The 2019 NTT IndyCar Series was the 24th season of the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

and the 108th official championship season of American open wheel racing. The premier event was the 2019 Indianapolis 500, with Will Power entering as the defending winner.

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

entered as the defending Manufacturers' Cup champion. Scott Dixon entered the season as the defending National Champion. Josef Newgarden won his second Drivers' Championship, while

won the Manufacturers' Championship for the second year in a row, and it was the manufacturer's first championship of the Reiwa era. Rookie of the Year honors went to Felix Rosenqvist.

Series news

*On March 21, 2018,

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and it ...

announced that it would become the sole United States television rights holder under a new three-year contract, replacing the previous split between ABC and NBC Sports' cable network

NBCSN NBCSN was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated to programming pri ...

(whose involvement in the series dated back to its tenure as Versus, prior to

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

's acquisition of NBC). Eight races per-season will air on NBC, including the Indianapolis 500 (ending a run of 54 consecutive editions aired by ABC), and supplemental digital content is offered through NBC Sports' subscription product NBC Sports Gold. As with the previous contracts, the majority of races air on NBCSN. * On November 5, 2018, IndyCar announced that it had formed a new division known as IndyCar Media to manage the series' international media rights (replacing

ESPN International ESPN International is a family of sportscasting and production networks around the world. It was begun in 1989, is operated by ESPN Inc. and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Operating regions Latin America Spanish-speaking countries * ...

). * On November 27, 2018, IndyCar announced that Speedway had signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement to be the official fuel provider of IndyCar beginning in 2019, replacing

Sunoco Sunoco LP is an American master limited partnership organized under Delaware state laws and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that is a wholesale distributor of motor fuels. It distributes fuel to more than 5,500 Sunoco-branded gas stations ...

after nine years as a fuel provider as the company elected to concentrating on

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...

and NHRA fuel partnerships. *All entrants will use 2018-specification engines through the 2020 season as the series concentrates on developing the new 2021 engines. * On December 17, 2018, it was announced that Jay Frye had been promoted to president of IndyCar. * On January 15, 2019, IndyCar announced NTT as the new series title sponsor on a multi-year deal, along with becoming the official technology partner of the series and Indianapolis 500.

Verizon Communications Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...

had previously ended its title sponsorship of the series after the 2018 season. * On February 6, 2019 it was announced that

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is a tire company founded by Harvey Firestone (1868–1938) in 1900 initially to supply solid rubber side-wire tires for fire apparatus, and later, pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheele ...

had signed an extension to remain as the series' sole tire supplier through the 2025 season.

Confirmed entries

The following teams, entries, and drivers have been announced to compete in the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season. All teams will use a spec Dallara DW12 chassis with UAK18 aero kit and Firestone tires.

Team changes

On September 19, 2018, it was announced that George Michael Steinbrenner IV's Steinbrenner Racing would join forces with Harding Racing to form a planned two-car operation under the name Harding Steinbrenner Racing. On February 11, it was revealed that the team's second engine lease was only for the Indianapolis 500. Meyer Shank Racing, after running a 6-race schedule in 2018, expanded their season to 10 races in the 2019 season with driver Jack Harvey. On October 17, 2018, it was announced that Ed Carpenter Racing and

Scuderia Corsa Scuderia Corsa is an American automotive racing team with teams competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, Pirelli World Challenge and Ferrari Challenge in North America. Founded in 2012 by Giacomo Mattioli and Art Zafiropoulo, the team has t ...

would team up to field Ed Jones in all road and street course events and the Indianapolis 500. On November 10, 2018 it was announced that

McLaren Racing McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formula ...

would return to the IndyCar Series at the 2019 Indianapolis 500 with

Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and M ...

behind the wheel. On November 26, 2018, it was revealed that McLaren's entry would be powered by Chevrolet. On December 6, 2018 it was also announced that Harding Steinbrenner Racing will switch to

engines from 2019 season beyond after spending two seasons with Chevrolet engines. On December 17, 2018, it was announced that DragonSpeed would make their IndyCar debut in 2019, in a 5-race program including the 2019 Indianapolis 500. The entry will be powered by Chevrolet and piloted by Ben Hanley, who will make his IndyCar debut along with the team. On February 28, 2019, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing announced that they would once again return to run the Indy 500, retaining driver Sage Karam for the fourth consecutive year. On April 22, the team announced that

J. R. Hildebrand John Randal Hildebrand Jr. (born January 3, 1988) is an American race car driver. He currently competes in the IndyCar Series driving part-time in the No. 11 Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Enterprises. Hildebrand won the 2009 Indy Lights championship and ...

would return to drive for the team at the Indy 500 for the second year in a row, this time driving with the No. 48 to honor Dan Gurney.

