2025 IndyCar Team Preview: Team Penske

Eighteen days. A little more than two weeks until the NTT IndyCar Series season commences in St. Petersburg. We have been making our way through the IndyCar grid, covering race winners and the bottom of the grid, and a number of drivers in-between. That brings us to the most successful organization. 

Team Penske remained at the top even if it didn't finish first. Winning nearly half the races and most of the pole positions, Penske is setting the tone in IndyCar. It might be beaten, but it requires exceptional results to do so. That will be the same in 2025, but for as well as Team Penske did last year, it was far from a spectacular season. Questions have already been raised for what is to come next.

At First Glance... We aren't sure of the stability of the organization

It is Team Penske. It is fine, but for the last few years we have gone into a season waiting for change to come at the Penske organization, even if the results suggests nothing should. 

However, Will Power is in a contract year and has hired Fernando Alonso's management to representative him, the first time Power has had representation. 

Josef Newgarden is coming off a second consecutive Indianapolis 500 but also his worst championship finish. 

The only driver that feels safe for the long-term is Scott McLaughlin, who is coming off finishing third in the championship and has improved his championship finish every year he has been in IndyCar. 

It feels like we are waiting on that next major change at Team Penske. We arguably got it in a way with Tim Cindric stepping down from the role of team president to just focusing on the IndyCar portion of the organization. That isn't that much, but it is something for Team Penske.

Penske isn't afraid to making changes, even if faced with difficult choices. Will Power is three years removed from a championship. Power turns 44 years old in less than a month. He is two years older than Hélio Castroneves when Castroneves was removed from a full-time ride. The future investment in Power would not be a long-term one. Newgarden and McLaughlin are both in their 30s. The stage is set for a third driver that lowers the average and look forward to the next decade.

There is always the pressure to perform at Penske. The second you believe things are settled they are bound to change. Newgarden might have won at Indianapolis but you cannot finish eighth in the championship on a regular basis. It has only happened once. The Tennessean cannot afford for it to happen twice. McLaughlin may have improved in each season he has been in IndyCar, but that doesn't mean it has bought himself a mulligan year. Results must remain at that top level. 

The team will be fine. It is not going anywhere. It will be running at the front and winning races and likely have someone, if not multiple drivers, competing for a championship, but what the team looks like today, less than a month before the 2025 season opener, may be different from how it will look this time a year from now. It feels like change is around the corner.

2024 Team Penske Review

Wins: 8 (Barber, Indianapolis 500, Road America, Iowa I & II, Gateway, Portland, Milwaukee II)

Poles: 7 (St. Petersburg, Barber, Indianapolis 500, Iowa II, Gateway, Milwaukee I & II)

Championship Finishes: 3rd (Scott McLaughlin), 4th (Will Power), 8th (Josef Newgarden)

Josef Newgarden - #2 Astemo/Hitachi/PPG Chevrolet

Numbers to Remember:

8: Oval victories since Newgarden's most recent road/street course victory (Road America 2022)

9: Results outside the top ten last season, his most since 11 in 2014

11: Times finishing worse than his starting position last season

What does a championship season look like for him?

Not finishing outside the top twenty in four or five races and Newgarden finishing first about two or three more times. It means finishing on the podium another four or five times. It would mean not tripping over themselves and coughing up positions on bad pit stops or lazy spins while running in the top five. 

Newgarden is going to need to win a few road and street course races. On those disciplines, he needs to qualify better, starting in the top six and turning those into finishes better than where he started. For as good as he is on ovals, last season we saw what happens when he is slightly off and is not unstoppable in oval races. Better road course form can make up for when he isn’t Superman at Iowa, Gateway and Milwaukee.

We know Newgarden can do it. We have seen him do it twice. We have seen him come close to doing it another two or three times. It is not unthinkable he can be champion. He must figure out replicating the steps again.

What does a realistic season look like for him?

It is difficult to imagine Newgarden will be stubbing his toes as much as he did the year before. That solves part of the problem. Completely eradicating those off days isn't going to be the difference between eighth and first in the championship. Cleaning up those days likely only get him into the top five, but with work to do. What should go in his favor is Newgarden shouldn't lose another race victory due to a disqualification. 

Last year, we saw a human Newgarden. For how well he ran, we also saw him have bad days at Iowa, something that we haven't seen from him at the circuit in a decade. We saw him make mistakes and go over the edge. This was after Newgarden spoke about the importance of him focusing on his craft prior to the 2024 season.

It isn't completely gone. The ovals will be where he can score a great number of points. He is going to win at least one, likely twice, possibly three times. If he does that, a championship push is within reason. The road and street courses are where he must find where he was from 2017 to 2022. If Newgarden can win once or twice on road and street courses, his championship chances increase exponentially. 

To be fair to Newgarden, he went a decade between bad seasons in IndyCar, and the bad season he had last year included a second consecutive Indianapolis 500 victory. It is a matter of perspective and acknowledging that bad isn't always that bad. It isn't going to be easy for Newgarden to get back on top, but it is a plausible outcome for the 2025 season. 

Scott McLaughlin - #3 XPEL/Good Ranchers/Pennzoil Chevrolet

Numbers to Remember:

5: Pole positions last season, the most in IndyCar

3.7142: Average finish on ovals last season

637: Laps led last season, the most in IndyCar

What does a championship season look like for him?

Accordingly to last season, a championship season is everything he did last year, except not being disqualified from the St. Petersburg season opener after finishing third. That flip in results was the difference between McLaughlin and Álex Palou in the championship. If the season opener results remained unchanged and the rest of 2024 played out the same, McLaughlin would have won the title on tiebreaker. 

Of course, winning on tiebreaker is not what anyone wants to bank on. Winning on tiebreaker means you can likely be a little bit better. One position goes a long way. 

McLaughlin has 95% of it. It is cleaning up those few bad days. Some of those were not McLaughlin's fault. A mechanical issue can pop out of nowhere. Pencil one of those in a season, and then you know what you will need in the remaining 16 races. 

He can already win three races a season, and he can do it on both track disciplines. A championship might require another victory or two and a few more podium runs.

What does a realistic season look like for him?

McLaughlin is giving Newgarden a run for his money when it comes to oval form, especially on the shorter ovals. McLaughlin won at Iowa and Milwaukee. On both weekends, Newgarden struggled for speed. Insults was added to injury when Newgarden was taken out from pole position at the start of the second Milwaukee race.

If McLaughlin can clearly defeat Newgarden on ovals, it will set him up better in the championship fight. It is practical that McLaughlin could win four oval races. That would set him up nicely in the championship. Another one or two victories on road or street courses would be enough to put him over the top unless he has an absurd number of terrible finishes. 

In four full IndyCar seasons, McLaughlin has gone 14th, fourth, third and third. You cannot climb forward after every season. He has two more spots to play with. Maximizing his best can put McLaughlin that next step higher. With the competitiveness of this championship, McLaughlin can run stellar and lose a little ground. That is how tight it is at the top of IndyCar. Neither would be a disappointment. 

Will Power - #12 Verizon Chevrolet

Numbers to Remember:

22: Races since his most recent pole position (Iowa II 2023)

34: Races since his most recent pole position on a road/street course (Laguna Seca 2022)

68: Races since hist most recent victory from pole position (Harvest Grand Prix II 2020)

What does a championship season look like for him?

As a two-time champion, we know Power can win the title a few different ways. He can win a lot and control a championship by raising the bar on a near weekly basis. He can win once and just continue finishing third and fourth and make it frustrating to keep up. 

One area here Power must improve is his qualifying form. It sounds strange to say about Power, but a pole position or three can put him in control of a race from the start and that would set him up better for scoring points. 

Any championship season would not see Power stumbling into a few ruts and having multiple occasions where he isn't finishing in the top ten. It also means making sure the seatbelts are tight at the start of every race, especially the season finale when he has a shot at winning the title. 

What does a realistic season look like for him?

Anytime a driver has a winless season after the age of 40, it is concerning. Power had the proper rebound season to ease some tension last year with three victories and being alive for the championship into the season finale.

Three victories and four runner-up results is outstanding and rather surprising when that isn't enough to win a championship. I don't know if he can match that again, but we know he will have the capability to do so. 

It is likely Power will win a few pole positions. He might not be in his prime, but he has the skill to pull one or two of those out. He has what it takes to win a race or two, possible on a road course and an oval. 

The one thing that has followed Power over the last few seasons are the stumbles he has become prone to make in a season. The one year it didn't catch him, he won the championship, but what has cost him are the two-race stretches when he is 16th and 20th or 13th and 19th. They aren't the worst results, but they are enough ground lost to cost a driver a position or two in the championship. If one day happens, a second is usually not far behind. The third time is the charm, but Power cannot afford two bad races on the spin to win this championship. It is the one habit that he has trouble breaking.

The 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season opens on Sunday March 2 with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Fox's coverage of the season opener will begin at noon Eastern Time.

IndyCar Wrap-Up: Team Penske's 2024 Season

Our penultimate IndyCar Wrap-Up has us at Team Penske, and we could spend a few days talking about Team Penske's 2024 season. From technical infractions to contract negotiations, teammates bickering and uncharacteristically poor results, disqualifications and accidents to another Indianapolis 500 victory, Team Penske was a soap opera in its own right. However, it was still Team Penske. Despite all of its issues, it still won the most races this season, but the team was not clinical enough to claim the title.

Scott McLaughlin

Expectations are always high at Team Penske, but McLaughlin entered his fourth full season in IndyCar expecting to continue his ascension in IndyCar. After finishing fourth and third in the championship the previous two years, McLaughlin was looking to assert himself as the best at Team Penske, and he made a great case for it.

What objectively was his best race?
McLaughlin won three races. He won at Barber Motorsports Park, the first Iowa race and the second Milwaukee race. Iowa and Milwaukee were his first career oval victories.

What subjectively was his best race?

