The NTT Indycar championship is back this weekend as the Grand-Prix of Alabama kicks off a 17-race schedule. North America’s premier single-seat category is riding some strong momentum coming into this season. 2021 is Roger Penske’s second season in charge as the promoter of the series; nine races, including the Indy 500, will get broadcast on NBC, and there is a new race on Nashville’s streets. After the pandemic wrecked last year’s schedule, fans will welcome the normality of 2021. Many positives are surrounding the Indycar series, the cars are all incredibly competitive, and the drivers are elite. That all adds up to create some thrilling wheel-to-wheel 200mph action. There’s nothing like it.
Can Anyone Dethrone the Champ?
Scott Dixon races into the 2021 season as the defending champion. The veteran racer won his fifth championship last year for Chip Ganassi Racing. The Kiwi piloted his PNC Bank-sponsored car to another title triumph that placed him amongst the sport’s legends. Can anyone beat him?
Leading the charge will be the Team Penske trio of Josef Newgarden, Will Power, and Simon Pagenaud. The Chevrolet-powered Penske cars are perennial contenders for race wins. Nashville-born Newgarden finished second in the standings last year. Moreover, he is a former series champion. Team Penske will push Dixon and Ganassi for the entire 17-race schedule.
The last team forming Indycar’s powerhouse trio is Andretti Autosport. The famous name team is enduring a long championship drought; they last won the title in 2012. Nonetheless, their team boasts plenty of racing talent. Former Indy 500 winners Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay are the experienced racers leading the Andretti charge. Exciting youngster Colton Herta joins them in the Andretti stable while returning is Toronto’s own James Hinchcliffe. After last year’s poor performance mixed with a 9-year championship drought, Andretti must challenge this year.
Young Pups, Journeymen and Indycar Rookies
The headline addition to the Indycar lineup is the arrival of seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. It is hard to envisage the legendary oval racer as a rookie, yet that is what he is. Johnson will race for the Chip Ganassi Racing team in what will surely be one of the most anticipated Indycar debuts in history. Imagine if Lebron James decided to one day play in the Euroleague, it would be huge. Well, the racecar equivalent is happening this year. Johnson isn’t the only rookie in town; Scott Mclaughlin comes into the ‘States as one of the dominant Aussie Supercars drivers. He raced for Team Penske in Australia; he’ll drive for Team Penske in Indycar.
Watching those two drivers make the change from tin-top racing to single-seaters will fascinate fans around the world. It’s a bit like jumping from KBO to MLB, similar, yet very different. The final rookie in the field is Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman escaped death from his fireball crash in F1 last year; the veteran racer is a flamboyant, aggressive driver that will thrill fans.
The famous names will line up alongside some of the championship’s emerging drivers—Mexico’s Pato O’Ward races for Arrow Mclaren SP. O’Ward came close to bagging his maiden victory last year; after a year of learning with his new team, the Mexican could go even closer in 2021. Swedish sensation Felix Rosenqvist accompanies Mclaren’s muchacho while Flying Dutchman Rinus Veekay enters his sophomore season. The youngster’s race against Indycar’s usual cavalry of veteran racers. Graham Rahal, Charlie Kimball, and two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato are all back on the grid.
You Need to Tune In
Car racing gets marginalized by mainstream media; they argue that it isn’t a sport and too complex to understand. Well, Indycar isn’t hard to understand, plus it is a sport. America’s finest drivers go toe-to-toe with some of the best from around the world while driving machines up to 200mph across some of North America’s finest locations. All of that comes from a desperation to be known as the fastest driver.
The world’s best are prepared to risk life itself to make the courageous, daring, daredevil moves that separate the also-rans from the champions. They are the modern-day gladiators, the fighter pilots waging war on the asphalt. When the green flag finally waves this Sunday, grab yourself a seat because nothing comes close to the thrill of the race. Please tune in to NBC this Sunday at 3:30 pm EST; you don’t want to miss it.
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