IndyCar: 2018 season a giant step forward for Honda

By Asher Fair | Oct 17, 2018

SONOMA, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Ryan Hunter-Reay driver of the #28 Andretti Autosport Honda (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /

Since Chevrolet re-entered IndyCar in the 2012 season, Honda had not had a season that was as successful for them as the 2018 season.

The 2018 IndyCar season was the seventh season since Chevrolet re-entered the series back in the 2012 season. Aside of the race on the streets of Long Beach, California in the 2008 season, all drivers had used Honda engines from the 2006 season through the 2011 season.

Since Chevrolet re-entered IndyCar in the 2012 season, they had dominated. From the 2012 season through the 2017 season, a total of 101 races were contested. Chevrolet drivers won 67 of those races while Honda drivers won only 34 of them.

Of the six championships that took place from the 2012 season through the 2017 season, five were won by Chevrolet drivers. Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay won the 2012 championship, Team Penske’s Will Power won the 2014 championship, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon won the 2015 championship, Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud won the 2016 championship and Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden won the 2017 championship.

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During this six-year span, Dixon was the only Honda driver to win the championship, as he won it in the 2013 season before Chip Ganassi Racing switched to Chevrolet ahead of the 2014 season. They switched back to Honda ahead of the 2017 season.

From the 2012 season through the 2017 season, Honda drivers never won more than nine races in a season. They earned four, nine, six, six, two and seven victories in the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons, respectively.

Chevrolet drivers, meanwhile, never won fewer than 10 races in a season during this six-year span. They earned 11, 10, 12, 10, 14 and 10 victories in the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons, respectively.

The 2018 season, which was the first season during which the new UAK18 aero kit was utilized, marked not only a step in the right direction for Honda, but a resurgence.

Honda drivers won 11 races in the 17-race 2018 season, which was their highest win total in a single season since Chevrolet re-entered the sport in the 2012 season by far. Meanwhile, Chevrolet drivers won just six races, which was their lowest win total in a single season since Chevrolet re-entered the sport in the 2012 season by far.

Dixon won the 2018 championship and became the first Honda driver to win a championship since he won the 2013 title, and after four consecutive seasons that featured only one Honda driver finishing in the top five in the championship standings, three Honda drivers finished in the top four.

Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi finished in second place in the standings while Power finished in third and Hunter-Reay finished in fourth. Only two other Chevrolet drivers, Newgarden and Pagenaud, finished in the top 13. This was a huge reason why Honda won their first Manufacturers’ Cup since Chevrolet re-entered the sport in the 2012 season this year.

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Will the Honda drivers continue their momentum into the 2019 IndyCar season and earn more victories than the Chevrolet drivers for the second consecutive season, or will the Chevrolet drivers bounce back? Which manufacturer will win the 2019 Manufacturers’ Cup? The 17-race 2019 season is scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 10, 2019 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.