The 2024 NTT IndyCar Series was the 113th official championship season of American open-wheel racing and the 29th season under IndyCar Series sanction. Its showcase event was the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Spanish driver Álex Palou entered the season as the defending champion, having obtained his second IndyCar title in 2023, while Josef Newgarden entered the season as the defending Indianapolis 500 winner. Newgarden won his second consecutive Indianapolis 500, the first driver to do so since Hélio Castroneves in 2001 and 2002. Palou defended his championship, becoming the first three-time and back-to-back IndyCar champion in the Dallara DW12 chassis era and also the first since Dario Franchitti in 2011.
Background and series news The 2.2-liter engines used in the series had hybrid technology implemented after the original plans to debut a new 2.4-liter hybrid engine formula were postponed to 2027. The original plan was to introduce the hybrid powertrain at the start of the season in St. Petersburg, but on December 7, 2023, IndyCar announced a delay to its introduction, until after the Indianapolis 500. IndyCar announced on May 14, 2024, that the new hybrid powertrain would debut at Mid-Ohio.
This was the final year of IndyCar's current television contract with NBC Sports, which began in 2019 and was extended in 2021. For 2025, the series' television coverage moved to Fox for all races.
New race restart procedures were introduced for 2024. On restarts, a new "restart line" was introduced, which drivers had to pass before making overtaking attempts. The rule was introduced in response to a large number of incidents in 2023 that occurred from cars attempting to overtake early on race restarts.
For all oval events, the series mandated new, stronger rear suspension uprights on all cars. The new components were introduced in response to an incident during the 2023 Indianapolis 500 where a rear wheel assembly broke free from a car (specifically the Andretti No. 27 of Kyle Kirkwood who got collected by the spinning Arrow McLaren No. 6 of Felix Rosenqvist) and was launched over the catch fence meant to contain cars to the race circuit.
Confirmed entries The following teams, entries, and drivers competed in the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season. All teams used a spec Dallara DW12 chassis with 2018 universal aero kit and Firestone tires.
TeamEngineNo.Driver(s)Round(s)Ref(s) A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 14 Santino Ferrucci All 41 Sting Ray Robb All Honda 26 Colton HertaAll Andretti Global 27 Kyle KirkwoodAll 28 Marcus EricssonAllAndretti Herta with Marco and Curb-Agajanian 98 Marco Andretti5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet 5 Pato O'WardAll6 Callum Ilott1, 5, NC Théo Pourchaire 2–4, 6–7 Nolan Siegel 8–17 7 Alexander RossiAll Théo Pourchaire 12 Arrow McLaren/Rick Hendrick 17 Kyle Larson 5 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 4 Kyffin Simpson All 8 Linus Lundqvist All 9 Scott DixonAll 10 Álex PalouAll 11 Marcus ArmstrongAllDale Coyne RacingHonda 18 Jack Harvey Nolan Siegel 5, NC Conor Daly11 Hunter McElrea 12Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing 51 Colin Braun 1, NC Nolan Siegel 2 Luca Ghiotto 3–4, 7–8 Katherine Legge5, 10–11, 13, 15–17 Tristan Vautier6 Toby Sowery 9, 12, 14 DRR-Cusick Motorsports Chevrolet 23 Ryan Hunter-Reay5 24 Conor Daly5Ed Carpenter RacingChevrolet 20 1–4, 6–9, 12, 14–17, NC Ed Carpenter5, 10–11, 13 21 Rinus VeeKayAll 335 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet 77 Romain GrosjeanAll 78 Agustín Canapino1–6, 8–12, NC Nolan Siegel 7 Conor Daly 13–17 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Honda 06 Hélio Castroneves5 Meyer Shank Racing 60 Felix RosenqvistAll 66 Tom Blomqvist 1–5, NC Hélio Castroneves 6–7 David Malukas 8–17 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 15 Graham RahalAll 30 Pietro FittipaldiAll 45 All 75 Takuma Sato5 Jüri Vips 14 Team Penske Chevrolet 2 Josef NewgardenAll 3 Scott McLaughlinAll 12 Will PowerAll
Driver changes Preseason On January 12, 2023, Arrow McLaren confirmed reports that 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson would drive for the team in the Indianapolis 500, with the entry to be co-owned by Larson's Cup Series car owner Rick Hendrick. On August 11, 2023, Meyer Shank Racing confirmed reports that its IMSA driver Tom Blomqvist would drive for its No. 66 entry full-time in 2024, with 4-time Indianapolis 500 winner Hélio Castroneves moving to an Indy-only role for the team, as well as receiving an ownership stake in the team. On August 23, 2023, Andretti Autosport confirmed reports that 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson would join the team, departing Chip Ganassi Racing after four seasons, replacing Romain Grosjean. Ganassi stated on social media the same day that it would announce driver updates "in due course". On August 31, 2023, Chip Ganassi Racing confirmed reports that 2022 Indy Lights champion Linus Lundqvist would join the team on a full-time basis, ultimately replacing Ericsson in the No. 8 car. On September 2, 2023, NBC Sports reported that Romain Grosjean told them that he would be departing Andretti Autosport after two seasons with the team. On October 4, 2023, Grosjean released a statement confirming his departure from Andretti, and that he has commenced an arbitration proceeding in Indiana against the team, saying that he had expected to continue racing with the team "in the coming years". On September 5, 2023, Meyer Shank Racing confirmed reports that Felix Rosenqvist had signed to drive the No. 60 entry in a multi-year deal. Rosenqvist departed Arrow McLaren after three seasons. On September 5, 2023, 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner and 2016 IndyCar Series champion Simon Pagenaud released a statement confirming his departure from Meyer Shank Racing after two seasons, saying that he would be focusing on his recovery from injuries sustained in a crash during practice at Mid-Ohio in 2023. On September 7, 2023, Chip Ganassi