Just like F1, it's not technically the middle of the Indycar calendar yet, but it is far enough along that we can draw some conclusions, so let's take a look at each team and see how things are going in 2022...
For each team, let's take a look at their season so far, with their current standings in the drivers' championship, their biggest (positive) surprise, their biggest disappointment, and one thing that absolutely must be improved across the second half of the season. Let's just say that some teams have some work to do in the second half of the year...
Chip Ganassi Racing
Current Standings:
1st (8-Ericsson)
5th (10-Palou)
6th (9-Dixon)
24th (48-Johnson)
Biggest Surprise:
Can it really go to anyone else other than Ericsson? The F1 outcast never had much fanfare about him, but winning the Indianapolis 500 will rectify that for you. Like his teammates Scott Dixon and Alex Palou, Ericsson has mastered the art of turning water into wine and magically finding himself in the top 10 at the end of races. After the Indy 500 last year, he went on a tear to launch himself into outside championship contention with a string of consistent runs. This year, he already has the championship lead, so a repeat would go a long way in sealing an unexpected title.
Biggest Disappointment:
Two Letters: J.J. What the hell happened to Jimmie? OK, in your first year you would expect some struggles for a longtime oval convert, but the alarming thing is that in the second year the rookie errors have not gone away. It seems like every weekend he finds himself in the wall or in the gravel at some point, which begs the question: why is he doing this? At this point it seems more like a Carvana marketing stunt than an effort to actually be competitive. I know that sounds incredibly disrespectful to the hard working men and women on the No. 48 crew, but that's because I think they deserve better from the driver's seat.
Honorable mention goes to the near-miss at the Indy 500, where it seems like the team did everything they could have done to ensure they did NOT win that race. The No. 10 got screwed over on strategy, and then the No. 9 got screwed over by Scott Dixon's pit entry. It looked like Ericsson would be there to pick up the pieces before who else but Jimmie Johnson fenced it with a few laps to go, setting up the most nerve-wracking 5 miles of Marcus Ericsson's life. Thankfully some surprisingly aggressive driving on the restart from the No. 8 ensured that CGR took home the Borg-Warger trophy, but if they somehow cocked that up then surely the 2022 Indy 500 would have gone down as an all-time blunder.
Must-See Improvements:
Really the team doesn't have any glaring weaknesses, apart from the driver of the No. 48 Carvana Honda. I think that if Jimmie fails to show any meaningful progress in the second half of the year, we may have seen the last of the No. 48.
Mid-Season Grade: A
Other than J.J., the team has had a pretty good year so far and now has three dependable drivers inside the top 6 in the championship. What more could you ask for? Four dependable drivers?
Team Penske
Arrow McLaren SP
Andretti Autosport
Meyer Shank Racing
Ed Carpenter Racing
Rahal Letterman Lanigan
Dale Coyne Racing
A.J. Foyt Enterprises
Juncos Hollinger Racing
Indycar in General
Biggest Surprise:
The competitive parity that we've seen across all the races. Sure, there's been a fair bit of Team Penske in victory lane, but that's still not enough to put any of their drivers at the top of the standings. We've had Penske, Ganassi, Andretti, and McLaren all winning poles and races, and multiple drivers from each team as well. Sure, teams like Ed Carpenter Racing and Rahal Letterman Lanigan aren't exactly having seasons to remember, but they can't all be winners, unfortunately.
Biggest Disappointment:
For me, it's the inconsistent calendar, which is admittedly not much of a problem, but then again I don't think Indycar really has that many problems. The gap between the first and second races is about a month, and then we have had back-to-back-to-back races in the middle of the year. For a series with 17 races (two races on the same weekend at Iowa, but the Indy 500 is a two-week affair, so it balances out), it seems odd that the calendar ends so early, de at roughly the same time as F1 or even NASCAR.
I would assume this is because Indycar wants to finish its season before it gets buried by the NFL in TV ratings, but either way I would have liked to see a more balanced approach. Have a race every other weekend, or something. Make it more predictable for fans and newcomers to follow, rather than having people turn on the TV and say "oh s***, there's an Indycar race today."
Must-See Improvements:
It says a lot that I don't really know what to write here, because in my opinion, Indycar is the best racing spectacle you can watch (at least in the U.S.). Sure, F1 has more interesting technology and debatably better drivers (although half the Indycar field would probably do fine in F1), but in terms of the on-track product it is second to none.
Indycar's next big target is to improve it's race promoting and marketing, something which the series (and parent company Penske Entertainment) has already publicly stated. Races like Texas have very little attendance (relative to capacity), despite having thrilling racing. Hopefully this'll change in the future.
Mid-Season Grade: A
It's hard to see what could be better, although I think the series would be enjoying even greater exposure if the superstars like Dixon, O'Ward, Grosjean, and Herta were having better seasons. But and underdog storyline can be just as good!
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