The roar has nearly returned.
On Sunday afternoon, the IndyCar season will kick off with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. All 15 sites that hosted races last year are back, while Gateway Motorsports Park represents a new stop in 2017, ending a near 15-year IndyCar drought for the oval located just outside St. Louis.
Only Detroit will hold two races in one weekend—June 3 and 4—while the Honda Indy Toronto is slated for July 16. The 101st Indianapolis 500 takes place on May 28, and the 17th and final race of the year will be in Sonoma, Calif. on Sept. 17.
The biggest challengers to defending-champion Simon Pagenaud will likely be his fellow Team Penske drivers.
Here are five storylines to watch for this season.
Chevy vs. Honda
Once again, all IndyCars will be moved by two manufactures, Honda and Chevy. A.J Foyt Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing and Team Penske will go with Chevy, while Andretti Autosport, Chip Ganassi Racing, Dale Coyne Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Schmidt Peterson Motorsport are all powered by Honda.
Every car races on Bridgestone tires.
Powerhouse Penske
As noted, the Penske team is loaded for bear after finishing 1-2-3 (Pagenau, Will Power, Helio Castroneves) in the standings last year. The man who finished No. 4, Josef Newgarden, moved from Ed Carpenter Racing to Penske in the off-season, so there’s no doubt which outfit is expected to be the class of the field.
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Best of the Rest?
Even with star driver Scott Dixon in its midst, Chip Ganassi Racing might have a tough time giving Penkse a real run for its money because the Honda engines they switched to are thought to be inferior to Chevy’s product. Additionally, Target is no longer a Ganassi sponsor, ending a relationship that lasted more than a quarter-century.
Last summer was tough on Andretti Autosport, so the traditional IndyCar power will be looking for a bounce back. That could start with a better year for Ryan Hunter-Reay, who did not win a race in 2016, marking the first time in five years with Andretti that the American went an entire season without reaching the podium summit.
Can Hinch make his mark?
Everyone’s favourite affable Canadian, James Hinchcliffe, returns for a second season with Schmidt Peterson Motorsport. “The Mayor of Hinchtown” competed in all 16 races last year, coming back from his life-threatening crash in May of 2015 during practice for the Indianapolis 500.
Hinchcliffe did not record a victory last year, but he did finally get on the podium in Toronto with a third-place finish and is one of the drivers who could challenge for a checkered flag here and there in 2017.
And on the off chance you missed it, the Oakville, Ont. native demonstrated his chops by finishing second on Dancing with the Stars last fall.
Driver shuffle
Beyond Newgarden, some other noteworthy names were on the move during the winter. Veteran Sebastian Bourdais’ hand was forced when his team, KV Racing Technology, shuttered operations. Bourdais will drive for Dale Coyne Racing this year and his teammate, 2016 Indy Lights champ Ed Jones, is the series’ lone rookie.
Meanwhile, A.J. Foyt Racing parted company with Takuma Sato and Jack Hawksworth, making room for Conor Daly and Carlos Munoz.
