IndyCar young guns are great, but the elders aren’t done yet

The ace 20-somethings in IndyCar have risen to become title contenders, but the best of the series veterans are digging deep and responding – and will continue to do so over the next couple of years, says David Malsher-Lopez.

David Malsher-Lopez Aug 20, 2021, 7:44 PM

Upd: Aug 20, 2021, 8:43 PM

It’s been tiresome over the past couple of years to read or hear “experts” talking about IndyCar’s next generation, youth movement or changing of the guard. It’s been reason enough for even objective observers to shed their neutrality and cheer whenever drivers in their 40s have prevailed this season.

Scott Dixon in Texas Race 1, Helio Castroneves at the Indianapolis 500 and Will Power in last weekend’s race on the IMS road course were classic examples of sage veterans blending speed and smarts to defeat pursuers half their age. And let’s not forget that last year’s title fight came down to a duel between Dixon and Josef Newgarden who, although only 30 now, was in his ninth season at this level.

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Author David Malsher-Lopez

David Malsher-Lopez is Motorsport.com’s U.S. editor, covering the NTT IndyCar Series and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Since completing journalism college in 1994, he has worked for Autosport, TRMG, Motor Sport, Autosport (again) and Racer, before joining Motorsport.com in 2015… where he has found himself enjoying a third spell writing for Autosport. Over the course of those 27 years, he has served as a journalist, sub-editor, features editor, deputy editor and editor. In 2015, he also wrote Will Power’s biography. David lives with his wife Sophia in California and when not writing about racing, he will be found reading about planes and classic cars, attending airshows, listening to a wide variety of music or watching cop shows from the ’70s. He intends to one day own a grand piano, an Airedale terrier and a vintage Pontiac. He doesn’t do Facebook and doesn’t understand Instagram but can be found @DavidMalsher on Twitter.