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IndyCar: Five Bold Predictions for 2017

By Asher Fair

Charlie Kimball on track during the 2016 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma. Photo Credit: Bret Kelley/Courtesy of IndyCar
Charlie Kimball on track during the 2016 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma. Photo Credit: Bret Kelley/Courtesy of IndyCar /
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The injured Josef Newgarden fought through painful injuries for his Top Ten finish in the KOHLER Grand Prix at Road America. Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
The injured Josef Newgarden fought through painful injuries for his Top Ten finish in the KOHLER Grand Prix at Road America. Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 1: JR Hildebrand Will Finish Higher In The Championship Standings Than Josef Newgarden

Remember when Simon Pagenaud switched teams from Schmidt Peterson Motorsports to Team Penske in 2015 and he was supposed to immediately be this unstoppable driver that was winning races left and right?

I certainly do. I also remember him going winless in 2015 and finishing in a mere 11th place in the championship standings to most everybody’s surprise.

Josef Newgarden is coming to Team Penske this season from Ed Carpenter Racing. There is reason to believe he and Pagenaud’s first seasons with Team Penske will be similar.

Pagenaud, now an IndyCar champion, was under immense pressure to perform well right away for Roger Penske, the most prominent team owner in the series, especially with his expectations set so high. After all, he was coming off of three consecutive top 5 finishes in the championship standings. However, he experienced some growing pains in getting used to the new team and how it operated.

Newgarden will also be under immense pressure to perform well. He is coming off of a career-high 4th place in the championship standings and is expected to do well right away for Team Penske. At 26 years old, he is four years younger than Pagenaud, now 32, was when he came to Team Penske. Newgarden will definitely experience as many if not more growing pains than Pagenaud did in moving from a smaller team to a huge team in Team Penske.

Meanwhile, replacing Newgarden at Ed Carpenter Racing is JR Hildebrand. Sure, Hildebrand will also be under a lot of pressure this season with his first full-time ride in the series since 2012. However, he is under that pressure on a much smaller scale. He will be driving for a team that is owned by another driver in Ed Carpenter, not Roger Penske.

Must Read: IndyCar: Drivers Seeking Maiden Victory In 2017

Hildebrand has shown flashes of potential even in just his Indy 500 rides over the past four seasons. With this opportunity to be back in the series and a whole lot to prove, he will get himself some strong finishes and find himself in front of Newgarden in this season’s final championship standings because of it.