazy proud,” he said. “I’m always proud of my team and even more so today. They deserve it. They’ve done a great job all off-season. They’ve done a great job in 2023 (sic), and I feel like we fell short in a lot of areas that we didn’t need to.”
The two-time NTT INDYCAR Series champion scored his 17th career pole with a Firestone Fast Six time of 59.5714 (108.777 mph). He jumped to the top of the charts with just 15 seconds left in the final round. Besting Felix Rosenqvist, who broke Will Power’s track record in the second round.
All of which came after a less than stellar performance in first practice, Friday. Newgarden’s team didn’t change much on the car after first practice.
“We were sort of same car,” he said. “Just really putting it together better, and I think (second practice) was representative more so for where we were as a team.”
Rounding out the top-six are Pato O’Ward, Colton Herta (who ran his fastest time in the final round on Firestone black tires, while the rest used greens*), Romain Grosjean and defending race winner Marcus Ericsson.
Aside from Rinus VeeKay kissing the wall off Turn 10, nothing out of the ordinary happened during qualifying. Gusts of wind dragged debris onto the track, but that wound up a non-factor.
* The green-banded Firestone tires are the same compound as the reds of years past, but with a different construction. How differently it performed was “hard to say.”
“I felt like it was probably more of a lap two, lap three tire than the past,” Rosenqvist said. “I think here last time we were here it was like a lap one tire. It changes all the time kind of depending on the weather and the wind and what not.”
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Scott Dixon took his seat at the podium inside the deadline room of the Mahaffey Theater. The six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion starts his 22nd season, Sunday.
In most sports, an athlete’s performance peaks in their mid to late 20s. Whereas in auto racing, many drivers race well into their 40s. Mario Andretti raced full-time in IndyCar until 1994, at the age of 54. AJ Foyt ran his final race in 1996, at 61, in a 28th-place finish in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Furthermore, winning races isn’t just for the youth. Dixon, 43, capped off the 2023 season with three wins in the last four races.
With that said, however, father time waits for nobody.
“I think it’s different for everybody, depending on when they feel like they should be done with a sport,” Dixon said.
Sometimes, a driver leaves a sport on top. While he didn’t win a fifth NASCAR Cup Series championship, Jeff Gordon, at 44, raced his way into the Championship 4 in his final full-time season in 2015.
More often than not, however, a driver exits with a whimper.
While Jimmie Johnson won his seventh championship in 2016, at 41, his performance declined as well. He finished less than half the races in the top-10 for the first time in his career and didn’t lead the most laps in a single race. Moreover, his results fell sharply in his final four full-time seasons. He went winless in his final three and missed the playoffs in his final two.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., at 43, finished his Cup Series career in 2017 with no wins in his last two seasons. That, and a concussion cost him half of his penultimate season.
Sometimes, a driver gets no say on how they go out. A wreck in the penultimate round of the 2013 IndyCar season forced Dario Franchitti, at 40, into an early retirement.
So how much longer Dixon has is “hard to answer.”
“I think you go until you feel like you don’t want to or maybe you’re not winning as much,” he said.
In 21 years in INDYCAR, Dixon won at least one race in all but one. Last season, in addition to his three wins, he finished top-10 in all but one race and top-five in 11 of 17.
For now, the New Zealand native shows no sign of decline. Aside from clocking in 12th in first practice.
Santino Ferrucci will be returning to A.J. Foyt Enterprises for a second full-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES campaign in 2024 and in the team’s No. 14 Dallara-Chevrolet sponsored by Sexton Properties.
The news comes as the 25-year-old Ferrucci from Woodbury, Connecticut, is coming off his maiden IndyCar campaign with A.J. Foyt Enterprises, where he achieved his maiden podium result during the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last May in the form of a strong third-place finish. The result occurred in an event where he started on the second row in fourth place, led 11 laps and was in contention for the victory in the closing laps. Ferrucci would proceed to settle in 19th place in the 2023 driver’s standings after averaging a finishing result of 18.5 throughout the 17-race schedule.
