Pivotal INDYCAR season opens with more questions than answers

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — An INDYCAR season that will quite possibly be defined as a season in transition opened with a usual winner.

The Andretti team has a new owner who’s wondering if his manufacturer (Honda) will remain when INDYCAR goes to its new car. That change could possibly come in 2027 — or maybe in 2028. Will Power, ranked fourth all-time in career victories with 44, has hired an agent amid the uncertainty surrounding his return to Team Penske in 2026.

Michael Shank Racing began its new alliance with Chip Ganassi Racing, an alliance that possibly proved its worth early with both of its drivers starting in the second row for the opener at St. Petersburg. The opener also showed potential in other new relationships. Christian Lundgaard finished eighth in his first start with Arrow McLaren, Rinus VeeKay was ninth in his first drive with Dale Coyne Racing and Alexander Rossi placed 10th in his first voyage with Ed Carpenter Racing.

The series is now being run by someone different (Doug Boles instead of Jay Frye) and also has a new television partner with every race on FOX network television.

So even though two-time defending series champion Alex Palou snatched the victory, the St. Petersburg vibe centered on change rather than things remaining the same.

Is it coming just in time?

“This is a very important year,” new Andretti owner Dan Towriss said. “The series has gotten more expensive over the last few years, and I think a lot of team owners would say the revenue hasn’t kept up with the expense side of it.

“The on-track product is so good, and so being able to tell that story [is important].”

Towriss is in the middle of many of the storylines. He worries that Honda’s concern about costs in the series might drive the manufacturer out of the sport with the introduction of the new car, which then potentially could increase costs for owners if no new manufacturer is found to compete with Chevrolet. 

But Towriss also won’t hesitate to spend money. He wants the latest and greatest of the new car when it debuts in two or three years. Other team owners are concerned. One owner estimates that there could be a base cost of $800,000 for each entry to replace its fleet, and they wonder if certain elements of the current car can or should be utilized.

“I just want to know is it a press thing, is it a speed thing, is it a safety thing, is it a cost thing, … maybe it is a fan thing,” team owner Chip Ganassi said. “I’m not negative on it. I’m just saying we have to be very careful as to what we’re trying to accomplish here.”

That used to be Frye’s problem, but now it’s one for Boles as he tries to navigate the world of a variety of viewpoints in a sport where it is easy for owner dissatisfaction to impede progress (a challenge for all motorsports).

“I don’t think I’ve slept in the last 19 days, which is fantastic,” Boles quipped Saturday.

One driver who might lose some sleep in the coming days is Power, who had an awful weekend with a wreck on the opening lap.

The 44-year-old Power won three races last year, but talks haven’t started yet between him and Penske. Meanwhile, his teammate Scott McLaughlin signed a long-term deal in the offseason.

“If you win three races in a season, you definitely should be signed up in INDYCAR,” Power said. “As fast as I was last year, I’d say any other driver in the series would be signed now. … The pressure is the sort of thing I enjoy.

“We’ll know more as the season unfolds. We’ll see what is the most logical thing that will happen.” 

Power hired the driver representation agency owned by former F1 driver Fernando Alonso. Former driver Oriol Servia handles the U.S. business.

“I can just focus on racing,” Power said about hiring an agent. “Fernando has a lot of good contacts in Europe for WEC [World Endurance Championships] and he also has contacts in INDYCAR as well. … Mainly for me to 100 percent focus on my job and extract the most out of my performance.” 

Another driver who signed with an agency is Josef Newgarden. He’s in no danger of leaving Team Penske. And he signed with one of sports’ most prominent agencies — Chris Paul’s Klutch Sports Group — for commercial opportunities.

“It’s a good moment in time for them to get involved,” said Newgarden, who is Klutch’s first motorsports client. “I got introduced to them over the offseason. We put something together. … It seemed pretty obvious we should be doing something together.”

One driver expected to be in the mix for the title along with Newgarden and Power also has a bit of an uncertain future. Colton Herta continues to be the subject of speculation he could move to Formula 1 to drive for the new Cadillac team, owned by Towriss.

“I like working with a lot of the guys at Andretti,” Herta said. “It’s not an easy decision to just be like all right, see you guys forever. I’d be giving up an opportunity to maybe never work with these people again.”

Towriss likes to hear that. 

“The team’s had a great offseason, and he wants it bad,” Towriss said. “With the excitement and this just kind of being an inflection year for INDYCAR, it makes no sense for him to be thinking about Formula 1 — both in terms of the series but also what he needs to do.

“I love that answer. And I think he’s all in here.”

Formula 1 is the premier international motorsports series, and INDYCAR runs all of its races in the United States, except one in Canada. It will add another venue next year when it races around the Arlington (Texas) sports complex.

As far as any other new race venues, Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles said they are focused on North America.

“We’re working hard on Mexico, and I hope that happens and we can have something to say about that this year,” Miles said.

That would be music to the ears of Mexican driver Pato O’Ward, who drew the most fans of any driver at the track in St. Petersburg, a mix of his personality, Mexican fervor over its racing drivers and the McLaren brand.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown wasn’t in St. Petersburg, as he was in Bahrain for Formula 1 testing. His new team principal, Tony Kanaan (another fan favorite when he was driving), spent his first weekend in charge watching Lundgaard finish best for the team.

O’Ward, though, tried to look on the bright side of his 11th-place finish.

“Eleventh is the best we could have done today with what we’ve got thrown at us,” said O’Ward, who suffered a tire puncture on the opening lap.

He was talking about the racing, but he could have been talking about the 2025 INDYCAR season as a whole. There’s a lot being thrown at the teams and the administration and those in charge will likely have frustrations while doing their best.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.