The 2023 NTT IndyCar Series will be the 112th 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 ...

and the 28th season under

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 ...

sanction. The showcase event will be the 2023 Indianapolis 500.

Background

The 2023 season was scheduled to be the final season using the current 2.2-litre V6

twin-turbocharged Twin-turbo (not to be confused with a twincharger setup, which is a combination of a supercharger and a turbocharger) refers to an engine in which two turbochargers work in tandem to compress the intake fuel/air mixture (or intake air, in the case ...

engine formula that made its debut in the 2012 season. A new 2.4-litre V6 twin-turbocharged

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

engine formula was set to debut in the series from

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...

onwards. However, on December 6, 2022, it was announced that these plans would be put on hold and the hybrid technology will instead be implemented on the current 2.2-litre engines for

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. ...

will enter the series as the reigning drivers' champion, having won the title at the final round in Laguna Seca by 16 points from

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 ...

Series news

*On May 26, 2022, it was announced that

Shell USA Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,000 ...

will replace

Speedway LLC Speedway is an American convenience store and gas station chain headquartered in Enon, Ohio, with locations primarily in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and the East Coast of the United States, East Coast regions of the United States ...

as an official fuel partner and supplier, with the series planning to introduce a 100% renewable fuel.

Confirmed entries

The following teams, entries, and drivers have been announced to compete in the 2023 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 Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...

IR18 chassis with universal aero kit and Firestone tires.

Full-time

Part-time/Indy 500-only

Álex Palou contract dispute

On July 12, 2022,

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 ...

sent a press release saying that they had extended the contract of

Álex Palou Álex Palou Montalbo (; born 1 April 1997) is a Spanish racing driver who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing in the IndyCar Series, where he won the 2021 series championship. He is the first Spanish racing driver to win a National Championship in ...

for the 2023 IndyCar season by exercising the option they held on his deal. Included in the press release was a quote attributed to Palou. Hours later, Palou, via a thread on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

denounced this press release, claimed that the quote attributed to him was created by the team (a practice common among IndyCar teams, according to '' RACER.coms Marshall Pruett) and also not approved by him. He also stated that he had given Chip Ganassi Racing prior notice that he intended to leave the team after the 2022 season and join

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 ...

's roster of drivers. Moments after these tweets, McLaren announced that they had signed Palou to a contract for 2023, though it was not specifically mentioned if Palou would drive for

Arrow McLaren SP The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren Racing competes under the banner of Arrow McLaren SP. This entry is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former driver Sam Schmidt as Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Fellow ex-driver Davey Hamilton joined as ...

, McLaren's IndyCar operation. Chip Ganassi Racing responded to this by releasing a statement reiterating their claim to Palou's services. On July 27, 2022, Chip Ganassi Racing confirmed they had filed a civil lawsuit against Palou in Marion County, Indiana. On September 14, 2022, it was announced that an agreement had been reached by all parties that would see Palou continue with Chip Ganassi for the 2023 season, and McLaren subsequently confirmed

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 care ...

would be returning to AMSP.

Driver changes

Preseason

* On June 2, 2022,

confirmed the signing of

Alexander Rossi Alexander Michael Rossi (born September 25, 1991) is an American professional racing driver and podcast host. He currently competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. Rossi is best known for winning ...

for 2023 in a third entry. He will depart

Andretti Autosport Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...

after seven years with the team. * On June 6, 2022, Andretti Autosport announced that

2021 Indy Lights The 2021 Indy Lights season was the 35th season of the Indy Lights open wheel motor racing series and the 19th sanctioned by IndyCar, acting as the primary support series for the IndyCar Series. After going into a hiatus in 2020 because of the C ...

champion

Kyle Kirkwood Kyle MacLean Kirkwood (born October 19, 1998) is an American auto racing driver. He is the currently set to drive the No. 27 for Andretti Autosport in the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series. He formerly drove the AJ Foyt Racing No. 14 entry during the 2022 ...

would replace Rossi in the No. 27 entry, switching from

A.J. Foyt Racing A. J. Foyt Racing, officially and historically known as A. J. Foyt Enterprises, is an American racing team in the IndyCar Series and formerly NASCAR. It is owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, 1972 Daytona 500 winner, 1967 24 Hours of Le ...

. * On September 26, 2022,

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...

announced that he would step back from racing on a full-time basis. Johnson had competed full-time in the 2022 season for Chip Ganassi Racing. * On September 28, 2022,

A. J. Foyt Racing A. J. Foyt Racing, officially and historically known as A. J. Foyt Enterprises, is an American racing team in the IndyCar Series and formerly NASCAR. It is owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, 1972 Daytona 500 winner, 1967 24 Hours of Le ...

confirmed the signing of

Benjamin Pedersen Benjamin Pedersen (born 11 May 1999) is a Danish-American race car driver from Copenhagen, with residence in Seattle, Washington. He currently competes in IndyCar driving for A.J. Foyt Enterprises. Early career Lower formulae Pedersen began ...

to a multi-year contract. The Danish-American moves up from Indy Lights where he finished 5th in the championship with 1 win in 2022. * On October 6, 2022, A. J. Foyt Racing confirmed they had signed

Santino Ferrucci Santino Michael Ferrucci (born May 31, 1998) is an American professional racing driver. He competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No 14 Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Racing. He has also previously raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. Career ...

to drive the No. 14 entry. Ferrucci spent 2022 driving in two races as an injury substitute, the Indianapolis 500 for

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 & ...

