IndyCar's Next Generation is Ready for Its Close Up

Practice has begun for the 96^th running of the Indianapolis 500. Eyes will first turn to the drivers that we’ve seen at the Speedway for many years and multiple trips to Victory Lane: Helio Castroneves, Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, as well as the current dominant driver in the IZOD IndyCar Series, Will Power.
 
However, if there’s one thing that all these drivers have is common is that they’re all on the wrong side of 30. I remember watching all these guys (save Power) in the CART series back in the mid to late 90s. While this generation still has plenty of life in it, for a series starved for attention, new blood will be needed and needed soon.
 
Luckily, fresh faces have been coming into IndyCar these past few years. Here are seven of them currently in the series with potential as well as fan favorite attributes. This list does not include drivers currently in the Mazda Road to Indy, or USAC driver Bryan Clauson, who is competing in the Indy 500 (more on him as our Indy 500 coverage continues). The oldest of the seven is 27, the youngest is 21. Five of them are the nationality everyone thinks that IndyCar desperately needs: American.  Put simply, if IndyCar can not effectively market these seven drivers, then the problems with this series may be terminal.
 
In alphabetical order, here are the seven young guns to know, both for this year’s 500 and in the future.
 
Marco Andretti
 
The surname is of course instantly recognizable. Marco is the third generation of racing’s most famous family: Michael’s son and Mario’s grandson.  Marco has been around for 6 years, but is still just 25. He broke on to the scene with a bang in the 2006 Indy 500, losing the lead in the final yards to Sam Hornish, Jr. His career hasn’t hit those heights yet, with just 2 career wins. He also has a reputation as a whiny prima donna (he’s not the first Andretti to have that rep). Of course, names worth following don’t necessarily have to be “good guys.” Marco is certainly a polarizing figure due to his name and conduct, but as we’ve seen with NASCAR and the Busch brothers, polarizing can still equal eyeballs.
 
Simona de Silvestro
 
The 23 year old Swiss Missile is in her 3^rd season in IndyCars. Of course, given her gender, comparisons to Danica Patrick are inevitable. Before coming to IndyCar, Simona competed in the Atlantic series for 2 years. She won five races and nearly the championship is 2009. Danica also competed in Atlantics for 2 years and didn’t win at all. The big cars have been more of a struggle for Simona, who’s been stuck driving for a smaller single car team, but they have been moments. Simona led laps in her first ever IndyCar race in 2010, and started last season with a 4^th in the opener.
 
Things have been downhill since though. Last year at Indianapolis, Simona survived this wicked crash, albeit with severe burns on her hands. Despite that, she managed to qualify on Pole Day despite the burns and driving a car so old, heavy, and slow it was nicknamed Porkchop. It showed her talent and toughness, but the rest of the year she was a non factor, particularly on ovals. This year, her struggles can be described in one word: Lotus. Her team is now the only full-time team stuck with that pig of an engine, and its lack of speed has shown in practice in a big way. Simona has quickly become a fan favorite due to her personality, talent, and cojones. The hope is if and when Lotus gets it together (or when they bail completely), she can finally get some results and fully establish a career. The worry is last year’s oval issues plus this lost year will ruin her.

JR Hildebrand
 
The 24 year old from Sausalito, California hit the national consciousness in a big, yet heartbreaking way last year, coming just one corner short of winning the Indy 500 before hitting the wall. That said, Hildebrand did earn fans for the classy way he handled the aftermath of his gaffe. In a series that (allegedly anyway) needs an All-American infusion, it’s hard to get more American than Hildebrand his #4 team. Hildebrand is of course American. His team, Panther Racing, has a long history of hiring American drivers (most notably Sam Hornish, Jr.), and most importantly, the car is sponsored by the National Guard.
 
JR’s results meanwhile continue to improve. He was a respectable 14^th in points as a rookie, and is currently 9^th in points and looks much better on the road and street courses. He’s also looked good in Indy 500 practice. This race made JR famous for reasons no race driver wants. Wouldn’t it be something if he can complete the ultimate redemption this year?
 
James Hinchcliffe
 
Hinchcliffe is a 25 year old Canadian whose personality can’t be described. It has to be seen. Luckily for us, Hinchcliffe is a social media and YouTube master. He is IndyCar’s king of the Internet with his website and corresponding nickname (the Mayor of Hinchtown) and funny YouTube videos. These videos go from him doing weird stuff on his own to funny bits with some of the other drivers on this list.
 
