While there are many huge changes to the IndyCar driver lineup from the 2017 season to the 2018 season, there are still plenty of drivers staying put.
In response to a recent IndyCar article we published about how none of the top 10 finishers of the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 in the 2017 season will be driving the same cars for the same teams in the same situations in the 2018 IndyCar season, this article will discuss how there are still plenty of driving situations that have not changed from 2017 to 2018.
First, let’s start off with last year’s Indianapolis 500 in terms of the top finishers who aren’t going anywhere.
Ed Carpenter, who finished the race in 11th place as a part-time driver of the #20 Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, was the highest finishing driver in the 2017 Indianapolis 500 whose driving situation for the 2018 season has not changed. He is slated to drive the #20 Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing as a part-time driver once again this year.
In terms of full-time drivers, Graham Rahal was the highest finishing driver in the race whose driving situation for the 2018 season has not changed. He drove the #15 Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in that race as a full-time driver and he is slated to do so again this year.
Again, obviously not everything has changed. The odds of this happening for an entire top 10 of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in any given year are extremely small, and they certainly don’t reflect the entire field.
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In fact, five of the top six finishers in the 2017 championship standings will be in the exact same situation in the 2017 that there were in last year.
Josef Newgarden, the defending champion, is set to return to Team Penske as the full-time driver of the #1 Chevrolet, which actually did sort of change since he drove the #2 Chevrolet last season but is now the defending champion. However, no real changes to report here.
Simon Pagenaud, who finished in 2nd place in the standings, is set to return to Team Penske as the full-time driver of the #22 Chevrolet, which also actually did sort of change since he drove the #1 Chevrolet last season but is no longer the defending champion. Again, no real changes to report here.
Scott Dixon, who finished in 3rd place in the standings, is set to return to Chip Ganassi Racing as the full-time driver of the #9 Honda, while Helio Castroneves, who finished in 4th in the standings, will not return as the full-time driver of the #3 Chevrolet.
Castroneves is the lone driver who finished in the top six of the 2017 championship standings who will not be driving the same car for the same team in the same situation in the 2018 season.
Will Power, who finished in 5th place in the standings, is set to return to Team Penske as the full-time driver of the #12 Chevrolet, and Graham Rahal, who finished in 6th in the standings, is set to return to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing as the full-time driver of the #15 Honda, as previously discussed.
Next: Top 10 IndyCar drivers of all-time
While none of the top 10 finishers of the 2017 Indianapolis 500 will be driving the same cars for the same teams in the same situations in the 2018 IndyCar season, there are still plenty of drivers who will be staying put.