IndyCar 2023 commercial guide: Every team, every sponsor, all the major TV deals

Formula One may be the flavour of the month in the United States right now, but North America’s traditional open-wheel series continues to go from strength to strength.

Last year was the most watched IndyCar season since 2016, with an average of 1.3 million viewers tuning in as Will Power eventually prevailed to take his second IndyCar championship in a campaign that represented US broadcaster NBC’s most successful season on record.

For the second consecutive season, NBC will broadcast 15 IndyCar races in 2023. In addition, a first-of-its-kind series called ‘100 Days to Indy’ will air on The CW, giving fans exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content in the lead up to IndyCar’s most iconic race, the Indy 500.

• F1, Nascar and more: How are the top motorsport series tracking against their sustainability goals?

2023 is therefore a year of promise for the open-wheel series, which will also be taking greater steps over the next 12 months to become more sustainable.

This season will see the introduction of 100 per cent sustainable race fuel in collaboration with energy giant Shell. The product consists of a blend of second-generation ethanol derived from sugarcane waste and other biofuels to create a fuel that is comprised of feedstocks categorised as ‘renewable’ under regulatory frameworks.

In addition, IndyCar has confirmed the guayule tyre which debuted at last season’s chaotic race in Nashville will return in 2023 at every street race. This means five outings for the green-bordered alternate tyre as opposed to just one last year.

Plus, all tyres used at this year’s Indianapolis 500 will incorporate ISCC recycled-attributed butadiene, a monomer produced with recycled post-consumer plastic waste.

Following on from last weekend’s season-opening race in St Petersburg, Florida, the BlackBook presents its annual rundown of all the commercial details you need to know about IndyCar.

Sponsors

Title partner

NTT

Engine partners

Chevrolet, Honda

Official partners

Advance Auto Parts, Aim, Autograph, AMR, BorgWarner, Coors Light, Dallara, Dex Imaging, Firestone, Holmatro, Imperial, Jostens, Lincoln Welders, NetJets, Neurolign, Pennzoil, PeopleReady, PerkinElmer, PFC Brakes, Pirtek, PPG, Racing Optics, Safety-Kleen, Shell, Sirius XM, Snap-on, Tag Heuer, United Rentals, WM Sports & Entertainment, Xtrac

Promotional partners

Honda Power Equipment, Larsens

Full-time teams

AJ Foyt Enterprises

Owner: Anthony Joseph Foyt

Team principal: Larry Foyt

Drivers: Santino Ferrucci, Benjamin Pedersen

Engine manufacturer: Chevrolet

Base: Waller, Texas

Sponsors: ABC Supply, Housby, K-Air Leasing, K-Line Insulators, L&W Supply, Sexton Properties, Sherwin-Williams

What they’ve been up to: An all-new driver lineup signals a fresh start for the AJ Foyt racing team, with Kyle Kirkwood moving to Andretti Autosport and Dalton Kellett stepping away from the sport. In their place are Santino Ferrucci and Benjamin Pedersen, potentially providing long-term stability for a team in need of continuity.

Andretti Autosport

Owner: Michael Andretti

Drivers: Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, Romain Grosjean, Devlin DeFrancesco, Marco Andretti (Indy 500 only)

Engine manufacturer: Honda

Base: Indianapolis, Indiana

Sponsors: AAT3D, Associated, AutoNation, AxiaTP, BASF, Big Daishowa, Boss Laser, Bryan Herta Autosport, Business Furniture, Circle K, Clarus Securities, Curb Records, Damon, David Tilton Racing, Delivra, DHL, Dickinson Fleet Services, DMG Mori, Drive Pink, DuraMax, Eroad, Evo, Firestone, Fyllo, Gainbridge, Gleaners, Group 1001, Guardian Protection, Hobson, Honda Performance Development, HP, Intelligent Fiber Network, Interstate Truck Center, Jones Soda, Kimoa, King Taco, Kirchner, Lincoln Welders, Military Motorsports, MindMaze, Neft Vodka, Oberto, Orafol, OrthoIndy, Rough Rider, Sharp, Sherwin-Williams, Siemens, Sol Yoga, Steinbrenner Racing, Stratasys, The Stellrecht Company, UniFirst, Zapata Computing

What they’ve been up to: Last year was somewhat of a misstep for the famous Andretti Autosport. Whether or not the team’s qualifying woes have been solved remains to be seen, but this is a driver lineup that will be expected to fight at the front. Fans in the UK will also watch with intrigue as Jamie Chadwick makes the transition to the US and races for Andretti’s Indy NXT team this season.