Racing confirmed reports that Marcus Armstrong had re-signed with the team on a full-time basis with a multi-year contract, having served as road/street course driver alongside Takuma Sato in 2023. On September 8, 2023, Arrow McLaren confirmed reports that David Malukas had signed to drive the No. 6 entry full-time in 2024, departing Dale Coyne Racing after two seasons. On September 18, 2023, Chip Ganassi Racing announced that development driver Kyffin Simpson would join the team full time in 2024, expanding the team to 5 cars. On October 23, 2023, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced that Haas F1 Team reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi would drive the team's No. 30 entry full-time in 2024, making his first start in the series since the 2021 season. The same day, RLL confirmed that Jüri Vips, who drove the No. 30 entry in the final two races of 2023, would remain under contract with the team, with the possibility of part-time competition in a fourth entry, testing duties and opportunities in IMSA competition. On October 25, 2023, Ed Carpenter Racing announced that 2023 Indy NXT champion Christian Rasmussen would drive the team's No. 20 entry on road and street courses in 2024, and in a third entry at the Indianapolis 500. Team owner/driver Ed Carpenter will compete in all oval races in the No. 20, having driven for the team's third entry for the last two seasons. On October 26, 2023, Juncos Hollinger Racing announced that they had mutually decided to part ways with driver Callum Ilott after three seasons together. On November 2, 2023, Juncos confirmed that Romain Grosjean signed for the team, replacing the outgoing Ilott. On December 15, 2023, A. J. Foyt Racing announced that Sting Ray Robb would drive the No. 41 entry full-time for the 2024 season, leaving Dale Coyne Racing after one season. Initial reports covering the announcement stated that Robb was to replace Benjamin Pedersen, with the entry being renumbered to 41 from the 55 which Pedersen drove in 2023. However, later that day, Pedersen released a statement on social media implying that he had not left the team and that Robb would be joining as his teammate, with team director Larry Foyt being non-committal when directly asked if Robb was replacing Pedersen during a teleconference with media. On January 9, 2024, Larry Foyt confirmed that Pedersen was departing the team as his contract had "lapsed". On February 1, 2024, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing / Cusick Motorsports confirmed plans to field a joint entry for the Indianapolis 500, with Ryan Hunter-Reay and Conor Daly serving as drivers of the No. 23 and No. 24 cars, respectively. On February 13, 2024, David Malukas confirmed that he had injured his wrist while mountain biking and would miss the first race of the season to recover. Callum Ilott was announced as his replacement on March 5, and also competed at the non-championship event at The Thermal Club. On February 15, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced that Takuma Sato would return to the team to compete in the Indianapolis 500. On March 5, Dale Coyne Racing announced that Jack Harvey would drive the No. 18 entry in 14 races this year, with 2023 Indy NXT rookie of the year Nolan Siegel partaking in events that do not clash with his Indy NXT commitments, including the Indianapolis 500. Coyne also confirmed sports car and former NASCAR driver Colin Braun would drive the No. 51 in at least the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and the non-championship event at The Thermal Club.
Mid-season Throughout the season, Dale Coyne Racing would announce multiple drivers for its No. 51 entry: On April 9, that Katherine Legge would drive for the No. 51 entry for the Indianapolis 500. Legge returned to the car for all further oval events of the season. On April 15, that Nolan Siegel would switch from the No. 18 to the No. 51 at Long Beach, and that Jack Harvey would race the No. 18 at Long Beach, extending his program in that entry to 15 races. On April 25, that former Williams F1 test driver Luca Ghiotto would drive the No. 51 at Barber Motorsports Park and the Indianapolis Grand Prix. On June 4, Ghiotto was announced to return to the car for Road America and Laguna Seca. On May 29, that 2013 IndyCar Series rookie of the year Tristan Vautier would drive the No. 51 at Detroit. On June 26, that former Indy NXT driver Toby Sowery would drive the No. 51 at Mid-Ohio, making his IndyCar debut. On July 17, it was announced that Sowery would make two additional starts in Toronto and Portland. On April 9, Arrow McLaren confirmed that David Malukas would miss the second round at Long Beach and that Callum Ilott was unavailable due to a conflicting FIA World Endurance Championship round. On April 18, reigning Formula 2 champion Théo Pourchaire was announced as the driver of the No. 6 car for Long Beach. On April 23, Pourchaire was confirmed to drive at Barber. On April 29, Arrow McLaren announced the release of Malukas from his contract, citing the reason that he still had no confirmed return date from the wrist injuries sustained in the mountain bike accident on February 11. On May 9, Pourchaire was confirmed to drive the No. 6 for the remainder of the season, bar the Indianapolis 500 in which Ilott will drive. On May 29, Meyer Shank Racing announced that Hélio Castroneves would drive the No. 66 at Detroit and Road America, replacing Tom Blomqvist. Blomqvist remained signed to a multi-year contract with the team, but Marshall Pruett of RACER.com reported that it was "unclear" whether or not he would return to the entry. On June 7, Meyer Shank Racing announced that David Malukas would drive the No. 66 in all races after Road America, also confirming that Blomqvist would not return to the entry. On June 7, Juncos Hollinger Racing announced that Nolan Siegel would drive the No. 78 entry at Road America, with Agustín Canapino taking a "leave of absence" following the online abuse from some of Canapino's fans directed at Théo Pourchaire following the Detroit Grand Prix.