The 2019 NTT IndyCar Series was the 24th season of the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

and the 108th official championship season of

American open wheel racing American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive events ...

. The premier event was the 2019 Indianapolis 500, with

Will Power William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...

entering as the defending winner.

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

entered as the defending Manufacturers' Cup champion.

Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...

entered the season as the defending National Champion.

Josef Newgarden Josef Nicolai Newgarden (born December 22, 1990) is an American race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series full-time for Team Penske. He is the 2017 and 2019 IndyCar Series Champion and 2011 Indy Lights champion. Career Karting Newga ...

won his second Drivers' Championship, while

won the Manufacturers' Championship for the second year in a row, and it was the manufacturer's first championship of the Reiwa era. Rookie of the Year honors went to

Felix Rosenqvist Felix Rosenqvist (born 7 November 1991) is a Swedish professional racing driver who currently drives the No. 6 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP in the NTT IndyCar Series. He was named Rookie of the Year for the IndyCar Series in 2019. Racing car ...

Series news

*On March 21, 2018,

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

announced that it would become the sole United States television rights holder under a new three-year contract, replacing the previous split between

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and NBC Sports' cable network

NBCSN NBCSN was an American sports television television channel, channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated t ...

(whose involvement in the series dated back to its tenure as Versus, prior to

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

's acquisition of NBC). Eight races per-season will air on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

, including the Indianapolis 500 (ending a run of 54 consecutive editions aired by ABC), and supplemental digital content is offered through NBC Sports' subscription product

NBC Sports Gold NBC Sports Gold was a suite of over-the-top subscription streaming television services operated by NBC Sports Group; the individual services (referred to as "passes") featured coverage of sports properties from NBC Sports, often as companions and ...

. As with the previous contracts, the majority of races air on NBCSN. * On November 5, 2018, IndyCar announced that it had formed a new division known as IndyCar Media to manage the series' international media rights (replacing

ESPN International ESPN International is a family of sportscasting and production networks around the world. It was begun in 1989, is operated by ESPN Inc. and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Operating regions Latin America Spanish-speaking countries * ES ...

). * On November 27, 2018, IndyCar announced that

Speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

had signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement to be the official fuel provider of IndyCar beginning in 2019, replacing

Sunoco Sunoco LP is an American master limited partnership organized under Delaware state laws and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that is a wholesale distributor of motor fuels. It distributes fuel to more than 5,500 Sunoco-branded gas stations, ...

after nine years as a fuel provider as the company elected to concentrating on

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

and

NHRA The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorspo ...

fuel partnerships. *All entrants will use 2018-specification engines through the 2020 season as the series concentrates on developing the new 2021 engines. * On December 17, 2018, it was announced that Jay Frye had been promoted to president of IndyCar. * On January 15, 2019, IndyCar announced NTT as the new series title sponsor on a multi-year deal, along with becoming the official technology partner of the series and Indianapolis 500.

Verizon Communications Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas i ...

had previously ended its title sponsorship of the series after the 2018 season. * On February 6, 2019 it was announced that

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is a tire company founded by Harvey Firestone (1868–1938) in 1900 initially to supply solid rubber side-wire tires for fire apparatus, and later, pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled ...

had signed an extension to remain as the series' sole tire supplier through the 2025 season.

Confirmed entries

The following teams, entries, and drivers have been announced to compete in the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season. All teams will use a

spec Spec may refer to: *Specification (technical standard), an explicit set of requirements to be satisfied by a material, product, or service **datasheet, or "spec sheet" People * Spec Harkness (1887-1952), American professional baseball pitcher ...

Dallara DW12 The Dallara DW12 (formally named the Dallara IR-12) is an open-wheel formula racing car developed and produced by Italian manufacturer Dallara for use in the IndyCar Series. It was developed for use in the 2012 IndyCar Series season, replacing t ...

chassis with UAK18 aero kit and Firestone tires.

Team changes

On September 19, 2018, it was announced that George Michael Steinbrenner IV's Steinbrenner Racing would join forces with Harding Racing to form a planned two-car operation under the name

Harding Steinbrenner Racing Harding Racing logo prior to partnership Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport was an auto racing team that competed in the IndyCar Series. Founded as Harding Racing in 2017 by businessman Mike Harding, the team would form partnerships in 2019 ...

. On February 11, it was revealed that the team's second engine lease was only for the Indianapolis 500.

Meyer Meyer may refer to: People *Meyer (surname), listing people so named * Meyer (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name Companies * Meyer Burger, a Swiss mechanical engineering company * Meyer Corporation * Meyer Sound Labo ...

