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As the holiday season subsides, IndyCar is gearing up for an electrifying 2025 season. Big changes are afoot in America's top open-wheel racing series, promising to make 2025 one of the best seasons in the modern era.
In 2024, the series witnessed a new consecutive Indy 500 winner in Josef Newgarden with a record payout, hybrid power units turning the tables on the top drivers, 2021 NASCAR champion Kyle Larson's double-duty attempt, and many more highlights. If all of this was an indication of what is to come, fans are in for a treat.
Though we are still two months out from the season opener on March 2 in St. Petersburg, here are five boldly optimistic predictions for the 2025 season.
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#5 109th Indy 500 becomes the most-watched IndyCar race of all time
For this prediction, we are counting on FOX Sports to deliver on its promise. In June 2024, IndyCar announced a landmark multi-year media rights deal with FOX to replace NBC Sports as the series' exclusive broadcasting partner.
Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles laid out high expectations from the new partners who promised 'unrivaled' exposure to the series. 2025 will witness a 52% increase in broadcasting hours and Miles expects that to translate into a 30% increase in Total Audience Delivery (TAD).
In 2024, the Indy 500, the biggest race of the year, recorded an average viewership of 5.31 million, an 8% increase over 2023. Moreover, NBC Sports revealed that the race drew 13.3 million total viewers in the 9 hours of coverage, a new NBC record. The previous record was 12 million total viewers in 2019.
For 2025, FOX has announced a new schedule for the Indy 500, which includes two hours of extra pre-race coverage for a holistic viewership experience for fans. If Josef Newgarden's prediction of FOX doing 'justice' to IndyCar is something to go by, the 109th Indy 500 could smash the race's 2021 viewership record of 5.58 million average viewers.
With FOX already having shot new commercials with Newgarden, Pato O'Ward, and Alex Palou to be aired during NFL games in January and February, a new viewership record isn't a fever dream.
#4 Kyle Larson completes 1100 miles in his second 'Double Duty' attempt
In 2024, Kyle Larson became the fifth driver in racing history to attempt the double-duty aka competing in the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. His four predecessors include John Andretti, Kyle Busch, Robby Gordon, and the only driver to have completed the 1100 miles, Tony Stewart.
Larson's 2024 attempt, aided by Hendrick Motorsports partnering with Arrow McLaren, was foiled by the weather gods. A four-hour rain delay at the Indy 500 pushed his arrival in Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600, which in turn, was also called midway due to heavy downpours.
In September 2024, Arrow McLaren announced signing the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champ for a second Indy 500, giving him another attempt at the feat. We're backing the American driver, one of NASCAR's 75 greatest of all time, to replicate Tony Stewart's heroics.
#3 PREMA Racing makes an immediate impact with at least one podium in rookie year
PREMA Racing will enter IndyCar as the series' 11th team this year. The Italian team has been the most successful outfit in the history of the junior European Formula series.
In Callum Ilott, they have a relatively experienced driver, having raced for Juncos Hollinger Racing and Arrow McLaren. He has also raced with PREMA in the 2017 F3 championship. Their other driver, Robert Shwartzman, is a versatile ex-Ferrari junior, having won the 2019 F3 championship with PREMA.
The combined experience of the team and the drivers in F2 alone should give them a solid edge in 2025. F2 cars and Indy cars have a few similarities, like the absence of power steering and the chassis being built by Dallara. F2 graduates Christian Lundgaard and Marcus Armstrong spoke about this last year, explaining why the F2 to IndyCar journey is that of lesser resistance.
#2 Colton Herta upsets Alex Palou to win the championship and complete his road to F1
In 2024, Colton Herta achieved a career-best second-place finish in the standings with 513 points, only 31 short of championship-winner Alex Palou. Moreover, he was the most successful driver in the second half of the season after the hybrid power units were introduced in race 10 at Mid-Ohio.
Herta scored seven Top 5 finishes, including two victories in the final 9 races. With 2025 being the first full season for hybrid technology, the Andretti Global driver has a clear edge.
Winning the championship will also make him eligible to race in F1 in 2026 and fulfill his dream. Though he only needs a minimum of fifth place to acquire the needed super license points, the title would be the cherry on top. The 24-year-old is the first choice for a seat in the Mario Andretti-led Cadillac F1 team that will enter the sport in 2026. On the off chance Herta doesn't win the championship, Scott McLaughlin is our number two pick to trump Alex Palou.
#1 Josef Newgarden achieves unprecedented three-peat at the Indy 500
Josef Newgarden won the previous two Indy 500s spectacularly with last-lap passes on defending winner Marcus Ericsson in 2023 and Pato O'Ward in 2024. The consecutive victory in 2024 landed him a bonus of $440,000, taking his payout to a record $4.288 million.
On paper, nothing is stopping the two-time IndyCar champ from adding a third consecutive Indy 500 victory and giving Roger Penske his record-extending 21st win at the "Greatest Spectacle of Racing."
If Newgarden sees this through on May 25 this year, he will become the first IndyCar driver to achieve a three-peat at the iconic event, and our prediction of the race becoming the highest-viewed IndyCar race would inevitably follow suit.
