2014 Verizon IndyCar Series: Our predictions

Which driver will have the most disappointing year?

PD: I don’t know why, but I’m still not getting good vibes from Josef Newgarden and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing. I want them to succeed, but unless they really show something they’ve been hiding it could be another long year against the most stout field IndyCar has seen in a long, long time.

SW: This is such a hard question to answer because “disappointing” means different things to different people and when applied to different drivers. If forced to pick one, I’ll go with Juan Pablo Montoya — not because he isn’t a world-class driver but because some people seem to expect his second coming to be like, well, the second coming, and I’m just not sure I see it happening. The depth of talent in this field is immense, and at 38 years of age I don’t see how Montoya blows the roof off the joint after eight years out of open-wheelers.

JL: I have a gut feeling that Ryan Briscoe will struggle to meet expectations at Chip Ganassi Racing this year in relation to his teammates. This will eventually lead to calls for his replacement with young gun and Ganassi development driver Sage Karam to grow louder. The pressure will definitely be on the affable Aussie right away.

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Who will win the Indianapolis 500?

PD: I’m going with either Power, Carpenter, Andretti, Hunter-Reay, Dixon, Kanaan or Castroneves. Okay, okay — Andretti. Why? I don’t know. Because it’s finally his time…?

SW: I think Helio Castroneves gets his fourth this year. Team Penske has an opportunity to claim an advantage out of the gate with an immensely talent stable and the fewest changes to endure among IndyCar’s top teams. Helio will join the four-timers’ club before his career is done, and this may just be the year he gets his chance to do it.

JL: Call it a cop-out if you will, but given the nature of racing at Indy lately I have two names to throw out. Whichever one is in second place on the next to last lap should take the victory barring a late caution, which seems to be a yearly occurrence now. I think Marco Andretti is poised to break through, and I think that Juan Pablo Montoya’s experience with drafting should help him be right up there as well. I think it’ll come down to those two and the caution flag. Past that, who can even say any more given the type of racing we get at Indy? One way or another, it should be thrilling!

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Who will be the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series champion?

PD: I’m taking Will Power. He got all of the gremlins out last season, was on a great roll in the last third of the year, and finally showed that he knows how to win on an oval when the car is working well. If — and that’s a big if — he can carry the momentum of California to Indianapolis and Pocono, or at least not lose too many points, I think he’ll be tough to beat this year.

SW: I’m sure I’ve said this before: a stopped clock is right twice a day, and if I keep picking Will Power for IndyCar champion then someday I’ve got to hit it right, right? But I believe in him now more than ever. I think we’ll see a different Will Power this year — one with more confidence and more swagger, just that little hint extra he needs to get himself over the line. And with the aforementioned advantages of relative stability at Team Penske, the timing just feels right. This one really, finally could be Will’s year.

JL: James Hinchcliffe has made huge strides each year he has raced in IndyCar, and he broke through into victory lane last year at the season opener. With that monkey off his back he went on to claim two more wins. I think that in 2014 he takes the next step and edges out Will Power and Scott Dixon for the crown.