Milwaukee stands out the most because McLaughlin had the best car, but the way the strategies played out, he could not just rely on being the best car. He had to hold off the strategic drives of Will Power, Colton Herta and Scott Dixon. A late restart only added to the pressure, but McLaughlin was able to keep the field at bay and pick up his third victory of the season.

What objectively was his worst race?
It is the race where McLaughlin was disqualified. The push-to-pass violation found after St. Petersburg relegated McLaughlin from a third-place finish with 35 points to 27th and no points. That would prove to be costly. 

What subjectively was his worst race?

In combination to the St. Petersburg race, McLaughlin lost a gearbox in the second race at Long Beach. At that time in Long Beach, we thought it was a third combined with a 26th, two results that effectively canceled each other out. Once the disqualification was announced, it went from a third and a 26th and 41 combined points to a 27th and a 26th and a combined five points. 

It felt like it was season over at that point, but credit to McLaughlin to do all that he could to remain alive. Sadly, McLaughlin lost 39 points. The St. Petersburg penalty was a 39-point swing to Álex Palou as Palou gained four points in combination with the 35 points McLaughlin lost. If St. Petersburg's results remained unchanged, McLaughlin would have won the championship on tiebreaker.

Scott McLaughlin's 2024 Statistics

Championship Position: 3rd (505 points)
Wins: 3
Podiums: 7
Top Fives: 8
Top Tens: 11
Laps Led: 637
Poles: 5
Fast Sixes: 4
Fast Twelves: 9
Average Start: 6.411
Average Finish: 9.1765

Will Power

Power entered 2024 after experiencing the highest of highs and the lowest of lows over the previous two seasons. In 2022, Power was champion. In 2023, Power was winless for the first time since the 2006 Champ Car season. Add to it health concerns for his wife, 2023 was a much tougher season away from the track than on it. With his wife's health restored, Power found his old spark in 2024.

What objectively was his best race?
Power also won three races this season. The first came at Road America in a race that Team Penske dominated, but Power was the third-best of the three drivers until he leaped forward in the final round of pit stops. Power again found fortune in a pit cycle when Power had yet to stop when the caution came out in the second Iowa race. He was the only driver yet to stop and this put him into the lead for the remainder of the race. At Portland, he pounced at the start and led from second on the grid, and he went on to lead 101 of 110 laps.

What subjectively was his best race?

Considering how the Road America race was turning into Scott McLaughlin vs. Josef Newgarden and Power was an after-thought, this victory was far more impressive than the others. It felt inevitable the race would be decided during the final round of pit stops between McLaughlin and Newgarden. During the final round of pit stops, Power went the longest before making his final stop, and running long was the better strategy, as Power emerged clear of his teammates. Power was able to keep the other two Penske cars behind him and he ended up taking the victory, ending a 33-race winless streak.

What objectively was his worst race?
Power had two finishes of 24th, the Indianapolis 500 and Nashville.

What subjectively was his worst race?

Nashville should be viewed as a disaster because the most self-inflicted wound ended Power's championship hopes. His seatbelts were not properly fastened prior to the start of the race and Power had to come in to get that rectified 15 laps into the contest. The championship ended right then and there. It took five laps for Power to get his belts fixed and it was a race where he had to finish third or better. The remainder of the race was wondering what could have been.

Will Power's 2024 Statistics

Championship Position: 4th (498 points)
Wins: 3
Podiums: 7
Top Fives: 7
Top Tens: 11
Laps Led: 367
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 6
Fast Twelves: 9
Average Start: 6.705
Average Finish: 8.6471

Josef Newgarden

No driver was more vocal during the offseason about personal changes made than Josef Newgarden. After a good but not great year in 2023, Newgarden was set to re-focus his career and he worked on getting the most out of on-track results. Dropping off-track concerns like his YouTube series with McLaughlin and unfollowing everyone on social media, Newgarden was ready to return to the top of IndyCar. Newgarden could not have prepared for a more unconventional season than the one he experienced in 2024, and he ended up heading in the wrong direction.

What objectively was his best race?
The history books will credit Newgarden with two victories for the 2024 season. The first was the Indianapolis 500, his second consecutive time winning IndyCar's most famous race, and it put Newgarden in esteemed company. The second was Gateway Motorsports Park, a race where Newgarden overcame a spin and where he had a tight battle in the closing stages with McLaughlin.

What subjectively was his best race?

It is Indianapolis. Off the back of the push-to-pass controversy, Newgarden had been marred leading into Indianapolis. His results after the disqualification were poor, and he needed a bounce back. For it to come at Indianapolis, but not just in the form of a good run, but a daring passing to the outside of Patricio O'Ward in turn three of the final lap was the statement most drivers wish they could make in their careers. 

Any doubt over talent or ability was cast aside with Newgarden flying around the outside. With it all on the one, Newgarden took a gamble and it stuck. He stole it from the fingertips of another exceptional driver, and it could leave little doubt over Newgarden's greatness.

What objectively was his worst race?
Because he was run over when the start was waved off of the second Milwaukee race, Newgarden was classified in 27th with only five laps completed though he started on pole position. That was a dagger to what was a difficult season.

What subjectively was his worst race?

It wasn't one race, but the number of mental errors we saw from Newgarden all year. He made some blunders, and if it wasn't for the Indianapolis 500 victory, it would be the defining characteristic of his 2024 season. In some ways, it still is. 

He was woeful at Barber Motorsports Park and the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. He spun on his own at Detroit and it cost him dearly. He spun out from fifth late at Laguna Seca and he was flat uncompetitive at Mid-Ohio, attempting a three-stop strategy that was never going to work. The track change at Iowa caught him out, though he stilled pulled out two good results. He coughed up a top ten finish at Toronto. Then he had the Milwaukee weekend from hell, tangling with Marcus Ericsson in the first race while looking for a top five finish and having Marcus Armstrong run over him before the second race even began. 

Newgarden had eight finishes outside the top fifteen this year, his most since eight in 2014. This was a stunningly poor season or Newgarden, and that isn't even taking into consideration he was disqualified from victory at St. Petersburg. And he was still eighth in the championship.

Josef Newgarden's 2024 Statistics

Championship Position: 8th (401 points)
Wins: 2
Podiums: 6
Top Fives: 7
Top Tens: 8
Laps Led: 137
Poles: 2
Fast Sixes: 6
Fast Twelves: 9
Average Start: 7.294
Average Finish: 12.765

An Early Look Ahead

We cannot think Team Penske will be this dysfunctional again in 2025. There is a very good argument that if the St. Petersburg penalty never comes, this season looks very different, and I am not talking about McLaughlin winning the championship on tiebreaker. 

After St. Petersburg, it felt like Newgarden was going to be the driver to beat this year. Even after fourth at Long Beach, it appeared Newgarden was at a level to match the consistency of Álex Palou. Once the penalty came down, it shook the organization. It shook Newgarden more than the rest.

Whether we will ever know who knew what about the technical infractions on the push-to-pass system, an otherwise steady organization was in turmoil. It clearly rocked the confidence of Newgarden. All three driver lost key crew members early in the season. The team was able to right the ship at the Indianapolis 500, and McLaughlin did win at Barber Motorsports Park, but it is fair to say this group was the most disjointed in IndyCar at the start of May. 

I cannot envision Penske being that off again. It isn't going to break the rules in such a manner that is for sure. 

Either way, it has McLaughlin entering 2025 riding a great wave of confidence and arguably the best in the team. Power is revived after a difficult 2023, but for all the speed we saw from Power, he wasn't clean now the stretch with five finishes outside the top ten in the final nine races. Newgarden had his worst year at Team Penske by a considerable margin. He could not string together three consecutive good weekends to save himself. 

McLaughlin and Power may have the easiest move into the new season, but Newgarden has work to do. Newgarden vowed to make changes for the better in 2024, and he went in the wrong direction. An Indianapolis 500 victory softens the blow, but too often the #2 team struggled to get into contention or Newgarden took them out of contention. They cannot afford a repeat of that next season, and Newgarden must figure out what is the best mindset for him outside the race car.

Everyone should get better, or at least be in a better headspace in 2025. If all three of these drivers are focused, Team Penske will improve from where it was in 2024, which is already a pretty great position despite the minor chaos that happened behind the scenes.

2024 IndyCar Team Preview: Team Penske

And then there were 30 days until the 2024 IndyCar season opener. Only a month remains until the teams unload in St. Petersburg and the first race of 17 commences. Normally when IndyCar is in St. Petersburg, Team Penske comes out on top. Eleven times Penske has won on the Albert Whitted Airport runway, more than any other team, just over half of all editions of the race. It is another season, and for Team Penske expectations remain unchanged.

At First Glance... It's Team Penske

We know the drill. It is Team Penske.

It is either going to either win four races, including the Indianapolis 500, and it will be a disappointing season, or it will win 12 races, not win the Indianapolis 500, finish one-two-five in the championship, and it will be a disappointing season. There is a narrow window for euphoric celebration on the Captain's ship. 

By Penske standards, 2023 was only a good season for the team. It won the Indianapolis 500. For Team Penske, that is the number one goal of the season. It accomplished that, but the IndyCar season is more than one race. When Chip Ganassi Racing wins more races and wins the championship, the season cannot be considered a success. However, winning five races is still a pipe dream for 75% of the other teams in the series. 

For all that Penske should celebrate, there were plenty of reasons to be concerned. Josef Newgarden won the Indianapolis 500, he won four oval races... but he only had one podium finish on the road/street courses. He had six finishes outside the top ten, three outside the top twenty, his most finishes outside the top ten since 2015 and his most finishes outside the top twenty since 2016. 

Scott McLaughlin won at Barber Motorsports Park, he was third in the championship with 11 consecutive top ten finishes to close the season... but he only led 117 laps, down from 433 laps led the year before and he only led two laps on ovals!

Will Power did not win a race for the first time since his rookie season in Champ Car in 2006. Power was on the podium four times, a good season; he won two pole positions, a fair total; but he only had one race where it felt like he should win, and Newgarden still dominated that first race from Iowa. 

