Why IndyCar's generational shift isn't as stark as it appears

It’s been tiresome over the past couple of years to read or hear “experts” talking about IndyCar’s next generation, youth movement or changing of the guard. It’s been reason enough for even objective observers to shed their neutrality and cheer whenever drivers in their forties have prevailed this season.

Scott Dixon in Texas race one, Helio Castroneves at the Indianapolis 500 and Will Power in last weekend’s race on the IMS road course were classic examples of sage veterans blending speed and smarts to defeat pursuers half their age. And let’s not forget that last year’s title fight came down to a duel between Dixon and Josef Newgarden who, although only 30 now, was in his ninth season at this level.  

Even so, those obsessed with twentysomethings have gathered plenty of ammo in 2021. Alex Palou (24) of Chip Ganassi Racing leads the championship, despite twice overcoming six-place grid penalties due to early engine changes. Following his Honda blow-up last Saturday, he’ll suffer a third penalty this weekend at Gateway (this time, a nine-place drop because it’s an oval), but still heads into the last four races with a 21-point advantage. 

His closest pursuer is Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward (21) who, like Palou, is in only his second full IndyCar season and scored his first two wins this year. If O’Ward’s style is more vigorous than Palou’s, they share another quality, which is wisdom beyond their years, much like Colton Herta (22), who is going to need Andretti Autosport to be less flaky if he is to have a real shot at the title in the next couple of years.  

So, no question, you can put all three of these drivers’ names up in lights: they’re young and brilliant. But they – and Romain Grosjean (35-year-old F1 veteran), Rinus VeeKay (20-year-old who scored his first win this year), Marcus Ericsson (30-year-old F1 vet), Felix Rosenqvist (29) – have not replaced the old guys, but simply deepened the pool of talent… and changed the nature of the title battle. 

Patricio O'Ward, Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, leads title rival Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing

Photo by: Geoffrey M. Miller / Motorsport Images

“The teams are really close now,” said one veteran just before the season started. “They have different strengths in different tracks, but the margins are so small that anything can flip things around – one mistake by a driver in quali, an engineer slightly misjudging tyre pressures or a crew guy dropping a wheelnut in a pitstop. And that’s even before you factor in luck – a bad yellow, wrong strategy, punctures… 

“So it’s probably going to be one of those seasons where no one wins more than three races, because there’s going to be a ton of winners. The championship is going to go to whoever’s the best at collecting top fives.”

Dixon isn't worse at qualifying than he used to be, and he races as well as ever, too – he just has more people to get through because of the influx of new talent. And with four rounds to go, and around 200 points on offer, the reigning and six-time champ is still only 34 points off the lead

That guy must feel like Nostradamus now – 12 rounds in, we’ve had nine different winners. But that should not suggest that there has been any diminution in the powers of the veterans. The best of them have simply dug deeper, and will continue to do so, like old masters invariably do in any sport when faced with increasing competition. 

For instance, Palou’s smooth pace has highlighted the fact that Dixon is a messy qualifier, struggling to string his best sectors into one devastating lap. His last road/street course pole position was at Watkins Glen five years ago!

But he’s not worse at qualifying than he used to be, and he races as well as ever, too – he just has more people to get through because of the influx of new talent. And with four rounds to go, and around 200 points on offer, the reigning and six-time champ is still only 34 points off the lead. Who’d be foolish enough to bet against him taking a seventh crown? 

PLUS: The two key areas where Dixon needs to re-assert his authority

Power, pole-taker sans pareil over the past dozen years, can also point to qualifying as central to his problems in 2021, albeit for different reasons than Dixon. The Penske driver’s issues have been technical and mental. A fundamental set-up change within the team didn’t suit his preferred driving style because it made the car less edgy, but he believes he has that situation resolved now.

Will Power, Team Penske Chevrolet, returned to form with victory on the IMS road course

Photo by: Barry Cantrell / Motorsport Images

Power’s other issue, he admitted last weekend, was a need to recalibrate his approach to the first two segments of road/street course qualifying. He has tended to abandon laps if he makes what he regards as a significant error, in order to save grip to have a second stab – when in fact, had he pressed on, he’d have been quick enough to scrape through to the next stage.

Striving for perfection is admirable, but if someone else spun or got in his way on Power’s theoretically ‘more perfect’ second flyer, he didn’t have a representative banker lap to fall back on. So the tightness of the field has forced him to change – but in a way that has educated him and makes him stronger.  

True, there are undoubtedly some series veterans whose future in IndyCar looks minimal thanks to the influx of not only youth, but also older drivers new to the series such as Grosjean. But Dixon, Power and drivers in their early thirties such as Newgarden, Alexander Rossi and Graham Rahal will ensure the era overlap is far less stark than some would have you believe.

Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, is congratulated by team-mate Scott Dixon after his victory in Nashville

Photo by: James J Black