With the green flag flying in less than 24 hours in St. Petersburg, its only right that we take look and see who will excel and who will surprise in the 2023 IndyCar Series season.
IndyCar is officially back this weekend, and with that comes the first edition of the IndyCar roundtable. As always, there are a few key favorites going into the season. Will Power comes in as the defending series champion, but drivers like Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon always pose threats. Without further ado, let’s see what the LWOS team thinks will happen this season in IndyCar.
Series Champion
- Cameron – Scott Dixon
- Gabe – Josef Newgarden
- Hayden – Scott McLaughlin
- Mikey – Scott McLaughlin
- Nathan – Josef Newgarden
- Thomas – Josef Newgarden
- Vincent – Scott McLaughlin
There are two clear favorites to win the championship here: Newgarden and his Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin. These two combined to win eight races in 2022 (Newgarden with five, McLaughlin with 3) and are teammates of reigning champion Power. Interestingly enough, no one picked Power after he won the championship last season.
Indy 500 Winner
- Cameron – Will Power
- Gabe – Pato O’Ward
- Hayden – Pato O’Ward
- Mikey – Scott McLaughlin
- Nathan – Pato O’Ward
- Thomas – Pato O’Ward
- Vincent – Rinus VeeKay
Another round of predictions, and another clear favorite. This time, it’s McLaren’s Pato O’Ward. Although the Indianapolis 500 is notoriously unpredictable, picking O’Ward makes a lot of sense. After failing to qualify with Harding Racing in 2019, the young Mexican has finished in the Top six every year since, including just missing out on a win against Marcus Ericsson last year. Power, McLaughlin, and Rinus VeeKay are interesting picks as well, as they have all shown promise at Indianapolis in the past.
Surprise Result
- Cameron – Romain Grosjean wins a race
- Gabe – Christian Lundgaard wins a race
- Hayden – Santino Ferrucci gets a podium
- Mikey – David Malukas finishes 5th or better in the championship
- Nathan – Marcus Armstrong gets a podium
- Thomas – Honda will rebound in the manufacturer’s championship
- Vincent – David Malukas wins a race
Many of these picks revolve around David Malukas, who impressed fans last year by almost winning at Gateway. While he is still at a smaller team in Dale Coyne Racing, Vincent and Mikey have confidence in the young Chicago native. Christian Lundgaard and Marcus Armstrong get some love from the team as well, as those two young drivers have high hopes for the season.
The 2023 IndyCar Series gets underway tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. at St. Petersburg on NBC.