The third-place result during the 2023 Indy 500 also extended Ferrucci’s string of top-10 results he has achieved in five consecutive Indy 500s he has participated in since 2019.
“I’m super stoked to be back with the team,” Ferrucci said. “It’s really good to start building some continuity with everybody, and I think it’s going to improve our results. My expectations for the year are to come out of the gate a lot more prepared than we were last year. Working with Penske, things are hopefully going to be a lot smoother, and I’m looking forward to being back at the Indy 500 again.”
Ferrucci, who previously competed in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship region before ascending to GP3 Series and the Formula 2 Championship region, made his inaugural presence in the IndyCar circuit during the series’ doubleheader feature at Belle Isle Park in Detroit Michigan, for Dale Coyne Racing in 2018. He would then compete for Dale Coyne as a full-time competitor during the following two seasons before scaling back to a part-time role between the 2021 and 2022 seasons, where he competed between Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Juncos Hollinger Racing. During the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he also made select NASCAR Xfinity Series starts for Sam Hunt Racing.
Through 60 previous starts in the IndyCar circuit, Ferrucci has accumulated a single podium result, five top-five results and 19 top-10 results, with five of his total top-10 results occurring in five consecutive starts in the Indianapolis 500 (2019-23). He has also racked up a total of 135 laps led and an average-finishing result of 14.5.
“I’m very happy to have Santino back,” Larry Foyt, team president of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, added. “We worked well together, and he brings a good energy to the team. Obviously, we have our eyes set on the Indy 500, but we also had some good pace in other races but didn’t get the results. Together we are focused on moving up in the championship standings, and I believe we can achieve that.”
Ferrucci is set to compete alongside Sting Ray Robb, who is coming off his maiden IndyCar campaign with Dale Coyne Racing in association with Rick Ware Racing and was announced to pilot A.J. Foyt’s No. 41 Dallara-Chevrolet for the upcoming IndyCar season last December. The pairing of Ferrucci and Robb completes A.J. Foyt Enterprises’ two-car lineup for the 2024 season.
Ferrucci’s second full-time NTT INDYCAR Series campaign with A.J. Foyt Enterprises is set to commence at the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, for the 2024 season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The event is scheduled to occur on March 10 and air on NBC.
With less than three months remaining until the commencement of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, a majority of teams and competitors have new or familiar faces or homes set in place while select seats remain within a handle of organizations.
The most recent name to be scratched off this year’s Silly Season topic is Sting Ray Robb, who will join A.J. Foyt Racing to pilot the No. 41 Dallara-Chevrolet. The news comes three months after the 26-year-old Robb from Boise, Idaho, completed his first campaign in the IndyCar circuit for Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing, where he ended up in 23rd place and accumulated 147 points.
Robb, a former champion of the Pro Mazda/Indy Pro 2000 Championship region and a runner-up finisher in the 2022 Indy Lights standings, is the only competitor currently confirmed to be competing for A.J. Foyt Racing for the upcoming season as the rest of the team’s driver lineup remains to be determined.
Another organization that is left undetermined regarding its driver lineup is Robb’s former team, Dale Coyne Racing. The team fielded two full-time entries for Robb and David Malukas, and a third entry for the Indianapolis 500 piloted by two-time Indy 500 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay. With both Robb and Malukas venturing to new teams and Hunter-Reay not having any racing plans set for the near future, the team’s search to fill its vacant seats continues approaching the 2024 season.
Despite having plans to field two cars for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 in May 2024, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing have also yet to determine its two competitors who will be assuming the reigns of both entries. This past season, the team fielded the Nos. 23 and 24 Chevrolets for Hunter-Reay and Graham Rahal, respectively, with the latter replacing the injured Stefan Wilson. Having fielded at least one entry in the Indy 500 for 24 consecutive seasons, the team approaches the 2024 season aiming to extend the streak to 25 years with select names still on the market.
