Let's Look at the League - 2023 Season

For the fifth consecutive year, we are bringing back the IndyCar head-to-head league format.

Imagine if IndyCar was treated as a sports league where each week teams compete head-to-head against one another. Each victory counts in the league standings with the top records leading to a playoff berth and the worst teams having to fight for their safety in the top division while a lower division promotes the best second-tier teams for the following year. 

That is what we have here. With an expanding IndyCar grid, setting up this year's league format was the toughest by far. 

Where were we?

Last season was the first time Josef Newgarden and the #2 Penske entry did not win the league championship. Newgarden lost in the semifinals to Scott McLaughlin. We did get a fourth consecutive Penske championship though. 

Will Power defeated Scott McLaughlin in the final and did "The Double," taking the real championship and the league championship.

Marcus Ericsson was the other semifinalist while Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal, Alexander Rossi and Romain Grosjean were the other playoff drivers. Álex Palou and Simon Pagenaud both missed out on the playoffs, fifth in their respective conferences. Patricio O'Ward and David Malukas each won the first round of the relegation playoff to remain safe for another season. Colton Herta defeated Jack Harvey in the relegation final to remain in the top league while the #45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entry was dropped to the second division. 

Along with Harvey, also relegated was Christian Lundgaard in the #30 RLLR entry and Takuma Sato in the #51 Dale Coyne Racing entry. 

Who was promoted? The #7 Arrow McLaren SP entry with Felix Rosenqvist, the #48 Chip Ganassi Racing entry with Jimmie Johnson and the #21 Ed Carpenter Racing entry with Rinus VeeKay.

How do things look for 2023 then?

Conference One

#12 Penske

#3 Penske

#10 Ganassi

#7 AMSP

#27 Andretti

#21 ECR

#28 Andretti

#11 Ganassi

Conference Two

#2 Penske

#9 Ganassi

#8 Ganassi

#5 AMSP

#26 Andretti

#15 RLLR

#60 MSR

#18 DCR

The only note is the #48 Ganassi entry switched numbers, but the rest of the entries are unchanged.

What about the schedule? 

Schedule

League One:

Week 1 (ST. PETERSBURG):

#12 Penske vs. #11 Ganassi

#3 Penske vs. #28 Andretti

#10 Ganassi vs. #21 ECR

#7 McLaren vs. #27 Andretti

#2 Penske vs. #18 DCR

#9 Ganassi vs. #60 MSR

#8 Ganassi vs. #15 RLLR

#5 McLaren vs. #26 Andretti

 

Week 2 (TEXAS):

#12 Penske vs. #28 Andretti

#3 Penske vs. #11 Ganassi

#10 Ganassi vs. #27 Andretti

#7 McLaren vs. #21 ECR

#2 Penske vs. #60 MSR

#9 Ganassi vs. #18 DCR

#8 Ganassi vs. #26 Andretti

#5 McLaren vs. #15 RLLR

 

Week 3 (LONG BEACH):

#12 Penske vs. #21 ECR

#3 Penske vs. #27 Andretti

#10 Ganassi vs. #11 Ganassi

#7 McLaren vs. #28 Andretti

#2 Penske vs. #15 RLLR

#9 Ganassi vs. #26 Andretti

#8 Ganassi vs. #18 DCR

#5 McLaren vs. #60 MSR

 

Week 4 (BARBER):

#12 Penske vs. #27 Andretti

#3 Penske vs. #21 ECR

#10 Ganassi vs. #28 Andretti

#7 McLaren vs. #11 Ganassi

#2 Penske vs. #26 Andretti

#9 Ganassi vs. #15 RLLR

#8 Ganassi vs. #60 MSR

#5 McLaren vs. #18 DCR

 

Week 5 (GPOI):

#12 Penske vs. #7 McLaren

#3 Penske vs. #10 Ganassi

#27 Andretti vs. #11 Ganassi

#28 Andretti vs. #21 ECR

#2 Penske vs. #5 McLaren

#9 Ganassi vs. #8 Ganassi

#26 Andretti vs. #18 DCR

#15 RLLR vs. #60 MSR

Week 6 (INDIANAPOLIS 500):

#12 Penske vs. #10 Ganassi

#3 Penske vs. #7 McLaren

#27 Andretti vs. #28 Andretti

#21 ECR vs. #11 Ganassi

#2 Penske vs. #8 Ganassi

#9 Ganassi vs. #5 McLaren

#26 Andretti vs. #60 MSR

#15 RLLR vs. #18 DCR

 

Week 7 (DETROIT):

#12 Penske vs. #3 Penske

#10 Ganassi vs. #7 McLaren

#27 Andretti vs. #21 ECR

#28 Andretti vs. #11 Ganassi

#2 Penske vs. #9 Ganassi

#8 Ganassi vs. #5 McLaren

#26 Andretti vs. #15 RLLR

#60 MSR vs. #18 DCR

 

Week 8 (ROAD AMERICA):

