Roger Penske and Josef Newgarden celebrate winning the 2023 Indianapolis 500, 2023 IndyCar
With an experienced lineup of Josef Newgarden, Will Power, and Scott McLaughlin, we examine how Team Penske will perform in the 2024 IndyCar season.
Despite winning the Indy 500 and dominating oval races last year, Team Penske’s 2023 IndyCar campaign crashed and burned near the end of the season. Unable to catch Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing.
Josef Newgarden: What’s Next?
Newgarden’s 2024 is off to an excellent start. The 2023 Indianapolis 500 champion won the prestigious Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona with Porsche Penske Motorsports.
Daytona 24 Hours Winners!!!
What an honor to learn from these guys and share a race car. I’m incredibly proud of @FelipeNasr, @mattcampbell22_, and @danecameron19; they were masterful throughout.
His IndyCar prospects for Team Penske remain uncertain. He has won two series championships and the Indy 500. In other words, he has won almost everything in IndyCar.
Nonetheless, the Tennessee native will continue to run the gauntlet in an attempt to win another Indy 500 and dethrone Alex Palou for the crown.
Lack of Will Power
Will Power at the Grand Prix of Monterey, 2023.
Will Power’s 2023 season was unimpressive after his tremendously successful 2022 season in which he won his second championship
Given his talent, success, and machinery, the 2023 season should have produced better results. The IndyCar veteran was never in contention for the championship and won no races.
However, in typical Will Power manner, he provided us with a number of highly memorable moments. For example, he gave Scott Dixon the double-birds at Road America and said in an interview that Romain Grosjean needed to be punched in the face.
In order to have a chance in 2024, he must get back on track. This is for both his sake and Team Penske’s chances of defeating Ganassi.
Scott McLaughlin: Keep climbing!
Scott McLaughlin after taking pole position at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500, 2023 IndyCar
Since joining the NTT IndyCar Series in 2021, he has established himself as a major player. He has won four races and is a formidable force on the road/street circuits. However, the Kiwi has not been as competitive on ovals as his Penske teammates.
During the 2023 season, McLaughlin also had some great clashes with Grosjean in St. Pete and Barber. He also seized the lead on the streets of Nashville.
Before to IndyCar, he won three V8 Supercar titles. These machines are more similar to stock cars and fundamentally different from single-seaters such as IndyCar. So the fact that he adapted to IndyCar so quickly and found success is quite impressive.
If he can improve his oval-racing form, McLaughlin will undoubtedly be a lethal arrow in Team Penske’s quiver for the 2024 season.