Penske can afford a season like this. It cannot afford a second season like this, however. 

There wasn't a reason to change the lineup, but Team Penske will not take too long refresh the lineup if results are not up to snuff. It also does not take much of a reason for Penske to move on from a driver, even if he is running as one of the best in IndyCar. 

Power has achieved a lot for Team Penske, but the leash is short if he has another winless season. It doesn't necessarily spell the end of his time with the team, but 2025 will be a pivotal year before the final act of his career. 

Newgarden succeeded and failed in 2023. He conquered the last quest in an IndyCar driver's career, but his results were all over the board and he was never pressuring for the championship despite winning four races. He has not expressed any joy in the season he had, and with him stepping away from some of the off-track extracurriculars (Bus Bros), it signals a re-focus on his craft. 

Considering McLaughlin has only completed three IndyCar seasons, going from 14th to fourth to third is as good as you could expect from a driver moving from tin-top touring cars. We know he can run at the top level in IndyCar. It is no longer a pleasant surprise when he finishes in the top five and is competitive. That is the expectation now, and it is actually a little underwhelming just to finish in the top five. Winning is what matters.

It is Team Penske. It is going to win races and be a force in IndyCar. It is a matter of its level of dominance. Can it dethrone Chip Ganassi Racing with all three drivers winning on a regular basis? Will one Penske driver carry the team while areas for improvement remain? Is there anyway Penske declines and we are left scratching our heads and wondering what it does next? 

All of these drivers can secure their rides for the next five years this season, and yet, with stagnation, all three could find themselves on the chopping block.

2023 Team Penske Review

Wins: 5 (Texas, Barber, Indianapolis 500, Iowa 1, Iowa 2)

Poles: 4 (Iowa 1, Iowa 2, Nashville, Gateway)

Championship Finishes: 3rd (Scott McLaughlin), 5th (Josef Newgarden), 7th (Will Power)

Josef Newgarden - #2 Hitachi/PPG Chevrolet

Numbers to Remember:

6: Newgarden's last six victories have been on ovals.

2: Podium finishes in the last two seasons that were not victories.

1: Top five finish on a permanent road course in 2023 (fifth at Portland).

What does a championship season look like for him?

Newgarden has already done it twice, and he has come close a few more times. Each season he has won a championship, Newgarden has won four races. In each season he won multiple times on road/street courses and ovals. In two of the three seasons he has finished runner-up in the championship, he has done the same. 

In his two championship seasons, he has won one of the first three races and had multiple podium finishes in the first four events. In two of the three seasons he was runner-up, he did not win any of the first five races, but in one of those seasons he did win two of the first three events. 

The key things is Newgarden limits his bad days. In each of his championship seasons, he never finished outside the top twenty. In two of the three seasons he has finished runner-up, he has at least two finishes outside the top twenty. 

What does a realistic season look like for him?

Anything is realistic for Newgarden. He could bounce back from his underwhelming road/street course numbers and win four times with six podium finishes on the twisty circuits. He could also go winless again and only win two oval races. 

The addition of a Milwaukee doubleheader should be favorable for him, as it also adds an oval races to the schedule. He was fifth in each of his last two Milwaukee starts and led 109 laps from pole position in the most recent visit to the one-mile oval. 

His consistency should level out. If that happens, Newgarden will be a greater threat for the championship. A more balanced season should make him dangerous. However, if he keeps having one or two stray results, it could cost him.

Scott McLaughlin - #3 DEX Imaging/XPEL/Snap-On/Pennzoil/Good Ranchers/Sonsio Chevrolet

Numbers to Remember:

8.928: Average finish in 14 oval starts.

2,258: Laps completed in 2023, tied for the most in IndyCar with Álex Palou.

28: Consecutive races finished.

What does a championship season look like for him?

Continuing on the top ten form from the end of last season, except McLaughlin takes it up a notch, and opens with a run of five straight top five finishes, including podium finishes on the first two street courses and his first top five result in the Indianapolis 500. 

He will get bucked from the horse at Detroit but bounce back with a win at Road America before another top five finish at Laguna Seca. A top ten will follow at Mid-Ohio, but he will win one of the two Iowa races and then head into the Olympic break with a Toronto victory. 

Back from break, McLaughlin wins at Gateway, finishes on the podium at Portland and then has a victory and another top five at Milwaukee, setting him up in the championship lead for Nashville. A podium in the finale seals the championship for the New Zealander in his fourth full season.

What does a realistic season look like for him?

McLaughlin has the consistency Newgarden needs, but McLaughlin is a tad off the championship level. That final step is not impractical for this season. It is plausible McLaughlin could win four or five times and win at least once on each track discipline. His teammate Newgarden could be his greatest hurdle to a championship. If Newgarden regains his form, he could be the one thing in McLaughlin's way and cancel out whatever improved results McLaughlin has. 

In the last two seasons, McLaughlin has settled into being a sure pair of hands. In the last 26 races, he has 22 top ten finishes. However, ten of those results have been in the back half of the top ten. Those are fine results, but they need to be just a little better to win a championship. A title isn't out of the question. But will a two-victory, six-podium season be enough if he has ten results between sixth and tenth?

Will Power - #12 Verizon Chevrolet

Numbers to Remember:

10: Podium finishes in his last 27 races.

0: Victories in the last 27 races.

40: Consecutive races finished, 11 finishes away from breaking Danica Patrick's record. 

What does a championship season look like for him?

A championship season for Power at this point in his career will likely follow the blueprint of 2022. He might win only once or twice, but he will suffocate the championship by consistently finishing on the podium and in the top five. 

The season will begin with five consecutive top five finishes, three of which are podium finishes. He will have another run of six top five finishes over the next eight races, and he will close the season with at least two podium results in the final four events. 

It will also likely require the rest of the field not being dominant with every driver having the off-day on a semi-regular basis. There might be a few drivers that win more, but they will have a handful of bad results that keep Power out of touching distance as Power finishes no worse than 15th all season.

What does a realistic season look like for him?

Power turns 43 years old on March 1. Though winless, 2023 was not a bad season for him. With the strength of IndyCar at the moment, it is not guaranteed we see Power return to his past form. We haven't seen him win multiple races in a season since 2020, he has't won on an oval since 2019 and he hasn't won at least three races in a season since 2018. In two of the last three seasons, he has finished outside the top five in the championship after 11 consecutive seasons finishing in the championship top five. 

We are seeing a regression. 

Power could find a spark and win a race or two in 2024, but still end up sixth or seventh in the championship. He is the third-best Penske driver at the moment. Álex Palou is the best driver in the series. Scott Dixon is still performing at an incredible level. Then you have Patricio O'Ward, Colton Herta and Alexander Rossi, all three who went winless last season but hungry to correct that, Marcus Ericsson is quietly consistent, and there is a sleeper in Christian Lundgaard. That is what Power is up against entering his 20th season in IndyCar. 

Power isn't going to fall off the cliff. He will be on the podium a handful of times and have plenty of top ten finishes, but we are not going to see the Will Power of old with four or five victories and three victories from pole position.

The first round of the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season will be the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 10. Coverage will begin at noon on NBC and Peacock.

IndyCar Wrap-Up: Team Penske's 2023 Season

The penultimate IndyCar Wrap-Up finds us looking at Team Penske. It is unfathomable to consider this year a disappointment. Penske won the Indianapolis 500, it had two drivers in the top five of the championship and all three of its drives ranked in the top seven. Yet, this is Team Penske. Five victories just doesn't feel like enough, and its most senior driver went winless for the first time driving for the organization. At no point did a Penske driver lead the championship this season. 

Scott McLaughlin

After a breakout sophomore season, McLaughlin aimed for more in year three with Team Penske. This season did not mirror his 2022 season, and though there were fewer standout drives, the New Zealander found success through consistency. While paired with two of the toughest drivers in contemporary IndyCar, it was the third-year convert from touring cars that found himself on top in this highly competitive intra-squad battle.

What objectively was his best race?
McLaughlin won at Barber Motorsports Park after a grueling battle with Romain Grosjean, but in a race that saw McLaughlin on the better tire compound for the final stint in the race, and McLaughlin was running a three-stop strategy to Grosjean's two. The race came to the New Zealander late and he ran away with it.

What subjectively was his best race?

It is hard to overlook Barber because Grosjean was in control of that race and Grosjean took the lead from McLaughlin with an incredible pass on the outside of the penultimate corner. At that point, it appeared to be race over and Grosjean was set for his first career victory, but McLaughlin had the better tires and chased down Grosjean, who was also watching his fuel. McLaughlin caught a moment when Grosjean went wide one lap in turn five and once McLaughlin was ahead it was over. 

The first Iowa race also deserves a mention because on a race weekend where Josef Newgarden was close to untouchable, but McLaughlin spent almost that entire race in second position and he was there if Newgarden slipped.

What objectively was his worst race?
An unscheduled pit stop to repair wing damage knocked McLaughlin to a 16th-place finish in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

What subjectively was his worst race?

It was the first race of the season when McLaughlin got into Grosjean and ended Grosjean's race while effectively ending McLaughlin's. These were the best two drivers and they were in lockstep for the entire penultimate stint. The race would come down to the final pit cycle. Grosjean stopped first. McLaughlin came the next lap. 

When McLaughlin emerged from the pit lane, the drivers were side-by-side, but Grosjean had the advantage going into turn four. McLaughlin lost control entering turn four and put both cars into the tire barrier. At worst, McLaughlin would have finished second if both drivers made it through that corner. Instead, McLaughlin was out of the top ten, a penalty knocked him back a little more and he finished 13th. 

McLaughlin owned up to the error, but it is not how anyone wants to start a season. 

Scott McLaughlin's 2023 Statistics

Championship Position: 3rd (488 points)
Wins: 1
Podiums: 4
Top Fives: 7
Top Tens: 14
Laps Led: 117
Poles: 2
Fast Sixes: 7
Fast Twelves: 10
Average Start: 7.2353
Average Finish: 7

Josef Newgarden

Since day one with Team Penske, Newgarden has been in the championship fight, and with two titles and three consecutive championship runner-up finishes, it was never a doubt that Newgarden would be in the fight until the very end again this season. The goal was to achieve something more in 2023. The Tennessee-native had won plenty of races in many different places. There was one race on his mind, and he accomplished his lifelong goal, though the season did not end on the highest note.