, and two

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

races. * On October 11, 2022,

Dalton Kellett Dalton Kellett (born August 19, 1993) is a Canadian racing driver from Stouffville, Ontario. He competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for A. J. Foyt Racing. Racing career Early years Kellett started his racing career in snowmobile racing at the ...

announced that he would not be returning to A. J. Foyt Racing after 3 seasons with the team. Kellett had met with the team earlier to discuss running a third entry after the signing of Ferrucci and Pedersen. * On November 1, 2022, Arrow McLaren SP confirmed that

Tony Kanaan Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...

would drive a fourth entry for the team at the Indianapolis 500. Kanaan moves from Chip Ganassi Racing, where he finished 3rd in the race in 2022. *On November 17, 2022,

announced that it had formed a partnership with

Cusick Motorsports Cusick Motorsports is an American auto racing team that currently competes in the IndyCar Series and IMSA and IMSA SportsCar Championship. In IndyCar, they currently field Stefan Wilson in the #25 Dallara Dallara DW12, UAK18-Chevrolet Chevrolet I ...

to field their driver

Stefan Wilson Stefan James Wilson (born 20 September 1989 in Sheffield, UK) is a British racing driver. He is the younger brother of the late Formula One and IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson. He is also the winner of the 2007 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award ...

in DRR's No. 24 entry in 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 ...

. Wilson replaces

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 ...

, who ran the Indy 500 the last seven years for DRR. *On December 2, 2022,

announced that they had signed

Marcus Armstrong Marcus Cornelius Armstrong (born 29 July 2000) is a New Zealand motor racing driver. He is due to compete in IndyCar on road and street courses with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2023. Previously he competed in the FIA Formula 2 Championship between 2 ...

to race the road and street course races in its No. 11 entry. Armstrong moves over from

Hitech Grand Prix Hitech Grand Prix (formerly known as Hitech Racing) is a British motor racing team. It was founded in 2002 by Dennis Rushen and David Hayle. The team started racing in the British Formula 3 Championship in 2003. The team also competed in the So ...

in the

FIA Formula 2 Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of the lo ...

, where he won 3 races in 2022. The entry will replace the No. 48 entry driven by Johnson. A driver to race the ovals for the entry is still to-be-confirmed.

Midseason

Team changes

Preseason

*On September 7, 2022,

Juncos Hollinger Racing Juncos Hollinger Racing, formerly Juncos Racing, is an Argentine-American racing team competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, Indy Lights and Indy Pro 2000 Championship series in the Road to Indy ladder for IndyCar. Owned by Ricardo Juncos, who for ...

announced that they would expand to two entries with a to-be-determined driver in the No. 78. *On September 20, 2022, Taylor Kiel announced that he was leaving his role as president of Arrow McLaren SP on his own volition with immediate effect. *On September 23, 2022, Arrow McLaren SP confirmed they had hired

Brian Barnhart Brian Barnhart (born 1960/1961) is an American motorsports executive. He is the general manager of Arrow McLaren SP, having been known for his past roles within the IndyCar Series paddock as a chief mechanic, pit crewman, race strategist and team p ...

in a to-be-defined role. On October 4, the team announced Barnhart's role would be general manager, while also naming Gavin Ward to the position of race director, splitting the duties of former president Kiel. Barnhart departs Andretti Autosport after serving as race strategist for

James Hinchcliffe James Douglas Meredith Hinchcliffe (born December 5, 1986) is a Canadian race car driver and commentator best known for competing in the IndyCar Series. Hinchcliffe won six races for Andretti Autosport and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. In 2015, ...

and Alexander Rossi. *On November 15, 2022, Chip Ganassi Racing's managing director Mike Hull told RACER.com's Marshall Pruett that the team had hired Taylor Kiel (Hull's stepson) as team manager, filling a void left by promoting Mike O'Gara to run the team's

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...

entries. *On November 23, 2022,

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is an auto racing team that has participated in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the IndyCar Series. Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana and Hilliard, Ohio, it is co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 win ...

announced a driver swap amongst their Nos. 30 and 45 entries.

Christian Lundgaard Christian Lundgaard (born 23 July 2001) is a Danish professional racing driver who is driving the No. 45 Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the IndyCar Series. He was the 2022 IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year, and was a member of the A ...

will drive the No. 45 and Jack Harvey the No. 30 with the change being done for sponsorship reasons. *On December 12, 2022,

rebranded by removing the "SP" wordmark to become “Arrow McLaren”.

Midseason

Schedule

The schedule was released on September 27, 2022. NOTE: Race names are preliminary and subject to change

References

External links

* {{Road to Indy

IndyCar Series seasons

Background

Series news

Confirmed entries

Full-time

Part-time/Indy 500-only

Álex Palou contract dispute

Driver changes

Preseason

Midseason

Team changes

Preseason

Midseason

Schedule

See also

References

External links