Palou, Pato, Newgarden and Fox:
IndyCar starts season with big stars, big hopes and new TV partner
 [February 27, 2025]
By JENNA FRYER
Fox Sports marked its new oversight of the IndyCar Series with
glossy new commercials that have been showcased everywhere from the
Super Bowl to the Daytona 500.
The network partnership begins in earnest this weekend with the
season-opening race on the streets of downtown St. Petersburg,
Florida. There is hope that Fox Sports will push IndyCar back toward
the top of motorsports.
How Fox might be able to boost the Roger Penske-owned series has
been on overwhelming theme of the offseason, overshadowing Alex
Palou's bid for a third consecutive IndyCar championship, Josef
Newgarden's quest for a third consecutive win in the Indianapolis
500, a change at the top of series, a new team and a revolving cast
of drivers.
“I love what Fox has done with the series and it does feel like
there's a different level of excitement — it is the best racing
across many of the series and that's the story that needs to be
told,” said Dan Towriss, the new majority owner of Andretti Global.
“Fox has done their part in that and brought in a lot of momentum.
It's probably premature to say ‘IndyCar is back’ but I'm really
hoping IndyCar is back and really catches the wave of motorsports
excitement that's developing in the U.S.”
Increased TV exposure
Fox Sports acquired IndyCar's broadcast rights last June after the
series spent 16 seasons with NBC Sports. Fox promised all 17 races
would receive network broadcasts — as well as the two days of
qualifying for the Indy 500 — throughout the multiyear deal, the
exact length of which has not been disclosed.
Fox Sports has also promised all races will be on Fox and the Fox
Sports app, while Fox Deportes will carry Spanish-language coverage.
All practice and qualifying sessions will be aired on either FS1 or
FS2.
Nineteen races on a network will be an IndyCar record and it is the
only top motorsports series in the country with all its races set
for that kind of exposure. NASCAR’s schedule, for example, is spread
across multiple networks in 2025; Fox has said five of its 14 NASCAR
races will be on its network, the rest on cable.
“I think what Fox and IndyCar are doing is freaking phenomenal,”
said McLaren driver Pato O'Ward, who along with Newgarden and Palou
are the three featured drivers in Fox Sports' marketing campaign of
commercials he called “fun” and “edgy.” His commercial aired early
during the Super Bowl.
“It’s flirting with that line where people do get engaged and you’re
like, ‘Hey, this is different,’" O'Ward added. “It felt like I was
doing a movie shoot.”
Marketing the racing
The marketing of IndyCar has long been a paddock-wide sore spot for
drivers and team owners, who say a lack of series spending is a
major factor in slow growth. That is where Eric Shanks, the CEO and
executive producer for Fox Sports, can help most.
Shanks is an Indiana native and with that comes an automatic
affinity for the Indianapolis 500 and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
He promised that the Indy 500 will be the network's biggest event of
the year, a large order considering Fox Sports has the Super Bowl,
the Daytona 500 and the World Series.
“In the list of things that we can do to improve IndyCar, number one
was finding the right broadcast partner, and to have FOX on board is
fantastic. Eric Shanks has a personal commitment to and passion for
IndyCar, and I think that will come through in the broadcast
quality,” McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown wrote to fans this week.
“They’re focused on learning about the history and future of IndyCar
and what works best, intent on evolving their broadcast through the
season. Continuous improvement, I love that.”
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Josef Newgarden leads the pack into Turn 2 after the start of the
IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg auto race, Sunday March 10,
2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson, File)
Changes at the top
This year will be the first full season for IndyCar's new hybrid
engine, which was introduced midway through last season. The cost of
the transition — along with a new car in development for 2027 — has
ruffled ownership.
Tensions over the two projects may have played a role in the
dismissal of IndyCar President Jay Frye, who was replaced by
speedway President Doug Boles weeks before the season opener. Many
believe Frye was fighting hard to help the teams reduce spending,
while others grumbled that the installation of Boles has made
IndyCar “The Penske Series” since the bulk of the executive
leadership team consists of Penske loyalists.
Penske, who turned 88 last week, has tried to maintain a separation
from his three-car team and ownership of the series; when Will Power
was in the thick of last year's title chase, he stopped discussing
IndyCar issues with media. Team Penske also was embroiled in a
cheating scandal when it was discovered that Newgarden and Scott
McLaughlin illegally used their push-to-pass system in finishing
first and third in last year's opener at St. Pete.
What to watch for in 2025
Palou has dominated the series since his move to Chip Ganassi Racing
in 2021. The Spaniard has won 11 races and three of the last four
championships, the last two while locked into a $30 million lawsuit
with McLaren over a breach of contract claim. The two sides met for
mediation last month with another session set for October.
McLaren has a new lineup as O'Ward has two new teammates in
Christian Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel, but most of its title hopes
are tied to O'Ward, the wildly popular Mexican driver who is also
McLaren's reserve driver in F1. O'Ward was in tears after finishing
second to Newgarden in last year's Indy 500, and has made winning
that race and the series title his 2025 priorities.
Newgarden is seeking a third consecutive Indy 500 victory, a feat
that has never been done. He led a combined 22 laps in his two
victories, which is far from the dominance needed to continue the
streak.
“We have figured out how to win the race twice so far. I like our
process,” Newgarden said. “We’ll see if it keeps working. If it
doesn’t, we’ll change the formula. But I think we’ve got a good
process.”
Power, his Penske teammate, is in a contract year and has hired
Fernando Alonso's management group to represent him in negotiations.
It is the first time Power, a two-time series champion and Indy 500
winner, has used an agent.
NASCAR star Kyle Larson plans to run in the Indy 500 again, though
he has made clear his stock car team and the Coca-Cola 600 that same
day are his priority.
All eyes will be on Andretti driver Colton Herta, who is among the
candidates for the new Cadillac Formula 1 team that is set to debut
in 2026. Herta, who finished second to Palou in last year's
standings, believes landing that job will require him to win the
Indy 500 and the championship.
And new to the IndyCar grid this year is Prema Racing, an Italian
team that competes in F1's lower levels. Prema will debut with
Callum Ilott, who has bounced in and out of IndyCar the last four
years, and rookie Robert Schwartzman, who won the F2 and F3 titles
for Prema.
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