What objectively was his best race?
Newgarden won four races, all on ovals, Texas, the Indianapolis 500 and he swept the Iowa doubleheader.

What subjectively was his best race?

Which race do you think? It is the Indianapolis 500. In a year where Team Penske did not look all that competitive, Newgarden went from 17th on the starting grid to first to the checkered flag. It wasn't a case of something flipped on during the race. Newgarden patiently made up ground. 

He was in the top five at the right time and had the car setup for such a battle. Newgarden took the lead at one point with a brilliant pass on Marcus Ericsson and Patricio O'Ward. Then it looked like the race was going to escape from Newgarden when Ericsson had nosed ahead on the lap 197 restart as Benjamin Pedersen and Ed Carpenter bounced off of one another and brought out a caution. 

However, race control decided to red flag the race and restart with the green flag and white flag coming out simultaneously. With one chance to win the race, Newgarden didn't overreact to Ericsson swerving, and it may have won Newgarden the race. Instead of chasing the draft, Newgarden let Ericsson scrub off speed exiting turn two down the back straightaway. Newgarden made the run and took the lead well before turn three and he had enough to hold on for his most famous victory.

What objectively was his worst race?
It was about two and a half months later in the August IMS road course race when Newgarden qualified 19th, took a six-spot grid penalty for an engine change and then was caught in the opening lap incident when Marcus Armstrong was stopped in turn seven and Newgarden had nowhere to go but park his car on Armstrong's front end. 

Newgarden could not be restarted in time before the field came around. He was a lap down and could not get out of that hole, finishing 25th. 

One week after that, Newgarden was running in the top five at Gateway after dominating the race early, but during the pit cycle, Newgarden slid up the racetrack and brushed the barrier exiting turn two, damaging his car and leaving him 25th again, effectively ending his championship hopes.

What subjectively was his worst race?

It is not one race but three of those final four races, the August IMS road course race, Gateway and then Laguna Seca to cap it off. 

In the second IMS road course race, it wasn't just getting in the accident but Newgarden did not have the pace the entire weekend and it was the worst time to not show up. Newgarden was 84 points behind Álex Palou with four races remaining before the start of that weekend. At worse, he could not afford to lose any more ground, maybe a point or two would not be the end of the world. Newgarden lost 19 points. 

Gateway was Newgarden's last hope, and it started well, but once Scott Dixon stuck to the three-stop strategy, Newgarden lost control of the race. He was still in position to gain points on Palou, but Newgarden could not afford less than a victory and ten less points for second was still going to hurt. He barely stepped over the line and it bit him.

Then he was hit at the start at Laguna Seca and had another incident leaving him 21st. The championship was already gone but it was a rotten end to an otherwise good season.

Josef Newgarden's 2023 Statistics

Championship Position: 5th (479 points)
Wins: 4
Podiums: 5
Top Fives: 8
Top Tens: 12
Laps Led: 602
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 3
Fast Twelves: 8
Average Start: 9.3529
Average Finish: 9.4706

Will Power

The defending champion had plenty to aim for in 2023. Power was already at the top of the record book in most of the major statistically categories. He was positioned to make further ground in the annals of IndyCar history. However, off-track concerns dampened Power's start of the season. He was good, but not at the level we saw the year prior, and 2023 turned out to be one of the worst of Power's career while still being more than acceptable to the average driver.

What objectively was his best race?
Power was runner-up in the second Iowa race after starting from his 70th career pole position.

What subjectively was his best race?

It is the second Iowa race. Power led fewer laps in this race compared to the first Iowa race, but Power had a better balance on his car in the second Iowa race. There was less frustration and when there was the late restart, Power made the pass on Felix Rosenqvist to get second instead of finishing third. 

What objectively was his worst race?
Power spun early at Portland in a battle with Alexander Rossi. Power stalled in the grass and went a lap down before being restarted. Power was trapped a lap down for practically the entire race and finished 25th.

What subjectively was his worst race?

It is probably the Indianapolis 500. After brushing the barrier exiting turn two, Power had bent suspension which took him out of contention for anything special. He did see the checkered flag, but five laps down in 23rd. 

The first Iowa race must sting because Power was controlling that race. Newgarden was struggling in the early stages and Power looked settled. With the flip of a switch, Newgarden had it figured out and when Newgarden took the lead from Power, Power was out of sorts. He was frustrated and ended up losing spots. He only fell to fifth, but it was on to be better than that. 

Fifth is far from a disaster, but when a driver goes winless, the best opportunity that got away looks that much worse. This was that opportunity. 

Will Power's 2023 Statistics

Championship Position: 7th (425 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 4
Top Fives: 6
Top Tens: 11
Laps Led: 180
Poles: 2
Fast Sixes: 1
Fast Twelves: 10
Average Start: 9.1765
Average Finish: 9.4118

An Early Look Ahead

Team Penske will be fine, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have areas where it must improve. It might have won five races, a great year for almost every team in IndyCar, but that is down for Team Penske, and as great as Chip Ganassi Racing was, Team Penske had its problems.

Newgarden will enter the 2024 season 637 days removed from his most recent road/street course victory. He had only one podium finish on a road/street course in 2023. His average finish on road/street courses was 11th, not terrible, but not great. Newgarden isn't experiencing some career drop off. He was still masterful on ovals, and even with his dismal road/street course runs, he had a few good performances. Long Beach comes to mind where Newgarden started well and then was on the wrong strategy and faded.

Road and street courses were a place where all the Penske cars struggled in 2023. McLaughlin won at Barber, but Power made the Fast Six only once all season. Once! Power was the king of starting seventh this season. Power did make the Fast 12 in ten races. It could just have been a fluky season and instead of Power winning three or four pole positions and considering that a down year for Power, he ended up only making the Fast Six once. 

Power was focused on his wife's health during the early stages of the season, and it likely was on his mind for the entire year. There are more important things than motorsports. His wife's health is monumentally more important than any result in an IndyCar race.  

There is the possibility of this was the start of the downward swing for Power. Not every driver has it forever. I don't think that is the case, not yet. Like Scott Dixon, I need to see at least two or three seasons before I start considering that was the case for Power. You may say Power only won once in 2022 while winning the championship, but Power had nine podium finishes in 17 races and 12 top five finishes while taking five pole positions that season. Only 2023 was the only off-year to date. 

Even McLaughlin wasn't perfect this year and he was third in the championship. He had one top five finish in the first eight races. Then he reeled off six top five finishes in the final nine races while ending the season with 11 consecutive top ten finishes. He might be the best driver in the world.

Penske had an underwhelming 2021 season winning three races. It then won nine races in 2022 while taking the championship and putting all three of its cars in the top four of the championship. Team Penske is going to be fine... but let's see where it improves in 2024.

2023 IndyCar Team Preview: Team Penske

Eleven days are all that remain between now and the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series season opener. This is the tenth, and final, IndyCar team preview. Over the last 47 days, we have gone over every full-time entrant lined up for this season. Every team has been picked apart, strengths and weaknesses, each driver given his best and at least the most realistic outcome for the 17-race, 189-day journey that awaits. Today, we end with the top team in IndyCar history. Team Penske picked up its 17th championship in 2022. The organization in its entirety reached the 600-victory plateau as well. More is to come in 2023.

At First Glance... How does it go wrong?

No team is a better model of consistent success than Team Penske. 

Last year it won nine races and took the championship after having only won three races in 2021, the first time the team did not at least have a share of most victories for a team in an IndyCar season since 2013. Will Power took the championship eight years after his first, rising from ninth in the championship the year prior. Penske put three cars in the top four, the tenth time in 11 seasons it has had multiple top five championship finishers, and the sixth time in that span it has put at least three in the championship top five. It was more of the same, Penske at the top. 

But Penske is not immune from tribulations. After what was still a respectable 2021 season, but a disappointment given the organizations standards, most were ready for some sort of change if 2022 did not see an improvement. Penske has made changes when things had been going far better than that. 

Juan Pablo Montoya lost his full-time ride after finishing eighth in the championship while the other three Penske cars went 1-2-3. Hélio Castroneves was booted to sports cars after finishing fourth in the championship, the third best of four Penske drivers that season and Castroneves had six consecutive top five championship finishes at that time. Simon Pagenaud's exit almost mirrors Montoya's. In 2019, Pagenaud won the Indianapolis 500 and was second in the championship. In his following season, he won once and was eighth. But Pagenaud got an extra year in 2021, he was eighth again in the championship, but this time did not win a race.

For all of its success, Penske is a rotating door, prepared to make a proactive move than hold on even one season too long. This will be year three of the Power/Josef Newgarden/Scott McLaughlin lineup. Montoya/Castroneves/Power only lasted three seasons. Pagenaud/Castroneves/Power lasted three seasons. Pagenaud/Newgarden/Power was the lucky one. It got five seasons together. Pagenaud's 2019 season bought him sometime. 

History tells us change is imminent at Team Penske, even if the driving results tell us the team has nothing to worry about from its current trio of drivers. Maybe Penske needs the drama. The organization must put someone on the hot seat and toss them to keep everyone sharp and able to compete at the highest level. 

Penske has two of the best drivers in this generation. One is in the final years of his career but still has time left. The other has an entire second half of his career to go. Tossing either aside now would look foolish, and yet Penske always appears to time these thing right. The pressure is on all three. It does not take much to fall out of favor and be left behind.

