IndyCar: Will a 5th different team win the 5th race of 2019?

Four different teams have won the first four races of the 2019 IndyCar season. Will a fifth different team win the season’s fifth race?

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, Harding Steinbrenner Racing rookie Colton Herta, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato and Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi have all won one of the first four races on the 17-race 2019 IndyCar schedule.

As a result, the 2019 season is the third season in the last five seasons to feature four different winners in the first four races of the season, and it is the first season since the 2015 season to feature four different winning teams in the first four races of the season.

Seven different drivers winning the first seven races of the 2017 season, so a fifth different driver winning the 2019 season’s fifth race would not mark something that has not happened in several seasons.

More from IndyCar

But while this was the case in the 2017 season, a team had already won two races by the season’s fourth race.

As a result, if a fifth different team wins the 2019 season’s fifth race, the IndyCar Grand Prix, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, the 2019 season would become the first season since the 2000 season to feature five different winning teams in the first five races of a season. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Hemelgarn Racing, Galles Racing, Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Kelley Racing all won one of the 2000 season’s first five races.

A total of 10 teams compete in IndyCar on a full-time basis, and six of these teams have not yet won a race this season. These six winless full-time teams are Chip Ganassi Racing, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Dale Coyne Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing, A.J. Foyt Enterprises and Carlin.

Ed Carpenter Racing have not won a race since the 2016 season and A.J. Foyt Enterprises have not won a race since the 2013 season while Carlin have never won an IndyCar race. In fact, they have never finished a race in the top four.

As a result, it is hard to see these three teams contending for the victory in the 90-lap race around the 13-turn, 2.439-mile (3.925-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway natural terrain road course in Speedway, Indiana.

But as far as Chip Ganassi Racing, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and Dale Coyne Racing are concerned, it is not too far-fetched to believe that any one of them can get to victory lane this Saturday afternoon.

First of all, five-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon still drives for Chip Ganassi Racing, and he sits in third place in the championship standings. Additionally, it is hard to see his win drought, which is surprisingly up to nine races, last for much longer.

Dixon’s teammate, rookie Felix Rosenqvist, has also been impressive so far this season with three top 10 finishes, including a career-high fourth place finish in the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, in the season’s first four races.

Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ James Hinchcliffe has been consistent with three top nine finishes, including two sixth place finishes in the races on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida and at Barber Motorsports Park, in the first four races of the season, and he has not gone winless in a season since the 2016 season. His teammate, rookie Marcus Ericsson, has also shown solid speed in the first four starts of his IndyCar career.

On top of that, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports have won at least one race in five of the last six seasons, so don’t be surprised to see them win their first race of the season in the near future.

They are also one of only two teams that have won any of the five races that have been held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course before, as they won the inaugural race at the track back in the 2014 season.

While Dale Coyne Racing rookie Santino Ferrucci does not appear to be a serious threat to win a race in the near future, Sebastien Bourdais is a threat to win at pretty much any track. On top of that, team owner Dale Coyne knows how to roll the dice when it comes to pit strategy.

Bourdais earned his season-high third place finish in the race at Barber Motorsports Park as a result of a smart pit strategy, and he earned a fifth place finish in the race at Circuit of the Americas as a result of a smart pit strategy as well.

On top of that, his #18 Honda has been pretty fast in itself, and Bourdais has won at least one race in each of the last five seasons. Additionally, Dale Coyne Racing have not gone winless in a season since the 2016 season.

Will a fifth different team find victory lane in just the fifth race of the 2019 IndyCar season to make the 2019 season the first season since the 2000 season to feature five different winning teams through a season’s first five races? Tune in to NBC this Saturday, May 11 at 3:00 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the IndyCar Grand Prix from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course to find out.