The crazy Danica Patrick streak McLaren's newest driver wants to end

Christian Lundgaard is Arrow McLaren's newest addition for the 2025 IndyCar season, joining Pato O'Ward and Nolan Siegel as Alexander Rossi's replacement behind the wheel of the No. 7 Chevrolet after spending the first three-plus seasons of his career with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Lundgaard impressed with a Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team many consider to be a step below Arrow McLaren, recording podium finishes in all three of his seasons as a full-time driver. He even won the race on the streets of Toronto in 2023 and finished higher than Rossi in the standings that year.

In 2024, he finished in 11th place, one spot behind Rossi but seven spots higher than his closest teammate, Graham Rahal.

Lundgaard consistently getting the most out of his equipment was enough for Zak Brown and company to decide to move on from a former Indy 500 winner who contended for a second Indy 500 win in both of his seasons in the No. 7 car.

Now Lundgaard has the opportunity to end a drought that dates back 17 IndyCar seasons.

When Danica Patrick went to victory lane at Twin Ring Motegi in April 2008, she did so behind the wheel of the No. 7 Honda for Andretti Green Racing.

Since that day, there have been 282 IndyCar races contested. Of those 282 races, 262 were contested with a No. 7 car, and none of those 262 were won by that No. 7 entry.

Patrick, Sebastien Bourdais, Mikhail Aleshin, James Jakes, Marcus Ericsson, Oliver Askew, Felix Rosenqvist, and most recently Rossi have all stood on the podium as drivers of a No. 7 car since Patrick's one and only win. But none of their combined 14 trips featured an ascension to the top step.

Yet teammates of the No. 7 car's drivers during that stretch have managed 18 victories. O'Ward leads the way with seven, including three in 2024, and he remains McLaren's only winner since they entered IndyCar full-time in 2020.

The list also includes James Hinchcliffe, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Simon Pagenaud, Mike Conway, and Marco Andretti, who all represented either Schmidt Peterson Motorsports or Andretti Autosport when they earned those victories.

What's so "lucky" about No. 7, anyway?

Lundgaard is set to have his first opportunity to end this 282-race drought in the 2025 IndyCar season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida on Sunday, March 2. Live coverage is set to be provided by Fox that afternoon (official start time TBD).