INDYCAR ROOKIES

2022

Featured An Exceptional Group

Story by Mary Bignotti Mendez

The2022 NTT IndyCar season presented the most rookie drivers since the integration of the 2012 Dallara chassis and the 2.2-litre twin-turbocharged engines. Six rookies started the season with all five season-long rookies returning next year with full-time rides.

To compare, six-time NASCAR Cup champion Jimmy Johnson, 46, completed his second season driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. His highest qualifying position was 12th and highest finish was fifth on the Iowa oval. His highest road course finish was 16th, both at Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca, with an average start of 21.9 and finish of 18.6 over 17 races.

Johnson struggled to unlearn his stock car instincts and replace them with new, open-wheel skills. His biggest test was driving an IndyCar on the limit to wring out its maximum speed. The 2022 rookie class did a far better job at this challenge on super speedways, short ovals, temporary street, and permanent road courses.

Danish driver Christian Lundgaard, 21, made his debut for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team in August of 2021 on the Indianapolis road course, where he qualified fourth and finished 12th. Having competed in the 2020 Formula 2 season with two wins and six podiums, he had to learn about compensating for the differences between the black primary and red alternate tires as well as making pit stops. He so impressed the team that they signed him for the 2022 season, where his best result in qualifying was third – twice –and best finish was second, again at the Indy Grand Prix. His average start was 14.9 with a finishing average of 13.2 that included seven top-ten finishes.

“The experienced drivers who have been with the same team for a long time are still competitive and win races,” said Lundgaard. “For a young driver to come in and be on that level is tough. For me, the difference between Europe and America is it’s more about racing than it is about politics. What I like about IndyCar is the feeling I have here, which is the feeling I got when I fell in love with go-karts. You put the car on the ground, you race, and you have fun. You compete, and once the helmet's off, everyone is best buddies. You don't see that in Europe. I also like that the street courses aren’t resurfaced. It’s challenging because the car is going to jump all over the place and you could hit the wall. European drivers think we're crazy.

“Having been part of the Alpine (Formula 1) academy, I learned how to analyze data and adapt quickly. I have the experience of looking after tires. The Firestones can take a lot more, so you can actually push the tires and still be fast. The cars (Formula 2 vs IndyCar) don't drive dramatically different, but you are able to hustle the IndyCar more. It's got a gentle slide to it. The cars handle pretty much the same.”

Although Lundgaard led the rookies in points all season, he had no oval experience nor familiarity with the tracks as the others coming from Indy Lights. The Rookie of the Year battle came down to the final race with his five-point lead over David Malukas. Lundgaard finished 14th overall with 323 points (just 22 points behind his teammate, Graham Rahal, in 11th with 345 points) to Malukas, who ranked 16th with 305 points.

“This season started off rough and I made a lot of rookie mistakes,” revealed Malukas, 20, a Chicago native and 2021 Indy Lights championship runner-up driving for Dale Coyne Racing. “It’s a tough time to be a rookie with so little test time. I kept on learning. The team was doing such a great job to get the connection and chemistry on what we needed and what I wanted. It was going so well I felt the car deserved a podium.

“I’ve learned a lot from my teammate, Takuma Sato. I have followed Will Power to learn his lines on track and see how he attacked the corners and bumps, which helped me a lot. In IndyCar, the competition level is so high; it’s the hardest formula. It’s a lot easier in that the car feels good if it’s in the window. Although Malukas was the highest finishing rookie in the Indy 500 in 16th place, the Rookie of the Year award, voted on by selected journalists, went to Jimmy Johnson, who finished in 28th after contact. Malukas’ best finish was second in St. Louis with an average start of 12.6 and finish of 14.0, including three top-ten finishes.

Callum Ilott, 23 of Cambridge, UK, who ranked second in the 2020 Formula 2 championship with three wins, competed in the three final races of 2021 for Juncos Hollinger Racing. For 2022, his starting average was 15.4 and finishing average was 17.5 in 16 races. His best start was second and highest finish was eighth, earning two top ten finishes as a single-car team. He ranked 20th with 219 points.

“These guys work so hard throughout the year,” stated Ilott, after qualifying on the front row alongside Will Power at Laguna Seca. “We knew sometimes we had the pace, but there's so much more to this series than just having a good car. You've got to put it all together.

“The IndyCar has a lot of power. It’s not easy but an enjoyable car to drive as is the racing. The variety of different circuits really challenges the driver and team. We are the underdog with no teammates. I have to guess the areas where to improve. I look in the mirror and guess what a better driver would do.

“We started the season with two and a half sets of dampers and one of them is for ovals. We finished with three and a half, and they're not much different to the first one. You have to optimize whatever you have. Our development was what we had to start with and then fine tune. It's a tough championship and experience is what counts.

Ranking 23rd overall with 206 points, Toronto native Devlin DeFrancesco, 22, earned his best start of ninth at the St. Louis oval, where he finished 12th. The Canadian’s season starting average was 19.2 and finishing average 18.5.

“I have a great team and teammates behind me,” explained DeFrancesco, resuming with Andretti Autosport for 2023. “We’ve had the best pit stops of all the Andretti team crews this year. I’ve had to learn patience. You can’t win the race on the first or second stint, but you can lose it.

“I work with my engineer and race strategist. We review data and video. I tell them what I feel the car is doing. They come up with a plan on what I can change on the driving side and how I can attack. It’s a team effort. I try to focus on the things I need to do, what I can control and execute. My goal was to finish a race in the top ten.”

Kyle Kirkwood, 23, the 2021 Indy Lights champion from Jupiter, FL, drove for AJ Foyt Racing, with an average start of 18.9 and finish of 20.2. His best start was ninth at Mid-Ohio and best finish was tenth at Long Beach. He ranked 24th overall with 183 points.

“With what I’ve done and with what is expected of me, I have exceeded my expectations,” said Kirkwood, who returns to Andretti Autosport next season. “But it hasn’t shown on track. No matter who you are with and whatever car you are driving, you can always learn. I have learned so much this year. A lot of guys I’ve beaten in Indy Lights have moved to IndyCar and done well. Sometimes it doesn’t happen just like that. Colton (Herta) was one of the exceptions. Pato (O’Ward) took a couple years to get going. I didn’t really have any expectations coming into the season. I knew I was taking on a big learning curve and strived to constantly get better. I wanted to get a top five or maybe even a win this season.”

Also driving for Foyt was Tatiana Calderon, 29, from Bogota, Columbia, who competed at the first seven road courses until her Rokit sponsorship stopped. Her best finish was 15th.

“My goal is to improve each time on the track,” said Calderon. “I’ve always been very competitive and want to be where the best drivers are.”

The challenge for these rookies was to learn what a competitive car should feel like on a variety of circuits and build up their confidence to push to its limits. Even a seasoned champion, Johnson, struggled to achieve this. Look for these experienced rookies to be contenders in 2023. IT

(Clockwise from opposite page) The 2022 IndyCar rookie class featured top rookie Christian Lundgaard, multi-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, David Malukas, Callum Ilott, Toronto’s Devlin DeFrancesco and Kyle Kirkwood. Photos by Ken Andersen and Neena Channan