With the official news on Wednesday (Oct. 30) on who would pilot Chip Ganassi Racing’s three NTT IndyCar Series cars in 2025, a name not included was reigning Rookie of the Year Linus Lundqvist.
Instead, it was Kyffin Simpson who was selected to take over the No. 8 CGR Honda in the upcoming racing season, putting the young Swedish driver out on the street.
The move was just another chapter in the ongoing adventure novel “Budget vs. Talent.”
Obviously, two of CGR’s seats were going to be filled by its prior IndyCar champions. Scott Dixon is a lifer at CGR, and has every right to be considering he’s climbed up to Mount Rushmore labeling in the open wheel series. The other champion Alex Palou just added a third title to his growing legacy and, with legal drama aside, was locked into his No. 10 ride.
After Marcus Armstrong‘s departure to Meyer Shank Racing, the battle for the third seat was down to Simpson and Lundqvist.
If a novice fan was looking at the accomplishments of both young drivers, the facts would probably lean one to choose Lundqvist based on the results. In Lundqvist’s inaugural year with CGR, he earned two podiums at very different types of tracks: at Barber Motorsports Park — a road course — and Worldwide Technology Raceway — an oval. He also added a pair of top 10s at Milwaukee Race 1 (where he led 29 laps) and Nashville and paced the field eight more times at three different other events. At Road America, he earned his first career pole. By season’s end, he finished 16th in points, two spots behind his then-teammate and second-year driver Armstrong.
Simpson had a best finish of 12th in the opening round at St. Petersburg and never led during the season. At the same race that Lundqvist took pole, he notched his best starting spot, a 12th, which was just one of three times he qualified higher than 20th.
Furthermore, looking at their prior racing experience in the top IndyCar ladder series, Indy NXT, Lundqvist won eight times as well as the 2022 championship. Simpson’s best result was a second at Mid-Ohio, with one other podium.
And yet, it’s Lundqvist that has no ride.
As is often the case in motorsports, the decision was not based purely on talent but on resources — namely, the financial backing a driver can bring to a team. Despite his success, Lundqvist lacked the funding that can often secure a seat in today’s racing world.Â
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time he has run into this problem. After winning the Indy NXT Championship in 2022, he wasn’t hired by an IndyCar team to graduate him to the big cars, and that was primarily due to a lack of sponsorship. Only after Simon Pagenaud’s injury at Mid-Ohio in July did he get a chance, filling in at Meyer Shank Racing for three races. His performance caught the CGR team principal’s attention, leading them to sign him for 2024.
But with the recent downsizing decision based on the new charter limits instituted for next year, Lundqvist lost out to Simpson’s financial backing which made him the more viable choice.
The 2024 IndyCar Rookie of the Year lost out to the dollars and cents of the sport, and now his options for next year are limited.
Limited Options for Lundqvist in a Tight Market
As highlighted by Frontstretch, the IndyCar seats open for business next year are few, and all look to require some level of financial support. There remains a possibility that another team owner might recognize Lundqvist’s undeniable talent and take a chance on him.
One possible fit could be Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, which could use his potential to compensate for the departure of Christian Lundgaard. Teaming up with incoming driver Louis Foster could be a beneficial partnership, giving that squad two young guns to launch them into the future as mainstay and veteran Graham Rahal moves closer to the sunset of his career.
Other options include joining Dale Coyne Racing if that team can secure a funded driver for their second car. DCR has historically balanced budget and skill, often offsetting a talent-driven hire with a well-funded driver in their second seat. Juncos Hollinger Racing hasn’t announced its drivers yet, but last season’s results from Romain Grosjean and Conor Daly suggest that Lundqvist’s chance there is slim.
If none of those options materialize, then the sad reality is Lundqvist might be left with finding a one-off ride for the Indianapolis 500, which is irritating to fans who want to tune in to see the best drivers compete.
A Pervasive Problem in Racing: Talent vs. Budget
Lundqvist’s current predicament shines a light on a persistent issue in the racing world: the ongoing battle between talent and budget. While top players in football, basketball, and baseball can secure lucrative contracts based on their abilities alone, modern race car drivers often face the added pressure of bringing financial backing to the table. Historically this used to just be an IndyCar problem, but the issue has profilerated over the past few decades.
Racing has continued to skyrocket in expense with fewer funding sources. Owners who rely heavily on sponsorship dollars are finding it harder to attract backing in the current racing environment. Motorsports are challenged in gaining new fans when there are other avenues to market companies instead of plastering a decal on a car. In the absence of sustainable sponsorship models, it is often left to drivers with the financial means to secure their seats, frequently through family connections or business partnerships.
This creates a disparity in which talent isn’t the deciding factor in hiring a driver. IndyCar has had this problem since the early 1990s when open-wheel hopefuls were walking the paddock at Indianapolis and unable to secure rides without dollars in their pockets. NASCAR is experiencing this as well, with the high-profile lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against the series, highlighting that the shared revenue model is inefficient, with one resulting impact being teams preferentially hiring drivers with sponsorship already attached to them.
Just this past weekend NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Chandler Smith offered up his outlook to Frontstretch reporters, highlighting he might be working for his dad’s construction company by season’s end as his options were limited without providing money to continue racing.
The Uncertain Future for a Proven Talent
Now, Lundqvist finds himself making phone calls and possibly walking the paddock come spring in search of an opportunity, while others with less impressive records but greater funding continue. As it stands, a driver without any Indy NXT wins and with a best finish of 12th in 2024 is moving forward with a premier ride, while the 2024 Rookie of the Year is left hoping for a lifeline.
If other sports required players to bring a budget, legends like Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning and Alex Rodriguez might never have had the chance to rise to the top. All those Hall of Famers could easily have been on the outside looking in, just hoping for an opportunity.
Just like Lundqvist.
About the author
Tom is an IndyCar writer at Frontstretch, joining in March 2023. Besides writing the IndyCar Previews and the occasional Inside Indycar, he will hop on as a fill-in guest on the Open Wheel podcast The Pit Straight. His full-time job is with the Department of Veterans Affairs History Office and is a lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard. After graduating from Purdue University with a Creative Writing degree, he was commissioned in the Army and served a 15-month deployment as a tank platoon leader with the 3d ACR in Mosul, Iraq. A native Hoosier, he calls Fort Wayne home. Follow Tom on Twitter @TomBlackburn42.
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Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?
True, unfortunately. On the flip side, the car can only get one so far. At some point you need more talent behind the wheel to get the most out of the equipment. When you have both you win Championships.
Nothing new sadly it won’t change Ty Dillon has another ride for next season Need I say more