Robb all-in on IndyCar move for 2023

Sting Ray Robb is going all-in on making the leap to the NTT IndyCar Series.

With multiple offers to ponder, the Indy Lights championship runner-up has decided there’s no value in returning for a third season on the top step of the Road To Indy. Fortunate to possess solid sponsorship support, the 21-year-old is focused on finding an IndyCar home to build upon after rallying to close the Lights season with a pole, win, and second-place finish in Laguna Seca and the championship.

“Coming into the last race of the year, we were working on a situation where we were going to stick to Lights as the A Plan and then keep working for the future on IndyCar as the B Plan, but we got to a point in conversations with teams where it was best to switch those plans,” Robb told RACER.

“It changed with wanting to commit to doing IndyCar because our stock value went up with the race win and second the championship. So it worked out well. I think God has his hand on the timing a little bit, and we are where we’re supposed to be at the moment. We’re working hard to get a deal done for next year.”

The Idahoan made the jump to Indy Lights with Juncos Racing after winning the Indy Pro 2000 championship with the team in 2020 and placed eighth in the standings at the end of his rookie campaign. Changing to the Andretti Autosport outfit, his sophomore year saw Robb emerge as top best driver behind Lights champion Linus Lundqvist after standing on the podium eight times from 14 races.

Having spent a half-day in an Andretti IndyCar at Mid-Ohio in July, Robb is looking to test with one or two other teams in the coming months before deciding which offer to take.

“I’ve got three opportunities available at the moment,” he said. “I have a test coming up in October 12, and then perhaps another test with a different team in November, and then we’ll see what happens from there. But I think in the next few weeks, it’ll be pretty rapid on what’s being chased down.”

Few full-season seats remain available for young drivers to secure, but there are a number of part-time possibilities, most notably with road and street course seats, that remain for the likes of Robb and others searching to find ways into the series.

“I don’t think [a part-time ride] would be a bad thing at all,” Robb said. “The goal is longevity in IndyCar and I want to make a splash, obviously, like any driver would with whatever team they enter the series with. So we’re in a position right now where we have a variety of options available, not just on which team to go with, but what kind of driving opportunity I’m going to be in, and some of those are part-time rides.

“I think that it’s very reasonable to consider a part-time ride if that’s the best situation. I’m a young driver and I finished second in the championship; I’m not a I’m not as hot of a commodity as Linus is, but I’m a young American driver in an American series and this is where I want to be.”