Only one race remains in the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season, and it is understandable if your eyes are already looking toward 2025. It is that time where you are more curious about the future than the present, even when there is a championship still undecided, because the possibilities are endless.
There is much unknown about the 2025 season and who will be driving where. Don't worry, there is plenty of time for these seats to be determined. The teams and drivers have nearly six months to get it sorted, but we are used to rides being decided earlier than an offseason than later. That is what makes the 13 vacant seats for 2025 feel rather strange. Nearly half the grid is undetermined and moves will likely come quickly once this season is over.
Some of these teams likely could use some guidance on who they should hire for next season. We will look over the 2025 entries and cover what has been decided but also provide some direction on what each team should do next.
A.J. Foyt Racing
What do we know?
David Malukas will take over an entry at the team, but when the announcement was made it was not specified which entry Malukas would be driving. Both of Foyt's 2024 drivers are not under contract for the 2025 season.
What should happen next?
Santino Ferrucci should be re-signed to drive the #14 Chevrolet with Malukas taking over the #41 Chevrolet.
Ferrucci is on the brink of having the best season for a Foyt driver in over two decades. He has been outstanding on ovals. Unless someone is throwing more money at Ferrucci than Foyt, Foyt should make sure Ferrucci is back for 2025. Ferrucci should stick around because there isn't a clear better team calling. He mind as well stick around and continue working on what has already been a successful second season together.
Andretti Global
What do we know?
There will be no changes at Andretti Global. Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson will all be back for 2025. The team is not expanding back to four cars. The technical alliance will Meyer Shank Racing will not continue into next season.
What should happen next?
Andretti has said it will be taking a break from technical alliances. Considering the team's struggles in recent seasons that appears to be the right choice. It should focus on making sure the best men and women are on each car and it can have three regular contenders for victory. This season has been substantial better than the last few seasons. There is still room for growth though.
The more curious side of the Andretti Global organization is the Indy Lights' side of things. Louis Foster is coming off a championship. Jamie Chadwick won a race and made great leaps in her sophomore season. Salvador de Alba had a good season in the Andretti Cape partnership. Foster is ready for IndyCar. Chadwick is antsy to move up. The openings are not there at Andretti at the moment. If these drivers move up, it will likely be elsewhere. Do they stick around for another season of Indy Lights? Chadwick and de Alba should both run another year for development.
Arrow McLaren
What do we know?
Patricio O'Ward and Nolan Siegel will return for 2025 as Christian Lundgaard will take over the #7 Chevrolet from Alexander Rossi. Arrow McLaren will remain three cars and not expand to four though that once seemed to be the goal for the team.
What should happen next?
There is nothing left to do. The drivers are set. Lundgaard is coming off three seasons of leading the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing organization and lifting the team further up the grid than it probably should have been. The offseason should be about getting more out of the technical side of the team and attempt to minimize the off days that were rather frequent in 2024.
Chip Ganassi Racing
What do we know?
Scott Dixon and Álex Palou will stick around at Chip Ganassi Racing for another season. Due to the imminent charter deal that would limit a team to charters for three entries, CGR is going to downsize from five cars to three. That leaves some tough decisions ahead for the organization.
What should happen next?
For a team owner who is known for saying, "I like winners," Chip Ganassi has a tendency of not hiring winners when he has open seats. No offense, but he ran two rookies and a sophomore driver who was making his first starts on oval this season in 60% of this cars. Then he had one of the best drivers of all-time and one of the best drivers of the 2020s in the other 40% of the grid. If you want winners, hire proven winners, Chip!
That is a stark difference in the team. With the great sticking around, Ganassi should find a winner, even if it has been a while.
The best available driver is Alexander Rossi. It has been a rough patch, but Rossi has won multiple times in IndyCar, he has been a championship contender before, and we know he can string together multiple victories in a season. Put him with Dixon and Palou, Rossi should be able to get the most out of that third Ganassi entry. He would be a contender at the Indianapolis 500.
Also, the American Legion sponsors that car, and all respect to Linus Lundqvist and Marcus Armstrong, doesn't it make sense to have an American driver in that car, especially a past Indianapolis 500 winner?
If Rossi isn't an option, it should be Armstrong's seat. Armstrong has the most upside.
Dale Coyne Racing
What do we know?
Dale Coyne Racing has not made any plans for the future public. Frankly, have we seen or heard anything from Dale Coyne himself in 2024? There is no clear strategy for the future nor any real urgency for being on top of what comes next.
What should happen next?
If there is one of the nine drivers who drove for Coyne in 2024 that earned a full season gig, it is Toby Sowery. In his three races with the team, Sowery has been the best Coyne driver on all three occasions and he gave Coyne its best days. Sowery has generated more buzz than the other eight Coyne drivers combined this year. If he can do that without any testing time and preparation in the car, a full season could only bring more out of him.
As for the second seat, Sowery should have a veteran as his teammate, but there isn't a clear great option. Jack Harvey will be there, and though this hasn't been a good year after Harvey was a late decision in the offseason, Harvey is still experienced enough that his results should be better.