Hinchcliffe isn’t just a class clown though; dude can race. He was the IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year last season despite missing the first race. This year, now driving the GoDaddy car, he’s finished in the top 6 every race and is 3^rd in points. This is despite the pressure of replacing not only Danica, but Dan Wheldon, who was originally tapped for the seat before his tragic passing. Hinch might have the most tantalizing combination of talent and personality in the paddock today. If his results stay on the ascent, he should become a star.
 
Charlie Kimball
 
Admittedly, if I were to rank these seven in terms of talent, Kimball would rank last. This 27 year old from California was fairly anonymous last season as a rookie, finishing 19^th in points with just two top tens. He wasn’t noticed much except for being the low speed car Hildebrand was trying to pass on that fateful final corner at Indy. This season, however, Kimball has looked much better, already scoring two top tens to equal last year.
 
Kimball also has a pretty good hook: He has Type 1 Diabetes. There has never been a driver before officially diagnosed with that disease. In the race car, Kimball has his blood sugar monitored constantly, and in an emergency has a crew member at the ready to inject him with insulin from the pits. Those are the kind of personal stories people attract to. With Kimball’s performance improving, he can’t be seen as a gimmick anymore. I’m still not sure he’ll be much more than a solid midpacker, but every series needs those types to be healthy.

Josef Newgarden
 
Don’t let the spelling of his first name fool you, this 21 year old rookie and 2011 Indy Lights champion is from Nashville. Newgarden’s IndyCar career is four races old, but everyone in the IndyCar world has taken notice. He had already shown flashes in the first two races, but at Long Beach is where the breakout really started. First, he qualified 2^nd alongside pole sitter and 4 time champion Dario Franchitti. Against the biggest dog of all, the smart thing would be to hang back at the start and slot behind Dario, right? Well, that’s not what Newgarden did. He went for it in the first corner, attempting a daring pass on the outside. It didn’t work, as it looked like Dario squeezed him a bit, and Newgarden ended up in the wall. Still, the young man showed that he has a racer’s mentality.
 
So far at Indy, Newgarden has been the story. He’s topped the speed charts three of the five practice days already. Again, this is a rookie. Not just a rookie, he’s driving for a small team, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing. He’s already made that team infinitely more competitive on road and street courses, and now he’s carrying it over to the biggest stage in the sport. He’s also shown media savvy and a fan friendly personality. The hype is growing in IndyCar circles, and while it’s still very early (practice is one thing, but qualifying and the Indy 500 itself are both much different animals), but the returns so far indicate that Josef Newgarden is a future star who hopefully can stop making videos showing how nobody knows who he is.
 
Graham Rahal
 
The other second generation driver in the group, Graham is the 23 year old son of Bobby Rahal. At 19, Graham won his first IndyCar race in his first career start. He remains to this day the youngest winner of a major American open wheel race. A second win has yet to happen, but with 5 podiums in four seasons, he’s come close.  This was despite the fact that he spent 2010 driving for four different teams due to sponsorship issues. His record at the Indy 500 has also gotten better every year, going from last as a rookie in 2008 to 3^rd last year. Of all the drivers on this list though, Graham has the best opportunity for future greatness. He currently drives for what’s known as the Ganassi B team, a team owned by Chip Ganassi, but not his famous Target cars. With Dario Franchitti getting up there in years, it’s widely believed that Rahal will be the successor to that #10 car, a car which has only won  three straight championships and an Indy 500 recently.
 
Graham has had maturity issues over the years though, which primarily have manifested in ridiculous Twitter fights. It hasn’t helped his reputation any, but there are signs that he is starting to grow up and “get it.” It first showed after Dan Wheldon’s death. It was Graham who first offered to auction his race helmet for Wheldon’s family. That turned into the Dan Wheldon Memorial Auction, which raised over $600,000. Graham has also put together a bus trip for fans to get to the race in Milwaukee this year, a race that desperately needs good attendance to continue. This emphasis on giving back will continue to endear Graham to fans. If he can finally turn close calls into wins, that, plus being a second generation driver, will only increase his star power.
 
While the current generation of IndyCar drivers certainly isn’t going away, the future of the sport is starting to showcase itself through these seven. All of them should be closely at Indy this year (save poor, stuck Simona). While none would be considered the favorites, anything could happen. On the biggest stage in IndyCar, it may well be time for a new set of stars to be born.