Long-time IndyCar sponsor’s gamble pays off, ending 12-year drought

As a seasoned gamer of IndyCar races, I must admit that the 2024 season was nothing short of exhilarating! The rivalry between Alex Palou and Will Power was reminiscent of the epic battles we witnessed back in the early 2010s, and it was a delight to see history repeating itself, albeit with different characters.

Since 2011, DHL has been a part of Andretti Autosport, serving as the main sponsor for car No. 28 for an impressive span of 13 years. Ryan Hunter-Reay was behind the wheel from 2011 until 2021. However, in 2022 and 2023, Romain Grosjean took over driving duties for this car.

Since the global logistics titan’s last victory lap as a primary sponsor in 2013, a span of over five years has passed without such an occurrence. This drought ended when Hunter-Reay, who claimed a title with DHL in 2012 and won the Indy 500 for them in 2014, secured his triumph at Sonoma Raceway to round off the 2018 season.

The organization felt it was time for a fresh environment and managed to secure a new base at Chip Ganassi Racing, which turned out to be the most significant sponsorship update during the previous offseason. The vibrant yellow and red livery perfectly matched the colors of the Spanish flag, symbolizing reigning series champion Alex Palou’s homeland.

Not that anybody had really doubted that it would happen, but it did not take long for DHL’s six-year IndyCar win drought to end.

Last May, Palou piloted the No. 10 Honda to victory circle at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course for the second consecutive year. Subsequently, he clinched another victory at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, a triumph that propelled him to the forefront of the championship rankings.

Even though he didn’t win a single race for the rest of the season, he never faltered and even managed to increase his championship advantage as the 2024 season drew to a close.

As the season finale approached at Nashville Superspeedway, the intense championship fight was between Palou and Will Power from Team Penske.

It was quite a throwback moment since Power had previously raced against Dario Franchitti from Chip Ganassi Racing in the No. 10 car during the season finales of 2010 and 2011, as well as Ryan Hunter-Reay in the DHL car in the season finale back in 2012.

Like he was in 2010, 2011, and 2012, Power ended up on the short end of the stick again in 2024, this time to a No. 10 DHL machine.

In contrast to the past three seasons, Power started the season finale this time as the pursuer instead of the one being pursued. However, similar to those previous years, an early problem cropped up that took him out of contention. Specifically, his seat belt came undone only a few laps into the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.

Palou, who had followed IndyCar long before joining the series with Dale Coyne Racing w/Team Goh back in 2020, remembers some of those championship battles his rival had back in the early 2010s, and he appreciated the opportunity to have one of his own, especially given the similarities.

Indeed, I did watch the American open-wheel racing series before my arrival, though I can’t recall the exact year. It was likely between 2006 and 2008; those years might be when I began casually following IndyCar races from home.

As a young adult, when I took up driving single-seaters, I found myself watching much more racing. That was a few years back, but it wasn’t too long ago. At the time, Dario was in the mix, and Scott Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing were fielding the Target cars, who were already claiming victories. If my memory serves me right, Scott had won around two or three championships by the time I started following closely, possibly even three.

“So yeah, it’s pretty cool.”

2024-09-19 17:32

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