How often has Honda won the first four IndyCar races of a season since the onset of the turbo V6 era?

The IndyCar Turbo V6 era that began in 2012, remains in effect, even today. It features a 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 engine, currently supplied by two manufacturers, i.e., Chevrolet and Honda.

Chevrolet dominated the start of the new IndyCar era in 2012, winning the first four races of the season and claiming both titles, with Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport winning the championship. In 2016, Chevrolet won five races at the start, with Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing contributing to the victories, securinng the Manufacturers' title, with Team Penske, as Simon Pagenaud topped the standings.

Honda joined the streak in 2020, opening the season with four consecutive wins, through Chip Ganassi Racing, as Scott Dixon led from the beginning. Honda subsequently won the Manufacturers’ title as well. Chevrolet followed with a similar run in 2022, bagging four straight victories, courtesy of Team Penske and Arrow McLaren, and went on to secure both the championships, led by Penske’s Will Power.

Honda, has only once won the first four IndyCar races of a season since the onset of the turbo V6 era. In 2025, all four victories till now have been nailed by Honda drivers. Three races have been won by CGR's Alex Palou and one by Andretti's Kyle Kirkwood, which has set the pace for this year's IndyCar manufacturer's title as Honda leads 366-284 over Chevy.

IndyCar insider makes a bid on five-time Indy 500 winner to win it again

AUTO: DEC 04 INDY 500 Winner Josef Newgarden Borg Warner Trophy Ceremony - Source: Getty

Two-time defending champion, Josef Newgarden, enters this year’s Indianapolis 500 as the clear frontrunner. However, IndyCar analyst, Nathan Brown, believes that Andretti Global, a five-time winner of the prestigious event, has re-established himself as a formidable challenger and could play a significant role in shaping the outcome of the race.

According to Brown’s analysis, for the first time since Marco Andretti secured pole position at the Indianapolis 500 five years ago, his team is positioned to reassert themselves as a leading contender for the prestigious event.

Despite demonstrating a competitive pace in recent years, their efforts were undone by misfortune. In 2023, Colton Herta was running comfortably in second place before a late-race crash that ended his bid for victory, while Kyle Kirkwood, holding a strong seventh position, was caught in a multi-car incident sparked by Felix Rosenqvist. These moments underscore the narrow margins and unpredictable nature of the Indy 500 that have kept Andretti Global from returning to Victory Lane at the Brickyard.

"Kirkwood’s comments Thursday evening, after his No. 27 Honda finished with the fastest four-lap average in high boost and second-fastest in the test’s final session, were resoundingly confident, while all three of his Andretti Global teammates spent notable time in the top one-third of the timing sheets across the two days." [via Indystar]

"It appeared last year that the team had finally turned a corner in its oval performance and execution — Kirkwood took pole at the Nashville Superspeedway season finale, with Herta winning — and this week’s snapshot only hints that that upswing has continued, headed toward the first oval race of the year," he added

The team’s entry for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500, features a four-car lineup comprising Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, Marcus Ericsson, and Marco Andretti. Widely known as 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,' the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 25.