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IndyCar: Driver lineup changes from 2020 to 2021

By Asher Fair

Indy 500, IndyCar - Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Indy 500, IndyCar - Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Here is a list of all of the changes in the IndyCar driver lineup among the teams from the 2020 season to the 2021 season.

The driver lineup for the 2021 IndyCar season is set, with 20 full-time drivers having been confirmed for the upcoming 17-race season and an additional seven drivers set to run consistent part-time schedules behind the wheels of full-time entries throughout the year.

Those numbers could shift to 21 and six, respectively, if Conor Daly competes in the three non-Indy 500 oval races for Carlin, since he has a deal to compete for Ed Carpenter Racing in the Indy 500 as well as the 13 road and street course races.

There are a total of 24 full-time entries that have been confirmed for the 2021 season. Last year, there were 23 full-time entries and 21 full-time drivers.

However, only 18 drivers ended up competing in each of the 14 races on the schedule, as three were forced to miss at least one race for various reasons.

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One driver, Daly, split time between two of the full-time entries last year, while part-time drivers occupied both of those entries when he wasn’t behind the wheel.

Daly drove in the eight road and street course races for Ed Carpenter Racing, rotating with oval driver Ed Carpenter, and drove a separate entry for the team in the Indy 500. He also drove in the other five oval races for Carlin, rotating with road and street course driver Max Chilton, who also competed in the Indy 500. Chilton is set to return to the same role in 2021, while the same is expected but not yet confirmed for Daly.

Of the 21 full-time drivers from the 2020 season, 16 are set to return this year, if you include Daly in that picture.

The five drivers from 2020 who aren’t returning in 2021 are Charlie Kimball, Marco Andretti, Zach Veach, Oliver Askew and Santino Ferrucci, and the five full-time drivers for the 2021 season who did not compete full-time last year are Dalton Kellett, Sebastien Bourdais, James Hinchcliffe, Ed Jones and Scott McLaughlin.

Kimball, Andretti and Ferrucci are still set to compete, but not full-time. Kimball is set to compete for A.J. Foyt Enterprises in the month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway while both Andretti and Ferrucci are set to run the Indy 500. Kellett, Bourdais, Hinchcliffe and McLaughlin all competed last year, but not full-time.

Of the 16 returning full-time drivers, 14 are set to return to the same teams for which they drove in 2020, although two of those 14 drivers have have shifted to different cars/car numbers.

Here is a list of the changes to the driver lineup ahead of the 2021 season.

NOTE: (R) means rookie. Only full-time entries are listed.

A.J. Foyt Enterprises

#4 Chevrolet

  • IN: Dalton Kellett
  • OUT: Charlie Kimball

#14 Chevrolet

  • IN: Sebastien Bourdais (full-time)
  • OUT: Sebastian Bourdais (part-time), Tony Kanaan (part-time), Dalton Kellett (part-time)

Andretti Autosport

#26 Honda

  • IN: Colton Herta
  • OUT: Zach Veach

#29 Honda (Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport)

  • IN: James Hinchcliffe

#88 Honda (Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport)

  • OUT: Colton Herta

#98 Honda (Andretti Herta Autosport w/ Marco Andretti & Curb-Agajanian)

  • OUT: Marco Andretti

Arrow McLaren SP

#7 Chevrolet

  • IN: Felix Rosenqvist
  • OUT: Oliver Askew

Chip Ganassi Racing

#10 Honda

  • IN: Alex Palou
  • OUT: Felix Rosenqvist

#48 Honda

  • IN: Jimmie Johnson (road and street course races only), Tony Kanaan (oval races only)

Dale Coyne Racing

#18 Honda (with Vasser-Sullivan)

  • IN: Ed Jones
  • OUT: Santino Ferrucci

#51 Honda (with Rick Ware Racing)

  • IN: Romain Grosjean (road and street course races only), Pietro Fittipaldi (oval races only)

#55 Honda (with Team Goh)

  • OUT: Alex Palou

Team Penske

#1 Chevrolet

  • OUT: Josef Newgarden

#2 Chevrolet

  • IN: Josef Newgarden

#3 Chevrolet

  • IN: Scott McLaughlin

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The 2021 IndyCar season is scheduled to begin at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday, April 18 with the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst. NBC is set to broadcast this race live beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET.