The 1.5-mile superspeedway has played host to North America’s premier open-wheel championship every year since 1997, including two events per year from 1998-2004 that also featured season finales. A visit in June was traditionally held for the majority of the tenure, including when TMS was called upon to help jump-start the IndyCar season in 2020.

There is a significantly different look on the calendar that remains comprised of 17 events, along with the additional $1 Million Challenge non-points exhibition at The Thermal Club on 24 March. The changes include Texas Motor Speedway being dropped from the schedule, ending an annual trip that dates back to 1997. That loss won’t see

Rasmussen is fresh off a banner season in the second-tier series previously known as Indy Lights, where the Dane claimed five wins, a further three podiums and sat on the pole five times en route to the title. While there are aspirations to find a seat on the grid for next season, the 23-year-old remains

The Barbados-born Caymanian was signed as a development driver with CGR in May 2022, only two races into his Indy NXT career that already featured a fifth-place finish at Barber Motorsports Park. He ended up finishing his rookie campaign ninth in the standings after switching teams from TJ Speed Motorsports to HMD Motorsports mid-season. There

The 2024 schedule for the IndyCar Series has yet to be revealed, but there have been suggestions about an international non-points race. Argentina has been the primary focal point if North America’s premier open-wheel championship extends beyond its continental territory. “IndyCar had the best moments when it was either televised or broadcast in 120 countries…

A development driver for CGR since May 2022, Simpson spent the past two years competing in Indy NXT. This year, he earned two podiums – including a career-best runner-up result at Mid-Ohio and one pole en route to 10th in the championship standings. The Cayman Islands native has also gained sportscar experience in 2023, contesting the

Laguna Seca has seen a thing or two since its construction in 1957, nestled among the dusty, sweeping hillsides between Monterey and Salinas, but not many races around the ‘dry lake’ have been as chaotic or frenzied as Sunday’s IndyCar Series finale, which very much had the feel of ‘School’s Out’ ahead of its five-month

A seventh IndyCar title eluded him for the third consecutive season, but Dixon’s charge to close out the runner-up spot with three wins in the final four rounds shows he remains a force to be reckoned with. There were question marks going into August if the 43-year-old Kiwi would endure an ultra-rare win-less 2023, something

The 23-year-old Dane picked up five wins – including both oval races at Iowa and Illinois – and three further podiums, plus five pole positions from his second season in the championship previously known as Indy Lights. He only finished outside the top 10 once in 14 starts, after a crash at Road America. Maybe

Palou started this year’s IndyCar blue ribband race from pole, but was pushed out of the lead fight following a collision with Rinus VeeKay in the pitlane. He bounced back to finish fourth, having charged up from last place. When asked about his hopes for winning the 2024 Indy 500, after ending his title-winning season

The 23-year-old Formula 2 graduate ran 12 of 17 races, which excluded ovals, in a ride share agreement with Takuma Sato. However five tops 10s, including a best of sixth on the streets of Toronto, established Armstrong as a rookie of the year contender despite the schedule limitations. It was cemented after a stout recovery

The 30-year-old Kiwi started second but was involved in an opening lap crash in Turn 2, which pushed him down the order and into the pitlane for repairs. But another incident quickly followed for the Kiwi, as he made hard contact with the back of a slowing Benjamin Pedersen on lap 6 of 95. On this occasion,

The six-time champion kept his head when many around him lost theirs, beating Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske) and his champion team-mate Alex Palou after a race punctuated by a high number caution periods caused by a series of wildly over-optimistic lunges and collisions that had a definite end-of-term feel. Poleman Felix Rosenqvist (Arrow McLaren) led

The exhibition race at the 17-turn, 3.067-mile circuit will take place on Sunday, 24 March, following an Open Test and qualifications on the Friday and Saturday. Per the series release, the event “will receive a network broadcast showcase on NBC”. “The IndyCar Series will add an incredible new event to our schedule with next year’s

The Swede, who is joining Meyer Shank Racing in 2024, drove “a gorilla lap” flyer of 1m06.6416s on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course to edge out Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin by 0.0097s in the Fast Six shootout. Rosenqvist’s showing was 4.9s faster than Will Power’s pole from last year on the repaved track. Chip Ganassi Racing’s

