IndyCar: Where will Indy Lights champion Oliver Askew end up in 2020?

By Asher Fair | Oct 9, 2019

MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 22: Cars race through the Corkscrew 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) /

Oliver Askew has a scholarship to compete in at least three races, including the Indy 500, in the 2020 IndyCar season. Where will he end up next year?

By the time the 2019 Indy Lights season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca rolled around, all Andretti Autosport rookie Oliver Askew needed to do to secure the championship in IndyCar‘s highest feeder series was start the race.

Indeed, he started the 30-lap race around the the 11-turn, 2.238-mile (3.602-kilometer) WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca natural terrain road course in Monterey, California. He started in second place, and he finished in second to seal the championship over Juncos Racing rookie Rinus VeeKay, the race winner.

As a result, the 22-year-old Jupiter, Florida native earned a $1 million scholarship that guarantees an entry for him in at least three races on the 17-race 2020 IndyCar schedule, including the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Memorial Day Sunday, May 24.

Where will Askew end up driving next year, and will he compete in more than three races?

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Unfortunately for him, Andretti Autosport already added a fifth full-time car for next year, and it was Colton Herta. So unless he signs with Meyer Shank Racing, which is unlikely given Jack Harvey’s likelihood of returning to the team, and they form a technical alliance with the team, which is still a possibility, he will likely no longer be associated with the team.

Askew tested for Chip Ganassi Racing at Portland International Raceway in July, and he impressed the team, much like Felix Rosenqvist did at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2017 before nearly joining the team in 2018 and then actually doing so in 2019 en route to a Rookie of the Year-winning season.

Chip Ganassi Racing were heavily rumored to remain a two-car team for the 2020 season. But they recently confirmed that Marcus Ericsson, who drove for Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports as a rookie this past season, is set to drive their third car alongside Rosenqvist and five-time champion Scott Dixon.

The last season — in fact, the last four seasons and six of the last seven — they operated as more than a two-car team, they operated as a four-car team. Could the same be true in 2020?

They may very well not stop at three.

With Ford ending their full factory involvement with the Ford GT program in IMSA, Chip Ganassi Racing very well leave the series, which could provide the team with extra crew members for a fourth IndyCar entry, likely for Askew if it comes to fruition. The addition of a third car could very well be an indication that this is the route they will take.

But if it doesn’t come to fruition, where else might Askew end up?

Arrow McLaren Racing SP, formerly Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports before they announced their partnership with McLaren and switch from Honda engines to Chevrolet engines, has to be considered an option.

Arrow McLaren Racing SP are set to operate as a two-car full-time team in 2020. One of those seats, Ericsson’s seat in 2019, remains completely unconfirmed (aside of the fact that Ericsson won’t return and Conor Daly has already been rejected by the team), while there are still several uncertainties pertaining to the one that has been occupied by James Hinchcliffe for the last five seasons.

Hinchcliffe has deep ties to Honda, and Arrow McLaren Racing SP’s new deal with Chevrolet will naturally upset those ties if he remains with the team.

So while he, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team co-owner Sam Schmidt and McLaren CEO Zak Brown have all indicated that he is slated to return to the team next year, there is still nothing set in stone, as Honda have not yet confirmed his departure.

There is still heavily backed speculation that he will drive for a Honda team next year. During NBC Sports Gold’s live broadcast of the second practice session for the season finale WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca last month, NBC Sports’s Network Robin Miller stated matter-of-factly, “He is going to be in a Honda.”

Yes, he is “under contract” to return, but Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports were also “under contract” with Honda through the 2020 season.

We saw how that turned out.

If Hinchcliffe doesn’t return to the team, or even if he does, there is no reason to believe that Askew is out of the picture.

According to AP News, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports reached out to Askew already, and for quite a bizarre reason: to replace Hinchcliffe in the 2019 season finale.

There were reportedly tensions within Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports when title sponsor Arrow learned that Hinchcliffe took part in nude photo shoots for ESPN The Body Issue, as they were unaware that he was slated to participate in this and upset by the fact that they were associated with it not only by way of his contract with the team but by way of their logos being used in the photographs.

Team president Jon Flack left the team after this situation unfolded, and the team public relations representative did as well.

If I’m Hinchcliffe, I’m keeping my Honda options open.

But regardless of whether there are one or two seats open for the 2020 season at Arrow McLaren Racing SP, Askew should definitely be in the mix.

Dale Coyne Racing could be an option for him as well if Santino Ferrucci leaves the team. Ferrucci has a deal in place to return to the team for a second season next year, but he has stated that he is going to explore all of his options before making a commitment.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing have also discussed adding a third car, adding yet another possibility for Askew, although that possibility looks less likely than it once did.

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If not Chip Ganassi Racing or Arrow McLaren Racing SP, where will Oliver Askew end up in the 2020 IndyCar season? Regardless of where he ends up, will he be a full-time driver?