IndyCar Begins Season With Optimism, More Sponsors On Board

Tony Kanaan on the streets of St. Petersburg

The '18 Verizon IndyCar Series begins on Sunday in St. Petersburg, and while its foothold in the overall sports landscape "remains modest, its momentum is tangible," according to Jim Ayello of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR.

Sponsors are "returning to the series in bunches — many with multiyear commitments."

Last month's open test featured 24 cars "decked out in their full or near-full liveries with drivers signed on to pilot every one of them."

That contrasts last year, when four-time series champ Scott Dixon drove around in a "white car after longtime sponsor Target pulled out of motor sports."

Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay said, “This is definitely a different landscape in open-wheel racing than we’ve seen for quite some time now. As far back as I can remember, this is the healthiest we’ve been as a series."

Driver Tony Kanaan added, “Look at the all of the teams, look at the sponsors, the new drivers. At least since [the IndyCar-Champ Car split], this is the healthiest we’ve been."

Ayello lists other reasons for the upswing, including IndyCar seeing a 38% TV viewership jump over the past four years while other sports have "watched their … numbers dwindle."

Four new teams are running at least a partial schedule this year, and IndyCar President of Competition & Operations Jay Frye said that there are "more to come." Meanwhile, 16 of 17 races return from last season, with Watkins Glen "quickly replaced … with an event in Portland."

IndyCar CEO Mark Miles: “I am proud of what we’ve done. I’m proud of our whole team. I think we’re in a much better place today than [we] where were five years ago." He added that he is "working on what could be a game-changing television deal that he expects to announce in the coming weeks." INDIANAPOLIS STAR