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IndyCar: What we still don’t know about the 2020 driver lineup

By Asher Fair

MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 22: Santino Ferrucci #19 of United States and Cly-Del Manufacturing Honda leads a pack of cars 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: Santino Ferrucci #19 of United States and Cly-Del Manufacturing Honda leads a pack of cars 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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The 2019 IndyCar season is in the books, and many rides are solidified for the 2020 season. But what do we still not know about next year’s driver lineup?

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden secured his second career IndyCar championship to cap off the 17-race 2019 season, and the nearly six-month offseason between the 2019 season finale and the 2020 season opener is officially underway.

There have been several driver confirmations for the 2020 season already, so much so that the full-time driver lineup is seemingly missing only a few key pieces.

Nevertheless, there has been a lot of speculation about the few key pieces about next year’s lineup that hasn’t yet been confirmed.

So what do we still not know about the 2020 driver lineup as the offseason really gets underway?

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A.J. Foyt Enterprises plan to field two cars once again, as do Carlin, but none of the drivers for either team have been confirmed. Matheus Leist and Tony Kanaan have driven for the former in each of the last two seasons, and Kanaan expects to be driving on some level next year.

As for Carlin, six different drivers drove for the team at some point in the 2019 season, with nobody doing so on a full-time basis. Max Chilton is expected to be back for the team driving in at least the road and street course races, and Charlie Kimball is expected to be back on some level.

Dale Coyne Racing are also set to field a car alongside the car driven by Sebastien Bourdais via a partnership with Vasser-Sullivan once again. Santino Ferrucci drove that car this season, and he has a deal to return next year if he doesn’t land another ride.

In the road and street course races, Ed Carpenter Racing are set to field the car that team owner Ed Carpenter is set to drive in the oval races. Ed Jones, who drove that car in the 2019 season, wants to come back next season, but it is not clear if he will. The team’s partnership with Scuderia Corsa to field this car is also not confirmed for next year.

They are also set to field a full-time car once again. Spencer Pigot has driven that car in the last two seasons and is the lead candidate to drive it again, but Indy Lights driver Rinus VeeKay has been mentioned as a possible driver for the team next year.

Arrow McLaren Racing SP have confirmed one of their two drivers for the 2020 season, but there has even been doubt surrounding that driver’s seat.

Officials within Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and McLaren as well as James Hinchcliffe himself have stated that he is slated to return to the team (renamed from Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) following the announcement of the partnership between them and McLaren.

However, there is still doubt about this after the team switched from Honda to Chevrolet engines, as there is ongoing speculation that Honda may still have something up their sleeve to retain him given Hinchcliffe’s ties to them.

As for the other candidates to drive for the team, Marcus Ericsson has been in talks with the team about returning. Felipe Nasr, Conor Daly, Santino Ferrucci and Colin Braun are among the other names that have been floated around.

Oliver Askew is set to compete in at least three races, including the Indianapolis 500, next season after winning the Indy Lights championship, but it has not been confirmed what, exactly, his deal will contain, and with which team.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing have stated that there is 50-50 chance that they will field a third full-time car next year for the first time since the 2006 season alongside Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato.

If Hinchcliffe doesn’t end up driving for Arrow McLaren Racing SP, this has been rumored as a potential destination for him, and it has been rumored as a potential landing spot for Ferrucci if he leaves Dale Coyne Racing as well.

Finally, Meyer Shank Racing and DragonSpeed are both set to return to the series next season, but there are still plenty of questions surrounding both.

Meyer Shank Racing will not be able to partner with Arrow McLaren Racing SP since they are a Honda team, so there has been speculation that they will form a partnership with another team.

They previously partnered with Andretti Autosport, but Chip Ganassi Racing and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing have both been speculated as potential partners as well. If they do form a partnership, will they compete for the full season like they aim to?

As for DragonSpeed, they expected to compete in five races this season with Ben Hanley as their driver, but they only competed in three. Their goal to compete in 10 races next season seems a bit lofty, but with proper funding, they may be able to pull it off. Regardless, if they return on some level, will they do it with Hanley once again?

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