2022 Team Penske Review

Wins: 9 (St. Petersburg, Texas, Long Beach, Belle Isle, Road America, Iowa I, Mid-Ohio, Gateway, Portland)

Poles: 9 (St. Petersburg, Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Belle Isle, Iowa I, Iowa II, Nashville, Gateway, Portland, Laguna Seca)

Championship Finishes: 1st (Will Power), 2nd (Josef Newgarden), 4th (Scott McLaughlin)

Josef Newgarden - #2 Hitachi/PPG Chevrolet

Numbers to Remember:

5: Victories in 2022

5: Finishes outside the top ten in 2022, his most since the 2016 season

5: Times leading the most laps in a season in his IndyCar career, including four of the last five seasons

What does a championship season look like for him?

These games do not work for Team Penske drivers. We know what a championship season looks like for Josef Newgarden. He has done it twice. Worst of all for him is he has been on the doorstep the last three years. What does a near-championship season look like for him? 

It is falling 16 points short of Scott Dixon with 34 points dropped due to stalling on one pit stop costing him a victory at Road America. It is having the gearbox cease up while leading on a restart with two laps to go at Road America, falling to 21st while Álex Palou takes the victory, causing a 52-point swing and Newgarden ultimately falling 38 points behind the Spaniard Palou at the end of that season. It is starting a season with four finishes outside the top ten in the first six races, erasing the benefit of two victories but then going on a tear over the summer only to have a suspension failure while dominating at Iowa rip the championship lead from his hands and forcing him to claw his way back into the championship picture but find himself 16 points short again. 

We know Newgarden can win races and find himself regularly on the podium, but in recent seasons it is one devastating result, usually while he is in a leading position, that costs him.

What does a realistic season look like for him?

All three Penske drivers can be champion. Newgarden has finished in the top two of the championship in four consecutive seasons, five of the last six and he has seven consecutive championship top five finishes. IndyCar is a tough series. There is a world where he ends up sixth or maybe even seventh if things do not go right for him and it goes phenomenally well for others. I do not see that happening, but what are the odds he finishes in the top two for a fifth consecutive season? 

His teammate just won the championship with one race victory. Newgarden has had multiple victories in seven of the last eight seasons. He has won at least one oval race in seven consecutive seasons. In three of the last four seasons he has won multiple oval races. Last year, he won three.

For any other driver, Newgarden is going to have a great season in 2023, but, for Newgarden, there is a chance it will still not be enough. 

Scott McLaughlin - #3 DEX Imaging/XPEL/Snap-On/Pennzoil/Sonsio Chevrolet

Numbers to Remember:

8.9746: Improvement in average starting position from 2021 to 2022

4.2983: Improvement in average finishing position from 2021 to 2022

10: Improvement in championship finish position from 2021 to 2022

What does a championship season look like for him?

McLaughlin is the only of the three Penske drivers without an IndyCar championship, but he has been champion before across the Pacific. It is the same song, different verse for the New Zealander, and he was on the right track with the tune in 2022. 

What he must avoid is that early slog that set him behind in the championship. He started lovely in 2022, but lost his way after opening with a victory and a runner-up finish. Four of the next five events were finishes outside the top ten, three of those outside the top fifteen. If he can sprinkle a few more top tens and at least one more top five in that stretch, combined with how he ended the season, one victory, four podium finishes, five top fives and his worst finish being sixth over the final six races, McLaughlin will primed to be the 11th different driver to win an IndyCar championship for Team Penske.

What does a realistic season look like for him?

We all expected McLaughlin to improve in 2022 from a respectable rookie season in 2021. I am not sure any of us saw him winning three times and all three victories being emphatic displays of dominance. If that was year two for him, there is no limit on what he can do in year three. 

McLaughlin is still new to IndyCar, and he has two of the toughest teammates in the business to race against. Not improving is not a failure, even slight regression would not be shameful. Top ten in the championship feels guaranteed, but where he is placed really comes down to the competition. Does McLaren fire up the championship? Does Andretti rediscover its form? Is there a surprise front-runner? 

McLaughlin could be on his game, win three races again, clean up his poor results and win the championship, or the competition could rise, knock McLaughlin down in a few areas, limit him to only one victory or possibly none but with a smattering of podium finishes and leave McLaughlin eighth in the championship and wondering how this season was not better. It is a wide range of possibility for this driver.

Will Power - #12 Verizon Chevrolet

Numbers to Remember:

4: Pole positions in the final seven races of the 2022 season

2: Pole positions in Power's prior 26 appearances

5.9412: Average finish in 2022, Power's best in a full season

What does a championship season look like for him?

Like Newgarden, Power has done this twice, but both years have been drastically different. In 2014, Power won the season opener, won three races total and was never lower than second in the championship. In 2022, Power had five top five finishes to open his season, a personal best streak for him to start a season, but yo-yoed with his championship position, took the championship lead with his one victory, fell back to second but then used consistent podium finishes to regain the lead with four races remaining and see out the title. 

Power has a record of losing championship as well. That has been long established, but it has been over a decade since Power coughed up a championship. In recent years, it has been little things that has put him down early and kept him down during the season. The minor mechanical meltdown has been attracted to the Australian over the last few seasons. Driveshaft failures, jumbled up gearboxes, a loose motor, things out of the driver's hands. He escaped those woes in 2022, proving when the machinery is reliable Power is as dangerous as they come. 

What does a realistic season look like for him?

The truth is Power's 2022 results likely will not be enough in 2023. Power's brilliant form will at least get him a top five position in the championship. That 2022 season is the bread and butter of Hélio Castroneves' final seasons with Penske. In Castroneves' final six full season with Penske, he won five times in 101 races but his championship finishes in that span were fourth, second, second, fifth, third and fourth. He did have 26 podium finishes in that run.

In the same way we must question the odds of Newgarden ending up in the top two of the championship for a fifth consecutive year, what are the odds Power will finish on the podium in over half the races for a second consecutive year? What are the odds one victory will be enough for the championship for a second consecutive year when Power became the first champion with only a single victory since Tony Stewart 25 years prior? 

Power's 2023 will ebb and flow. He can improve his victory total, maybe even jumping to three or four victories, but his podium total could decrease. In turn, his championship position could drop as well, or it could be enough for a second consecutive championship and third overall. Overlooked from Power's second championship is it came a year after 2021 saw his worst average finish in a full IndyCar season. It is still Will Power. He will at worst be good, but that will not be enough for satisfaction. 

The 2023 NTT IndyCar Series begins on Sunday March 5 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. NBC and Peacock will have coverage of the race starting at noon.

IndyCar Wrap-Up: Team Penske's 2022 Season

The final IndyCar Wrap-Up takes us to the champions, Team Penske. The 2021 season was a big letdown for Team Penske in comparison to most seasons for the team. It won multiple times and had a driver in the championship fight, but it was a less prolific season. The 2022 season was a massive turnaround and Penske stood head and shoulders above the field.

Will Power

Eight years removed from his one and only championship, Power entered 2022 coming off his worst championship finish as a full-time Team Penske driver. After only one victory and four total podium finishes, the 41-year-old Australian had a shot at multiple milestones this season. Though still a threat, Power was never considered the top contender. We saw the best Will Power this season, and it ended with Power cementing his place in IndyCar history.

 
What objectively was his best race?
It is Power's only victory of the season, a victory at Belle Isle from 16th starting position after making up many positions early in the first stint on primary tires before executing a two-stop strategy and holding off a charging Alexander Rossi in the closing laps.

What subjectively was his best race?

Belle Isle was impressive and a pivotal moment in the season. It wasn't the race where Power took the championship lead and never looked back, but he had five top five finishes in the six races prior to Belle Isle. Power wasn't finding any whammies, and even when he did, he bounced back and made up for it in the next race. Power lived on the podium this season and no one could match that output, leading to a championship for Power.

Laguna Seca deserves a note because it is where Power not only claimed his second championship, but he started that race on pole position, the 68th of his career, and it put him in sole possession of first all-time in IndyCar pole positions. 

What objectively was his worst race?
Power was 19th at Road America after Devlin DeFrancesco ran over Power entering turn five, setting back the Australian and making 19th the best he could have hoped for.

What subjectively was his worst race?

Power was 15th in the Indianapolis 500 and Toronto. In both races, he was just average, stuck in the middle of the field. In each race, he made up some spots early but couldn't keep up the momentum and make up anymore positions.

Will Power's 2022 Statistics
Championship Position: 1st (214 points)
Wins: 1
Podiums: 9
Top Fives: 12
Top Tens: 13
Laps Led: 335
Poles: 5
Fast Sixes: 5
Fast Twelves: 8 
Average Start: 7.6471
Average Finish: 5.9412

Josef Newgarden

A regular title favorite, Newgarden looked to avenge a difficult break in the 2021 season that saw him end up second in the championship for a second consecutive season.With a third championship in his sights, Newgarden looked strong from the get go, but results became a little scattered. It was either a great day or a tough day for Newgarden. It looked like the Tennessean was going to power his way through, but a few breaks didn't go his way. 

 

What objectively was his best race?
Newgarden led IndyCar with five victories this season. It started in Texas with a breathtaking pass to the outside of Scott McLaughlin on the exit of turn four coming to the checkered flag. In the next race at Long Beach, Newgarden leaped ahead of Álex Palou in the second pit cycle and held off Romain Grosjean. At Road America, Newgarden rode in Alexander Rossi's shadow in the opening stint, but took the top spot after traffic held up Rossi during the first pit cycle and Newgarden won with relative comfort. 

In Iowa, Newgarden led 208 of 250 laps in the first race of the doubleheader weekend and took his fourth victory of the season. At Gateway, Newgarden had another incredible battle with McLaughlin, and after it appeared Newgarden lost the race in traffic, a restart after a lengthy rain delay saw Newgarden pounce and strengthen his championship hopes.

What subjectively was his best race?

It is Laguna Seca. Newgarden shot himself in the foot in qualifying, spinning in the corkscrew and stalling, causing a red flag and leaving him to start 25th. Needing the drive of his life, Newgarden picked apart the field on an aggressive strategy, and he made at least four staggering passes into the corkscrew. The pace got him up to second place, but he could not catch Álex Palou, and Power did enough to cover off Newgarden and prevent the American from claiming his third championship.