It is Dale Coyne Racing and it is difficult persuade anyone to join the team. Coyne doesn't throw the money out there often. He really only did it to bring Sébastien Bourdais prior to 2017.
Another season of Conor Daly with the team would not be the worst thing in the world. Daly has been doing well with Junos Hollinger racing, a team that is not much bigger than Coyne. Next year will be nine years since Daly's lone full season at Coyne. A package could be put together to get Daly in that car and stabilize the ship while giving Sowery a knowledgable teammate to lean off of.
It isn't going to be a duo winning eight races a year, but Daly and Sowery could get back into the top ten and have many more competitive days.
Ed Carpenter Racing
What do we know?
It will be a two-car team but the number of drivers is unknown. Rinus VeeKay is out of contract. Instead of running a third entry, Ed Carpenter returned to the #20 Chevrolet to run the ovals in 2024, only for Carpenter to remove himself from the car for the final three oval races and put Christian Rasmussen in the car, who ran all the road and street courses in the #20 Chevrolet and ran the Indianapolis 500 in a third entry for the team.
What should happen next?
Carpenter should make it clear he is an Indianapolis 500-only driver from here going forward.
Rasmussen should get a full shot in the #20 Chevrolet. He has had some tough days and made his rookie mistakes, but he had flashes of speed and he is at a level to build upon.
VeeKay and ECR have been together for five seasons. Together, VeeKay and ECR has finished 14th, 12th, 12th, 14th and he his currently 14th in the championship entering the Nashville season finale, ten points behind 13th and ten points ahead of 15th.
Two months ago, it looked inevitable VeeKay and ECR will go in different directions. Five top ten finishes in seven races has changed the mood a bit. VeeKay should explore and see what else is out there. A sixth season at ECR would not increase his stock anymore than the last two seasons.
Where does that leave ECR? It is a team that has generally struggled everywhere but the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This isn't even a team that can produce competitive cars at the other oval races. It is tough to take a seat there if you are a veteran looking for more.
However, if there is one veteran who we have seen have bursts of speed and might just need a place that believes in him, Jack Harvey is the guy. Harvey had good results with Meyer Shank Racing in its first few seasons. Harvey went to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing looking for more, and it was a reasonable for both sides. It didn't work out.
Harvey is not going to demand much of a salary, and he will appreciate the opportunity and greater resources than he just had at DCR. This could be a pairing that ignites a spark and makes each more competitive than they have been in recent years but that we all knew both were possible of reaching.
Juncos Hollinger Racing
What do we know?
The #78 Chevrolet is open and Conor Daly will likely not be the driver. Romain Grosjean is not officially under contract for next year, and Grosjean already has a deal with Lamborghini for its LMDh program. Lamborghini is expected to expand into IMSA full-time and add a second FIA World Endurance Championship next year.
There have also been rumors Devlin DeFrancesco's father has been discussing getting into ownership with the JHR organization.
What should happen next?
For a team that has been lacking on funding since day one in IndyCar, the DeFrancescos adding their name to the door would make sense, and JHR has space available, both behind the wheel and on the sidepods.
Business will make these decisions, and DeFrancesco, a driver with zero top ten finishes in 34 starts, could help this team on the monetary side. If that is the case, he will need a driver that can help him. Is Grosjean that driver? He is a name. DeFrancesco could pay to keep Grosjean around but I think Grosjean should go elsewhere.
Rinus VeeKay won his Pro Mazda championship with Juncos Racing, and VeeKay was second in the 2019 Indy Lights championship with Juncos Racing. We are seeing Conor Daly enjoying the reunion with the team from his junior career. VeeKay could get a breath a fresh air at JHR. It would be worth it as JHR appears to be more competitive than ECR at the moment.
Meyer Shank Racing
What do we know?
There will be a new technical partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing as Meyer Shank Racing's working relationship with Andretti Global will end after eight seasons together. Felix Rosenqvist will still be there, but the #66 Honda remains open as David Malukas is moving to Foyt. It is expected Hélio Castroneves will return in a third entry for the Indianapolis 500.
What should happen next?
The Ganassi relationship will likely dictate who is driving that second car, and if Alexander Rossi ended up in the third Ganassi entry, Marcus Armstrong should be loaned out to MSR. It would keep Armstrong on Ganassi's books and give MSR the best remaining CGR driver. Armstrong and Rosenqvist are a good combination and it should be a step forward for MSR. Both drivers would bring pace and could be podium contenders.
That is a paying seat. It should look to get the best driver in it, and Armstrong has been the most consistent of the three young Ganassi drivers filling out the 2024 lineup.
Prema
What do we know?
The Italian team has announced it would field two cars for the 2025 season with Chevrolet engines. Due to the charter agreement, Prema will be excluded from receiving an initial charter, and its two entries will need to qualify for every race as only the 25 charter entries plus two non-charter entries will be allowed to compete in each race. The good news is no other team is speaking about fielding a non-charter entry, effectively giving the 26th and 27th spots on the grid to Prema.
Driver talk has been hush, though there have been some names that have said they are not interested in Prema, and the most likely driver rumored to join the team is a successful European junior series driver, who is now in sports cars.
