Way-too-early odds for 2023 IndyCar championship

The start of the 2023 IndyCar season is still roughly two months away, but the odds to win the championship have already been revealed.

The 2023 IndyCar season isn’t scheduled to get underway for more than two months, but bookmakers and bettors alike have already turned their attention to the upcoming 17-race campaign.

Listed as the favorite to win this year’s title is Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, a two-time champion who has finished in second place in each of the last three seasons.

Newgarden, who became the first driver to win five races in a season since 2016 last year, has only finished outside of the top two in the standings once in his six seasons with Team Penske. Reigning champion Will Power, also a two-time champion who competes for Team Penske, is listed second at +475.

Here are the full odds to win the 2023 IndyCar championship, provided by WynnBET.

NOTE: Not all drivers are confirmed on the grid for 2023. Drivers not confirmed do not have team names listed beside them. +475 means a successful $100 bet wins $475 ($575 payout).

• Josef Newgarden, Team Penske: +425
• Will Power, Team Penske: +475
• Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren: +600
• Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport: +800
• Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske: +800
• Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing: +800
• Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing: +900
• Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing: +1300
• Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren: +1750
• Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren: +2500
• Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing: +2500
• Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing: +5000
• Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport: +5000
• Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Autosport: +5000
• Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: +5000
• David Malukas, Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports: +5000
• Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing: +5000
• Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: +5000
• Takuma Sato: +5000
• Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing: +7500
• Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Enterprises: +10000
• Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: +10000
• Devlin DeFrancesco, Andretti Autosport: +15000
• Callum Ilott, Juncos Hollinger Racing: +15000
• Benjamin Pedersen, A.J. Foyt Enterprises: +15000

It is particularly interesting that the highest-ranking Chip Ganassi Racing driver, Alex Palou, is only tied for fourth, and it is perhaps even more interesting that Scott Dixon, who has finished outside of the top four in the standings just once in the last 17 years, is only listed seventh. He hasn’t finished outside of the top six in the standings since 2005.

With the Palou/Chip Ganassi Racing/McLaren drama behind us, expect the 2021 champion to be a contender again in 2023, and don’t expect it to take until the season finale for him to get his first win of the year. As for Dixon, never doubt the six-time champion’s ability to win when you least expect him to.

The 2023 IndyCar season is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, March 5 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding, which is set to be broadcast live on NBC and Peacock from the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.