Today’s question: Formula One veteran Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher, is one of the higher-profile rookies to enter the INDYCAR SERIES in recent years, as he will race full time with Rahal Letterman Lanigan in 2026. Which driver had the most compelling story entering their rookie season in the series in your memory?
Curt Cavin: We’ll begin with the most intriguing INDYCAR rookie ever, as no one compares to Nigel Mansell in 1993. Simply put, you can’t imagine the interest in the reigning Formula One champion coming to this series unless you were there to see it. Remember Fernando Alonso’s intrigue at Indy in 2017? Multiply that by 10, especially from an international media coverage standpoint. Mansell (photo, top) had been a top F1 driver for a decade, finishing second in the standings three times before capturing the title in 1992. That year, he won the first five races of the year, a record that went unmatched until Michael Schumacher in 2004. Ready for a new challenge, the global superstar took the Newman/Haas seat vacated by Michael Andretti’s move to F1, and he delivered in a mind-boggling way. He won the season-opening race in Surfers Paradise from the pole – no rookie had ever done that – and he might have led the series wire to wire if not for missing the second race, at Phoenix, due to a back injury suffered in a crash in practice. The rear-first impact was so severe that it knocked a hole in Turn 2’s concrete wall. Despite having injuries far more severe than were immediately known, Mansell returned and delivered an amazing first half of the season. He finished third at Long Beach, and he could have won Indy if not for his oval inexperience that saw him lose the lead to former winners Emerson Fittipaldi and Arie Luyendyk on the restart on Lap 185. Still, Mansell finished third after leading 34 laps, and after Indy, he won Milwaukee, won the pole at Detroit and Portland (finishing second) and finished third in Cleveland. In all, he produced five wins, 10 top-three finishes, seven poles and 603 laps led in his 15 races to become the first and still only driver to hold the F1 and INDYCAR titles simultaneously. That’s a first year like we’ll never see again, and in my mind it gets more impressive with each passing season.
Eric Smith: I know it may sound like I’m president of the Jimmie Johnson Fan Club after mentioning him in last week’s Inside Line, but he truly stands out as one of the most intriguing rookies ever to enter the NTT INDYCAR SERIES when he arrived in 2021. It’s not often the series welcomes a first-year driver with a résumé boasting seven NASCAR Cup Series championships, two Daytona 500 victories, four Brickyard 400 wins and two Southern 500 triumphs. Johnson (photo, above) brought an extraordinary level of racing success – and curiosity – to Chip Ganassi Racing as he transitioned into the open-wheel world for the first time.
Arni Sribhen: It’s certainly a headline-grabber when a big name from other series joins the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as a rookie, but for me, it’s more intriguing when a “can’t miss” prospect emerges from the development series like Colton Herta did in 2019. The son of an INDYCAR SERIES race winner, Herta (photo, above) was just 18 years old when he was named to Harding Steinbrenner Racing’s team after two championship-contending seasons in INDY NXT by Firestone. But the teenager showed he was up to the task of racing against many of the drivers who watched him grow up in the paddock. His first race weekend at Sonoma didn’t really show that he’d go on to become the INDYCAR SERIES’ youngest race winner and pole winner a year later, but it set him on the path to shine in his seven INDYCAR SERIES seasons.
Paul Kelly: Well, Curt nailed it with Nigel Mansell. Nothing compares to Mansell Mania in 1993. But Tony Stewart was pretty compelling as a rookie in 1996. “Smoke” cemented his short-track legend by becoming the first driver to win the USAC “Triple Crown” – capturing the Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget national titles in the same season – in 1995. In decades past, that kind of dominance often easily translated into success in the INDYCAR SERIES, especially before the dawn of wings and aerodynamics in the late 1960s. But this was the mid-90s, and it wasn’t a sure thing Stewart (photo, above) would make a smooth transition from the front-engine, non-winged USAC cars to the rear-engine, winged Indy Racing League cars of the time. Stewart wasted no time showing his skill, as he led 37 laps and finished second to Buzz Calkins in the IRL debut in January 1996 at Walt Disney World. He also qualified second for the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie and started from the pole after Scott Brayton’s fatal accident in practice. Indiana native Stewart broke through with his first win in 1997 at Pikes Peak and won the championship in 1998. He became the new series’ first poster boy, and his quick adaptation to INDYCAR SERIES machinery started to validate the opinion that I think borders on fact today after he won three NASCAR Cup Series titles and became a race winner in NHRA Drag Racing: Tony Stewart is the most talented, versatile American race driver of the last 35 years.