Shank Racing, after running a 6-race schedule in 2018, expanded their season to 10 races in the 2019 season with driver Jack Harvey. On October 17, 2018, it was announced that Ed Carpenter Racing and Scuderia Corsa would team up to field Ed Jones in all road and street course events and the Indianapolis 500. On November 10, 2018 it was announced that

McLaren Racing McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

would return to the IndyCar Series at the 2019 Indianapolis 500 with

Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...

behind the wheel. On November 26, 2018, it was revealed that McLaren's entry would be powered by Chevrolet. On December 6, 2018 it was also announced that

will switch to

engines from 2019 season beyond after spending two seasons with

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

engines. On December 17, 2018, it was announced that

DragonSpeed DragonSpeed Racing is an American racing team that competes in the European Le Mans Series, FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2019, the team entered the NTT IndyCar Series with a five race schedule, including t ...

would make their IndyCar debut in 2019, in a 5-race program including the 2019 Indianapolis 500. The entry will be powered by

and piloted by

Ben Hanley Benjamin Michael Hanley is a British racing driver who was a part of Renault F1 Team's Renault Driver Development Program from 2006 to 2008. He raced two seasons part time in the NTT IndyCar Series. Currently he is racing in the FIA World Endu ...

, who will make his IndyCar debut along with the team. On February 28, 2019,

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an automotive racing organization that competes in the IndyCar Series and Nitro Rallycross. The team is owned by Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen, Mini, and Subaru dealer Dennis Reinbold. Off the track, Dreyer ...

announced that they would once again return to run the Indy 500, retaining driver

Sage Karam Sage Rennie Karam (born March 5, 1995) is an American professional racing driver who competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 43 and 45 Chevrolet Camaros for Alpha Prime Racing and part-time in the IndyCar Series, drivi ...

for the fourth consecutive year. On April 22, the team announced that J. R. Hildebrand would return to drive for the team at the Indy 500 for the second year in a row, this time driving with the No. 48 to honor

Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner who reached racing's highest levels starting in 1958. Gurney won races in the Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, ...

Driver changes

After both running the final race of the 2018 season at Sonoma with Harding Racing, 2018 Indy Lights champion

Patricio O'Ward Patricio "Pato" O'Ward Junco (born 6 May 1999) is a Mexican professional auto racing driver who competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. He is the 2018 Indy Lights champion. Early life and care ...

and runner-up

Colton Herta Colton Thomas Herta (born March 30, 2000) is an American open-wheel racing driver currently competing in the NTT IndyCar Series for Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian. He is the youngest person to ever win an IndyCar Series race. He is the ...

were announced to run the full season with the new partnership of

. However, on February 11, O'Ward and HSR parted ways after the team was unable to support a full-season program for O'Ward. O'Ward later moved to Carlin where he will drive the No. 31 car in 13 races, including the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

as the team's third entry as

Charlie Kimball Charles Newton Kimball (born February 20, 1985) is an American race car driver currently competing in the IndyCar Series with A. J. Foyt Enterprises He has scored a win, six podiums, and 13 top 5s. His best season result was ninth in 2013 and 201 ...

will race the No. 23 car at the event. On September 28, 2018,

Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...

announced that they had signed

to drive for the team during the 2019 season. He will replace Ed Jones in the No. 10 car. On October 17, 2018, Ed Carpenter Racing announced Ed Jones would replace

Jordan King Jordan King (born 26 February 1994 in Warwick) is a British racing driver from Harbury, Warwickshire who last competed in the 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship. He is currently a reserve and development driver for the Mahindra Formu ...

driving the No. 20 car on road courses and street circuits. Jones will also drive the No. 63 car in the

as Ed Carpenter will continue driving the No. 20 car on ovals. On October 30, 2018, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports announced that Formula One driver

Marcus Ericsson Marcus Thorbjörn Ericsson (; born 2 September 1990) is a Swedish professional racing driver. He competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 8 Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing and is the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner. Ericsson previously ...

would join the team for the 2019 season to replace the disabled Robert Wickens, though Ericsson will be racing the No. 7 car instead of Wickens' No. 6, which remains open if or "when he wants and is able to return". On November 14, 2018, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced that

would join the team for the

. On January 30, 2019, Andretti Autosport announced that

Conor Daly Conor J. Daly (born December 15, 1991) is an American professional racing driver who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet Ca ...

would join the team for the

. On August 8, 2019, Andretti Autosport announced that Daly would return to the team for the final race of the season at Laguna Seca. On May 31, 2019, Trevor Carlin revealed that Patricio O'Ward would not be competing at the Iowa and Gateway rounds, but the second Carlin car would be run at those two events. In late June, Red Bull announced that O'Ward would be replacing

Dan Ticktum Daniel Charles Anthony Ticktum (born 8 June 1999) is a British racing driver currently racing with the NIO 333 FE Team in the Formula E World Championship. Ticktum became a member of the Red Bull Junior Team in 2017. During his time with Red ...

at Team Mugen in

Super Formula The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series. It is considered as being the top level of single-seater racing in Japan and regional motorsports in Asia. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) an ...