Driver changes

After both running the final race of the 2018 season at Sonoma with Harding Racing, 2018 Indy Lights champion

Patricio O'Ward Patricio "Pato" O'Ward Junco (born 6 May 1999) is a Mexican professional auto racing driver who competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. He is the 2018 Indy Lights champion. Early life and car ...

and runner-up Colton Herta were announced to run the full season with the new partnership of Harding Steinbrenner Racing. However, on February 11, O'Ward and HSR parted ways after the team was unable to support a full-season program for O'Ward. O'Ward later moved to Carlin where he will drive the No. 31 car in 13 races, including the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of India ...

as the team's third entry as Charlie Kimball will race the No. 23 car at the event. On September 28, 2018,

Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship ...

announced that they had signed Felix Rosenqvist to drive for the team during the 2019 season. He will replace Ed Jones in the No. 10 car. On October 17, 2018, Ed Carpenter Racing announced Ed Jones would replace Jordan King driving the No. 20 car on road courses and street circuits. Jones will also drive the No. 63 car in the

as Ed Carpenter will continue driving the No. 20 car on ovals. On October 30, 2018, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports announced that Formula One driver Marcus Ericsson would join the team for the 2019 season to replace the disabled Robert Wickens, though Ericsson will be racing the No. 7 car instead of Wickens' No. 6, which remains open if or "when he wants and is able to return". On November 14, 2018, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced that Jordan King would join the team for the

. On January 30, 2019, Andretti Autosport announced that Conor Daly would join the team for the

. On August 8, 2019, Andretti Autosport announced that Daly would return to the team for the final race of the season at Laguna Seca. On May 31, 2019, Trevor Carlin revealed that Patricio O'Ward would not be competing at the Iowa and Gateway rounds, but the second Carlin car would be run at those two events. In late June, Red Bull announced that O'Ward would be replacing Dan Ticktum at Team Mugen in Super Formula. With this move to another series, and well-known budgetary restrictions after his crash at Indianapolis, O'Ward's rookie IndyCar season was cut short after only 8 races. On July 2, Carlin announced that Sage Karam would take O'Ward's seat in the No. 31 car at Toronto, which was then extended to Iowa. On July 23, Carlin announced that RC Enerson would drive the No. 31 car for the round at Mid-Ohio. Charlie Kimball filled in the final two gaps in the schedule at Gateway and Portland, expanding his planned 5-race schedule to 7 races. On June 4, 2019, Carlin announced that Max Chilton would not be competing in the last 4 oval events of the season at Texas, Iowa, Pocono, and Gateway. Conor Daly was announced as the driver of the No. 59 car at Texas on the same day, and the No. 59 car will continue to be run for the full season. It was announced on August 12 that Daly would compete in the last two oval races at Pocono and Gateway in the No. 59 car. On August 29, 2019, it was announced that Marcus Ericsson had been called up by Alfa Romeo Racing in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

to be on reserve driver duty at the Belgian Grand Prix. Conor Daly was announced at the same time to be replacing Ericsson for the round at Portland.

Schedule

All races were in the United States apart from the Toronto round.

Schedule changes and notes

* On June 22, 2018, it was announced that the Phoenix race at ISM Raceway would not be on the 2019 schedule. * On June 24, 2018, IndyCar and

Road America Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Ch ...

announced a three-year contract extension, keeping the circuit under contract through the 2021 season. * On July 17, 2018, it was announced that Laguna Seca will be added to the schedule on a three-year contract and will be the 2019 season finale. The event will replace the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. It will be the first event there since the

2004 Champ Car season The 2004 Champ Car World Series season was the 26th overall season in the CART/Champ Car genealogy, and the first under the ownership of Open-Wheel Racing Series (OWRS) as the Champ Car World Series. It began on April 18, 2004, and ended on Novem ...

. * On July 30, 2018, it was announced the Iowa 300 will return to a Saturday night race. * On August 10, 2018, it was announced that Pocono Raceway will return in 2019. * On August 16, 2018, an interview with IndyCar's Stephen Starks revealed that

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

would return, while

Barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

's date could move to early April which in the final schedule it did. * On August 23, 2018,

Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 2 ...

confirmed a multi-year agreement to host the IndyCar Series through 2022. * On September 4, 2018, a March 24, 2019 race was announced at Circuit of the Americas.
/ref> The ''

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...

'' reported a 5-year contract for the venue.

Results

Points standings

* Ties are broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc.; then by finishing position in the previous race; then by random draw.

Driver standings

* At all races except the Indy 500, the pole position qualifier earns one point. The top nine Indy 500 qualifiers receive points, descending from 9 points for the pole position. At double header races, the fastest qualifier of each qualifying group earns one point. * One point is awarded to each driver who leads at least one race lap. Two additional points are awarded to the driver who leads most laps during a race. * Entrant-initiated engine change-outs before the engine reaches their required distance run will result in the loss of ten points.

Entrant standings

* Based on the entrant, used for oval qualifications order, and starting grids when qualifying is cancelled. * Only full-time entrants, and at-large part-time entrants shown.

Manufacturer standings

* All manufacturer points (including qualifying points, race finish points, and race win bonus points) can only be earned by full-season entrants, and provided they are using their four engine allocation. Ineligible cars are removed from the finishing order used for race finish points. * The top two finishing entrants from each manufacturer in each race score points for their respective manufacturer. The manufacturer that wins each race will be awarded five additional points. * At all races except the Indy 500, the manufacturer who qualifies on pole earns one point. At the Indy 500, the fastest Saturday qualifier earns one point, while the pole position winner on Sunday earns two points. * For every full-season engine used during the Indy 500 that reaches 2,000 total miles run, the manufacturer earns bonus points equal to that engine's finishing position in the race.

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{Road to Indy IndyCar Series seasons