The 2022 NTT INDYCAR season is over and the sensational Will Power took home the championship for a second time after a long eight years.
It’s been a rollercoaster of a season with unexpected wins, records being broken, and a lot of lightning weather warnings. The championship fight went through right to the very end, with 5 contenders going into the final race yesterday evening. But, which drivers are eligible for the 2022 IndyCar Hall Of Fame?
Felix Rosenqvist: The Arrow McLaren SP driver gets my vote for most improved and considering he was facing the unknown from the middle of the season, he has pulled out some excellent results for the team. After a difficult start to his McLaren journey last year, finishing 21st at the end of the season, Felix was lucky to take home the points he had. 2022 however, has been a completely different story. The season started bumpy, as could be said for his teammate, Pato O’Ward, but what followed was a string of very consistent results, including a podium at the Grand Prix of Toronto; some could say he was ready to prove his worth within INDYCAR.
Marcus Ericsson: The George Russell of INDYCAR – it’s Mr. Consistency! Or, would it be better to name him the most recent Indy 500 Champion? What a season for the former F1 driver, two podiums, one historic race win and I couldn’t be happier for him to celebrate with the whole milk he ordered, which I’m sure has never tasted better. Throughout the season, Marcus has been consistently quick, which landed him fighting for the championship until the end. Although his hopes of becoming the first driver to win both the Indy 500 and the championship in the same year since 2010 faded away, he should be very proud of his performance this year.
Josef Newgarden: Not to outshine this year’s champion, but Josef Newgarden was a dominant force in 2022. He set a career-high in wins in a season with five, which was also the most wins by an INDYCAR driver in one season since 2016. Aside from the wins, there were a few inconsistencies within his season and some fairly surprising low results. However, he managed to keep his championship fight alive with seven top 10 finishes. Josef Newgarden was one of the five drivers in contention for the title when heading into the season finale at Laguna Seca, and even after a furious charge from 25th to 2nd, he was unsuccessful in clinching his third championship.
Callum Ilott: The 2022 INDYCAR rookies took every opportunity to shine this year. He may have not finished high up in the championship standings, but Callum took to INDYCAR more than I admit, I was expecting. After the first few races the British driver found his feet, and at the GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway finished an incredible eighth. Unfortunately, an accident during the Indy500 caused Callum to break his right hand and he had to miss the following race. But, the comeback was even greater and Callum had consistent finishes just outside of the top 10 and was ridiculously close to his first pole position at the last race of the season.
Christian Lungaard: That’s right, another rookie. But not just any rookie, our 2022 INDYCAR Rookie of the Year. Lungaard had an impressive season all around, but a few particularly good results landed him the award he rightly deserved. Like Callum, he also took to IndyCar like a duck to water, surprising not only myself but viewers alike. A podium finish at the IMS road course in July was the first of his young INDYCAR career, and at the season finale, he climbed a mammoth 10 positions through the field, finishing 5th. At the beginning of the season, the Danish racing driver expected more from his results but the bounce back was worth the wait. Christian has said that he expects to make the big move stateside to help pursue his career out there further.
Will Power: You didn’t think I was going to forget about our 2022 NTT INDYCAR Champ did you? After starting on pole position for a record 68th time in his career, the Team Penske driver led 17 laps and stayed near the front for the 95-lap race in the season finale. Will Powers’ championship win is even more amazing when you consider that it wasn’t a particularly dominant one. Power played the long game this season, with only one victory at Detroit in June, however, he has had an incredible nine podiums in 17 races. The 2022 season was somewhat of a rebound year for Will after a difficult 2021, and he did not disappoint.
The season may be over, but the memories of the thrilling season remain. INDYCAR will return next year.