Today’s question: The NTT INDYCAR SERIES Silly Season exploded July 1 with a media report indicating six-time series champion Scott Dixon is leaving Chip Ganassi Racing after a 25-year tenure to join Arrow McLaren starting in 2027. That opens Dixon’s No. 9 Honda (photo, top) as the most coveted seat on the market. Who fills it next season?

Curt Cavin: I had convinced myself that Marcus Armstrong would replace Scott Dixon if the six-time series champion moved on, and I’m still 80 percent there with that. But the availability of Christian Lundgaard might be too tempting for Chip Ganassi to pass on, especially because it would be a great way to stick it to Arrow McLaren’s Zak Brown when Lundgaard starts winning races (and maybe championships) in his car. But if I have to pick, it’s Armstrong in the No. 9 and Lundgaard at Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian as the CGR-MSR technical alliance continues for another year. Either way, it’s very interesting stuff.

Dennis Hauger

Eric Smith: The logical answer is Christian Lundgaard. Another obvious candidate is Marcus Armstrong, given MSR’s alliance with Chip Ganassi Racing. Whether Armstrong is technically on the CGR payroll or not, moving him into one of its cars would be a seamless transition. But I'll go a different direction: Dennis Hauger. The 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone champion has produced rookie-season numbers with Dale Coyne Racing that are similar to Alex Palou's first NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Through 10 races, Hauger (photo, above) owns a 16.0 average finish. Through his first 10 series starts in 2020, Palou's average finish was 14.4. I'm not saying Hauger is the next Alex Palou, but I'm also not saying he can't become that caliber of driver. The Norwegian was a standout in the Red Bull Junior Team, won the FIA Formula 3 championship and captured five Formula 2 victories before coming to North America. He fits many of criteria that CGR looks for in a driver and if PNC Bank remains with the team, Hauger may not need to bring significant funding to earn the opportunity and can bet on himself on a one-year deal.

Marcus Armstrong

Arni Sribhen: The logical choice for Chip Ganassi when it comes to the No. 9 entry might just be a familiar face. When the team downsized from five to three cars after the 2024 season, Marcus Armstrong (photo, above) was farmed out to Meyer Shank Racing, where he continues to work with Ganassi engineer Angela Ashmore. For his two years away from the mothership, he’s been part of the engineering meetings at the track and developed into a far more complete driver than the driver who completed his first full season with CGR in 2024. He’s done everything but win his first race, and he should have gotten that at Road America. The team’s leadership doesn’t have to search far and wide for its next superstar.

Paul Kelly: Marcus Armstrong, Dennis Hauger are all logical choices by Curt, Eric and Arni. But I’m going to look at Chip Ganassi’s hiring trends and predict we’ll see a surprise in the No. 9 next season, a driver not currently in the series. Alex Palou is the unquestioned leader of CGR, one of the reasons I think Dixon is leaving for papaya. So, Palou’s reign of power is the perfect time to groom a younger driver with global experience who may be his successor without the burden of instant expectations. And given Honda’s deep ties with CGR, that driver could be someone like Kakunoshin Ohta, who already has tested with Meyer Shank Racing, or even former F1 driver Yuki Tsunoda, currently a Red Bull Racing test and reserve driver. I’m sure a few people raised their eyebrows when Ganassi hired Alex Zanardi for the 1996 season despite no previous INDYCAR SERIES experience, and he went on to win two consecutive series titles. Scott Dixon and Alex Palou each only had one full season of series races under their belts when they joined CGR in 2002 and 2021, respectively. All those hiring decisions seemed to work out pretty well for Chip.