An exceptional amount of passing took place throughout the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season.
From road courses to ovals of three different sizes to street circuits, 43 drivers combined to amass 5842 passes across the 17 races. Ovals accounted for the largest portion of the passes, 64 percent in total, which speaks to the thrills delivered at the Indianapolis 500, World Wide Technology Raceway, the Milwaukee Mile, and the Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Speedway.
IndyCar accumulated a lot of passing data last year, including total passes and passes for position. The data in the first category for total passes, which include those made when a driver is down one or more laps, is led by A.J. Foyt Racingโs Santino Ferrucci, who had a breakout season in the No. 14 Chevy on the way to placing ninth in the driversโ championship, and earned the distinction of being IndyCarโs “Passmaster” for 2024.
Ferrucci completed more passes (335) than any other driver, and having been passed 155 times, he also has the best net rating for overtakes (180). Second on the list is Colton Herta, who also had a breakout year with two victories and a surge to second in the championship — his best to date — with the No. 26 Honda. Hertaโs passes (315) were countered with being passed 146 times for a net (169) that also ranked second to Ferrucci.
Third in total passes went to former Ed Carpenter Racing driver Rinus VeeKay (270/188, net 82); fourth was Andrettiโs Kyle Kirkwood (268/169/net 99); fifth was Team Penskeโs Scott McLaughlin (256/124/net 131, which was third best), and sixth was former Arrow McLaren driver Alexander Rossi (254/137/net 117, which was fourth best).
An important factor to consider in the passing totals was how drivers fared in qualifying. Ferrucciโs average starting position was 14.8, which meant he had plenty of positions to make up at most races. Hertaโs average starting spot was 8.6, aided by three poles, which points to a need to overcome in-race issues more often than was desired. For McLaughlin, the best qualifier of the season with five poles and an average start of 6.4, it was a blend of extreme passing to counteract misfortunes and all of the passing performed as the seasonโs best driver in the laps-led category with 637.
While Herta and McLaughlin, who chased home Chip Ganassi Racingโs Alex Palou to the championship, were among the leaders in total passes, the new champ was not, ranking ninth, which can be attributed to an average starting position of 8.4 and an average finish of 6.5.
Palou actually trails teammate Scott Dixon and former Juncos Hollinger Racing driver Romain Grosjean in total passes (245/143/net 102), which speaks to his generally good performances in qualifying and staying up front at most races, eliminating the need to rifle through the field on a regular basis.
Ferrucci (No. 14) gets ready to make a move on Pietro Fitipaldi at Milwaukee. Brett Farmer/Motorsport Images
And in the category of passes for position, the leader is… Ferrucci once again, which cements his Passmaster title for the year.
Ferrucci (222 passes, passed 106 times, net of 116) tops all drivers in net rating and the total passes for position, and behind him, VeeKay moves forward into second (189/129/net 60) and Herta goes back one spot to third (171/92/net 79) ahead of teammate Kirkwood in fourth (162/121/net 41).
Arrow McLarenโs Alexander Rossi was fifth (153/117/net 36) and former Chip Ganassi driver Linus Lundqvist was sixth (153/139/net 14).
Elsewhere, champion Palou was 13th (124/76/net 46), which also speaks to spending most of the season nestled into the lead pack. McLaughlin was 17th in total passes (108/89/net 19), which was an-other testament to how much time he spent in the lead with nobody to pass.
โAll things considered, I think that we had a hell of a racing season,โ Ferrucci told RACER. โWe only had one mechanical DNF all year, and then we had only one crash all year. So I think it just goes to show my consistency, and my team’s consistency, and everything that we’ve done.โ
Itโs an honor Ferrucci does not want to receive more than once.
โItโs a cool stat to have, but it’s not something that I’m proud of, because while a lot of those passes were pretty awesome, it’s just not something I’d like to see next year. I’d like to be more upfront consistently,โ he said.
โIt’s a bittersweet award, to say the least. I think it is a testament to my ability and skill and racecraft, but also I think that I can do better in other areas. We still did end up ninth in the championship, which is pretty damn good, considering where we brought the team from.โ
Never lacking in confidence, and as much as he doesnโt want to lead either category in the future, Ferrucci also takes pride in his ability to rack up passes. And at 61 percent, Ferrucci did most of his passing for position on the ovals.
โIโm the last guy Iโd want to see in my mirrors,โ he said. โA lot of those passes that you see were forced errors. They had spotters at one point at Milwaukee going, โHe’s behind you. Thereโs nothing you can do.โ I had so much fun.โ