 

What objectively was his worst race?
Newgarden was 25th in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis after Power pushed Newgarden off the road and Jack Harvey ran into Newgarden, spinning him off course and leading to laps lost for repairs to the car. 

What subjectively was his worst race?

When you have led 148 of 235 laps only for a right rear suspension to end your race from a leading position, that might be the worst race of your career. Newgarden looked set to sweep the Iowa weekend, take the championship lead and be the clear championship favorite with five races remaining. There were only 65 laps remaining. It was an uncharacteristic failure, especially for a Penske car. 

Newgarden went from leading the championship by 11 points to trailing by 34 points with five races remaining in that one moment. He would have been 24 points ahead of Power. Instead, he was 26 points behind his teammate. The final margin in the championship was 16 points. For the second consecutive year, there is one clear moment where not only a race victory slipped from Newgarden's hands, but also a championship.

Josef Newgarden's 2022 Statistics
Championship Position: 2nd (544 points)
Wins: 5
Podiums: 6
Top Fives: 8
Top Tens: 12
Laps Led: 527
Poles: 1
Fast Sixes: 8
Fast Twelves: 10
Average Start: 6.6471
Average Finish: 8.1765

Scott McLaughlin

After winning Rookie of the Year, McLaughlin looked to become more competitive in his sophomore season. It was a stunning turn in performance for McLaughlin, who was only in his third season competing in any open-wheel series. With all the pressure of driving for the best team in IndyCar, McLaughlin rose to the level of a Penske driver, and the IndyCar field became a little deeper with his rise. 

 

What objectively was his best race?
There were thee victories for McLaughlin, a stunning drive in the season opener at St. Petersburg, a more contested driver at Mid-Ohio, and a shear thrashing in Portland. 

What subjectively was his best race?

All three victories were brilliant. Portland was tremendous. McLaughlin led 104 of 110 laps from pole position. Nobody touched him. Nobody. He was gone from practically the drop of the green flag. That victory kept his championship hopes alive into the Laguna Seca season finale. It could have been just a good day, McLaughlin running hard, getting a good finish but ending up mathematically eliminated from the championship. With his title hopes on the line, McLaughlin completed a drive most could only dream of achieving.

 

The victories deserve praise, but McLaughlin's oval results should be acknowledged. He dominated Texas before Newgarden completed a brave move on the outside. He was on the podium in the second Iowa race, and at Gateway he again went at it with Newgarden, but again Newgarden came out on top while McLaughlin settled for a podium position. The man has only been running ovals for two years. He has nine oval starts to his name. He has four podium finishes and five top five finishes. McLaughlin has taken to ovals like a duck to water. 

What objectively was his worst race?
It was the Indianapolis 500 where McLaughlin had an accident exiting turn three and wound up 29th. It had been a marginally good day for McLaughlin. He was stuck in the middle of the pack but was a car moving forward. He was arguably the best Penske driver in this race.

What subjectively was his worst race?

Indianapolis was bad, but I think it is the first Iowa race because a loose wheel forced an extra pit stop just before the final restart and it took him for a top five finish to a 22nd-place finish. 

McLaughlin had a tough stretch in May and through the first weekend of June. Sandwiching the Indianapolis 500 was a tough day in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis when he changed to wet tires late and spun coming to a restart, and then at Belle Isle he blew turn three, and was caught in the runoff area, taking him out of the running for the top ten.

Scott McLaughlin's 2022 Statistics
Championship Position: 4th (510 points)
Wins: 3
Podiums: 7
Top Fives: 8
Top Tens: 11
Laps Led: 433
Poles: 3
Fast Sixes: 5
Fast Twelves: 11
Average Start: 6.8824
Average Finish: 8.7647

An Early Look Ahead

Team Penske is fine. 

Will Power is rejuvenated for this next part of his career. Josef Newgarden is frustrated but still quick and he isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Scott McLaughlin came to life in IndyCar and it looks like he will win many more races in his career. 

Penske may win ten races, lead 1,300 laps and have three of the top five in the championship again with another championship in 2023. It is Team Penske. Complete and utter dominance is the expectation for this group. 

Each driver wants to achieve more. Power has achieve the most with the team. He has two championships. He has an Indianapolis 500 victory. He has 41 career victories. Power would like a little more of everything to plump up his career. Fourth all-time in victories is within sight. He just needs two more to surpass Michael Andretti, but 50 victories is possible and if he gets to 50, he can get 53 and surpass Mario Andretti. There is plenty of motivation still out there for Power.

Newgarden has been vice-champion the last three seasons. In each one, he has a good claim as being the best driver in the series. This year likely stings more than the previous two because he won five times, probably should have had a sixth, and no one else was close to matching that output. The issue is Newgarden was either on, or just slightly off. We can look to the second Iowa race as a massive loss in points that swung the championship. He was 14th at Barber, which was a slightly off day. If he doesn't have the Grand Prix of Indianapolis from hell and finish 12th instead of 25th, that is a 13-point swing right there. Even in the case of Portland. Being caught out on the primary tires dropped him from fourth to eighth, an eight-point drop.

McLaughlin could be the best driver in the world. He dominated Supercars and has become an IndyCar race winner and championship contender in two seasons. Anymore success and he will make a great claim for himself. He very well could be champion in 2023. 

The biggest motivation for Newgarden and McLaughlin is the Indianapolis 500. A Penske driver's career is not complete until he or she has won the Indianapolis 500. As Newgarden wins more races everywhere else, the lack of an Indianapolis 500 victory stands out. He is still a great driver without it. Another championship would still be a spectacular achievement, but as much as Newgarden wouldn't mind being included with the likes of Michael Andretti, Lloyd Ruby, Ted Horn and Jackie Stewart, he doesn't want to be in the group of greatest drivers to never win the Indianapolis 500. 

Indianapolis is motivation for all three drivers, but it feels like the Team Penske lineup is set for most of the next decade. Power turns 42 just ahead of the 2023 season opener, but he should have another four or five seasons in him. Newgarden is still early in his prime, and it looks like McLaughlin is going to fit in for some time to come. Newgarden and McLaughlin could be the leading duo of this team for the next decade or more. After a transitional phase at the end of the 2010s, it feels like Penske is ready for the future and with the drivers set it can focus even more on winning races, a dangerous thing for the rest of the competition. 

Every team can improve somewhere, but Team Penske is the only one that I think could have zero improvement and still be the class of the field. They are going to shoot for more, but really it is on someone else to step up than to expect Team Penske taking a step back.

2022 IndyCar Team Preview: Team Penske

The second 2022 IndyCar Team Preview is another one of IndyCar's "Big Three" teams. Team Penske did not take home the championship and it did not win the Indianapolis 500, the second consecutive season the team took home neither piece of silverware. It was a rather tame season by Penske standards and only one driver finished in the top five in the championship, the fewest for the team since 2011.

Penske is retaining three drivers for 2022, but it is downsizing to three cars. Josef Newgarden is leading the way and he is coming off finishing runner-up in the championship for the second consecutive season. Will Power won a race for a 15th consecutive season, but he also had his worst championship finish as a full-time driver since 2008. Scott McLaughlin became the first Team Penske driver to win IndyCar Rookie of the Year. While there are still two past champions in the team, it feels like Penske is going through a transition.

2021 Team Penske Review

Wins: 3 (Mid-Ohio, August IMS road course race, Gateway)

Poles: 5 (Belle Isle II, Road America, Mid-Ohio, Gateway, Long Beach)

Championship Finishes: 2nd (Josef Newgarden), 8th (Simon Pagenaud), 9th (Will Power), 14th (Scott McLaughlin)

Josef Newgarden - #2 Hitachi Chevrolet

The 2021 season had an unexpected start for Newgarden, he spun on the opening lap at Barber. The spin took out Newgarden and a few other drivers, but Newgarden's first race was over before he had even completed a lap.

Newgarden fought back with a runner-up at St. Petersburg and then was sixth in the first Texas race despite notable contact with Sébastien Bourdais. He closed out the Texas weekend with another runner-up finish. His month of May began with a fourth-place finish in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, but his Indianapolis 500 was difficult, as was a common theme for Team Penske in 2021. Newgarden was mostly in the middle of the field and finished 12th. 

Belle Isle started with a tenth, but he on pole position for the second Belle Isle race, and dominated. A mistake on tire selection put him on the less ideal compound for the final stint. Colton Herta was chasing Newgarden down, but a few late caution kept Newgarden in the lead. It did allow Patricio O'Ward back into the race and with three laps to go O'Ward took the lead and eventually the victory. Newgarden dropped back to finish second. 

In the next race, Newgarden was again on pole position at Road America, and he led of the most laps again. There was another late caution, but this time Newgarden had gearbox issues at the restart with two laps to go and lost the lead to Álex Palou. Palou took the victory, while Newgarden limped home in 21st. 

After a pair of late defeats, Newgarden mastered Mid-Ohio, leading the most laps from pole position. He was tenth in his home race in Nashville after a qualifying accident was a setback. He ran eighth in the second IMS road course race before winning at Gateway, his third victory on the oval. Newgarden closed the season with finishes of fifth, seventh and second at Portland, Laguna Seca and Long Beach respectively, lifting him to second in the final championship standings.

Numbers to Remember:

7: Consecutive seasons with at least 300 laps led.

6: Consecutive top five championship finishes.

22: Newgarden became the 22nd driver with at least 20 IndyCar victories last year.

What does a championship season look like for him?

Something like his first two championship seasons. At least four victories, at least one on a road course, street course and oval. Along with those victories, he will regularly be on the podium and in the top five. He will be in the top ten for nearly every race and he will complete almost every lap. 

In that oval race victory, he will likely lead 85% of the laps and again have north of 400 laps led in a season. Qualifying results will be good, but he will not necessarily win a lot of pole positions. In all likelihood, one of his victories will come from seventh starting position. Mechanical issues will be nonexistent. 

Newgarden will be the clear Team Penske leader and he will likely enter the finale with the championship lead, only needing to finish eighth or better to secure the title. 

