We’re just past the halfway point of August, and the picture is starting to clear on where drivers will be racing in 2024. Retirements have been announced and postponed, and contracts have been signed and then torn up. Here’s a round-up of the biggest talking points of silly season so far for NASCAR and IndyCar:
The silly season’s biggest bombshell is the presumptive 2023 IndyCar Series Champion Alex Palou backing out of an alleged deal with Arrow McLaren. Last Saturday, the Associated Press reported that team boss Zak Brown sent a letter to McLaren employees that Palou has “no intention of honoring his contract.”
McLaren covered Palou’s legal fees last year when the driver was sued by his current team Chip Ganassi Racing after he attempted to jump ship to McLaren for 2023. The compromise had the Spaniard seeing out his deal with Ganassi and serving as McLaren’s F1 reserve driver.
Brown also claims in the letter, “we have paid him a significant first payment toward his 2024 season in addition to the millions of dollars toward developing him in our Formula 1 testing program and in his reserve driver role with a potential drive in F1 in the future.”
Palou seems set on remaining at Ganassi as champion while McLaren hasn’t recorded an IndyCar race win since July 2022.
Chip Ganassi Racing won’t be remaining completely static heading into the 2024 season. According to Racer, Linus Lundqvist will be replacing the 2022 Indianapolis 500 Champion Marcus Ericcson. Lundqvist won the 2022 Indy Lights championship but wasn’t able to secure an IndyCar seat this season. The Swede has served as a substitute at Meyer Shank Racing as Simon Pagenaud recovers from injuries sustained in his Mid-Ohio crash.
Last week, Helio Castroneves announced that he was stepping back from full-time competition. Tom Blomqvist will be taking his seat at Meyer Shank Racing. Blomqvist currently races with the team in IMSA’s top GTP class and won the 2022 championship. Castroneves will become a stakeholder in the teams and still compete in the Indianapolis 500, continuing his quest for a record fifth win.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has improved drastically since their paltry outing at the Indianapolis 500. Last weekend, Graham Rahal won pole and finished second in the Gallagher Grand Prix. His teammate Christian Lundgaard crossed the line fourth.
The third RLL driver Jack Harvey finished 12th, and that seemingly was the last straw. The team has fired Harvey from the team, replacing him with Conor Daly.
Triple Eight Race Engineering has confirmed that it has released Shane van Gisbergen from his 2024 contract so he can leave the Supercars Championship to race in NASCAR full time. The team has also announced that Will Brown will drive SVG’s No. 97 Chevy Camaro next year.
Van Gisbergen is set to join Trackhouse Racing in 2024. However, he likely will not be racing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. He is rumored to be spending next year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series to acclimate to oval racing.
SVG finished tenth in the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard last Sunday, his 2nd Cup Series start.
Front Row Motorsports announced last week that it will retain both its drivers Todd Gilliland and 2021 Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell for 2024. McDowell then went out and won the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard to get himself into the Cup Series Playoffs.
Michael McDowell was pegged as a potential replacement for Aric Almirola at Stewart-Haas Racing. Almirola initially announced that he would retire after the 2022 season but changed his mind in August last year. Once he makes a decision on whether or not to continue racing in 2024, it will start seeing so more movement in NASCAR’s driver market.
Kevin Harvick announced that he would be retiring after the 2023 season in January. Stewart-Haas revealed that Josh Berry would take over his No. 4 Ford Mustang. Berry finished second at Richmond Raceway earlier this year while filling in for Chase Elliott after he broke his leg in a snowboarding accident.
Martin Truex Jr. considered retiring after this season but signed an extension last week to remain at Joe Gibbs Racing through the 2024 season. Maybe the three wins and six other top-five finishes he has this season changed his mind.
Hamlin told NASCAR’s website that he has no intention of ending his tenure in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Camry or partnership with Toyota Racing Development, but he still hasn’t signed an extension with the team. The new contract has added weight because TRD’s contract with 23XI, the team Hamlin co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan, also expires after the 2023 season.