Who Will Be INDYCAR SERIES’ 300th Driver To Enter Victory Lane?

The race to No. 300 is on.

That statistical footnote in NTT INDYCAR SERIES history might not mean something to everyone, but it will be significant to someone when it happens. So, what does 300 represent? The number of drivers to have won races in this series.

Major U.S. open-wheel racing traces its roots to 1909, and the first recorded event consisted of three separate road races Saturday, June 12 in Portland, Oregon. Howard Covey won that first contest in a Cadillac, making him the first race winner in this sport’s history.

Interestingly, that’s the only race Covey ever won, and that race spanned only three laps. He averaged less than 56 mph.

In the years since, drivers from many corners of the globe have won races. Some have become legends. Names like Ray Harroun, Ralph DePalma, Earl Cooper and Tommy Milton in the earliest years followed by Louis Meyer, Mauri Rose, Wilbur Shaw, Rex Mays and Ted Horn. In the roadster heyday, the winners were the likes of Jimmy Bryan, Tony Bettenhausen, Rodger Ward, A.J. Foyt and Parnelli Jones.

Following the Andrettis, Unsers, Johnny Rutherford, Gordon Johncock, Rick Mears and Tom Sneva were the household names became Bobby Rahal, Emerson Fittipaldi, Arie Luyendyk, Nigel Mansell and others. In the 2000s, Juan Pablo Montoya, Gil de Ferran, Sam Hornish Jr., Paul Tracy, Sebastien Bourdais, Tony Kanaan, Dan Wheldon and Dario Franchitti reigned.

The 2026 cast featured Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Will Power, Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou and more. Eighteen of the 33 drivers who suited up this year are among the first 299 drivers to win a race in this series. The most recent of those was Christian Rasmussen in 2025 at Milwaukee.

Someone will be next.

David Malukas (photo, top) figures to be the best bet. His five seasons in the series have produced six runner-up finishes, including the past two years of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Continuing to drive for the winningest team in the sport’s history – Team Penske – should keep him challenging for victories on any type of circuit.

Malukas had four second-place and two third-place finishes this year, and he finished second in laps led with 282 laps.

Kyffin Simpson also drives for one of the sport’s elite organizations, which makes him one to watch. Simpson (photo, above) doesn’t have Malukas’ record over his three seasons, but as a Chip Ganassi Racing driver he will have five-time and reigning series champion Alex Palou and Christian Lundgaard, a three-time race winner, to draw insight from next season. Malukas and Simpson were the top two non-winners in this year’s standings.

One of the more surprising moments of this year’s 18-race schedule was Marcus Armstrong leading the “500” coming to the white flag. He put up a stellar fight with fellow Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian teammate Felix Rosenqvist over most of the final lap before seeing the eventual race winner scoot past in Turn 4. Armstrong (photo, above) then lost a three-way battle for third place with Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward. Those two drivers have combined for 20 series victories.

Armstrong was poised to win this year’s XPEL Grand Prix at Road America before a mechanical failure dropped him from the lead five laps from the finish. Next year, Armstrong will have Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher, as a teammate, and Schumacher’s second INDYCAR SERIES season figures to be stronger than his rookie campaign.

Louis Foster (photo, above) of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is another driver who nearly broke through in 2026. In the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham, he won his second career NTT P1 Award, led the first 32 laps of the race before getting shuffled back during the first pit stop and was fourth when he hit the barrier to end his race.

Romain Grosjean nearly went on to earn his first series victory that day at Markham. He led 28 laps in the second half of the race for Dale Coyne Racing before settling for his sixth career second-place finish (Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson overtook him with five laps remaining). Grosjean has not been confirmed to a seat for next season.

Conor Daly also has been on the verge of winning. He has two career podium finishes, the most recent in 2024 at Milwaukee Mile. Daly will be full-time in 2027 with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s new full-season Honda entry.

The 2027 season begins Sunday, March 7 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. All of next year’s races are scheduled to air live on FOX.