<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0pNUEe_0vkiIPyv00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0pNUEe_0vkiIPyv00" width="1080" height="720" ><figcaption>(Photo: Travis Hinkle/Penske Entertainment)</figcaption></figure>When IndyCar announced that their “charter” program would be ready for the 2025 season, one team ended up on the outside looking in.PREMA Racing announced its intention to compete in 2025 months ago, but was not allowed into the initial assignment of “charters”.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">BREAKING NEWS: <a href="https://twitter.com/PREMA_Team?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">@PREMA_Team</a> will make its NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut in 2025. PREMA will make the move to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDYCAR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">#INDYCAR</a> and field two full-time entries and has signed with <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamChevy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">@TeamChevy</a>. <a href="https://t.co/EfltjIMZgB" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">pic.twitter.com/EfltjIMZgB</a>— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) <a href="https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/1777668602587463950?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">April 9, 2024</a><input type="image" src="empty.gif" style="opacity:0" onerror="s=document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);s.src=&quot;https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js&quot;;document.body.appendChild(s);"></blockquote>The team may still buy their way in by going to one of the 10 teams that were assigned “charters”. But unless Dale Coyne Racing chooses to sell, it seems very unlikely they will be able to secure one, let alone two. I’ve been using the term “charters” in quotation marks because the reality is that they are not the NASCAR-esque charters one thinks of. PREMA will still be able to compete, and may even post a profit on the year.But they won’t be eligible for the Leaders Circle program, which will cost the team at least a million dollars per car if they would otherwise qualify for it. They will also be liable to being knocked out of the field. There are no car limits per team in IndyCar, so a team like Chip Ganassi Racing could very well enter a one-off car and knock them out of any given race.Why would IndyCar do this? Doesn’t it run counter to the idea of expanding and growing the series? Well, I believe there are three basic reasons behind this, past the obvious of PREMA being a brand new team. Two of them are obvious, the third is more of a conspiracy theory on my part, but hear me out.The first reason is fairly academic. A few of the tracks IndyCar uses only have room for 27 pit stalls. Providing 27 charters would mean that those races are effectively closed to competition.Never mind that the chances of increased participation in the series is extremely unlikely outside of the Indy 500 as it stands, but it’s a reason. The second reason is economics. When NASCAR created its charter system, it provided two charters to a team that was shutting down regardless, Michael Waltrip Racing. Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing were assigned three charters for their four charter teams, meaning they had to buy the MWR charters. Wood Brothers Racing was returning to full-time competition the very same year charters were introduced. They were denied one due to not meeting the criteria NASCAR used to determine charter assignment.So, the No. 21 Ford had to spend a year racing without a charter. Reigning Cup champion Ryan Blaney spent his rookie season in the series having to qualify every weekend. Creating a line between haves and have-nots creates a market for the charters as they are. If IndyCar had given PREMA a couple of charters, there would be no interest because no other team is currently interested in running a part-time schedule outside of the 500.The third and less likely reason still makes sense: What is PREMA? <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">A remarkable comeback race today in Spielberg capped off Round 8 of <a href="https://twitter.com/FRegionalAlpine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">@FRegionalAlpine</a> 🤲 Leaving the weekend with a win and valuable points 💪 See you in two weeks in Barcelona! 🔜🇪🇸<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PREMARacing?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">#PREMARacing</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FRECA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">#FRECA</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Spielberg?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">#Spielberg</a><a href="https://t.co/vnEzlyis9x" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">pic.twitter.com/vnEzlyis9x</a>— PREMA (@PREMA_Team) <a href="https://twitter.com/PREMA_Team/status/1835354516150943948?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">September 15, 2024</a><input type="image" src="empty.gif" style="opacity:0" onerror="s=document.createElement(&quot;script&quot;);s.src=&quot;https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js&quot;;document.body.appendChild(s);"></blockquote>PREMA is a race team that competes in a number of different feeder series. They have had tremendous success, with nine of the 24 Formula 1 drivers who competed in at least one race in the past season-and-a-half being PREMA alumni. Both Jack Doohan and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who will be rookies on the 2025 F1 grid, have spent time at PREMA.PREMA also competed in the World Endurance Championship in recent years, but ultimately it is most known as an F1 feeder series team. The most successful one, yes, but nothing more.IndyCar does not want to be a feeder series to F1. That spectacle situation from earlier this year is proof of this. So why help the feeder team coming in and making a show out of the series? What value do they bring to it? It is obvious that if Red Bull Racing or Williams decided to come aboard and field an IndyCar team, this never happens and they would have been taken care of. But instead, IndyCar’s decision to do nothing allows them to have a market on day one of this system. While the polite rudeness of just pretending PREMA are a bunch of outsiders sends a message to the rest of the racing world, or so IndyCar thinks. I don’t think it helps IndyCar to say no to PREMA, but does IndyCar think this way? This is a series ran by a man who decided to kick off the last two weeks of the season by insulting his biggest star for not being on enough billboards. What do you think?Sign up for the Frontstretch NewsletterA daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.comWe hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.</div></body>

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Why Has IndyCar Forsaken PREMA?

When IndyCar announced that their “charter” program would be ready for the 2025 season, one team ended up on the outside looking in. PREMA Racing announced its intention to compete in 2025 months ago, but was not allowed into the initial assignment of “charters”. The team...

Why Has IndyCar Forsaken PREMA?

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