Inside Line: Next First-Time Series Champion?

Today’s question: Who will be the next first-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion?

Curt Cavin: Pato O’Ward and Kyle Kirkwood are the past two series runners-up, but I believe Kirkwood (photo, top) is the more likely of the two to climb a higher step, especially as you review his progression since joining the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2022. He finished 24th (with AJ Foyt Racing) and then 11th, seventh, fourth and second in four seasons with Andretti Global. I don’t think Kirkwood wins next year’s championship, and he might have to wait a couple of years for Alex Palou to get bored, but I think he will soon earn his way into the champion’s room as his team’s first such winner since Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2012. (By the way, there will soon be significant chatter about Kirkwood being the series’ next big free agent, but I think he remains loyal to Andretti Global and drives the No. 27 Honda for years to come.)

Eric Smith: I believe Scott McLaughlin will be the next first-time champion. If anyone is going to knock Alex Palou off his perch, I don’t see it being a teammate. Scott Dixon couldn’t do it over the past four years, and now he’s moving to Arrow McLaren. If Palou is topped, I sense a down year for the entire Chip Ganassi Racing organization. So why not look to Team Penske, a team with 17 series titles, just one behind Ganassi’s 18? McLaughlin (photo, above) closed out 2026 in strong fashion, posting three consecutive top-five finishes, including a season-finale victory at Laguna Seca. He also knows what it takes to win a championship, having claimed three Australian V8 Supercars titles. McLaughlin is a versatile driver who excels across all disciplines, and his time is coming. I believe he’ll win an INDYCAR SERIES championship within the next two to three years.

Arni Sribhen: The last 14 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champions have raced for either Chip Ganassi Racing or Team Penske, so the odds are high that the next first-time champion is already racing for one of those two teams. In fact, I think David Malukas has the best shot at winning an Astor Challenge Cup among the drivers who haven’t already won one. The evidence is there. Malukas (photo, above) had a breakout first season with Team Penske, though he didn’t reach victory lane. His four runner-up finishes show he’s knocking on the door of that first win, and when that happens, the wins may come in bunches. It’s reminiscent of Simon Pagenaud’s first few seasons with Penske. He was winless in his first season, then won the series championship the next season and was a contender for the next few seasons. I think Malukas may be on that same Penske path.

Paul Kelly: Christian Lundgaard. The Dane (photo, above) earned his first victory in 2023 from the pole on the streets of Toronto, with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Then he added two road-course wins in 2026, at the Sonsio Grand Prix and Road America, with Arrow McLaren. The only missing link to becoming a champion is oval performance, and I think Lundgaard’s shortcomings on circle tracks are dwindling, as evidenced by his third- and sixth-place finishes in August at Milwaukee, the last oval event of the season. That acumen only will increase in Lundgaard’s move to Chip Ganassi Racing, where he will learn the fine art of oval racing from strategist Mike Hull and advisor Dario Franchitti, who also took awhile to figure out circle tracks before flourishing on them. And don’t forget that five-time series champion Alex Palou didn’t earn his first oval win until the 2025 Indianapolis 500, in his sixth season in the series. Finally, Arrow McLaren dumped Lundgaard for what it saw as his weakness on ovals. That stings. So, that rebuke will provide him with any extra motivation he needs. Beating Palou won’t be easy in ANY year, but Lundgaard is best positioned to do it.