IndyCar: Oliver Askew tipped to drive for Arrow McLaren Racing SP in 2020

By Asher Fair | Oct 30, 2019

MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 20: James Hinchcliffe #5 of United States and Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda practices for the NTT IndyCar Series Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on September 20, 2019 in Monterey, California. (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images) /

Oliver Askew has been tipped to drive for Arrow McLaren Racing SP in the 2020 IndyCar season after winning the 2019 Indy Lights championship.

2019 Indy Lights champion Oliver Askew reportedly turned down an offer to drive for Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in the 2019 IndyCar season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca when they approached him to do so due to a controversial matter involving veteran driver James Hinchcliffe.

But it was no secret that Arrow McLaren Racing SP, the team formed when Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports switched from Honda engines to Chevrolet engines and joined forces with McLaren, still had interest in the 22-year-old Jupiter, Florida native becoming one of their two full-time drivers for the 2020 season.

Now Askew has been tipped to drive for the team next year.

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The team are reportedly set to confirm their driver lineup later this week, and 2018 Indy Lights champion Patricio O’Ward has been tipped to drive for the team alongside Askew as well, leaving James Hinchcliffe, who has driven for the team since the 2015 season, without a ride.

By winning the 2019 Indy Lights championship, the Andretti Autosport driver earned himself a $1 million scholarship to compete in at least three IndyCar races in the 2020 season, including the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He had been rumored to land at Arrow McLaren Racing SP from several weeks ago, and now that rumor is set to become a reality.

And he is slated for a lot more than three races; in fact, he is set to become the first reigning Indy Lights champion to land a full-time ride in IndyCar the next year since 2016 champion Ed Jones of Carlin landed a ride with Dale Coyne Racing for the 2017 season. Askew tested an IndyCar for the first time in August for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Askew earned this full-time opportunity by climbing the rungs of the Road to Indy ladder. He won the 2017 U.S. F2000 National Championship with seven wins in 14 races driving for Cape Motorsports and was then promoted to the Pro Mazda Championship, where he delivered the team a third place finish in the championship standings before landing a ride in Indy Lights with Andretti Autosport for the 2019 season and winning the title in convincing fashion with seven victories in 18 races.

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Assuming that Arrow McLaren Racing SP do confirm Oliver as one of their two full-time drivers for the 2020 IndyCar season, how will he perform in his rookie year? His road to the top to land the opportunity to compete in America’s premier open-wheel racing series certainly indicates that he is loaded with potential and poised for success.