In the midst of a handful of teams who have vacant seats yet to be filled, a majority of organizations (Andretti Global, Arrow McLaren, Chip Ganassi Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing, Juncos Hollinger Racing, Meyer Shank Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Team Penske) have driver lineups for the 2024 season set, with nearly all having new names joining their stable to compete alongside notable veterans, race winners and champions.
After fielding four full-time entries and a fifth for the Indianapolis 500 this past season while recording a total of two season victories, Andretti Global, which has been rebranded from Andretti Autosport, will shrink to a three-car operation for the upcoming season and for its lineup consisting of Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson. Ericsson, the 2022 Indianapolis 500 champion from Kumla, Sweden, joins Andretti following a four-year campaign at Chip Ganassi Racing, where he had also recorded four career victories, as he will be piloting the No. 28 Dallara-Honda, thus replacing Romain Grosjean, while Herta and Kirkwood, the latter who earned his first two career victories at the Streets of Long Beach and Nashville Street Circuit in 2023, retain driving responsibilities of the Nos. 26 and 27 Hondas, respectively.
The 2024 season will mark the second consecutive season where Arrow McLaren will field three full-time entries. On this occasion, a new face joins the organization. David Malukas, from Chicago, Illinois, will replace Felix Rosenqvist to pilot the No. 6 Dallara-Chevrolet, as he will compete alongside returning names Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi, both of whom endured winless seasons in 2023 and strive to return the McLaren name to Victory Lane in 2024. In addition, McLaren will field a fourth entry in conjunction with 14-time NASCAR championship-winning team Hendrick Motorsports for the upcoming 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 as the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson will attempt to qualify for the event while piloting the No. 17 Dallara-Chevrolet. For his bid, Larson, a native of Elk Grove, California, will also attempt to join the late John Andretti, Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch as competitors to perform “Double Duty” on Memorial Day weekend by competing in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, thus comprising a total of 1,100 miles of racing.
Coming off championship No. 15 and winning half of the events in this past season’s IndyCar campaign, Chip Ganassi Racing returns with an expanded lineup that features two new names and a new promotion for one name alongside two championship-winning competitors in a bid to defend the title. Retaining their spots as full-time competitors of the Nos. 10 and 9 Hondas include the reigning two-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou and six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, respectively, while Marcus Armstrong, the 2023 IndyCar Rookie of the Year from Christchurch, New Zealand, will campaign in his first full-time season with CGR in the No. 11 entry. New to the team are Linus Lundqvist, the 2022 Indy Lights champion from Tyresö, Sweden, who made select IndyCar starts for Meyer Shank Racing this past season and will pilot the No. 8 CGR Honda in 2024, and Kyffin Simpson, the 2023 European Le Mans Series champion in the LMP2 class division from Bridgetown, Barbados.
Ed Carpenter Racing will feature a new name. Christian Rasmussen will campaign on a part-time basis alongside team owner Ed Carpenter after celebrating a championship in this past season’s Indy NXT season. The 23-year-old Rasmussen from Copenhagen, Denmark, will drive ECR’s No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet in all 11 road course and street events on the schedule, starting with the season opener at the Streets of St. Petersburg, while Carpenter, an Indianapolis veteran, will campaign in the remaining six oval events that includes the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500. Rasmussen will also attempt to compete in the Indy 500 in a third ECR entry that remains to be determined. With two competitors, the No. 20 entry will compete alongside the No. 21 entry that returns for returning full-time competitor Rinus VeeKay from Hoofddorp, Netherlands.
Coming off a strong season to date, Juncos Hollinger Racing, which has entered into a technical alliance with Arrow McLaren, will feature a new face piloting the team’s No. 77 Dallara-Chevrolet as Romain Grosjean replaces Callum Ilott in the entry while Agustin Canapino returns for a second stint with the team. Grosjean, a former Formula One competitor who competes under the French flag, transitions to JHR following a two-year campaign at Andretti Global, where he has registered six podiums and five runner-up results to date. Meanwhile, Canapino, a 33-year-old native from Arrecifes, Argentina, retains driving responsibilities of the No. 78 Chevrolet after ending up in 21st place with 180 points during last season’s championship standings.
