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IndyCar: What we know about the 2020 driver lineup

By Asher Fair

MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 22: Alexander Rossi #27 of United States and Napa Auto Parts Honda leads Josef Newgarden #2 of United States and Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet and James Hinchcliffe #5 of United States and Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda during the NTT IndyCar Series Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on September 22, 2019 in Monterey, California. (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images)
MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 22: Alexander Rossi #27 of United States and Napa Auto Parts Honda leads Josef Newgarden #2 of United States and Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet and James Hinchcliffe #5 of United States and Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda during the NTT IndyCar Series Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on September 22, 2019 in Monterey, California. (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images) /
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Several positions in the 2020 IndyCar driver lineup are still up for grabs, but a number of them have been confirmed. What do we know about next year’s lineup?

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden closed out the 2019 IndyCar season by securing the second championship of his career, beginning a roughly six-month offseason before the 2020 season is scheduled to get underway.

There are still a number of spots in the driver lineup for the 17-race 2019 season that are up for grabs, but more of them have been confirmed than haven’t.

So what do we already know about the 2020 driver lineup as the offseason really gets underway?

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Andretti Autosport have their five-driver lineup set, with Zach Veach, Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti (Andretti Herta Autosport) set to return to the team. They added a fifth car for Colton Herta, who is officially set to drive for Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport after Andretti Autosport and Harding Steinbrenner Racing joined forces.

James Hinchcliffe is slated to return to Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, renamed Arrow McLaren Racing SP following the partnership between the team and McLaren, but there is still doubt about this.

Quotes from those within Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and McLaren as well as Hinchcliffe himself indicate that this will be the case, but there is ongoing speculation that given Hinchcliffe’s ties to Honda, Honda may still have something up their sleeve to retain him after the team switched from Honda engines to Chevrolet engines.

Scott Dixon is set to return to Chip Ganassi Racing next year, and the team are believed to have an option to retain Felix Rosenqvist, which they have indicated they will. Sebastien Bourdais is set to return to Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan and Ed Carpenter is set to continue to compete in the oval races for the team he owns, Ed Carpenter Racing.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing have confirmed that both Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato are set to return to the team, while speculation still exists regarding whether or not the team will run a third car on a full-time basis. Finally, Team Penske’s current three-driver lineup of Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Simon Pagenaud has been confirmed once again.

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The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is not scheduled to get the 2020 IndyCar season underway for another five and a half months, as it is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 15. This race is set to be broadcast live from the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida on NBC Sports Network.