IndyCar: The one glaring problem that can’t be ignored

There’s no question that IndyCar has pristine talent all across the board. But one glaring issue prevents the series from being even better.

Aspiring IndyCar drivers without backing or funding tend to be unsuccessful in finding a ride in the series, regardless of how much talent they have.

Money over talent seems to be the theme in the IndyCar paddock, and this is nothing new, especially with drivers trying to break into the sport.

In 2019, Oliver Askew set the Indy Lights world on fire, notching seven victories en route to a championship during his lone season in the feeder series.

Askew quickly got scooped up by Arrow McLaren SP and paired up with Pato O’Ward for the 2020 season.

Unfortunately for Askew, the combination of COVID-19-related restrictions flipping the schedule upside down, an average finish of 15.9, and a concussion that derailed the latter part of his season led to his release from the team.

Askew told Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press that he initially wanted to stay with the car because “This is all I’ve worked for. I don’t come from money, and I’ve worked my way up and have finally gotten my shot in a good car.”

It’s difficult to assess any driver after one season in new equipment, let alone one who dealt with a concussion for four races before stepping back to heal.

Devlin DeFrancesco has taken over the #29 Honda for Andretti-Steinbrenner Autosport for the 2022 season, and it left fan-favorite James Hinchcliffe on the outside.

This situation shows both sides of the story.

For DeFrancesco, it was only a matter of time before he got the call up with solid backing from various sponsors. On the flip side, the move made Hinchcliffe’s future as a driver bleak.

According to Marshall Pruett of RACER Magazine, the Mayor of Hinchtown suffered a left leg injury before the season, which derailed the majority of his 2021 campaign.

Hinchcliffe showed resiliency in the latter part of the 2021 season. However, with only one podium finish in Nashville, Tennessee to his name, the Canadian is left wondering whether he’ll even have a part-time ride going forward.

One of the biggest stories over the offseason was the U.S. Air Force backing out of their IndyCar sponsorship program with Conor Daly and Ed Carpenter Racing.

Daly, who has been looking for solid footing after two seasons with the team and a top finish in the championship standings of 17th place, may very well be on his way out.

The Noblesville, Indiana native had shown flashes of brilliance, most notably when he led the most laps in this year’s Indy 500 before a stray tire damaged his front wing and knocked him out of contention.

Unfortunately, that’s the harsh reality of any professional business.

Teams will give drivers the best chance to succeed as possible, but when the money stops coming in and results aren’t great, team owners tend to look elsewhere right away.

Is it really fair to kick a driver to the curb after one season of results, regardless of circumstances?

That’s the million-dollar question.

It’s a gut-wrenching decision that no team owner in the sport truly wants to make.

However, the team’s success has to come first at the end of the day. Thankfully for IndyCar, with the car count expected to be at a whopping 27 full-time entries in 2022, according to Pruett, the number of seats available is slowly opening up.

The sport is as healthy as it has been in a long time. However, with seats filling up rapidly, the series may still be without a couple of talented stars.