Yahoo Autos Continuity is the keyword for IndyCar’s 2024 grid size
Next year’s NTT IndyCar Series grid is expected to look nice and familiar.
With a modern record of 27 full-time entries shared across Chevrolet and Honda in 2023, the same number of cars are expected to line up when the new season begins.
The big change announced for 2024 is the introduction of hybrid engines, which will take the current 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 internal combustion engines (ICE) and add a secondary electric motor generator unit and supercapacitor package that sits between the ICE and the six-speed Xtrac transmission to deliver 100hp on demand.
By sticking with the engine formula that debuted in 2012, IndyCar and its engine partners have made it possible to continue supplying the same number of motors and maintain the series’ high car count.
Team Chevy, which accounts for 12 of the 27 full-timers through its engagements with A.J. Foyt Racing (2), Arrow McLaren (3), Ed Carpenter Racing (2), Juncos Hollinger Racing (2), and Team Penske (3), has no anticipated changes.
“Right now we are planning on 12 full-time, a very similar team and engine footprint as 2023,” Team Chevy IndyCar program manager Rob Buckner told RACER. “Twelve is a good number for us in terms of parts and people.”
The same message applies to Honda Performance Development. It’s planning to support Honda’s existing roster of Andretti Autosport (4), Chip Ganassi Racing (4), Dale Coyne Racing (2), Meyer Shank Racing (2), and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (3).
“It will be very much similar to where we are today with 15 full-time cars,” said HPD president David Salters. “I wouldn’t imagine that would be changing.”
For Buckner, there’s plenty to celebrate in holding the year-to-year car count.
“It’s exciting that in this era, there’s been times where we were at 22 cars and had concerns that it could dip below 20, so I think the fact that it’s pushing 30 is a good indicator of the health of the series,” he said. “And in the paddock, there’s so much interest from either Indy NXT teams stepping up in the near future, or new owners coming into the sport. It’s nice when there’s more chatter around people coming versus people leaving. So I think it’s a good endorsement of the racing product, the interest in the series, the number of events.
“It’s our goal to not be someone’s reason that they can’t come into the sport. So if someone wants to come in and be Chevrolet-powered, we would do all we can to support that. But going to a lot higher number? We couldn’t do 15 next year because there’s just not time to get the parts or people. But if we had the right amount of time to plan, we could do that. And we would be happy to support the series in that growth.”
At the most recent Indianapolis 500, Team Chevy and HPD split the entries with 17 apiece, and that number is also anticipated to carry over in 2024.
“At least 17 or so,” Salters said. “One of the upsides of having stability is it’s a sign of a reasonably healthy series. We’ve been clear in our position that IndyCar is a pinnacle series, and needs the right amount of cars to race well and put it on a good show for our fans. My opinion is we’re probably about right, give or take a penny, on the size of the grid. We could not support more cars, but we do our best to definitely do our fair share and support 15 or so, which is a big stretch for everyone in the factory.
“The competition is fierce and we have to put a huge effort into guaranteeing quality. We love doing this and we’re quite happy with where it is. And then of course, we’ve got the new hybrid engines coming along, which we’re all helping with, ourselves and Chevy, to create IndyCar’s spec hybrid. So that should bring another level of interest and excitement to everything next year.”
Where remaining at 27 is the most likely scenario, it is possible — albeit slim – for expansion to 28, with Arrow McLaren’s interest in adding a fourth Chevy-powered entry serving as the leading candidate to create growth on the grid.
RACER understands the Arrow McLaren team is close to having a final answer on whether it can sign a partner team to run a fourth entry on its behalf, and according to Buckner, it’s not an impossibility to add another lease, but the clock is ticking.
“We’ve never really gone above 12 full-time; we could with enough notice and planning,” he said. “But for 2024, the window of time where we could do 13 is quickly approaching the point where a decision has to be made.”