. With this move to another series, and well-known budgetary restrictions after his crash at Indianapolis, O'Ward's rookie IndyCar season was cut short after only 8 races. On July 2, Carlin announced that

would take O'Ward's seat in the No. 31 car at Toronto, which was then extended to Iowa. On July 23, Carlin announced that

RC Enerson Richard Clayton "RC" Enerson (born March 6, 1997) is an American professional racing driver. He is the son of former Indy Lights team owner Neil Enerson, who owned Team E Racing and has previously competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. Ra ...

would drive the No. 31 car for the round at Mid-Ohio.

filled in the final two gaps in the schedule at Gateway and Portland, expanding his planned 5-race schedule to 7 races. On June 4, 2019, Carlin announced that Max Chilton would not be competing in the last 4 oval events of the season at Texas, Iowa, Pocono, and Gateway. Conor Daly was announced as the driver of the No. 59 car at Texas on the same day, and the No. 59 car will continue to be run for the full season. It was announced on August 12 that Daly would compete in the last two oval races at Pocono and Gateway in the No. 59 car. On August 29, 2019, it was announced that

had been called up by Alfa Romeo Racing in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

to be on reserve driver duty at the

Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix (French: ''Grand Prix de Belgique''; Dutch: ''Grote Prijs van België''; German: ''Großer Preis von Belgien'') is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race of ...

was announced at the same time to be replacing Ericsson for the round at Portland.

Schedule

All races were in the United States apart from the Toronto round.

Schedule changes and notes

* On June 22, 2018, it was announced that the Phoenix race at

ISM Raceway Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. ...

would not be on the 2019 schedule. * On June 24, 2018, IndyCar and

Road America Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Champ ...

announced a three-year contract extension, keeping the circuit under contract through the 2021 season. * On July 17, 2018, it was announced that Laguna Seca will be added to the schedule on a three-year contract and will be the 2019 season finale. The event will replace the

Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma The Indycar Grand Prix of Sonoma was an IndyCar Series race held at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. The USAC Championship Car circuit raced at the circuit in 1970. In 2005, American open wheel racing returned to the circuit with an IndyCa ...

. It will be the first event there since the 2004 Champ Car season. * On July 30, 2018, it was announced the

Iowa 300 The Hy-VeeDeals.com 250 presented by DoorDash and Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300 presented by Google are IndyCar Series races held at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. The first event was held in 2007. From 2007 to 2013, it was a 250-lap (218.75 mi ...

will return to a Saturday night race. * On August 10, 2018, it was announced that Pocono Raceway will return in 2019. * On August 16, 2018, an interview with IndyCar's Stephen Starks revealed that

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

would return, while

Barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

's date could move to early April which in the final schedule it did. * On August 23, 2018,

Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24° ...

confirmed a multi-year agreement to host the IndyCar Series through 2022. * On September 4, 2018, a March 24, 2019 race was announced at

Circuit of the Americas Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 FIA-specification motor racing track and facilities located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas, in the United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand ...

.
/ref> The ''

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...

'' reported a 5-year contract for the venue.

Results

Points standings

* Ties are broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc.; then by finishing position in the previous race; then by random draw.

Driver standings

* At all races except the Indy 500, the pole position qualifier earns one point. The top nine Indy 500 qualifiers receive points, descending from 9 points for the pole position. At double header races, the fastest qualifier of each qualifying group earns one point. * One point is awarded to each driver who leads at least one race lap. Two additional points are awarded to the driver who leads most laps during a race. * Entrant-initiated engine change-outs before the engine reaches their required distance run will result in the loss of ten points.

Entrant standings

* Based on the entrant, used for oval qualifications order, and starting grids when qualifying is cancelled. * Only full-time entrants, and at-large part-time entrants shown.

Manufacturer standings

* All manufacturer points (including qualifying points, race finish points, and race win bonus points) can only be earned by full-season entrants, and provided they are using their four engine allocation. Ineligible cars are removed from the finishing order used for race finish points. * The top two finishing entrants from each manufacturer in each race score points for their respective manufacturer. The manufacturer that wins each race will be awarded five additional points. * At all races except the Indy 500, the manufacturer who qualifies on pole earns one point. At the Indy 500, the fastest Saturday qualifier earns one point, while the pole position winner on Sunday earns two points. * For every full-season engine used during the Indy 500 that reaches 2,000 total miles run, the manufacturer earns bonus points equal to that engine's finishing position in the race.

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{Road to Indy IndyCar Series seasons