Meyer Shank Racing will feature a new overhaul to its driver lineup for the 2024 campaign with the additions of new full-time competitors Tom Blomqvist and Felix Rosenqvist. Blomqvist, the 2022 IMSA SportsCar champion from Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, who made select starts with MSR this past season, joins the team as a first-time IndyCar competitor on a full-time basis in the No. 66 Dallara-Honda while Rosenqvist, a one-time IndyCar race winner from Värnamo, Sweden, joins MSR to drive the No. 60 Honda, replacing veteran Simon Pagenaud, following a five-year campaign competing between Chip Ganassi Racing and Arrow McLaren, where he has registered a total of six podiums to his IndyCar resume. Returning to the team for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 is Hélio Castroneves, a four-time champion of the Indianapolis 500 who delivered the team’s first IndyCar victory during the 2021 Indy 500 and returns to compete for his record-setting fifth Indy 500 crown in the No. 06 Dallara-Honda.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, which achieved a single victory in the Streets of Toronto, Canada, this past season, welcomes Pietro Fittipaldi to its driver lineup as he will be piloting the No. 30 Dallara-Honda on a full-time basis and compete alongside returning names Graham Rahal and Christian Lundgaard, the latter who achieved his first career victory at Toronto. The 2024 season is set to mark Fittipaldi’s first full-time campaign in the IndyCar circuit after he made a combined nine starts during the 2018 and 2021 seasons. He is a former champion of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and the World Series Formula V8 3.5 division.
Lastly, Team Penske returns as a three-car stable with the same competitors for a third consecutive season, headlined by returning champions Josef Newgarden and Will Power along with Scott McLaughlin. Newgarden, the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion and a two-time IndyCar champion from Hendersonville, Tennessee, retains driving responsibilities of the No. 2 Dallara-Chevrolet, where he won four races in 2023, as he competes alongside Will Power, the 2018 Indy 500 champion and another two-time champion from Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, who returns to pilot the No. 12 Chevrolet and strives to return to Victory Lane after going winless in 2023. After recording a single victory and finishing in third place during this past season’s IndyCar campaign, McLaughlin, a three-time Supercars champion from Christchurch, New Zealand, returns to pilot Penske’s No. 3 Chevrolet for a third full-time season. With familiar names retaining their places at Team Penske, the organization strives for both an 18th IndyCar championship and a 20th Indianapolis 500 title for the 2024 season.
Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.
With nearly the entire grid of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR Series field set, the season is scheduled to commence at the Streets of St. Petersburg for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 10, 2024. The opener’s air broadcast coverage will be provided on NBC while the time start remains to be determined.
Pietro Fittipaldi will be competing on a full-time NTT IndyCar Series basis in the No. 30 Dallara-Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for the 2024 season.
The news comes as the 27-year-old Fittipaldi from Miami, Florida, spent this season competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Team JOTA, where he achieved a victory in the Six Hours of Monza in the LMP2 class. Fittipaldi, who is also the grandson of two-time Formula One champion and the 1989 IndyCar champion Emerson fittipaldi, is also in his fifth consecutive season serving as a test and reserve competitor for MoneyGram Haas F1 Team.
“It’s an honor to join a team of the caliber of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing,” Fittipaldi said. “With the experience I’ve gained over the last few years in F1 and other racing series, I am looking forward to the challenge of racing in INDYCAR, one of the most competitive and versatile racing series in the world. I want to thank Mr. Rahal, Mr. Lanigan, and Mr. Letterman for the opportunity and their trust and confidence in me. I can’t wait to get started.”
