IndyCar 2023 season preview: Schedule, TV info, drivers, odds originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
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The 2023 NASCAR season began three weeks ago, and IndyCar will follow suit with its opener this weekend in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Often dubbed the American version of Formula One, IndyCar is an open wheel racing series that has been conducted under various sanctioning bodies since 1920. There are plenty of changes for the 2023 season, including the schedule, teams and drivers.
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Here’s a full preview of the upcoming IndyCar season:
What were the IndyCar standings and results in 2022?
One organization stood out above the rest in 2022: Team Penske.
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Roger Penske’s trio of drivers – Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin – combined to win nine of the 17 races. Power (one win, nine podiums), Newgarden (five wins, six podiums) and McLaughlin (three wins, seven podiums) placed first, second and fourth in the points standings, respectively, as Power won his second career championship.
While Penske won the most races and claimed the title, another legacy organization took the sport’s biggest crown. Marcus Ericsson, a former F1 driver, won the 2022 Indy 500 for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Other race winners throughout the year included Ganassi’s Scott Dixon (two wins) and Alex Palou (one win), Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward (two wins) and Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi (one win) and Colton Herta (one win).
IndyCar 2023 schedule
There are 17 races on the 2023 IndyCar schedule – 12 road and street courses and five ovals:
- Streets of St. Petersburg, March 5
- Texas Motor Speedway, April 2
- Streets of Long Beach, April 16
- Barber Motorsports Park, April 30
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, May 13
- Indianapolis 500, May 28
- Streets of Detroit, June 4
- Road America, June 18
- Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, July 2
- Streets of Toronto, July 16
- Iowa Speedway, July 22
- Iowa Speedway, July 23
- Nashville Street Circuit, Aug. 6
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Aug. 12
- World Wide Technology Raceway, Aug. 26
- Portland International Raceway, Sept. 3
- WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Sept. 10
How to watch IndyCar in 2023
All IndyCar races this season will air on NBC networks and stream on Peacock.
Thirteen races will be on NBC: St. Petersburg (March 5), Fort Worth (April 2), Long Beach (April 16), Alabama (April 30), Indianapolis (May 13 and 28), Detroit (June 4), Iowa (June 22 and 23), Nashville (Aug. 6), St. Louis (Aug. 27), Portland (Sept. 3) and Monterey (Sept. 10).
Three races will be on USA Network: Road America (June 18), Mid-Ohio (July 2) and Indianapolis (Aug. 12).
The Honda Indy Toronto race on July 16 will be live exclusively on Peacock. In addition, each of the other 16 races will be available to stream live on Peacock.
When is the 2023 Indy 500?
The 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 is set for Sunday, May 28, 2023.
Practice sessions will be held on May 16, 17, 18 and 19 before qualifying on May 20 and 21. After that, another practice will be on May 22 before Carb Day on Friday, May 26.
Is Jimmie Johnson racing IndyCar in 2023?
Nothing is confirmed on the IndyCar schedule for Jimmie Johnson in 2023 after he was full-time for Chip Ganassi Racing last season.
The NASCAR legend has returned to stock car racing this year, running a part-time schedule in the Cup Series for Legacy Motor Club – a team he is now part-owner of.
As of January 2023, Johnson reportedly was still considering an Indy 500 run for Ganassi. He finished 28th in his Indy 500 debut last season.
What are the other IndyCar driver changes for 2023?
Outside of Johnson, there were a lot of off-season driver changes.
The most notable move was one that didn’t happen, as 2021 champion Alex Palou will return to Ganassi this season after a contract dispute between the driver, organization and Arrow McLaren SP.
Here are some of the other major moves for 2023:
- 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi moves to Arrow McLaren SP after seven seasons with Andretti Autosport.
- 2021 Indy Lights champion Kyle Kirkwood moves to Andretti Autosport after driving for A.J. Foyt Racing as a rookie in 2022.
- Benjamin Pederson, a rookie, and Santino Ferrucci, who was part-time in 2022, will race full-time for A.J. Foyt Racing, replacing Kirkwood and Dalton Kellett.
- Two other rookies will race full-time: Sting Ray Robb (Dale Coyne Racing) and Agustín Canapino (Juncos Hollinger Racing).
- Rookie Marcus Armstrong (street and road courses) and two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato (ovals) will share the No. 11 car for Ganassi, filling Johnson’s former seat.
- Two veterans will drive in the Indy 500: 2013 winner Tony Kanaan (Arrow McLaren SP) and Stefan Wilson (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing).
IndyCar betting odds, favorites, futures
Team Penske’s veteran duo of Josef Newgarden (2017 and 2018 champion) and Will Power (2014 and 2022 champion) are the preseason title favorites, according to our partner, PointsBet.
Here are the championship favorites before the first race this weekend:
- Josef Newgarden, +400
- Will Power, +475
- Pato O’Ward, +600
- Colton Herta, +800
- Alex Palou, +800
- Scott McLaughlin, +800
- Scott Dixon, +1000
- Marcus Ericsson, +1200
- Felix Rosenqvist, +2000
- Alexander Rossi, +2500
- Simon Pagenaud, +2500
- Kyle Kirkwood, +3300
- Rinus VeeKay, +3300
- Christian Lundgaard, +3300
- Romain Grosjean, +4000
Editor's note: All odds are provided by our partner, PointsBet. PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links.
