As we close out the year, here is a recap of the most memorable moments from the 2024 IndyCar season.
2024 Comes to a Close
The 2024 season brought a lot of excitement to IndyCar. They announced Prema would be joining the grid in 2025, they made a deal with FOX to air the races next season, Will Power and Colton Herta both broke their two-year winless streak and Arrow McLaren were playing musical chairs with the No. 6 seat.
But here is a list of the most memorable moments from the 2024 IndyCar season.
Celebrating into the new year 🍾#INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/6PoWUzqxjf
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) January 1, 2025
Drama in St. Pete:
The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg opened the 2024 season with excitement and a fair share of drama that unfolded nearly six weeks later.
Josef Newgarden and Team Penske sent a strong message to the rest of the field in the opening race in March. He dominated the race from pole position, winning with a 7.9-second victory over Pato O’Ward.
Newgarden’s teammates Scott McLaughlin and Will Power took 3rd and 4th, with Colton Herta rounding out the top 5.
The race had people talking about the teams’ dominance and what it could mean for the rest of the field, but on a random Wednesday morning in April, IndyCar dropped a massive press release announcing big penalties for that race.
Officials found a possible violation of the overtake rules during the Grand Prix of Long Beach warm-up session.
“An extensive review of data from the race on the Streets of St. Petersburg revealed that Team Penske manipulated the overtake system so that the No. 2, 3, and 12 cars had the ability to use Push to Pass on starts and restarts. According to the INDYCAR rulebook, the use of overtake is not available during championship races until the car reaches the alternate start-finish line.”
As a result, race winner Newgarden and teammate McLaughlin were disqualified while Power got a 10-point championship deduction because IndyCar found that Power did not gain an advantage on restarts.
In the wake of the penalties Newgarden slipped to eleventh in the championship standings, and McLaughlin fell to a disappointing twenty-ninth.
They managed to climb back up to finish third and eighth in the final championship standings. Who knows, without the disqualification, the season would have looked completely different.
The Indy 500 seen around the world:
The 2024 Indy 500 was a race for the ages. The endless action, chaos, heartbreak, and triumph even just in the final few laps showed why the Indy 500 is “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and made it one of the most memorable moments from the 2024 IndyCar season.
The race saw 48 lead changes among 16 different competitors. There were also 596 passes for position throughout the field.
But it was the closing laps that had everyone glued to their seat.
After a chaotic first half filled with chaos, the race finally calmed down leaving the last 46 laps running caution-free in a frantic finish.
It was now between Newgarden and O’Ward as to who would come out on top in the 108th Indy 500. The two swapped the lead four times over the final eight laps.
O’Ward showed his patience, waiting until the last lap to pounce at the leader as they took the white flag. The Mexican native led into Turn 1 and then tried to legally break any tow Newgarden could get.
But the No. 2 Penske pilot showed why he is the defending 500 winner with a spectacular maneuver around the outside of turn three, clinching his second consecutive 500 victory, becoming the first to go back-to-back since Helio Castroneves in 2001-02.
IndyCar goes Hybrid at Mid-Ohio
The 2024 Mid-Ohio kicked off a new era of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with the anticipated debut of the hybrid system.
In 2024, twelve out of the fourteen passing records on the track were established thanks to the introduction of hybrid technology. For the first time, drivers enjoyed extra horsepower on oval tracks, leading to record-breaking passes at venues like World Wide Technology Raceway, the Milwaukee Mile, and Nashville Superspeedway.
Meanwhile, at Portland International Raceway, a road course, an impressive 71 percent of passes were attributed to the hybrid power unit. On both road and street courses, the hybrid assist now works in tandem with the Push to Pass feature, providing an additional boost of over 120 horsepower.
Next year will be the first full season with the hybrid engine and with the experience they now have, they can now maximize the performance of the new era car.
Palou Perfection:
Palou’s season wasn’t just a moment of brilliance, it was throughout the whole season. With his performances, he was able to defend his championship title and achieve his third in four years.
This year his title wasn’t about wins or dominance, it was about consistency.
O’Ward, Power, and McLaughlin each secured three victories throughout the season, while the Spaniard only managed two wins, without including his victory at the IndyCar Thermal Club Million Dollar Challenge.
Yet he still managed to claim the top spot again.
That’s due to his incredible performances race in and race out as the 27-year-old stapled himself in the upper order of the grid.
All 13 top-10 results were incredibly top-five finishes. Even on the off chance, he does have a bad finish, he still manages to find valuable points to keep himself in the top spot.
He was officially named champion after the last race of the season at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville.
If he continues his consistency he could be eyeing a three-peat next year.
A new season begins:
The 2025 season is just around the corner, teams will start to get ready for the first race in no time. The additional team on the grid, the off-season moves, and the full season of hybrid could make next season look completely different. Who knows there could be a new winner, a new 500 winner, or a new champion.
The season kicks off on March 2nd in St. Petersburg, Florida, and will be available to watch on FOX.the
