Today’s question: Which driver needs to show the most in the second half of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season?

Curt Cavin: Doesn’t it have to be Josef Newgarden? It’s been a totally forgettable season in so many ways for the Team Penske star. Imagine, he has only two single-digit finishes in nine races (a third-place finish in the season-opening race in St. Petersburg and a ninth-place finish earlier this month in Detroit). He has led just two races for a total 27 laps, and 25 of those came at World Wide Technology Raceway, a track where he had won four of the past five races. Newgarden has looked out of sorts in and out of the car, but as we know, he’s capable of getting right in a hurry and stringing together multiple wins. The short ovals to come could be just what he needs to regain momentum for 2026.

Eric Smith: It’s hard to ignore the Team Penske trio, so I wholeheartedly agree with Curt. But I also can’t ignore Colton Herta. He finished second in points last season on the heels of two wins, including the finale at Nashville Superspeedway, giving him his first oval victory in the process. It appeared he had turned the corner and was going to be a yearly championship threat. However, at the midway point, he’s 10th in points, 202 back of Alex Palou and 109 back of his teammate Kyle Kirkwood, who’s second. Herta began the season with an 8.5 average finish but slumped to a 15th-place average the last five races. He’s also led 12 laps all year. Good news for Herta is that there are some strong tracks ahead for him. He had seven top five-finishes, including both wins, in the final nine races last year. That’s why he’s on my radar to pick it up in the second half.

Arni Sribhen: As we start a critical month with five races in four weeks, before too long we’re going to start paying attention to entrant points and the entries battling for the final few spots in the Leaders Circle. For one team, that means two of its cars are going to need a big second half – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Louis Foster and Devlin DeFrancesco find themselves in a tense battle with Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Sting Ray Robb and Dale Coyne Racing’s Jacob Abel for that final spot that guarantees a seven-figure payout in 2026. Both Foster and DeFrancesco have shown potential, but both need to find consistent results to either threaten the cars in front of them in the standings or distance themselves from the rest. Add in the fact that RLL has not one but two talented reserve drivers waiting in the wings, and there might be even more pressure to deliver. RLL President Jay Frye has a motto he likes to use, and it’s time for Foster and DeFrancesco to MSH/GSD before the team is forced to the bullpen to save the season.

Paul Kelly: Marcus Ericsson. It just hasn’t worked out for the Swede at Andretti Global since he moved there from Chip Ganassi Racing after the 2023 season, has it? Ericsson finished sixth in the final standings in each of his last three seasons with CGR, with four wins, including the 2022 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. But he was 15th in points after his first season with Andretti last year, and he’s 21st this season. His last win came in March 2023 at St. Petersburg, for CGR. Consistency is the problem, as Ericsson had 12, 12 and 14 top-10 finishes in his last three seasons at Ganassi, respectively. He had only eight last year and has just one at the halfway point of this season. Ericsson is a talented driver with a proven winning pedigree in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES; there’s just something seemingly snakebit or not clicking here. Complicating matters for the Swede is that Norwegian Dennis Hauger appears to be the real deal as a future NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver by leading the INDY NXT by Firestone championship as a rookie this season for Andretti Global. That can’t rest easily in Ericsson’s mind.