What should happen next?
The one name most linked to Prema is Robert Shwartzman, the Russian-born, Israeli-representing driver was once a member of the Ferrari junior program in Formula One. Shwartzman won the 2019 Formula Three championship and he was fourth and second in his two Formula Two seasons. Shwartzman drove for Prema in all three of those years. He has spent 2024 driving in WEC for AF Corse Ferrari, and he was in the winning entry at Circuit of the Americas.
There will likely be an unknown face in one of the Prema entries. Shwartzman fits that mold. He was teammates with Mick Schumacher and was close to equal, and he did well against Oscar Piastri. It wasn't long ago Shwartzman felt like he was on Formula One's radar. He did test an IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing in January 2023 at Sebring. Where there is smoke, there is fire, and Shwartzman will end up in one of the seats.
As for the other, it should be a veteran and an IndyCar veteran. There are a great number of drivers with history driving for Prema. One current IndyCar driver is already working with Prema. That would be Romain Grosjean, as Prema has a technical partnership with Lamborghini Iron Lynx, which runs the Lamborghini LMDh program. There should be some cross over and the European mindset could work out well for Grosjean. Both sides are singing from the same hymn sheet. Make it four teams in five IndyCar seasons for the Frenchman.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
What do we know?
Christian Lundgaard is leaving. Other than that, not much else. Graham Rahal will likely be back, but it is not official, and Rahal has hinted at stepping out of the driver seat sooner rather than later. When Lundgaard announced his move to Arrow McLaren, rumblings followed that HyVee would be joining him at McLaren, but those have since died down. There is no news on Pietro Fittipaldi's future with the team.
What should happen next?
What once was an appealing team with some upside has become a settlers' choice. It was exciting when Lundgaard came in and it appeared RLLR was allowing him to flourish. How quickly things can change, as after three full seasons, it feels like RLLR was benefitting more from having Lundgaard than Lundgaard was benefitting from driving for RLLR.
Its oval woes are known, and it still had a car in the Last Row Shootout for the Indianapolis 500 this year. It is going to be very hard to attract drivers if the drivers know Indianapolis will be the most stressful weekend of the season for all the wrong reasons.
In that case, Jüri Vips should get a full-time ride. Vips spent a season as a reserve driver in a series where there is practical no testing. If he is on the books, Vips should get a full-time ride. He has nothing to lose. RLLR has nothing to lose. Let's give 2025 a full shot.
For the third car, a veteran could make sense, but it will be tough to attract a top driver if they know it will be a slog to make the Indianapolis 500 and RLLR will be starting at the back of every oval race. A young driver with few other options fits better. Louis Foster dominated the Indy Lights season. This would be a great opportunity and it would be a low cost to both. Foster would demand much of a salary, and he would be happy to get to prove himself for a season or two. He would also bring the scholarship money for winning the Indy Lights championship, an added bonus for the team.
Team Penske
What do we know?
There will be no changes at Team Penske. Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin and Will Power will all be back in 2025.
What should happen next?
This offseason should be about rehabilitating this team, which is tough to say because Power is alive for the championship heading into the final, McLaughlin has won three times, and Newgarden has won twice, including having won a second consecutive Indianapolis 500. The team mostly overcame its penalties from the push-to-pass data manipulation at the start of the season, but this team was off for a good chunk of the year.
Newgarden must be re-focused. He made more mistakes this year than in his first seven seasons with Penske. There must be more respect in the team. These three bump in each other more than any set of Penske teammates I can recall.
It felt like 2024 was going to be a strong season at St. Petersburg when Newgarden stomped the field. Once the team was penalized, it has been clawing its way back, but it has been sloppy in the process. The team must fine "Penske Perfect" over the offseason in hopes of returning to its dominant form.
What does the script say?
A.J. Foyt Racing: Santino Ferrucci, David Malukas
Andretti Global: Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, Marcus Ericsson
Arrow McLaren: Patricio O'Ward, Nolan Siegel, Christian Lundgaard
Chip Ganassi Racing: Scott Dixon, Álex Palou, Alexander Rossi
Dale Coyne Racing: Toby Sowery, Conor Daly
Ed Carpenter Racing: Christian Rasmussen, Jack Harvey
Juncos Hollinger Racing: Rinus VeeKay, Devlin DeFrancesco
Meyer Shank Racing: Felix Rosenqvist, Marcus Armstrong
Prema: Romain Grosjean, Robert Shwartzman
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: Graham Rahal, Jüri Vips, Louis Foster
Team Penske: Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, Will Power
Who is on the outside?
Linus Lundqvist, Kyffin Simpson, Sting Ray Robb, Pietro Fittipaldi, Callum Ilott, Théo Pourchaire, Luca Ghiotto, Hunter McElrea, Colin Braun, Tristan Vautier.
This feels like a realistic offseason we could see. Some drivers moving around. Some drivers getting additional opportunities out of nowhere. No one all that surprising joining the series. Some teams going young. Some teams going old. It is different but not entirely unknown. That's IndyCar in a nutshell.
Let's wait and see how the silly season actually plays out, but the teams have a script if they are interested.
