IndyCar charter documents are finally in the hands of officials who are ironing out details after it was officially confirmed in a press release with owner Roger Penske earlier today. Even though there were suspicions surrounding the move as early as August, drivers were still not fully prepared to hear that a deal had finally been agreed upon. The move was made after the original idea for the charter was proposed and rejected.
The new charter is drastically different today as 10 of IndyCar NTT’s full-time teams have fully embraced the charter, leaving two non-charter spots open. Most have already downsized the number of car entries in preparation. CEO Mark Miles believes the move is vital for all involved and will create a new vision for sponsorships and allow things to run more smoothly on the operational side.
As for the drivers, all 25 entrants will be guaranteed a spot in each race except for the Indy 500, which still requires drivers to qualify for entrance. The rule comes with the new version of the IndyCar charter and is not favored by all in the IndyCar community, so the move could be considered both good and bad, and here’s why.
Why the IndyCar Charter is Facing Criticism
After the official confirmation of the IndyCar charter early Monday, there’s a division of those who do and do not approve of the decision. The toss-up was somewhat expected since NASCAR experienced a similar shockwave when the franchise introduced a charter on February 9th, 2016. However, many were on the fence about downsizing the number of entrants.
Chip Ganassi Racing announced five days ago that it would be downsizing from 5 entrants to 3 in preparation for the IndyCar charter and expressed it wasn’t an easy decision. Owner Chip Ganassi decided to re-direct the two eliminated entrants to create a new Indy NXT team for 2025 and is optimistic about the charter’s future. There’s the fear that the charter will change the dynamic of IndyCar entirely when, in reality, it’s a positive thing.
With questions coming from all angles, owner Roger Penske has been criticized openly for the decision by team owner Michael Andretti, who believes he should reinvest himself in the series aside from an IndyCar charter. Ganassi quickly comes to Penske’s defense and believes there is more to the story than meets the eye, and it’s unfair how he is being so harshly criticized even by drivers for limiting entrants.
“I guarantee he’s taking some unfair shots because I can tell you that you don’t know the story,” Ganassi said. “And when you hear the story, you go, ‘Oh, OK, no problem.’ So it’s all good at the end of the day.”
“I don’t want to mention any drivers’ names, but they don’t know the whole story either. So just tell them, ‘Sit down and shut up.’ Worry about what you should be worrying about and don’t get involved in things when you don’t know what’s going on.”, Chip Ganassi Stated.
What Will the Charter Do?
Despite the criticism Roger Penske has faced, the move to an IndyCar charter is long overdue for the organization and should have several positive benefits. For example, the Leaders Circle Program in IndyCar that began in 2002 provided 1 million dollar incentives for those who made it into the top 22 by the end of each season will now be available to all chartered entrants. However, the lowest 3 will be left outside of this equation.
The added incentives to the Charter are essential for teams to keep their yearly budgets in check to prepare for each new season. However, the charter is only available to NTT Series entrants who run all season long. Currently, 10 team owners support the 25 charters owned and distributed by Penske Entertainment, leaving two off-grid spots.
Unfortunately, IndyCar’s newest team, PREMA Racing, planning to man two cars and join the series in 2025, wasn’t so lucky. There’s a limit of three IndyCar charters per entry for a total of 25, leaving two entrants without access to their slice of the IndyCar charter, so PREMA will likely be the only team on the grid with an off-grid entry unless other teams plan to follow suit. It will be interesting to see how this pans out, given the cap of 3 entrants per team.
Final Thoughts
The IndyCar charter will assuredly shake things up in the NTT Series season opener that will take place on March 2nd, 2025, at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Still, not all team owners like Chip Ganassi have taken the time to think about how to redirect the eliminated entrants. It’s fair to wonder if entrants will be entered off-grid or pushed into Indy NXT to take on new roles in the sport.
No matter what happens, we’ll see top contenders like Colton Herta, Pato O’Ward, Josef, Newgarden, and Alex Palou back on top again next year. Newgarden was slapped with an engine penalty this past season for an unapproved engine change that stripped him of a would-be win, so it will be interesting to see how he’ll recover. Get ready for an exciting ride and fasten your seatbelts because the 2025 season will keep you on the edge even as the new IndyCar charter takes hold.
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