Sponsorship deals have dried up somewhat during the offseason, but DNSFilter recently signed up to a full-season deal on Romain Grosjean’s car and Evtec Automotive has signed an identical deal with Devlin DeFrancesco.

Arrow McLaren

Owners: McLaren Racing, Sam Schmidt, Ric Peterson

Team principals: Brian Barnhart (general manager), Gavin Ward (racing director)

Drivers: Pato O’Ward, Felix Rosenqvist, Alexander Rossi, Tony Kanaan (Indy 500 only)

Engine manufacturer: Chevrolet

Base: Indianapolis, Indiana

Sponsors: Aero, Arrow, Castore, Chevrolet, Copper Moon Coffee, Electrolit, Expand Machinery, Firestone, GreenLight Collectibles, Keco, Lucas Oil, Mechanix Wear, Medallia, Mission, NTT Data, Onsemi, SmartStop Self Storage, Sparco, Stratasys, Velo

What they’ve been up to: The biggest incident during Arrow McLaren’s preparation for 2023 was the Álex Palou saga. In a situation eerily similar to the Formula One outfit’s pursuit of Oscar Piastri, both Arrow McLaren and Chip Ganassi Racing claimed to have a contract with the Spanish driver. While the former IndyCar champion remains at Chip Ganassi Racing for this season, the expectation is that he will end up in the papaya cars next year at the earliest.

Chip Ganassi Racing

Owner: Chip Ganassi

Team manager: Taylor Kiel

Drivers: Marcus Ericsson, Scott Dixon, Álex Palou, Marcus Armstrong (road/street courses only), Takuma Sato (ovals only)

Engine manufacturer: Honda

Base: Indianapolis, Indiana

Sponsors: American Legion, Cadillac Racing, Hummer EV, Huski Chocolate, Parkland, PNC Bank

What they’ve been up to: Chip Ganassi also had to deal with the fallout from the Álex Palou saga. In fact, the Honda-powered outfit actually lost long-time partner NTT Data to Arrow McLaren during the off-season as the company anticipated Palou’s move. IndyCar’s title sponsor had adorned Palou’s number ten entry since 2014, but will need to wait until next season at the earliest to be reunited with the Spaniard.

Marcus Ericsson won last year's Indianapolis 500 for Chip Ganassi Racing

Dale Coyne Racing

Owner: Dale Coyne

Drivers: David Malukas, Sting Ray Robb

Engine manufacturer: Honda

Base: Plainfield, Illinois

Sponsors: Alfa Livery Design, Boy Scouts of America, Buzz, Deloitte, HMD Motorsports, NI Steel, Nurtec ODT, Panasonic, Ti64, Turner Woodard, USWAG, Valpak, With You Japan

What they’ve been up to: Dale Coyne Racing will be running rookie Sting Ray Robb alongside second-year driver David Malukas, meaning the team has the youngest driver pairing in the entire series. Their combined age is three years younger than Meyer Shank driver Hélio Castroneves.

With this youthful lineup, 2023 will likely be a transition year for the team, with HMD Motorsports again supporting Malukas’ season and Sting Ray Robb joining up with the team’s Rick Ware Racing-supported segment.

Ed Carpenter Racing

Owner: Ed Carpenter

General manager: Tim Broyles

Drivers: Conor Daly, Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter (ovals only)

Engine manufacturer: Chevrolet

Base: Indianapolis, Indiana

Sponsors: Alliantgroup, Alzamend, Ault Alliance, Autogeek, Bell Helmets, Bitnile, Chevrolet, Cholita, Circle 8 Crane Services, Direct Supply, Earnity, Firestone, Hurco, Lincoln Welders, Mechanix Welders, Overton Industries, Riley Children’s Foundation, Risk On, RJE Business Interiors, Sherwin-Williams, Singing Machine, Sonax, The District Tap, TurnOnGreen

What they’ve been up to: Immersive digital marketplace Bitnile has fully integrated itself with the team during the offseason, with all three cars showing distinct gold colourways as part of an expansive lead sponsorship deal. The team also names an identical driver lineup for the fourth consecutive season, which seems to suggest more of the same with Rinus VeeKay ending the last two years in 12th in the standings.

Juncos Hollinger Racing

Owners: Brad Hollinger, Ricardo Juncos

Team principal: Ricardo Juncos

Drivers: Callum Ilott, Agustín Canapino

Engine manufacturer: Chevrolet

Base: Indianapolis, Indiana

Sponsors: Dallara, Firestone, MindMaze Labs, Purdue University, Visit Argentina

What they’ve been up to: Juncos Hollinger will be running two entries this season, following last year’s single-car entry with Callum Ilott. The Brit ran mostly under the radar during his rookie season, but 2023 may present a big chance for the man who qualified on the front row at the final race of last campaign.

