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Joey Barnes provides his wishlist for the upcoming season in North America's premier open-wheel championship

Happy New Year, everyone!

There are 58 days until the green flag waves for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg to officially start the 2026 season for the IndyCar Series.

With the anticipation building with every ticking day until that point, it made me think over the different storylines that would simply be hellaciously fun. So, instead of predictions and attempting to be a failed fortune teller, I decided on coming up with a wishlist as the clock struck midnight.

Here we go.

Beginning with the No. 26 in 2026

The ‘New Year, New Me’ slogan has probably never felt more accurate for any driver like it does for Will Power, who takes over Andretti Global’s No. 26 Honda entry from F1 dream chaser Colton Herta.

The 44-year-old Power has an IndyCar record 71 poles, but none at the Indianapolis 500. It really is the only thing left to accomplish in his legendary career. To go a step further, it would be quite remarkable if he accomplished that feat by outdueling former Team Penske teammates Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin, along with his replacement, David Malukas, too.

While we’re on the subject of Power, we should finally get that long-awaited and forever-anticipated head-to-head fight with Scott Dixon. There is no mistaking they are two titans of the sport, but somehow they have never truly been in a proper fight for a win. Simply put, we need it.

First day of school vibes 😊 pic.twitter.com/UHAAxNV4h8
— Andretti INDYCAR & INDY NXT (@AndrettiIndy) January 2, 2026

A Proper Chase for No. 7

Speaking of Dixon, who is now officially racing royalty, literally, after being knighted by his home country of New Zealand "for services to motorsport," a real chance to be in the fight for a record-tying seventh championship (to draw level with A.J. Foyt) would be fun.

It’s certainly not for a lack of trying, but ever since Alex Palou came over to Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021 and has won four of the last five titles, Dixon has ended up fourth (2021), third (2022), second (2023), sixth (2024) and third (2025). For whatever reason, whether a pit miscue, making up too much ground after a poor qualifying outing, mechanical woes, or simply being on the wrong end of strategy, Dixon hasn’t enjoyed the same run of good fortune as his Spanish teammate.

I want to see the 45-year-old Dixon be in the championship fight and really apply pressure on Palou. It would be intriguing to see how the team dynamic would evolve with every passing race.

If nothing else, it would be a great reminder to everyone amid this Palou dynasty just how good Dixon and that No. 9 Honda have been in a career that is about to hit the quarter century mark.

Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing

A Flock of Siegels

Earlier this week, Arrow McLaren Team Principal Tony Kanaan told Motorsport.com that 21-year-old Nolan Siegel, who is entering the last year of a multi-year contract, “needs to finish in the top 10 in the championship and if not, I don’t think I can keep him.”

In a sport that is exceptionally tight, let’s say Siegel’s development takes that next step and he hits that performance level and even grabs a podium or two, maybe even a win. It would be an interesting situation as the driver market is expected to have some big names available, like Newgarden. If the performance level raises for Siegel, in many ways, he would have pulled things in his favor to have more options for 2027 and add to the drama of what has already been created.

Siegel, a 24 Hours of Le Mans winner in the LMP2 class in 2024, has the spotlight - and pressure - firmly on him. Seeing him rise to the occasion, now that would shut a lot of people up.

First Timers and Drought Breakers

There has been one first-time winner over the past two seasons, which was Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen’s stirring late charge last year at Milwaukee to beat Palou.

The stout rookies coming into North America’s premier open-wheel championship, such as Caio Collet and reigning Indy NXT champion Dennis Hauger, would bring an incredible moment if either or both reach Victory Lane, namely also for the teams they drive for in AJ Foyt Racing and Dale Coyne Racing, respectively. And don’t forget about Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher who made 43 starts himself in F1, at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL). Imagine the scenes if Mick waxed the field at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, a place his father won five times.

Mick Schumacher, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

But then there’s also a few drivers that have been close but not yet able to knock the door down for that elusive first win and find themselves in a great situation to, like Kyffin Simpon at Chip Ganassi Racing, or Malukas at Team Penske, and Santino Ferrucci has been flashing the ability to pull an upset with AJ Foyt Racing for a few seasons now. RLL’s Louis Foster also showed flashes of pace with his pole at Road America a year ago, and charging ability in a number of races. Add Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong to this list, too, after his top eight championship finish in 2025.

And on the side of former winners that haven’t tasted the champagne on the top step of the podium (or milk, at one particular race), it’s led by Graham Rahal, who last won in 2017 (Detroit). Alexander Rossi is also on the list, having not won since 2022 (IMS road course). Felix Rosenqvist has been close on multiple occasions but has yet to match his lone win from 2020 (Road America). Lastly, Marcus Ericsson is another that comes to mind, with his last win being the season-opening round in 2023 at St. Petersburg.

With a calendar that is 17 races long, it would be nice to have multiple drivers bag maiden victories, but also see a couple end their respective droughts.

The Golden Goose

The talk of a third manufacturer has gone on for well over a decade and is at the point the golden goose has been burnt to a crisp in the oven.

But for the sake of this being a wishlist, let’s assume the major overhaul IndyCar has planned for 2028, namely a new chassis with a 2.4-liter twin-turbo V6 engine, actually resurrects the golden goose from the ashes and we get a third OEM. And with that helping not stretch resources to an absurd level, Honda decides to stay in the sport.

I’ll let you entertain who would be the most enjoyable manufacturer to rival Chevrolet and Honda, but certainly there would be a few.

Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne Racing

Beer Me

It was something majestic to see the Miller High Life colors on an Indy car last year courtesy of Jacob Abel and Dale Coyne Racing.

We need more of it.

Honestly, how cool would it be if Rahal was supported by Miller Lite? Even if it happened for one or a few races in the same livery his father ran during his final seasons as a driver back in 1997-98. Hell, go break that drought, Graham, and let Miller Lite fall from the heavens like rain in the Amazon.

Level Up

There is no denying how massive FOX Sports has been to IndyCar, especially now having partial ownership of the series.

All 17 races were on network television and saw an average of 1,362,000 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, making it the most-watched season in 17 years. It was massive growth compared to 2024 when races were seen on a variety of NBC’s family of networks.

And this year, with the round at Nashville following the final of the FIFA World Cup on July 19, there’s a chance to capture millions of people who leave their televisions on FOX after the game.

It would be extraordinary on so many levels if this simple scheduling catapults interest for the rest of the year, especially if there’s a close title fight in the works, too. The possibilities could be endless if viewership rises, not only in sponsorship interest, but maybe even bolstering the schedule for the future. Oh, and it certainly couldn’t hurt the chances of that elusive third OEM.

Patricio O'ward, Arrow McLaren

Mexico

While a race in Mexico for this year won’t happen, one for the future could still be finalized. I’m not sure anyone wanted to trade Markham for Toronto when going to Canada, but at least IndyCar’s leadership found a way to keep the sport in The Land of Maple.

By now, everyone knows Pato O’Ward, a native of Mexico, is - by a wide margin - IndyCar’s most popular driver. And the fanbase is salivating over a chance to have more races beyond the borders of the United States. The constant talks of being on the precipice of having a race in Argentina, Brazil or somewhere else is as tiring as the third OEM search.

So, my last wish is that IndyCar - and FOX - finally make it happen and work through the politics and financial logistics with the promoters to take the series back to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.