Beyond the Flag
Fansided

IndyCar: Can ECR, Arrow McLaren end Penske’s exclusive Chevrolet success?

By Asher Fair

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - JUNE 06: Spencer Pigot of the United States, driver of the #21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, drives during practice for the NTT IndyCar Series DXC - Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 06, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TEXAS - JUNE 06: Spencer Pigot of the United States, driver of the #21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, drives during practice for the NTT IndyCar Series DXC - Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 06, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Can Ed Carpenter Racing and/or Arrow McLaren Racing SP end what has been Chevrolet success exclusive to Team Penske in recent IndyCar seasons?

The August arrival of McLaren via a partnership with the formerly Honda-powered Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports IndyCar team to form the Chevrolet-powered Arrow McLaren Racing SP team ahead of the 2020 season has garnered much attention over the last few months.

Arrow McLaren Racing SP confirmed a few weeks ago that 2018 and 2019 Indy Lights champions Patricio O’Ward and Oliver Askew are set to be their two full-time drivers for the 2020 season, replacing the now ride-seeking James Hinchcliffe and the Chip Ganassi Racing-bound Marcus Ericsson.

Recent offseason headlines, however, have revolved around the Chevrolet-powered Ed Carpenter Racing team and their projected driver lineup overhaul.

More from IndyCar

Spencer Pigot is out ahead of next season as the team’s full-time driver, and 2019 Indy Lights runner-up Rinus VeeKay, who had been tipped to be his replacement, is set to replace him behind the wheel of the #21 Chevrolet.

Ed Jones will likely not return to the team as their road and street course driver, and the jury is still out regarding who will replace him.

Team owner Ed Carpenter is slated to be the lone constant within the team, with him slated to drive in the oval races only for the seventh consecutive season.

With so much change for these two Chevrolet organizations, will Team Penske’s exclusive Chevrolet success be brought to an end in the 2020 season?

Team Penske won 10 of the 16 races on the 2016 schedule, 10 of the 17 races on the 2017 schedule, six of the 17 races on the 2018 schedule and nine of the 17 races on the 2019 schedule.

The most recent non-Team Penske victory by a Chevrolet team is Chip Ganassi Racing’s victory at Watkins Glen International in the 2016 season with Scott Dixon. This win was 53 races and 26 Team Penske victories ago.

With that being said, Chip Ganassi Racing are now a Honda-powered team after switching back to Honda from Chevrolet after the 2016 season concluded.

Among current Chevrolet teams, the most recent non-Team Penske victory is Ed Carpenter Racing’s victory at Iowa Speedway in the 2016 season with Josef Newgarden, who is ironically now a Team Penske driver. This win was 58 races and 29 Team Penske victories ago.

Can O’Ward, Askew, VeeKay, Carpenter or Ed Carpenter Racing’s road and street course driver put an end to that exclusivity?

Ed Carpenter Racing have come close in recent years, and with three different drivers. In 2017, J.R. Hildebrand finished in third place in the race at ISM Raceway and second in the race at Iowa Speedway. Pigot did the same at Iowa Speedway the following year.

Carpenter finished in second place in the 2018 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and he finished in second in the race at at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway last year — and by only 0.0399 seconds.

https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/1165461170100326400

Arrow McLaren Racing SP become a Honda-powered team in the 2006 season when they were still known as Sam Schmidt Motorsports, so their recent success has been with Honda engines. Their most recent race victory came at Iowa Speedway in the 2018 season with Hinchcliffe.

The series’ other two Chevrolet-powered teams are A.J. Foyt Enterprises, and they both had solid runs toward the end of last season, with Tony Kanaan finishing in third place at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway for the former and Conor Daly finishing in sixth at the same track for the latter.

Next. Top 10 IndyCar drivers of all-time. dark

Will the 2020 IndyCar season see the Chevrolet bowtie in victory lane via a winning drive by somebody other than a Team Penske driver? Arrow McLaren Racing SP and Ed Carpenter Racing are going all in, and don’t sleep on A.J. Foyt Enterprises or Carlin after solid runs down the stretch late in the 2019 season.