In Agustín Canapino, though, the team has opted for a touring car champion with little to no open-wheel driving experience, so Juncos Hollinger will hope he can bring more to the table than just his accompanying Visit Argentina sponsorship deal.

Meyer Shank Racing

Owners: Jim Meyer, Michael Shank, Liberty Media (minority owner)

Team principal: Michael Shank

Drivers: Hélio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud

Engine manufacturer: Honda

Base: Pataskala, Ohio

Sponsors: Acura, Aero, Arctic Wolf, AutoNation, Cap & Associates, Clopay, Curb Records, Fieldsheer, HPD, Poly, RCD RV, Roberts Service Group, Sirius XM

What they’ve been up to: Sporting two drivers born before the year the team was founded in 1989, Meyer Shank opt for experience once more in a continuation of last year’s driver lineup. A disappointing 2022 return of 15th and 18th in the drivers’ standings, however, suggests a different approach may have been required. The team will hope that the recent victory at the 24 Hours at Daytona, which included both Pagenaud and Castroneves, will lead to a more promising season.

Simon Pagenaud (left) and Hélio Castroneves (right) were part of the Meyer Shank team that triumphed at the 24 Hours of Daytona

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Owner: Mike Lanigan, David Letterman, Bobby Rahal

Team principal: Ricardo Nault

Drivers: Graham Rahal, Jack Harvey, Christian Lundgaard, Katherine Legge (Indy 500 only)

Engine manufacturer: Honda

Base: Brownsburg, Indiana

Sponsors: Aero, Avon Aero Supply, Bobby Rahal Automotive Group, Bortek, Canon, Code3, Fifth Third Bank, Fleet Cost & Care, Hendrickson, Hogan, Hub International, HyVee, iPacket, Jupiter, Kustom Entertainment, Lincoln Electric, Luther Automotive Group, Mac Tools, Manitou, Mechanix Wear, Mi-Jack Products, Neoti, Norm Reeves Honda, One Cure, Patients Choice Laboratories, PeopleReady, Rousseau, Sparco, Touchstone, United Rentals, Zeiss

What they’ve been up to: The lead-up to the 2023 season has seen plenty of sponsorship activity for the Brownsburg-based team, with iPacket signing up as a primary sponsor for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s entry at Laguna Seca and Fleet Cost & Care signing a multi-year extension.

Notably, the team will be running a car driven by Katherine Legge in the Indianapolis 500, and Hendrickson have signed on as a primary sponsor for this one-off entry. Hopefully, this will be yet another step towards more female representation in IndyCar.

Team Penske

Owner: Roger Penske

Team principal: Tim Cindric

Drivers: Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, Will Power

Engine manufacturer: Chevrolet

Base: Mooresville, North Carolina

Sponsors: CarShop, Cintas, Coca-Cola, Dex Imaging, FlightSafety International, Gallagher, Good Ranchers, Hitachi, Mazak, Menards, Nikon Metrology, Penske Transportation Solutions, PPG, Puma, Shell-Pennzoil, Siemens, Snap-on, Sonsio, Stratasys, Thorne, Tungaloy, Verizon, Xpel

What they’ve been up to: The team of last year’s champion will have a target on its back, but Will Power’s success has seen long-time partner Verizon sign a multi-year extension to continue as the primary sponsor on his number 12 car. Verizon has adorned Power’s car since he competed in select races back in 2009, highlighting the longevity of the partnership.

Major broadcast partners

Africa

South Africa: SuperSport
Sub-Saharan Africa: Canal+

Asia

Japan: Gaora Sports, NHK (Indy 500 only)
Myanmar: Canal+
Vietnam: K+

Europe

Belgium: Voo Sport World
Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia: TV Arena Sport
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey: S Sport
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden: Viaplay
France, Monaco, Switzerland, Andorra: Canal+
Hungary: Arena 4
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Lichtenstein: Sky Germany
Italy: Sky Italia
Netherlands: Ziggo Sport
Portugal: Sport TV
Spain, Andorra: Movistar
United Kingdom, Ireland: Sky Sports

North America

Canada: TSN
United States: NBC, USA Network

Oceania

Australia: Stan Sport
New Zealand: Sky Sport

Central and South America

Brazil: Cultura
Latin America: ESPN