#12 Penske vs. #11 Ganassi

#3 Penske vs. #28 Andretti

#10 Ganassi vs. #21 ECR

#7 McLaren vs. #27 Andretti

#2 Penske vs. #18 DCR

#9 Ganassi vs. #60 MSR

#8 Ganassi vs. #15 RLLR

#5 McLaren vs. #26 Andretti

 

Week 9 (MID-OHIO):

#12 Penske vs. #28 Andretti

#3 Penske vs. #11 Ganassi

#10 Ganassi vs. #27 Andretti

#7 McLaren vs. #21 ECR

#2 Penske vs. #60 MSR

#9 Ganassi vs. #18 DCR

#8 Ganassi vs. #26 Andretti

#5 McLaren vs. #15 RLLR

 

Week 10 (TORONTO):

#12 Penske vs. #21 ECR

#3 Penske vs. #27 Andretti

#10 Ganassi vs. #11 Ganassi

#7 McLaren vs. #28 Andretti

#2 Penske vs. #15 RLLR

#9 Ganassi vs. #26 Andretti

#8 Ganassi vs. #18 DCR

#5 McLaren vs. #60 MSR

 

Week 11 (IOWA):

#12 Penske vs. #27 Andretti

#3 Penske vs. #21 ECR

#10 Ganassi vs. #28 Andretti

#7 McLaren vs. #11 Ganassi

#2 Penske vs. #26 Andretti

#9 Ganassi vs. #15 RLLR

#8 Ganassi vs. #60 MSR

#5 McLaren vs. #18 DCR

 

Week 12 (IOWA):

#12 Penske vs. #7 McLaren

#3 Penske vs. #10 Ganassi

#27 Andretti vs. #11 Ganassi

#28 Andretti vs. #21 ECR

#2 Penske vs. #5 McLaren

#9 Ganassi vs. #8 Ganassi

#26 Andretti vs. #18 DCR

#15 RLLR vs. #60 MSR

 

Week 13 (NASHVILLE):

#12 Penske vs. #10 Ganassi

#3 Penske vs. #7 McLaren

#27 Andretti vs. #28 Andretti

#21 ECR vs. #11 Ganassi

#2 Penske vs. #8 Ganassi

#9 Ganassi vs. #5 McLaren

#26 Andretti vs. #60 MSR

#15 RLLR vs. #18 DCR

 

Week 14 (IMS ROAD COURSE):

#12 Penske vs. #3 Penske

#10 Ganassi vs. #7 McLaren

#27 Andretti vs. #21 ECR

#28 Andretti vs. #11 Ganassi

#2 Penske vs. #9 Ganassi

#8 Ganassi vs. #5 McLaren

#26 Andretti vs. #15 RLLR

#60 MSR vs. #18 DCR

The playoff format remains the same. Top four from each conference advance while the bottom team in each conference will be relegated. Before speaking about any type of promotion/relegation playoff, we need to discuss the difficulty of setting up League Two this year. 

League Two

IndyCar expansion caused a problem. With 27 full-time entries, it meant 11 cars were left for League Two. It is not easy to split 11 teams into two conferences. Three divisions was considered. You could do either, but it didn't quite pan out.

I don't like to do this, but this will be one 11-team table, double round-robin format. To make this happen, it will require every oval qualifying session to be counted as a head-to-head matchup. What happens if oval qualifying is cancelled? Entrants' points will decide the matchup. I don't like it. I wish there was a 12th team and then it could be split into either two groups of six or three groups of four. Maybe next year it will be easier. 

Who are the participants?

League Two

#6 McLaren

#30 RLLR

#20 ECR

#06 MSR

#51 DCR

#45 RLLR

#77 JHR

#29 Andretti

#14 Foyt

#55 Foyt

#78 JHR

What is the schedule?

Schedule

League Two:

Week 1 (ST. PETERSBURG):

#30 RLLR vs. #78 JHR

#20 ECR vs. #55 Foyt

#06 MSR vs. #14 Foyt

#51 DCR vs. #29 Andretti

#45 RLLR vs. #77 JHR

 

Week 2 (TEXAS QUALIFYING):

#6 McLaren vs. #78 JHR

#30 RLLR vs. #55 Foyt

#20 ECR vs. #14 Foyt

#06 MSR vs. #29 Andretti

#51 DCR vs. #77 JHR

 

Week 3 (TEXAS):

#6 McLaren vs. #55 Foyt

#30 RLLR vs. #14 Foyt

#20 ECR vs. #29 Andretti

#06 MSR vs. #77 JHR

#51 DCR vs. #45 RLLR

 

Week 4 (LONG BEACH):

#6 McLaren vs. #14 Foyt

#30 RLLR vs. #29 Andretti

#20 ECR vs. #77 JHR

#06 MSR vs. #45 RLLR

#55 Foyt vs. #78 JHR

 

Week 5 (BARBER):

#6 McLaren vs. #29 Andretti

#30 RLLR vs. #77 JHR

#20 ECR vs. #45 RLLR

#06 MSR vs. #51 DCR

#14 Foyt vs. #78 JHR

Week 6 (GPOI):