Fittipaldi, who grew up competing in karts, achieved the 2011 title in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, with five career victories under his belt through 2012 before he moved to Europe to pursue a racing career in open wheels in 2013. In 2014, he achieved the Protyre Formula Renault Championship for MGR Motorsport before he graduated to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2016 and winning the MRF Challenge Formula 2000 title. He would then record a championship in the Formula V8 3.5 series for Lotus in 2017 before being named a part-time competitor for Dale Coyne Racing for the 2018 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Despite breaking both legs following an accident in the World Endurace Championship 6 Hours of Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Fittipaldi competed in the final five IndyCar events on the schedule, where he achieved a career-best ninth-place finish at Portland International Raceway.
In 2019, Fittipaldi became a reserve and test competitor for Haas F1 Team. He also spent the season competing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for Audi Sport’s Team WRT and Team Rosberg along with Pinnacle Motorsport in the 2019-20 F3 Asian Championship. In 2020, Fittipaldi made his first two career starts in Formula One for Haas in the final two events of the season, where he filled in for the injured Romain Grosjean and recorded his best result of 17th place in the Sakhir Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit.
In 2021, Fittipaldi made three IndyCar starts for Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing, where he notched a season-best 15th-place result at Texas Motor Speedway and finished 25th in his first Indianapolis 500 start. He also competed in the 2022 European Le Man Series with Inter Europol Competition, where he notched a career-best runner-up result in the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in the LMP2 class.
Through nine IndyCar career starts, Fittipaldi has achieved an average-finishing result of 20.3. The 2024 season will mark Fittipaldi’s first full-time campaign in the IndyCar circuit as he will compete alongside new teammate Christian Lundggard, who achieved his first IndyCar victory in the Honda Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Canada, this past season. The team’s third competitor, Graham Rahal, is also expected to return with a new extension that has yet to be announced.
“I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to have Pietro join RLL as the driver of the No. 30 car,” Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, said. “He has had previous experience in INDYCAR in doing partial seasons with Dale Coyne Racing and impressively qualifying 13th at Indianapolis in 2021. I got to meet him then and since that time he has worked hard to become the reserve driver for Haas F1’s team. And from our discussions, I have been impressed with the maturity and experience that he will now bring to our program. I look forward to seeing what he can do over a full season of INDYCAR competition in 2024.”
“We are proud and excited to welcome Pietro to our team,” Mike Lanigan, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, added. “The Fittipaldi family name has always been associated with winning and competitiveness in our sport. The legacy lives on with Pietro and we welcome the challenges in keeping the tradition alive.”
Fittipaldi’s move to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing means that he will become the sixth different competitor to pilot the team’s No. 30 entry since 2020. The No. 30 Honda commenced this past IndyCar’s season with Jack Harvey, but Harvey was released by the team after 14 starts and finishing no higher than 13th. The team then ran the No. 30 entry with Conor Day at World Wide Technology Raceway before former Formula 2 competitor Jüri Vips piloted the ride in the final two events of the 2023 season.
With his plans for next season set, Fittipaldi’s first full-time campaign in the NTT INDYCAR Series begins with the 2024 season-opening event at the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The event is scheduled to occur on March 10 and will be broadcast on NBC.
Kyle Kirkwood has inked a multi-year contract extension to remain with Andretti Global in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, beginning in 2024.
The news comes as the 24-year-old Kirkwood from Jupiter, Florida, is coming off his second full-time campaign in the IndyCar Series and first with Andretti, where he notched his first two career victories in the series, the first occurring in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach at the Streets of Long Beach, California, in April and the second occurring in the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Street Circuit in August. Coupled with five additional results in the top 10, Kirkwood finished in 11th place in this year’s driver’s standings with 352 points.
“I am thrilled to be able to continue with Andretti Global for years to come,” Kirkwood said. “We have built something special within the team this year and I’m excited to see what we can do next season in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda. It’s fantastic that I will now have the opportunity to work with the same group – it’s a luxury I haven’t had the privilege of having since my karting days. Now we can put our heads down and fully focus on winning races and becoming a strong Championship contender. I have such a huge respect for this team and it will be an honor to continue to call myself an INDYCAR driver for Andretti Global.”
