3 underdogs to win the 2025 IndyCar Championship feat. Will Power

The 2025 season of the highest class of open-wheel car racing in America (IndyCar) is slated to kick off on March 2. Top drivers like Alex Palou (2024 champion), Josef Newgarden (two-time world champion), and Colton Herta (2024 runner-up) will once again be the favorites going into the campaign.

However, there are some underdogs who could shock the entire grid by amassing the coveted 2025 world championship. The competition is only getting closer and closer with each passing year and other than the usual favorites, following drivers could turn heads on their way to a potential championship.

#3 Will Power

The first name on the list is that of the 43-year-old veteran of the sport, Will Power. Competitive racing is often seen as a young man's sport but Power has defied the odds over the years.

Moreover, one does not have to look too far back to understand what the Team Penske driver is capable of. In the 2021 IndyCar season, Will Power finished ninth in the overall drivers' standings, as a result of this, he was not one of the talked about drivers' in the 2022 title fight. But what happened during the campaign was quite shocking, on his way to his second championship, Power managed 560 points alongside one Grand Prix win, five pole positions and 12 top-five finishes.

In 2024, Will Power was again among the top finishers. He managed a respectable fourth-place finish (498 points) with three wins and seven top-five finishes. Keeping all this in view, he might just be able to amass his third IndyCar title in the 2025 season.

#2 Pato O'Ward

Next up on this esteemed list is the exciting Arrow McLaren driver, Pato O'Ward. The 25-year-old has so far competed in only 89 IndyCar races but his stock as an IndyCar driver has increased by 10-folds in the last few years.

Pato O'Ward's first appearance in Indycar Series came in 2018 and since then, he has kept on improving. In 2023, he ended the campaign in fourth place with 484 points. Moreover, he fell short of third place by only four points against Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin.

In the following campaign, O'Ward ended the season in fifth place. Moreover, he was able to amass a strong 460 points (three Grand Prix wins) driving Arrow McLaren's No. 5 car.

The Tony Kanaan-led team has been making progress with its car with each passing season. If they can get everything right with this year's machinery, then who knows, Pato O'Ward might be seen having a fair shot at the world championship.

#1 Scott Dixon

The 44-year-old Scott Dixon has been making his trade in IndyCar since the 2003 Toyota Indy 300 (Homestead). The six-time world champion is pure royalty in the sport and while his last title run came in 2020, he could be in with a strong shot this year.

Dixon ended the 2024 campaign in sixth place with the Indiana-based Chip Ganassi Racing. He secured 465 points alongside two Grand Prix wins and eight top-five finishes.

IndyCar legend will soon turn 45 (22nd July), and considering this, he does not have many years left in the sport. His teammate Alex Palou secured the title last season, if Chip Ganassi is at the top end again this year, it could prove to be the 44-year-old's year for championship glory (equalling AJ Foyt's seven titles record). Dixon still knows how to secure victories and for him, it would be about being consistent in his efforts throughout 2025.