IndyCar could see an all-time record broken on Sunday

Never before has an IndyCar season begun with eight different winners in eight races, but that could very well happen on Sunday afternoon.

A chaotic first race of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader at Belle Isle Street Circuit saw Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson become the fourth first-time winner of the 2021 IndyCar season.

Ericsson led the final five laps of the 70-lap race around the 14-turn, 2.35-mile (3.782-kilometer) temporary street circuit on the streets of Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan after race leader Will Power of Team Penske was unable to continue following the late red flag period, as his #12 Chevrolet simply wouldn’t re-fire.

With his maiden series victory, Ericsson became the seventh different driver to win a race through the first seven races on the 2021 schedule.

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Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou secured his first career win in the season opener at Barber Motorsports Park before Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta won on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon won the first race at Texas Motor Speedway before Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward secured his first career win in the second. Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay then secured his first career win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, and Meyer Shank Racing’s Helio Castroneves went on to win the Indy 500 for a record-tying fourth time.

IndyCar most recently saw seven different winners in the first seven races of a season back in 2017, but never in series history have there been eight different winners in a season’s first eight races.

That could very well change in this afternoon’s 70-lap race.

The 2020 season itself saw just seven winners, but among that seven-driver group, five have yet to win in 2021, including Team Penske teammates Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Simon Pagenaud as well as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato.

The other one, Arrow McLaren SP’s Felix Rosenqvist, will not compete in today’s race after he was involved in a massive wreck in yesterday’s event.

Sato led that group on Saturday with a fourth place finish. Power was the clearly driver to beat before his car wouldn’t re-fire, leaving Team Penske winless through seven races in 2021 after they only failed to win seven races throughout the entire 14-race 2020 season.

Newgarden had a solid recovery from an early wheel issue to finish in 10th place, and Pagenaud was running well until falling back late and finishing in 12th. Of these four drivers (excluding Rosenqvist), only Sato hasn’t won on Belle Isle.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing teammates Graham Rahal, a two-time winner on Belle Isle, and Santino Ferrucci both ran well on Saturday, finishing in fifth and sixth place after starting all the way back in 20th and 21st, respectively. Ferrucci has finished in sixth in his only two starts with the team thus far.

In total, 10 of Saturday’s top 13 finishers entered the weekend without any wins so far this season, so there are quite a few drivers who have a great shot to become the eighth different winner in 2021 this afternoon.

The all-time record for different winners in a single season is 11, a record that could easily fall by the time this year’s 16 or 17-race (still TBD) season comes to a close. This record was set back in 2000 and tied in both 2001 and 2014.

Be sure to tune in to NBC at 12:00 p.m. ET this afternoon for the live broadcast of the second race of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix from Belle Isle Street Circuit.