Kirkwood, whose racing career started with karts, is the first competitor to win a championship across every Road to Indy series, a program that provides a scholarship-funded path for aspiring competitors to compete in IndyCar and the Indianapolis 500. He accomplished this feat by winning the U.S. F2000 National Championship in 2018, the Indy Pro 2000 Championship in 2019 and the Indy Lights Championshp in 2021. He also recorded the Formula 4 United States Championship in 2017.
A year after winning the Indy Lights title with Andretti Global, Kirkwood joined A.J. Foyt Enterprises for his first full-time stint in the IndyCar Series in 2022. During the season, his best on-track result was a 10th-place run at the Streets of Long Beach. He concluded the season with an average-finishing result of 20.2 and a 24th-place finish in the final standings with 183 points before joining Andretti Global.
Through 34 career starts in the IndyCar Series, Kirkwood has achieved two victories, two podiums, one pole, 93 laps led and an average-finishing result of 16.6.
With the announcement, Kirkwood becomes the third Andretti Global competitor to be locked into a multi-year contract with the organization alongside teammates Colton Herta, whose contract runs through 2027, and Marcus Ericsson, who joins Andretti after spending thre previous four seasons at Chip Ganassi Racing.
“Kyle’s dedication and talent have been instrumental in our team’s success this past season, and he has continued to show that he has what it takes to compete at the highest level in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES,” Michael Andretti, Andretti Global CEO & Chairman, added. “Our goal has always been to consistently compete for wins and Championships and we felt that solidifying Kyle’s future at Andretti was key to making that happen. Bringing Kyle into the multi-year plans along with Colton [Herta] and Marcus [Ericsson] will only strengthen the continuity we’ve been looking for in our INDYCAR program.”
With his future plans set, Kirkwood and Andretti Global will return to action at the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, on March 10, 2024, for the start of a new NTT INDYCAR season.
Chip Ganassi Racing will be expanding as a five-car operation for the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season by adding Kyffin Simpson to its driver lineup from the Indy NXT.
The announcement comes as the 18-year-old Simpson from the Cayman Islands, is coming off his second season in the Firestone Indy NXT Series, where he recorded a pole position, two podiums, six top-10 results in 13 starts and a 10th-place result in the final standings. It also comes amid a eventful season for Simpson, who won the 4 Hours of Dubai at Dubai Autodrome in the Asian Le Mans Series, the 4 Hours of Le Castellet at Circuit Paul Ricard in the European Le Mans Series and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Florida’s Sebring International Raceway in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, all under the Le Mans Prototype 2 category.
“It’s been incredible working with Chip Ganassi Racing as their development driver over the last couple years and I’ve been able to learn so much,” Simpson said. “I am very excited to be making the next step to INDYCAR with this team. I had a great time at the test and I can’t wait to get back in the car. It’s been my dream to race in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and it’s an honor to make it happen now with one of the best teams in the series. I’m really looking forward to working more closely with the entire team and the drivers. I want to give all the glory to God, and I also want to thank Chip and Mike [Hull] for giving me this opportunity, Ridgeline Lubricants and The American Legion for their support, and of course my family.”
Simpson, who became a development competitor for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2022, commenced his professional racing career by competing for Velocity Racing Development in the Formula 4 United States Championship region in 2020 after spending the previous nine season racing go-karts. Competing for HMD Motorsports in the Formula Reginal Americas Championship during the 2020 season, he then joined TJ Speed Motorsports during the following season and captured the championship in a season where he won seven races and notched 13 podiums in 18 races.
During the 2021 campaign, he made 16 starts in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship for Juncos Hollinger Racing before moving up to Indy Lights in 2022, where he commenced the season with TJ Speed Motorsports before concluding it with HMD Motorsport and settled in ninth place in the final standings.
