A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| 2022 IndyCar season | |
|---|---|
| NTT IndyCar Series | |
 | |
| Season | |
| Races | 17 |
| Start date | February 27 |
| End date | September 11 |
| Awards | |
| Drivers' champion |  Will Power |
| Manufacturers' Cup |  Chevrolet |
| Rookie of the Year |  Christian Lundgaard |
| Indianapolis 500 winner |  Marcus Ericsson |
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The 2022 NTT IndyCar Series was the 111th official championship season of American open wheel racing and the 27th season under IndyCar Series sanction. The showcase event was the 2022 Indianapolis 500. It was the third year under Penske management after they took over in late 2019.
Will Power, driving for Team Penske, won his second championship, and first since 2014, while Christian Lundgaard, driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, became Rookie of the year. Chevrolet won the engine manufacturer's championship for the first time since 2017.
Background
Álex Palou entered the season as the reigning 2021 IndyCar Series champion. Palou won three races in 2021. Hélio Castroneves was the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner, beginning his first full-time season in IndyCar since 2017.
The 2022 season was planned to be the final season for the 2.2-litre V6 twin-turbocharged engine package that debuted in 2012. A new 2.4-liter V6 twin-turbocharged hybrid engine formula is set to debut in the series. It was originally scheduled for 2023, however, it has been delayed until 2024.[1]
On April 22, 2022, Firestone announced the introduction of a new environmentally friendly tire for select events. The tire is manufactured from rubber harvested from guayule, a plant requiring less water resources than traditional natural rubber sources. The new tire debuted during the annual Pit Stop Challenge before the Indianapolis 500, and was later used as the softer compound "alternate" tire at the Music City Grand Prix.[2]
Confirmed entries
The following teams, entries, and drivers competed in the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season. All teams used a spec Dallara DW12 chassis with universal aero kit and Firestone tires.
Driver changes
Preseason
- On July 22, 2021, Meyer Shank Racing announced that the defending and four-time overall Indianapolis 500 winner Hélio Castroneves would drive the No. 06 entry full-time and that Jack Harvey would not be returning to drive the No. 60 entry.
- On September 14, 2021, Andretti Autosport announced that Ryan Hunter-Reay would not return to the No. 28 entry after 12 seasons with the team.[45]
- On September 24, 2021, Andretti Autosport announced that Romain Grosjean would drive the No. 28 entry full-time, leaving the Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing entry.[12]
- On September 27, 2021, Meyer Shank Racing announced that Simon Pagenaud would drive the No. 60 entry full-time, parting ways with Team Penske after seven seasons.[37]
- On October 5, 2021, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced that Takuma Sato would not return to the No. 30 entry, ending his second stint with the team after four seasons.[46]
- On October 11, 2021, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced that Jack Harvey would drive the No. 45 entry.[41]
- On October 19, 2021, Sébastien Bourdais announced that he would not be returning as a full-time driver for A. J. Foyt Enterprises after signing a deal to drive full-time with Chip Ganassi Racing's IMSA team.[47]
- On October 20, 2021, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced that Christian Lundgaard would drive the No. 30 entry full-time in the 2022 season, having signed a multi-year agreement.[40]
- On November 4, 2021, Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport announced that Devlin DeFrancesco would drive the No. 29 entry full-time. He replaced the outgoing James Hinchcliffe.[13]
- On November 10, 2021, A. J. Foyt Enterprises announced that reigning Indy Lights champion Kyle Kirkwood would join the team for the full season in the no. 14 car, replacing Sébastien Bourdais. For winning the 2021 Indy Lights title, Kirkwood received a scholarship to partake in at least three rounds of the championship, including the Indianapolis 500.[6][7]
- On December 9, 2021, Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing announced that Takuma Sato would drive the No. 51 entry full-time.[27]
- On December 14, 2021, James Hinchcliffe announced that he would step back from full-time competition in the IndyCar Series.[48]
- On December 15, 2021, Jimmie Johnson announced that he would return to the #48 Chip Ganassi Racing entry for the full 2022 season.[25] He had previously exclusively driven road and street course events.
