America's premier open-wheel racing championship returns for its 99th season. Now under new management with "The Captain" Roger Penske acquiring the IndyCar series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway over the offseason (one could say he won the American open-wheel racing civil war). Under his stewardship, hopefully the sport will grow and reach new highs both in North America and abroad. Highlighting the 2020 campaign is the addition of a new "aeroscreen" safety device which should help in deflecting away debris from the cockpit area. Oh yeah, there is also a certain Spaniard once again coming back to the Indy 500 looking for the final jewel in his Triple Crown. Hopefully his team finds the correct shade of orange paint this time. The universal aerokitted Dallara DW12 proved to be a catalyst for amazing racing in the two seasons and this season with more tweaks to the package, is promising to provide another competitive season. Several new drivers are entering the series from both sides of the Atlantic looking to challenge the old guard of IndyCar.
Where to watch?
NBC and NBCSN will carry live coverage of all race events. For international viewers see below for the broadcasters in your country.
All practice and qualifying sessions can be viewed on NBC's digital subscription platform NBC Sports Gold.
The Race Calendar:
The Car:
All teams and drivers drive the Dallara DW12 powered by either a Chevrolet or a Honda engine. The engines are twin turbo 2.2L V6 producing up to 675 horsepower, depending on the track. On road courses, drivers can use a push-to-pass button giving them a boost of 60 horsepower. The cars can be configured in an oval configuration or a road course configuration. All cars and teams use spec Firestone tires. On road courses, teams can use a primary tire compound and an alternate tire compound. The alternate red sidewalled tires provide better grip at the expense of tire life.
The 2018 season heralded the introduction of a universal aerokit, meant to evoke memories of the late 90s/early 00s CART cars. The aerokit produces most of the downforce in the undertray, resulting in slower cornering speeds but higher top end speed in comparison to the previous aero package. It also has an added effect of reducing dirty air, allowing a car to more easily follow and overtake another.
New for 2020 is the addition of an "aeroscreen", a device developed with Red Bull Advanced Technologies meant to protect drivers from cockpit intrusions.
Oval Configuration:
Road Course Configuration:
Full-Time Teams and Drivers:
A.J. Foyt Enterprises (Chevrolet)
Driver Power Ranking: Bourdais (B-), Kanaan (C), Kellett (?), Pinball (D)
Team Power Ranking: (D)
Owned by four-time Indy 500 winner, 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, Daytona 500 winner and the winningest IndyCar driver in history, A.J. Foyt. Foyt's team hasn't quite lived up to its namesake ever since his retirement from racing, frequently taking up the rear of the field. The addition of Bourdais may reveal whether there is an fundamental issue with the team that is preventing its drivers from being competitive.
Andretti Autosport (Honda)
Driver Power Ranking: Andretti (C), Herta (B), Hunter-Reay (B+), Rossi (A), Veach (C-)
Team Power Ranking: (A-)
Owned and managed by former IndyCar driver Michael Andretti. This team is just below the powerhouses of Penske and Ganassi, but are very strong at the Indy 500. The All-American lineup includes 4 returnees and a sophomore in Colton Herta.
Arrow McLaren SP (Chevrolet)
Driver Power Ranking: Askew (?), O'Ward (?)
Team Power Ranking: (B-)
Founded by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt. After a testing crash in 2000 rendered him quadriplegic, Schmidt made the transition from driver to team owner competing in the Indy Lights series. His team moved up to the IndyCar series and achieved sporadic success. McLaren Racing reached an agreement with Sam Scmhidt Petersen Motorsports to run the team as a joint entry expanding and returning the McLaren name to IndyCar racing. The newly rechristened team puts forward two promising rookies for their effort, coincidentally making Fernando Alonso the driver with the most Indy 500 experience.
Carlin Racing (Chevrolet)
Driver Power Ranking: Chilton (D), Daly (?)
Team Power Ranking: (D)
Successful European junior series team owner Trevor Carlin made a foray into America with little success after relying on paydrivers, most notably Max Chilton. Chilton drives the #59 for road/street courses and the Indy 500, while Conor Daly drives it for oval events.
Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda)
Driver Power Ranking: Dixon (A), Ericsson (C), Rosenqvist (B)
Team Power Ranking: (A)
One of the two top dogs in IndyCar, Chip Ganassi Racing along with rival Team Penske dominate the sport. Chip Ganassi has fielded many championship winning cars in his 20+ years in the sport.
Dale Coyne Racing (Honda)
Driver Power Ranking: Ferrucci (MAGA), Palou (?)
Team Rower Ranking: (B-)
Infamous for employing only ridebuyers in years past, Dale Coyne has started to hire drivers based on merit. As a result, his team has made quite the turnaround from being a backmarker team. This year, Dale Coyne once again returns to his paydriver employing ways with the extension of European racing outcast Santino Ferrucci. Palou however, is a promising prospect fresh from a strong rookie Super Formula campaign in Japan placing 3rd in the championship.
Ed Carpenter Racing (Chevrolet)
Driver Power Ranking: Carpenter (Ovals: B+, Road/Street Courses: F), Daly (?), Veekay (?)
Team Power Ranking: (C)
Owned and managed by driver Ed Carpenter, this team particularly performs well on ovals. The stepson of Tony George (the man who nearly destroyed IndyCar racing), Ed Carpenter is a stereotypical American race car driver who literally can only turn left as he refuses to drive on road courses and street circuits. Carpenter however, is quite good at only turning left. He has Conor Daly filling in the #20 when right turns are involved. Rinus Veekay, a frontrunner in the Indy Lights series drives the other entry.
Meyer Shank Racing (Honda)
Driver Power Ranking: Harvey (C+)
Team Power Ranking: (C)
Meyer Shank Racing is an IMSA regular making its first full time campaign in 2020 with their go to guy Jack Harvey. They are receiving technical support from Andretti Autosport.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda)
Driver Power Ranking: Rahal (B-), Sato (B)
Team Power Ranking: (B-)
A team with a long history in IndyCar, but not quite as successful as the top dogs. RLL is co-owned by former driver Bobby Rahal, former Late Show host David Letterman and businessman Mike Lanigan. Graham Rahal is the son of three-time series champion Bobby Rahal. Unlike Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal actually has talent and wasn't given the race seat by his father. Takuma Sato has a reputation of being fast but sometimes pushing too hard and crashing. His motto best describes his driving style: "No attack, no chance". He hasn't changed his driving style much when he joined the IndyCar series resulting in a lot of work for mechanics and large bills from Dallara.
Team Penskewinslol (Chevrolet)
Driver Power Ranking: Newgarden (A), Pagenaud (A), Power (A-)
Team Power Ranking: (S)
Roger Penske is a veritable juggernaut in the racing world. His operations span the globe having competed in IndyCar, NASCAR, Le Mans, Formula 1 and V8 Supercars. To race for Team Penske is both an honour and a privilege, as his team's expertise have led to 14 IndyCar championships and 16 Indy 500 victories. Roger Penske does not mess around and only hires the best drivers available. Indeed, his driver lineup consists entirely of IndyCar champions. Team Penske, along with rival Chip Ganassi Racing, are perennial contenders for the championship.
Last edited:
