It doesn’t seem long ago Lady Gaga hatched from a Grammy egg or that “Boardwalk Empire” was the hottest thing on television. It was 2011 and, as I have come to realize in middle age, time now passes like dog years, Yes, seven years ago now feels like a single rip of the annual calendar.
Until, that is, you look back at the 2011 rookie class of the Verizon IndyCar Series. It was 14 drivers, six who drove full time. Four are still mainstays in the paddock. In the ensuing six seasons, rookie of the year James Hinchcliffe, eventual series champion Simon Pagenaud (who for some reason was classified a rookie in 2011 even though he had a full season in Champ Car four years earlier), Californian JR Hildebrand and future race winner Charlie Kimball have combined for 397 starts, 17 race wins and 10 poles.
Now, in 2018, another large rookie class takes the baton in the latest round of the passing of the guard. So, as we head to St. Petersburg for this week’s opener, let’s get to know the rookies who will be competing:
Zach Veach: The ultimate take of persistence, the Ohioan is set for his first full go-round with the team that lifted him through the Mazda Road to Indy. Still eight months shy of his 24th birthday, it was half a lifetime ago – at the mere age of 12 – when Veach made the decision that INDYCAR was his dream.
Veach joined Andretti Autosport in USF2000. Ten top-fives and four podium finishes later, he was listed as a candidate for Sports Illustrated’s “SportsKid of the Year.” Within three years, Veach moved through Pro Mazda with Andretti and joined Indy Lights in 2013. He stayed with the team for two seasons, missed a season due to injury, then ran his last Indy Lights campaign with Belardi Autosport.
After seeing his father sacrifice his tractor pull career to support Zach’s racing career, Veach worked a variety of assignments – from driving the two-seater at racetracks to serving as an analyst on the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network – to keep himself in the forefront when opportunity arose. After two race starts in 2017, he now lands back home at Andretti for his first full season.
Robert Wickens: Let’s call him the “Deputy Mayor” of Hinchtown. Two years the junior of his Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammate, Wickens grew up racing Hinchcliffe in their hometown of Toronto. By their teenage years, the racing road forked, sending Wickens overseas with Hinch taking a North American route that landed him in the Verizon IndyCar Series. Wickens ran nearly 100 races in a dozen European series, claiming the Formula Renault 3.5 Series title in 2011. Last summer, he subbed for Mikhail Aleshin during practice at Road America. This year he gets his shot full time with the team.
Jordan King: Abdullah II is King of Jordan; Jordan King is a rookie with Ed Carpenter Racing. After running the GP2 Series in 2016, King visited the INDYCAR season finale at Sonoma Raceway, where he met Ed Carpenter among a group of mutual friends. He ran the FIA Formula 2 championship in 2017, seven years after first testing a Formula 2 car at the age of 15. He was strongly endorsed by his manager, former Indy car driver Mark Blundell, who also facilitated Mike Conway’s deal with Carpenter in 2014. That partnership netted the team a pair of wins four seasons ago, a result Carpenter would love to match with this British pilot.
Jack Harvey: Like Veach, Harvey is a tale of persistence and passion. After winning 20 percent of his 30 career Indy Lights starts, Harvey made his Verizon IndyCar Series debut in last year’s Indianapolis 500. An accident ended his day prematurely, but the Brit told me afterward, “Saying I started the Indy 500 is the greatest thrill of my life.” He started two more races later last season.
A product of the McLaren young driver program, Harvey twice finished runner-up in the Indy Lights championship. Like Veach, he has toiled in multiple capacities to keep his face in the paddock. A month from his 25th birthday, Union Jack will be in St. Pete for the first of six confirmed races with Michael Shank Racing with Schmidt Peterson.
Rene Binder: At 26, the Austrian is already entering his 16th season of competitive racing. He began karting in Germany at 10 and ran a handful of series, including GP2 for Carlin before settling in the Formula V8 3.5 series for Lotus in 2017. His Uncle Hans started a baker’s dozen Formula O1ne events in the 1970s. In 2018, Binder is slated for four races with Juncos Racing.
Matheus “Matt” Leist: The youngest rookie in the field, the 19-year-old Brazilian is coming off an Indy Lights campaign that netted him three wins, including a flag-to-flag victory from pole in the Freedom 100. He added a win at Road America and on the short oval at Iowa, giving him a versatile list of driving accomplishments in his rookie season. His skill caught the eye of Larry Foyt, who signed Leist to pair with countryman Tony Kanaan for AJ Foyt Racing.
Zachary Claman De Melo: One of the more underappreciated efforts of the 2017 season finale, Claman De Melo finished 17th after starting 21st in his Verizon IndyCar Series debut. In a one-off effort for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, the Canadian ran strong laps and impressed enough to land a ride with Dale Coyne Racing that he will share with fellow rookie Pietro Fittipaldi in 2018. Just five months older than Leist, Claman De Melo made his Indy Lights debut at the age of 17. He scored a trio of Indy Lights podiums a year ago, including a win at Road America.
I’ll see ya in St. Pete. Be sure to say hi.
(Veteran broadcaster Jake Query is a member of the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network team and offers his musings regularly on IndyCar.com.)