#6 McLaren vs. #77 JHR

#30 RLLR vs. #45 RLLR

#20 ECR vs. #51 DCR

#29 Andretti vs. #78 JHR

#14 Foyt vs. #55 Foyt

 

Week 7 (INDIANAPOLIS 500 QUALIFYING):

#6 McLaren vs. #45 RLLR

#30 RLLR vs. #51 DCR

#20 ECR vs. #06 MSR

#77 JHR vs. #78 JHR

#29 Andretti vs. #55 Foyt

 

Week 8 (INDIANAPOLIS 500):

#6 McLaren vs. #51 DCR

#30 RLLR vs. #06 MSR

#45 RLLR vs. #78 JHR

#77 JHR vs. #55 Foyt

#29 Andretti vs. #14 Foyt

Week 9 (DETROIT):

#6 McLaren vs. #06 MSR

#30 RLLR vs. #20 ECR

#51 DCR vs. #78 JHR

#45 RLLR vs. #55 Foyt

#77 JHR vs. #14 Foyt

 

Week 10 (ROAD AMERICA):

#6 McLaren vs. #20 ECR

#06 MSR vs. #78 JHR

#51 DCR vs. #55 Foyt

#45 RLLR vs. #14 Foyt

#77 JHR vs. #29 Andretti

 

Week 11 (MID-OHIO):

#6 McLaren vs. #30 RLLR

#20 ECR vs. #78 JHR

#06 MSR vs #55 Foyt

#51 DCR vs. #14 Foyt

#45 RLLR vs. #29 Andretti

 

Week 12 (TORONTO):

#30 RLLR vs. #78 JHR

#20 ECR vs. #55 Foyt

#06 MSR vs. #14 Foyt

#51 DCR vs. #29 Andretti

#45 RLLR vs. #77 JHR

 

Week 13 (IOWA I QUALIFYING):

#6 McLaren vs. #78 JHR

#30 RLLR vs. #55 Foyt

#20 ECR vs. #14 Foyt

#06 MSR vs. #29 Andretti

#51 DCR vs. #77 JHR

Week 14 (IOWA II QUALIFYING):

#6 McLaren vs. #55 Foyt

#30 RLLR vs. #14 Foyt

#20 ECR vs. #29 Andretti

#06 MSR vs. #77 JHR

#51 DCR vs. #45 RLLR

Week 15 (IOWA I):

#6 McLaren vs. #14 Foyt

#30 RLLR vs. #29 Andretti

#20 ECR vs. #77 JHR

#06 MSR vs. #45 RLLR

#55 Foyt vs. #78 JHR

Week 16 (IOWA II):

#6 McLaren vs. #29 Andretti

#30 RLLR vs. #77 JHR

#20 ECR vs. #45 RLLR

#06 MSR vs. #51 DCR

#14 Foyt vs. #78 JHR

Week 17 (NASHVILLE):

#6 McLaren vs. #77 JHR

#30 RLLR vs. #45 RLLR

#20 ECR vs. #51 DCR

#29 Andretti vs. #78 JHR

#14 Foyt vs. #55 Foyt

 

Week 18 (IMS ROAD COURSE):

#6 McLaren vs. #45 RLLR

#30 RLLR vs. #51 DCR

#20 ECR vs. #06 MSR

#77 JHR vs. #78 JHR

#29 Andretti vs. #55 Foyt

 

Week 19 (GATEWAY QUALIFYING):

#6 McLaren vs. #51 DCR

#30 RLLR vs. #06 MSR

#45 RLLR vs. #78 JHR

#77 JHR vs. #55 Foyt

#29 Andretti vs. #14 Foyt

Week 20 (GATEWAY):

#6 McLaren vs. #06 MSR

#30 RLLR vs. #20 ECR

#51 DCR vs. #78 JHR

#45 RLLR vs. #55 Foyt

#77 JHR vs. #14 Foyt

Week 21 (PORTLAND):

#6 McLaren vs. #20 ECR

#06 MSR vs. #78 JHR

#51 DCR vs. #55 Foyt

#45 RLLR vs. #14 Foyt

#77 JHR vs. #29 Andretti

Week 22 (LAGUNA SECA):

#6 McLaren vs. #30 RLLR

#20 ECR vs. #78 JHR

#06 MSR vs #55 Foyt

#51 DCR vs. #14 Foyt

#45 RLLR vs. #29 Andretti

Since League Two is using nearly every possible session, the top three will be promoted to League One in 2024. 

As for the final relegation spot from League One, the relegation playoff will return. Fifth in each conference will be safe. Sixth and seventh from each conference will face one another in the relegation playoff semifinals. The winners will maintain a spot in League One. The losers will face off with the winner staying up and the loser going down.

Does Newgarden get back on top? Will a Penske driver win a fifth league title? Can someone else pull off a stunner? Could a front-runner be relegated? We will revisit this over the course of the season. 

Previous league results:

2019 

2020

2021

2022