What does a realistic season look like for him?

Every year is a possible championship season for Newgarden. He is still getting started with Team Penske, as he only turned 31 years old in December. He has been first or second in the championship in four of his five seasons with Penske. In the last two seasons, he has been there but had one or two results you can point at where the championship swung away from him. 

Seeing as how he already has two championships with Penske, and he has 17 victories in the last five seasons, six more than the next two drivers in that time frame, Newgarden wants to be the next Penske driver to win the Indianapolis 500. This year will be his 11th Indianapolis 500 start, and he only had three top five finishes in the race. Last year was one of Penske's worst at Indianapolis in a long time. Newgarden would like to be the guy to lead the team's revival in 2022. 

Newgarden is eventually going to have a down season. There is a good chance 2022 could be that season. Newgarden's engineer Gavin Ward left Penske for Arrow McLaren SP at the start of the year. Penske will figure it out but after numerous successful seasons together, 2022 will be a shock to the system. 

Engineer aside, nobody leads the number of laps Newgarden has been leading and winning at the rate he has been at forever. But that season will be an anomaly, and it will still be a good season in comparison to the average IndyCar driver. I don't expect a fall off from Newgarden. He will still be at the front. 

Scott McLaughlin - #3 PPG Chevrolet

The New Zealander's rookie season began with respectable results of 14th and 11th at Barber and St. Petersburg respectively. 

McLaughlin's fourth career start was his first oval outing at Texas. It was an impressive race and in the closing laps McLaughlin was up to second behind Scott Dixon. McLaughlin kept his countryman honest and picked up his first career podium finish. McLaughlin backed it up the next day finishing eighth before finishing eighth in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. 

In the Indianapolis 500, McLaughlin was the top Penske qualifier, and he ran well only to have a pit lane speeding penalty cost him a possible top ten finish and leave him in 20th. It was the start of a rough patch for McLaughlin. He would finish outside the top ten in seven consecutive races. 

Gateway was where things turned around and with the help of a caution, he ended up fighting for a top five result, ending up fourth. A ninth would follow at Portland and his season would end with finishes of 12th and 11th in the California races. 

Numbers to Remember:

3: Top ten finishes in four oval starts.

8.5: Average finish on ovals.

14.583: Average finish on road/street courses.

14: McLaughlin was 14th in the 2021 championship, the worst finish for a Penske regular since Al Unser, Jr. was 21st in the 1999 CART championship.

What does a championship season look like for him?

A McLaughlin championship will be built off strong oval race success, likely needing at least two victories, a top five finish in the Indianapolis 500 and top five finishes in four of the five races with all of his ovals ending with top ten results. 

Away from the ovals, McLaughlin improves on road and street courses, finishing in the top ten majority of the time with at least three or four top five finishes and at least one or two visits to the podium. In the races he does not finish inside the top ten, McLaughlin is running and finishing at least within the top fifteen. He also does not have a stretch longer than two races without a top ten finish.

Benefitting McLaughlin is no other driver standing out and winning many races. There are an abundance of winners and no one else cracks more than three victories. His main championship rivals all finish outside the top five in the Indianapolis and most of them actually finish outside the top ten, allowing McLaughlin to have a larger positive points swing in that one race. 

What does a realistic season look like for him?

Improvements, but not necessarily jumping into the top ten of the championship. 

McLaughlin had three top ten finishes from the first five races with a finish of 11th and 14th in the other two races. But he finished outside the top ten in the seven races that followed and five of those results were outside the top fifteen. His final four races of 2021 were nearly identical to his first five races. 

He can have a more balanced season and pick up a few more top ten results and possibly a few more top five finishes. There could be a road/street course race where he is on from the first practice session, spends every session in the top ten, makes the final round of qualifying and finishes in a top five position. I don't sense that would be a regular occurrence for McLaughlin in 2022 and he will still have a few tough weekends. 

There is also a chance his oval results dip. There is little margin for error when you were in the top ten of 75% of oval races the year before, and 75% is not an option in 2022. If he three top ten finishes again, that is a drop to 60%. If he gets the same number as 2021, his percentage increases to 80%. There are fine margins.

McLaughlin should be in the fight for a top ten championship finish. I don't expect a drop off. Anywhere between eighth and 14th in the championship would feel right. 

Will Power - #12 Verizon Chevrolet

Power opened the 2021 season with a runner-up finish at Barber and he followed it with an eighth-place finish in St. Petersburg. It was a good start, but a funk followed. 

In Texas, Power was 14th and 13th, and he ended up 11th in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The Indianapolis 500 almost did not happen. Power struggled the most of the Penske drivers and at the end of the first qualifying day, Power was not in the top 30 and would have to participate in the Last Row Shootout on Sunday. On his Sunday qualifying run, Power brushed the wall exiting turn two on the final lap. Power completed the run, but his car was damaged and would not be able to make a second attempt. The good news is Power ended up 32nd and held on to make the field of 33. 

The race did not go much better. Power was a non-factor and he spun entering the pit lane late, taking him off the lead lap. He would end up finishing 30th, three laps down. 

Things looked to be going better in the next race at Belle Isle, and through all the chaos, Power was leading late, but Romain Grosjean's accident brought out a red flag with five laps to go. When the race was restarted, Power's car would not re-fire. After multiple attempts, the car was pulled from the line and the lead was lost. He ended up 20th and irate when the race was over. 

A sixth in the second Belle Isle race was barely a consolation, the same goes for third at Road America. A lap three spin at Mid-Ohio ended an encouraging day. He was 14th in Nashville. The good news was he found his form in the August IMS road course race and took his first victory of the season. He won his first pole position at Gateway and finished third. 

The season ended with lackluster results, a spin at Portland, a mechanical issue early at Laguna Seca and a tenth at Long Beach.

Numbers to Remember:

1: Pole position in 2021, the second time since joining Team Penske he has not had multiple pole positions in a season.

11: Power's 11-year top five championship finish streak was snapped in 2021 after finishing ninth.

12.438: Average finish in 2021, his worst as a Team Penske driver.

99: Laps led in 2021, the first time he has led less than 100 laps in a season since 2008.

What does a championship season look like for him?

Power is the baddest man on the planet. 

His qualifying form is exceptional. Power picks up at least six pole positions and he wins from at least three of those. Not to mention he wins at least two other times when not on pole position. He claims residency in the top five and there is a stretch where he is on the podium for at least five consecutive races. 

The mechanical gremlins cannot keep up with him. Every race occurs without a headache. A bad day is finishing eighth but that is also one of the few races he is not quite feeling it and not really fighting for a top five, but he isn't outside the top ten. There might be one really bad race, but that isn't because Power did something wrong. It could be a race where he was caught out on pit strategy or maybe gets the strategy wrong on tire compounds and finishes on the less desirable rubber. 

His oval results are just as good as his road and street course results, and at least one of his victories comes on an oval. 

What does a realistic season look like for him?

At any point it feels like Power could turn it on and be the Will Power that we saw from 2010 through 2016. But it has been awhile since Power has been breathtaking over an entire season. It is not that he is losing it, but we know his mechanical woes and the number of race victories those have cost him. For a driver who lost plenty of races because of his own mistakes in the first half of his career, he has probably lost more from flukey mechanical problems in the last five years. 

We do have to acknowledge the drop in Power's form in 2021. He was ninth in the championship and had only one pole position and one victory. That lone victory didn't come until August. If it wasn't for the issues at Belle Isle, he would have had two victories and those extra 40 points would have had him seventh in the championship, still a drop but not as major as ninth. 

Power is going to win a few races and he is going to be quick in qualifying. He will get a few pole positions. However, he will struggle to beat Newgarden, and there is a clear number one at Penske. Power can get back into the top five of the championship, but for him to be a title contender he will need to be near flawless and not lose his cool, something we have seen more from him the last few years, a behavior unbefitting a Penske driver. A championship will require composure in 2022.

The 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season begins on Sunday February 27 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. NBC's coverage will begin at noon ET.

IndyCar Wrap-Up: Team Penske's 2021 Season

The penultimate IndyCar Wrap-Up is Team Penske. In 2021, the organization was back to four full-time entries for the first time since 2017. That 2017 season saw Penske put all four drivers in the top five of the championship and the team won ten of 17 races. Seventy-five percent of that 2017 driver lineup was still around in 2021. The one change was something unfamiliar to Team Penske, a rookie driver.

Josef Newgarden nearly did it again in 2021

Josef Newgarden
After winning the IndyCar championship in the previous two seasons to end in an odd-number, Newgarden hoped to keep that pattern going in 2021. However, he would have to do it fighting from behind after a few rough results early, but Newgarden did fight back and he was clearly the best Penske driver this season.

What objectively was his best race?
Newgarden won two races. He led 73 of 80 laps on his way to victory at Mid-Ohio. A month later, he led 138 of 260 laps on his way to victory at Gateway.

What subjectively was his best race?
I will say Mid-Ohio because he wasn't really in danger at that race. If Colton Herta does have a broken driveshaft late at Gateway, Herta likely wins that race, and Newgarden likely finishes second, but Newgarden would have led about 72 few laps. 

Mid-Ohio was the race Newgarden controlled through the finish, but the second Belle Isle race deserves a mention. Newgarden led the first 67 laps, but an early second pit stop due to a possible caution forced him to be on the less ideal alternate tires for the final stint and for longer than planned. Newgarden tried to hold on but he could not hold off the charging Patricio O'Ward after a pair of late restarts, knocking Newgarden back to second.

What objectively was his worst race?
It was the very first race of the season and the very first lap of the season. Newgarden spun cresting the hill out of turn four at Barber Motorsports Park, and he collected three cars with him. Race one was over before he reached turn five and Newgarden was classified in 23rd. It was Newgarden's worst finish since Toronto 2016. 

What subjectively was his worst race?

