The long winter is over. It is opening week for the NTT Indycar Series. 2024 will be a season like no other. It is actually three seasons in one.

The first eight races or so will be he regular routine with the same cars and engines we have had for the past six or seven years. Around July, I’m guessing Mid-Ohio, the new hybrid energy recovery system will come on board. How much will the heavier cars change? Who will figure out how to best use the new system?

Penske, Ganassi, Andretti, and Arrow McLaren have been testing and developing the new power trains, and they should have an advantage early on, but then these are the teams that usually run up front, so the hybrid unit isn’t really going to change much. The other teams have their first hybrid test March 28 and 29 on the IMS road course.

The third season comes in the last eight races, when six races, including the season finale, are on ovals. There are double headers at Iowa and Milwaukee. The finale is now at Nashville Super Speedway, which hasn’t seen Indycar in 16 years. Only Scott Dixon, Will Power, Graham Rahal, and Ed Carpenter have raced there. Dixon has won three times there.

New Rules and Procedures

Some new wrinkles in restarts and practice begin at St. Pete next weekend.

Practice 1 has a new look in an effort to get more cars on track. The first 20 minutes will look like traditional practice, with the track available for all cars. Then half the field will have a 10 minute segment, followed by the 10 minutes for the other half of the grid. The first group gets another 10 minutes, followed by the second group.

This procedure should help in a couple of ways. It will allow drivers to get in more clean laps. It almost forces cars to be on track due to the limited segments.

The first 20 minutes may see more action, since each car will have just 20 minutes after that. usually the first 15-20 minute are when the rookies are out with their extra set of tires.

Restarts

When the field comes back to the green, cars will not be allowed to pass until they cross a white line somewhere past the final turn. The line’s location will differ at each track.

This rule hopes to avoid the chaos we saw last year on many restarts. I hope it works.

The Indianapolis 500 will have some new rules regarding defensive moves and about when the red flag can be used near the end of the race. I will reserve comment on the red flag until after the rules are published.

Catching Ganassi

Chip Ganassi Racing is the team to beat again. Last year Alex Palou won five races enroute to his second championship. Scott Dixon won three times late in the season, and Marcus Ericsson won once.

I don’t think the team will win nine races again in 2024. Team Penske will give them a run for their money again. Andretti Global and Arrow McLaren should be in the mix this season as both teams have fortified their lineups.

Andretti has trimmed down to three cars and should build on the ir two wins from Kyle Kirkwood in 2023.

Arrow McLaren added David Malukas to their stable, which should help his career immensely.

Other team oves that could pay off this year –

Felix Rosenqvist at Meyer Shank. I felt Rosenqvist was overshadowed and underappreciated at Arrow McLaren. he is the team leader at MSR and I think he will thrive there.

Christian Rasmussen at Ed Carpenter Racing. Rasmussen is someone who should push Rinus VeeKay more. I’m still puzzled by VeeKay’s overall lack of progress, and I hope his new rookie teammate will help him get improved results.

Going Backwards

Dale Coyne Racing is beginning the season on the back foot. We are just four days from opening practice and the team has not named any drivers. Jack Harvey tested for two days in the past couple of weeks, and Colin Braun had a day in the car last Tuesday. I guess we’ll see who shows up Friday.

Look for this team to be at the back of the pack all year.

Winners

My predictions for the year. I apologize in advance for ruining these drivers’ seasons.

Championship- Scott McLaughlin

Indianapolis 500- Pato O’Ward

Rookie of the Year- Kyffin Simpson

First Career Win- David Malukas

Number of different race winners- 9

I will have my St. Pete race preview up later in the week.