- On January 14, 2022, Ed Carpenter Racing announced that Conor Daly would drive the No. 20 entry full-time after driving part-time for the team in the previous two seasons.[49]
- On January 17, 2022, A. J. Foyt Enterprises announced that Tatiana Calderón would drive for the team on the road and street courses in the No. 11 entry.[50] On March 11, 2022, the team announced that J. R. Hildebrand would drive for the entry in all oval events.
- On February 4, 2022, Max Chilton announced that he has ended his IndyCar career after six seasons.[51]
Midseason changes
- On March 19, 2022, Jack Harvey suffered an accident during practice for round 2 at Texas Motor Speedway, and was not cleared by IndyCar's medical staff to continue in the event. Santino Ferrucci was signed as an injury substitute for Harvey.[42]
- On June 1, 2022, Juncos Hollinger Racing announced that Callum Ilott was not cleared to compete in the Detroit Grand Prix due to a hand injury from an accident during the Indianapolis 500. Santino Ferrucci was signed to replace Ilott.[35]
Team changes
Preseason
- Meyer Shank Racing expanded to two full-time entries.[36]
- Juncos Hollinger Racing campaigned the No. 77 entry full-time after running the final three rounds of 2021 and on September 24, 2021, announced that they would retain Callum Ilott as driver.[34]
- On August 8, 2021, Arrow McLaren SP announced that McLaren Racing had purchased a 75% majority ownership stake in the team, effective after the 2021 season.[19] Since 2020, McLaren and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports had operated a joint entry with the former having no stake in the team. As part of this announcement, McLaren CEO Zak Brown also confirmed that the team would retain drivers Pato O'Ward and Felix Rosenqvist.
- With the addition of Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing expanded to three full-time entries in the 2022 season.[41]
- On October 26, 2021, Team Penske confirmed that they would downsize to three full-time entries for the 2022 season.[52]
- On November 4, 2021, Chip Ganassi Racing confirmed it would field a fifth car at the Indianapolis 500.[53] On January 17, 2022, it was confirmed that Tony Kanaan would drive this car.[54]
- On December 9, 2021, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing announced that they would expand to field two entries in the 2022 Indianapolis 500 with Santino Ferrucci and Sage Karam.[29]
- On December 10, 2021, Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan announced that they had ended their partnership after five seasons together.[55]
- On December 15, 2021, Dale Coyne Racing announced that they had formed a partnership with HMD Motorsports, naming 2021 Indy Lights runner-up David Malukas as their driver.[56]
- Ed Carpenter Racing stated that it would add a third part-time entry for owner/driver Ed Carpenter while announcing Conor Daly as the full-time driver of the No. 20 entry. Initially only confirmed for the Indianapolis 500, on March 3, 2022, the team announced that Carpenter would compete in all oval events during the season.[30][32]
- On February 2, 2022, Marshall Pruett of RACER.com reported that Carlin had ended their IndyCar program and entered into a technical alliance with Juncos Hollinger Racing.[57]
Midseason
- On April 19, 2022, Paretta Autosport announced that they had formed a technical alliance with Ed Carpenter Racing and committed to run at least three races in 2022 with Simona de Silvestro.[38] The team elected to run the rounds at Road America, Mid-Ohio, and the Nashville street circuit as their initial three race entries.
- On May 5, 2022, DragonSpeed announced that they would enter the 2022 Indianapolis 500, returning to the series for the first time since 2020. DragonSpeed entered a partnership with Cusick Motorsports and Stefan Wilson drove their No. 25 entry.[28]
- On July 11, 2022, A. J. Foyt Racing confirmed that its No. 11 entry would not compete at Toronto due to outstanding payments from the entry's primary sponsor.[58] According to The Indianapolis Star, the entry returning to the grid was dependent on the sponsor making financial amends, which did not happen during the rest of the season.[59]
Schedule
This table shows 2022 IndyCar season schedule.[60]