2024 NTT IndyCar Series (NaBB737)

The 2024 NTT IndyCar Series is set to be the 113th official championship season of American open wheel racing and the 29th season under IndyCar Series sanction. The premier event will be the 2024 Indianapolis 500. It will be the fifth year under Penske management after they took over in late 2019.

Contracted teams and drivers
The following teams, entries and drivers have been announced to compete in the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season. Teams that are entering only the Month of May races or just the Indianapolis 500 are not shown here; only full-time entries (with one driver the whole season, or multiple drivers splitting the schedule) are shown. All teams use a spec Dallara IC-24WW chassis with universal aero kits (one each for speedways, short ovals, and road courses) and Firestone tires. This is the second season of the 2.4-liter twin-turbo V6 hybrid engine formula, and first season with the new Dallara IC-24WW chassis will debut the following season. The two "W"s in the chassis identifier represent Dan Wheldon and Justin Wilson, who were the two most recent IndyCar Series drivers killed in racing accidents (in 2011 and 2015 respectively).

This will also be the first season with Toyota as an engine supplier since 2005, with the number of powertrain options rising to 3 as the Japanese manufacturer joins Chevrolet and Honda. With the final year of the old chassis (and the first year of the new engine) seeing full-time entries increase to 29, the number of entries doing the entire schedule drops back down to 28 with many other part-time teams vying for spots. Interestingly, there are no 4-car full-time teams due to the downsizing of the Andretti and Ganassi squads.

Team Changes

 * Chip Ganassi Racing, Carlin-HMD Motorsports, and Andretti Autosport each drop 1 full-time entry (but they stay part-time), while Joe Gibbs Racing and Vasser-Sullivan Racing each add one.
 * 3 teams swap to Toyota powered engines (2 from Honda, 1 from Chevy) while 1 team is new to the series. Ed Carpenter Racing switches its 2-car operation from Chevy to Toyota, RLL swaps its 3-car squad from Honda, and Vasser-Sullivan (which already was associated with the brand in IMSA) switches from Honda and adds an entry for Alexander Rossi. NASCAR team Joe Gibbs Racing, having partnered with Toyota since it entered the Cup Series, enters a full-time 1-car team with heavy manufacturer backing after purchasing some of Carlin Racing's assets. This is helped in part by reducing the Xfinity Series team to 2 full-time entries and 1 part-time entry, as well as decreasing support for fellow Toyota NCS team 23XI Racing as that team expands as a more independent outfit.

Driver Changes

 * Alexander Rossi departs Andretti Autoport after 8 years, joining the Vasser-Sullivan Racing team which is expanding to two cars. Signing a manufacturer deal with Toyota, Rossi will also race in the IMSA endurance events for Toyota Gazoo Racing, which is bringing its top-class car to the series for all the endurance races after making an appearance at the Rolex 24 in 2023.
 * Callum Ilott replaces Felix Rosenqvist at Arrow McLaren SP in the #7 after 2 years with Juncos Hollinger Racing. He also joins the McLaren Young Driver Programme having departed the Ferrari Driver Academy in mid-2023. With the team weighing the option of swapping one of its IndyCar drivers out for Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo, Ilott has a shot at F1 following the move provided he earns enough superlicense points.
 * With a lack of funding and no driver interested in the second full-time seat and bringing enough sponsorship money, Carlin downsizes to 1 full-time car for 2024 with Max Chilton in a second car on a part-time basis.
 * Jimmie Johnson scales back to a part-time schedule for Chip Ganassi Racing, downsizing the number of full-time cars to 3. His 8 race schedule includes the Indy 500, both Indy GPs, Nashville, Gateway, Richmond, Laguna Seca, and Long Beach.
 * Following the partnership across both Dale Coyne Racing cars, Rick Ware Racing and DCR merge to become Coyne Ware Racing. Conor Daly, who races for the team, also becomes part of the ownership group. The team expands its facility (RWR's NASCAR teams remain based in North Carolina) and also debuts a full-season IMSA LMP2 (or successor?) outfit.
 * Joe Gibbs Racing's IndyCar entrance sees its full-time entry, the #19, filled with 3 drivers. Christian Rasmussen does a partial schedule in anticipation of a full-time one next year (possibly with another Toyota team), Toyota factory driver Kamui Kobayashi races when his WEC schedule doesn't conflict (and could consider a full-time ride in the future), and Kyle Busch attempts the Indy 500-Coke 600 double.
 * Juncos Hollinger Racing performs a "swap" of sorts with the team it has a technical alliance with, Arrow McLaren SP, as Felix Rosenqvist signs to drive the #77 Chevrolet. JHR continues to build its IndyCar Series program, with Rosenqvist being more experienced than Ilott and likely able to provide better feedback.
 * Following the 2023 season, Helio Castroneves announces that he will no longer race full-time in IndyCar, opting for doing just over half the races this year then dropping down to 2 or 3 the following year, while also being involved in the Superstar Racing Experience. 20-year old fellow Brazilian (and Indy Lights title contender) Francisco "Kiko" Porto fills out the remaining races before taking over the #06 full-time next year. Porto gives the team a young prospect develop alongside series veteran Simon Pagenaud.

Schedule

 * The 2024 schedule, with 19 races, is the longest since 2013 and a 1-race increase from the 2023 schedule (the whole 2024 schedule takes place over 8 more days than the 2013 one). A race in Mexico returns for the first time since 2006, including a return to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. A slightly different layout (partially due to the renovation and reprofiling in 2015 to host Formula 1) is used than the 2006 one. There were some offseason rumors about Texas returning to the calendar after it was replaced in 2023 by Homestead and Richmond was added (on the schedule for the first time since 2010 and 2009, respectively), but ultimately it remains off the schedule.
 * There is a substantial shakeup in the race dates from 2023:
 * Long Beach moves to the season finale (a move that gathered momentum in 2021 when it was postponed from April and served as the last race)
 * Mid-Ohio moves from the first race before the Month of May to the first race after it (Mexico is added in April)
 * Detroit is held a week later
 * Road America is held a month later
 * Montreal takes place on the previous Richmond weekend
 * Iowa moves to early July
 * Nashville moves to old Iowa weekend, Indy GP 2 to old Nashville weekend, and Gateway to old Indy GP 2 weekend
 * Richmond moves to a Saturday night slot in late August, a week after the old Gateway slot which is now an off week; Portland moves a week later to keep the same amount of time between the races

Week-By-Week Schedule [SUnday] [SAturday]

St. Pete [SU] -- Homestead [SU] -- OFF WEEK -- Barber [SU] -- OFF WEEK (Easter) -- OFF WEEK -- Mexico City [SU] -- OFF WEEK -- OFF WEEK -- OFF WEEK/IMS Open Test** -- Indy GP 1 [SA] -- Indianapolis 500 Qualifying -- Indianapolis 500 [SU] -- Mid-Ohio [SU] -- Detroit [SU] -- OFF-WEEK -- Montreal [SU] -- OFF-WEEK -- Doubleheader Iowa [SA + SU] -- Road America [SU] -- OFF WEEK -- Nashville [SU] -- Gateway [SA] -- Indy GP 2 [SA] -- OFF-WEEK -- Richmond [SA] -- OFF-WEEK -- OFF-WEEK -- Portland [SU] -- OFF-WEEK -- Laguna Seca [SU] -- Long Beach [SU]

** plus "refresher program." The test is noted only because it will be the lone test to be broadcasted. It will be live on Peacock, and aired as tape delayed on cable (other tests are taped then aired not live on Peacock, or possibly a different feed is aired live on a 3rd party carrier).