Newgarden only lost the championship by 38 points. There are many places where you can look at points dropped and where the championship swung out of his control. It is easy to look at a lap one accident in round one and all the points dropped there. If Newgarden makes it through that corner, he likes scores more than seven points at Barber. He was starting eighth and he had five consecutive top five finishes at the track. 

But the race that sticks out the most was Road America. If the gearbox holds on for two more laps, he gets his first victory of the season a race earlier. Instead of scoring only 13 points, he scores the maximum 54 points with a victory. If Newgarden wins the race, he takes 11 points away from Álex Palou, who benefitted from Newgarden's failure. 

Palou scored 38 points more than Newgarden at Road America. If Newgarden holds on and wins the race, he scores 14 points more than Palou. That one race was a 52-point swing, and if you flip that race alone, Newgarden scored 552 points while Palou scores only 538 points. Newgarden wins the championship.

Josef Newgarden's 2021 Statistics
Championship Position: 2nd (511 points)
Wins: 2
Podiums: 6
Top Fives: 8
Top Tens: 13
Laps Led: 355
Poles: 4
Fast Sixes: 5
Fast Twelves: 9
Average Start: 7.371
Average Finish: 7.25

Good was not good enough for Simon Pagenaud

Simon Pagenaud
In his seventh season with Team Penske, Pagenaud was looking to pick up his results after an eighth-place championship finish in the 2020 season. Pagenaud ended the previous season with eight consecutive races without a top five finish. 

What objectively was his best race?
Pagenaud was twice on the podium, both were third-place results at St. Petersburg and the Indianapolis 500 respectively.

What subjectively was his best race?
Indianapolis deserves the nod because Pagenaud started 26th, Penske looked lost in Indianapolis 500 qualifying and the race was not going great. It was going better than qualifying, but Pagenaud was not even sniffing the top ten until well into the second half of the race. Over the final two stints, Pagenaud's strategy got him into the top ten, then into the top five and he was able to break into third in the closing laps.

What objectively was his worst race?
Twenty-first at Portland after he was spun from contact with teammate Will Power. This was lining up to be a good run as he was running with teammate Scott McLaughlin and could have broken into the top ten before the spin. 

What subjectively was his worst race?

I think it was another disappointing season for Pagenaud where there isn't one bad race but a collection of underwhelming results. He only had three top five finishes all season. He only led 12 laps all season. There isn't a race where it felt like Pagenaud was a threat to win. If it wasn't for an extended caution period at Iowa last year, we would likely be saying there has been two full years since Pagenaud was last in contention for a victory. 

You can see why Penske was fine moving Pagenaud to sports cars if Pagenaud chose to stay with the team for 2022 and beyond. The results weren't bad, but not great in 2021. He is still capable of winning races, but he needs get back in his groove.

Simon Pagenaud's 2021 Statistics
Championship Position: 8th (383 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 2
Top Fives: 3
Top Tens: 9
Laps Led: 12
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 3
Fast Twelves: 9
Average Start: 11.0
Average Finish: 10.688

Results remained inconsistent for Will Power

Will Power
Power entered 2021 with 11 consecutive seasons finishing in the top five fo the championship. He ended the 2020 season with two victories and three pole positions in the final five races. He was also one victory away from reaching the 40-victory milestone and sole possession of fifth all-time in victories.

What objectively was his best race?
Power won the August IMS road course race, leading 56 of 85 laps from second starting position. The victory was Power's 40th in IndyCar, broke a tie with Al Unser for fifth all-time and it was Power's sixth victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

What subjectively was his best race?
I would say it is the August IMS road course race. It was only one of two races where Power led more than five laps.

What objectively was his worst race?
The Indianapolis 500 could not have gone worse for Power. First, he nearly did not qualify for the race. Power was not able to make the top 30 on Saturday, which put him in the Last Row Shootout on Sunday. On the final lap of his first qualifying run, he brushed the barrier and it cost him a lot of speed. It put him in danger, but his time held up to put his 32nd on the grid. 

The drama did not end there. In the race, Power spun entering the pit lane late while he was looking to be contender for a top ten finish. Instead, he finished 30th, three lap down and it was the worst finish of his IndyCar career.

What subjectively was his worst race?

It is the first Belle Isle race, because if that race was not red-flagged, Power's car does not fail to restart and knock him from leading the race with five laps to go to finishing 20th, three laps down. Not many drivers are robbed of race victory. Power was robbed at Belle Isle.

Power had four podium finishes, but he had only seven top ten finishes. He had four finishes of 20th or worse. It feels like every season since 2014, Power has four finishes that are inexplicable and most of those are odd mechanical issues. Belle Isle and Laguna Seca fit that description. He spun early at Mid-Ohio and then he spun at Indianapolis. But there were more races where Power was anonymous this year. He only had one pole position. He only made the Fast Six in four of nine possible races. 

Will Power's 2021 Statistics
Championship Position: 9th (357 points)
Wins: 1
Podiums: 4
Top Fives: 4
Top Tens: 7
Laps Led: 99
Poles: 1
Fast Sixes: 4
Fast Twelves: 9
Average Start: 10.429
Average Finish: 12.438

Scott McLaughlin had a fight on his hands in his rookie season

Scott McLaughlin
After making his debut last year in a frantic Transpacific flight from Australia in the middle of a pandemic and only days after his third consecutive Supercars championship, McLaughlin was set for his full-time commitment to IndyCar and life in the United States in 2021. Fourteen of the 15 tracks on the 2021 were completely new to the New Zealander, including all three ovals. 

What objectively was his best race?
In McLaughlin's very first oval start, he ended up finishing second in the first Texas race. He kept himself out of trouble and the team used its strategy to position him with clean track ahead. It allowed him to get into the top ten and then the top five and all of a sudden he was on the tail of his fellow New Zealander Scott Dixon, and McLaughlin kept Dixon honest. 

What subjectively was his best race?
It is Texas, but McLaughlin should be commended for his oval results across the board. He was eighth the next day in the second Texas race, which is a great followup for McLaughlin after his first podium finish. He was the top Penske qualifier at the Indianapolis 500, starting 17th, and he was running well before he sped entering pit lane late in the race. Indianapolis could have been a top ten finish. He had a clean night at Gateway and he was fourth. 

What objectively was his worst race?
Though he finished on the lead lap, McLaughlin was 23rd in the August IMS road course race, but he did spin Rinus VeeKay in that race and it was a setback. 

What subjectively was his worst race?

He struggled a lot on street courses, most notably at Nashville where he started 23rd and finished 22nd after being spun twice, first in turn four when Ed Jones got into him and then in turn nine when teammate Will Power got into him and then Dalton Kellett chose the worst possible line and ran over the McLaughlin's stationary car. 

Scott McLaughlin's 2021 Statistics
Championship Position: 14th (305 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Top Fives: 2
Top Tens: 5
Laps Led: 5
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 1
Fast Twelves: 2
Average Start: 15.857
Average Finish: 13.063

An Early Look Ahead

It feels like Team Penske enters 2022 at a bit of a crossroads. It will have been five years since the team went 1-2-4-5 in the championship. Two of those drivers are gone. One of those drivers just turned 40 years old. Penske will have a sophomore driver in its program, who only has one season of Formula Ford and one season of IndyCar under his belt as an open-wheel career. 

Newgarden should be set for the next ten years. He turns 31 years old this December 22. Newgarden finished this season at 30 years old and he has 20 victories, 41 podium finishes, 62 top five finishes and 100 top ten finishes in 164 starts and two championships. For comparison, when Scott Dixon completed the 2010 season at 30 years old, Dixon had 25 victories, 65 podium finishes, 78 top five finishes and 119 top ten finishes in 169 starts and he had two championships. 

Penske would be foolish not to give him a contract right now. He already has 20 victories and two championships. Before him, the last driver to win multiple championship with Team Penske was Gil de Ferran. In his five years at Penske, Newgarden has finished first, fifth, first, second and second in the championship. Nothing suggests he is going to slow down. 

Will Power, however... In five years we have seen Hélio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud exit the team. Power dropped to ninth in the championship in 2021, his worst year with Team Penske after 11 consecutive years finishing in the top five of the championship. He only had one victory and one pole position. He only led 99 laps, still sixth best in the season, but it was the first time he led under 100 laps since 2008. His average finish of 12.438 was his worst in a season since 2008.

The recent past suggests Power is on the hot seat. Pagenaud worst average finish at Penske was this season, 10.688 and he is gone. Pagenaud won 11 races since 2015, only four fewer than Power. Castroneves had nine top five championship finishes in his last ten seasons at Penske and only once was his average finish worse than tenth. Only once did he lead fewer than 100 laps in that period.

Then you have McLaughlin, whose full IndyCar potential is still a mystery. Could McLaughlin win races? Be champion? Somewhere in-between? How long is his leash? He is only 28 years old. Finishing 14th in the championship as a rookie with basically zero open-wheel experience is mightily impressive. That doesn't mean he will be a champion. He definitely is comfortable on ovals, but ovals aren't even a third of the schedule.

In two or three years, Newgarden and McLaughlin could be left welcoming a new teammate, and a rare circumstance where Team Penske does not already have IndyCar's top lineup. It added Newgarden when it already have two past champions and it was replacing Juan Pablo Montoya. It expanded to four cars with the inclusion of Pagenaud in 2015 alongside Power, Castroneves and Montoya. 

I am not sure the direction of Team Penske. Three years ago, everyone thought Alexander Rossi was destined to drive there. That doesn't look as likely now. There are more drivers interested in IndyCar than ever before, and Penske can hire whomever it wants. Penske will be fine. 

That is the long-term. The short-term should see Penske remain competitive. Newgarden will lead the way and Power still has to balance out his results, but we know he has the ability to win any race. There were too many finishes outside the top ten counterbalancing Power's podium finishes. The strange thing is Penske has gone consecutive years without a championship for the first time since a seven-year drought from 2007 to 2013. It is a weird place for the team. You expect Penske will bounce back next year, but IndyCar is getting tougher and a third consecutive year without a championship is realistic for IndyCar's both decorated organization.