The addition of Simpson, who tested an IndyCar car for Chip Ganassi Racing in January 2023 at Sebring International Raceway, completes CGR’s driver lineup for the 2024 season that will include reigning two-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou, six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, the 2023 IndyCar Rookie of the Year Marcus Armstrong and the 2022 Indy NXT champion Linus Lundqvist. The 2024 season is set to mark Chip Ganassi Racing’s first time fielding five entries on a full-time basis.
“We welcome Kyffin as a teammate to our INDYCAR program,” Mike Hull, Chip Ganassi Racing Manager Director, added. “He has been integrated into a Chip Ganassi Racing multi-year defined development program which now provides the opportunity at open-wheel’s highest level. He has already tested an INDYCAR with more to follow as an INDY NXT graduate. In addition, he is already a proven winner in IMSA at the 12 Hours of Sebring in LMP2 and on an LMP2 global stage in the ASLM and ELMS series.”
The NTT INDYCAR Series’ drivers and teams are currently in an off-season period while the 2024 racing schedule remains to be determined.
A new beginning is in the making for David Malukas as he will be joining Arrow McLaren on a multiyear basis, beginning in the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season.
The move comes as the 21-year-old Malukas from Chicago, Illinois, is currently wrapping up his second full-time season in the IndyCar circuit for Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports, where he has achieved a podium in the form of a third-place finish at World Wide Technology Raceway in August. He has also racked up six top-10 results through 16-scheduled events as he is currently ranked in 16th place in this year’s driver’s standings.
“I can’t wait to race in papaya next season,” Malukas said in a released statement. “Arrow McLaren has been a threat to the top contenders all season long, and I’m excited to join the team and see what their Chevrolets can do. Pato [O’Ward] and Alexander [Rossi] both know what it takes to win, so it will be fun racing alongside them and learning from them as well.”
A former race winner across the Pro Mazda Championship and Indy Lights, Malukas made his inaugural presence in the IndyCar circuit in 2022, where he piloted the No. 18 Dallara-Honda for Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports on a full-time basis. Finishing 26th in his series debut at the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, Malukas finished no higher than 11th twice during the first eight events on the schedule before notching his first top-10 career finish with a ninth-place run at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Despite achieving only a single top-10 result during his next five starts, which was an eighth-place run at Iowa Speedway in July, the Chicago native delivered with his maiden podium in IndyCar competition by finishing in the runner-up spot behind Josef Newgarden at World Wide Technology Raceway after making a late rally to overtake Scott McLaughlin on the final lap. Ultimately, Malukas would end up 16th in the final championship standings with 305 points and fall short in claiming the 2022 IndyCar Rookie-of-the-Year title to Christian Lundgaard.
Through 33 career starts in IndyCar, Malukas has recorded two podiums, 12 laps led and an average-finishing result of 15.0 as he aims to elevate his IndyCar status and performance within the McLaren organization, where he will be replacing Felix Rosenqvist as Rosenqvist will be departing the McLaren organization following a three-year run for Meyer Shank Racing in 2024.
“We’ve been extremely impressed with how quickly David has gotten up to speed in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES,” Gavin Ward, Arrow McLaren Racing Director, said. “At 21, he’s already one of the strongest oval racers in the field and his competitiveness on road and street courses has been steadily improving. That speed combined with an excellent attitude and work ethic makes us thrilled to have him join the team.”
“David is an up and comer in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and based on what we’ve seen from him so far in his first two seasons, I’m confident there’s a lot of talent we can extract from him through the resources we have at Arrow McLaren,” Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, added. “Beyond what he can do on a racetrack, he’s got a great personality and we’re excited to welcome him to the McLaren Racing family.”