The 22-year-old Dane had a clean session in comparison to his rivals, going to the top with a flying lap at 1m07.6154s around the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course. Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing) ended up second, trailing by 0.0392 of a second. Newly crowned two-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou was the best Chip Ganassi Racing driver

On Friday, Malukas was announced as Meyer Shank Racing-bound Felix Rosenqvist’s replacement at Arrow McLaren, completing the team’s three-car 2024 lineup alongside Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi. Malukas, a Chicago-born American-Lithuanian, has spent the past two seasons at Dale Coyne Racing with HMD, earning a pair of podiums that includes a career-best runner-up last year

The 34-year-old has driven for the family Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team since 2013 and made 275 starts to date since 2007 for teams including Newman-Haas Racing, Sarah Fisher Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing. Rahal says his Honda-powered #15 car has sponsorship for the entirety of next season, which means there is “zero pressure this

The 23-year-old Californian set the tone early with a flying lap of 1m07.5382s around the 11-turn, 2.238-mile natural terrain road course. His fastest time was achieved on a set of the harder primary tyre compound. Behind the Andretti Autosport pacesetter and two-time Laguna Seca race winner was Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, who trailed by 0.0529s,

The 21-year-old Chicago-born American-Lithuanian has spent the past two years at Dale Coyne Racing with HMD, earning two podiums ahead of this weekend’s season finale at Laguna Seca. Malukas is set to drive Arrow McLaren’s Chevrolet-powered #6 entry, completing its line-up alongside Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi. Palou was expected to join the team for

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Palou, who won his second IndyCar title for the team at Portland last weekend, had been driving TPC (testing previous cars) machinery as reserve driver for McLaren’s F1 team ahead of his expected switch to Arrow McLaren’s IndyCar squad next year. This was understood to be part of an evaluation phase of

The 23-year-old sits atop the Rookie of the Year standings despite running a partial campaign that has consisted solely of road and street circuits. He has recorded three top-eight results in 11 IndyCar starts. A former member of Ferrari’s Driver Academy, Armstrong arrived in IndyCar after three years in Formula 2, winning four races and

The Estonian enjoyed a solid outing with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, finishing exactly where he qualified: 18th. He went from start to finish without any interruptions and was the top finisher – and rookie – among the lapped cars. “Awesome to get through the race distance,” Vips said. “Just wasn’t used to how long the

The 34-year-old Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver started on a set of softer alternate tyres and jumped out to lead the opening 21 tours of the 110-lap contest as he sought a first win since Detroit 2017. Rahal pitted on lap 22, pushing one lap farther than any other driver that began on the same

The company, which is owned by former racing star Michael Andretti and Dan Towriss, the CEO and president of financial services company Group 1001, is making the move as it bids to join the Formula 1 grid in future in partnership with General Motors. Andretti’s team currently operates in eight motorsports platforms, racing across six

Pagenaud has been forced onto the sidelines ever since a heavy crash in practice for the Mid-Ohio round in July, triggered by an apparent brake failure, left him with post-concussion symptoms and curtailed his campaign. A host of drivers have filled in for the 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner, with former Ed Carpenter Racing driver Conor

Palou’s Portland win provided Ganassi with its 15th IndyCar title – Palou’s second since joining the team in 2021 – and with a race to spare. Meanwhile, Dixon secured second in the overall standings with his fifth podium of the 2023 season. “Congrats to Chip on his 15th championship and Alex’s second,” Dixon said. “They

The Swiss-born Frenchman’s exit from Andretti Autosport is inevitable at season’s end, as reported by NBC Sports, while Grosjean also shared that discussions with other teams have taken place. After making 179 starts in F1 from 2009-2020, Grosjean moved to IndyCar in 2021 and ran a partial season with Dale Coyne Racing, earning three podiums

The Mexican started sixth in his No. 5 Chevrolet-powered car and was a mainstay among the top five all race long. A caution on lap 85 of 110 meant the group of frontrunners that had been strung out were squeezed back together. When the restart came three laps later, O’Ward lined up fourth and immediately

Palou is being taken to the UK’s High Court over a contractual dispute with McLaren Racing, having performed an apparent U-turn on his previous decision to switch teams for 2024. It was that call in 2022 that led to Ganassi taking legal action against his own driver, which was settled by mediation that allowed him