The addition of Malukas completes Arrow McLaren’s 2024 IndyCar lineup as the Chicago native will be teammates to Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi, both of whom return for their fourth and second year, respectively, with the McLaren team. Arrow McLaren is also set to run four cars in the 2024 Indianapolis 500 as the 2021 NASCAR champion Kyle Larson will attempt to qualify for the event while piloting the organization’s No. 17 entry.
With his future plans set, Malukas aims to conclude the 2023 INDYCAR season on a strong note by competing in this weekend’s season finale Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The event’s coverage is scheduled to occur on Sunday, September 10, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
Chip Ganassi Racing finalized its driver lineup for the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season by announcing the signing of Marcus Amstrong to a multi-year contract extension and elevating him as a full-time competitor.
The announcement comes as the 23-year-old Armstrong from Christchurch, New Zealand, is currently embarking in his first IndyCar season with Chip Ganassi Racing on a part-time basis, where he has been piloting CGR’s No. 11 Dallara-Honda on the road courses and street circuits. With a current average-finishing result of 13.5 through 11 starts, Armstrong leads this year’s IndyCar rookie standings entering this weekend’s season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
“I am very proud and excited to continue with Chip Ganassi Racing for next year and beyond,” Armstrong said. “Together with this very talented and experienced team, I am confident we can compete at the highest level in this championship. I feel very grateful that Chip has given me the time to adapt to INDYCAR and has helped me every step of the way in what has been a good season.”
“I’ve spent the year learning from a great group of people, including my teammates and Dario [Franchitti],” Armstrong added. “I’m very grateful for how much help I’ve received from each team member. With a season under my belt, I now want to turn these lessons into results. I will be racing on the ovals for the first time next year and it’s an exciting challenge that I’m confident I can learn quickly. I spent the entire month of May either in the engineering office or in the pit stand this year, trying to familiarize myself with the details of oval racing. It’s a challenge that excites me a lot.”
Prior to IndyCar, Armstrong, who commenced his career in 2010 in karting, competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship from 2020 to 2022, where he accumulated four victories and eight podiums in 75 starts. He also competed in the FIA Formula 3 Championship division in 2018 and 2019, where he recorded a total of four victories, four poles and 17 podiums in 46 starts, with his best points result being a runner-up result in 2019. His biggest accomplishment while competing up the motorsport ladder was winning the 2017 Italian F4 Championship in a season where he notched four victories, six poles and 13 podiums in 21 starts.
After testing an IndyCar for the first time with Dale Coyne Racing at Sebring International Raceway in October 2022, Chip Ganassi Racing signed Armstrong to its driver lineup as a part-time competitor for this season, where he drove the team’s No. 11 entry on the road courses and street circuits while two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Takuma Sato piloted the entry on the oval circuits. Finishing 11th in his IndyCar debut in the season opener at the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, Armstrong has recorded four top-nine results and eight top-13 results in 11 starts. His best on-track result is a seventh-place result at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Canada as he currently leads the rookie standings by 26 points over Agustin Canapino with one event remaining on this year’s schedule.
“Marcus Armstrong has proven in 2023 his quick adaptation to INDYCAR road and street tracks,” Mike Hull, Chip Ganassi Racing Managing Director, added. “He’s ready to be a full-time Chip Ganassi Racing INDYCAR driver. Winning is integrated into his racing resume. This includes his pursuit of the 2023 INDYCAR Rookie of the Year. He knows how to win as a teammate. Next comes ovals at the highest global level. We look forward to a long-term relationship driven by growth and opportunity in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with Marcus.”
The announcement of Armstrong’s full-time campaign in the IndyCar circuit also completes Chip Ganassi Racing’s four-car lineup for the 2024 season as the Australian will compete alongside six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, recently crowned two-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou and Linus Lundqvist, who was announced to be joining CGR as a rookie full-time competitor for the upcoming season a week ago.
With his future plans set, Armstrong aims to conclude the 2023 INDYCAR season on a strong note and with this year’s rookie title by competing in this weekend’s season finale Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The event’s coverage is scheduled to occur on Sunday, September 10, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
