Last year, Team Chevy turned in one of its most successful NTT INDYCAR SERIES seasons on record. The Bowtie scored 11 of 17 wins with the twin-turbo, direct-injected V-6 Chevy engine on the way to its seventh Manufacturer Championship since 2012, while Chevrolet driver Will Power claimed his second Driver title and the seventh for Team Chevy in the V-6 era.

In 2023, the principal players are set to return to the Chevy fold, while a former Indianapolis 500 winner has been added to the manufacturer's full-time attack.

During the middle of last season, 2016 Indy 500 winner and eight-time INDYCAR victor Alexander Rossi announced that he would move to the newly rebranded Arrow McLaren team for 2023 and beyond. The American driver Rossi brings immense speed to the Chevrolet-powered team, which was already loaded with talent before his arrival. Rossi joins Pato O'Ward and Felix Rosenqvist as the team's full-time drivers – each of whom has found plenty of success in their young careers. The Mexican driver O'Ward has won four races, while Sweden's Rosenqvist has scored one win and was named the 2019 series Rookie of the Year.

The McLaren name is one of the most famous in all of motorsports, and the pressure to perform is not lost on Rossi as he joins the famous organization.

"There's a huge amount of performance that's synonymous with the team," he said. "For us as individuals that are a part of it, it's up to us to raise our game on and off the track to represent the brand. There's a huge privilege that comes with that, but also responsibility. It's early days for me, but I'm very excited to be able to call McLaren home and look forward to pretty cool things we're going to be able to accomplish together."

In addition, this year Arrow McLaren will field a car for the legendary Brazilian driver Tony Kanaan in the Indy 500. Kanaan will retire from INDYCAR competition after the race, completing a career that included victory in the 2013 Indianapolis 500, 17 wins overall and the 2004 series championship.

"I'm not ready, but it's not a sad story. It's a really cool one," Kanaan said. "It's nice to see how many people appreciate [you], I kind of get surprised. You never think about how you set examples. You have your 15-year-old kid saying, ‘Proud of you.' You can inspire so many people, the fans. INDYCAR made me, I'm an INDYCAR driver, and I always will be."

Until proven otherwise, however, the entire INDYCAR paddock will be chasing the stout Team Penske organization and its trio of decorated drivers: Australian Will Power, American Josef Negarden and Scott McLaughlin from New Zealand.

In 2022, Will Power took home one win on the way to his second series title and first since 2014. Along the way he achieved two historic feats. 

First, Power scored the 100th victory for Chevrolet since the brand returned as an engine supplier for the 2012 season. Fittingly, he did it in the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix in the shadow of the General Motors' Renaissance Center. Then, Power qualified on the pole for the series' final race of the year at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The first-place qualifying effort was the 68th of his career, moving him into first all-time in the category.

Power, a 41-time race winner and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion is one of the early favorites for the series title once again. But his stiffest challenge may come from within his own team.

Last year, Newgarden led all of INDYCAR with five wins, with his victories coming on ovals, permanent road courses and street circuits. He won the series championship in 2017 and 2019 and finished runner-up to Power in the final standings. This year, the 32-time race winner will be as motivated as ever to score both his first Indy 500 win and his third series title.

Scott McLaughlin rounds out the Team Penske lineup. In 2022, the former Supercars Championship standout scored the first three wins of his INDYCAR career after claiming Rookie of the Year the season prior. Now, he is a legitimate contender for the championship.

During preseason testing at the Thermal Club near Palm Springs, California, Newgarden had a tempered confidence about the 2023 campaign.

"I have a high level of confidence, but I'm also very aware of the increasing difficulty of this environment in INDYCAR," he said. "You can't get too ahead of yourself. It's one of the most competitive series out there and it gets harder every year. Every year takes shape differently.

"I've said this before, but it's hard to compare seasons because they all take their own form. It's going to be interesting to see how this one shakes out, but I feel very good about my group specifically, then Team Penske overall. I think we got the best of the best."

Elsewhere within the Chevrolet camp, longtime Bowtie team Ed Carpenter Racing is set to return with American Conor Daly and Dutchman Rinus VeeKay for the full season, while American team owner Ed Carpenter will run the six oval races on the schedule as he has for many years. VeeKay has scored one win in his career, while the veteran Carpenter has three victories to his credit.

The two cars fielded by Juncos Hollinger Racing will also feature Chevrolet power as they contest the full 17-race slate. British driver Callum Illot and rookie Agustin Canapino from Argentina will be behind the wheel. The legend A.J. Foyt will field two cars carrying the Bowtie again this year as well, with American Santino Ferrucci campaigning the famous No. 14 with Danish rookie Benjamin Pederson in the newly re-numbered No. 55.

Finally, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports will provide a Chevrolet-powered car for Great Britain's Stefan Wilson in the Indianapolis 500.

In total, Chevrolet has won 106 of the 182 total races since 2012 (including four Indy 500 triumphs) to go along with its seven Manufacturer and seven Driver titles. Additionally, Chevrolet served as a manufacturer of V-8 engines in Indy car racing from 1986-93 and 2002-2005. In that time, the brand took home 111 wins, one Manufacturer championship in 2002, six Driver championships and seven Indianapolis 500 victories.

Gaston Chevrolet, the younger brother of company founder Louis Chevrolet, also won the Indy 500 in 1920, while both Louis and third brother Arthur Chevrolet made multiple starts in The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Today, Team Chevy is carrying on the brand's long legacy in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with a mix of young upstart drivers and established veterans from across the globe. What's more, today's Chevrolet INDYCAR engines help create more efficient production vehicles. The series itself is also utilizing a one-hundred percent renewable fuel for 2023, while hybrid technology will be introduced next year.

Through INDYCAR, Chevrolet is at the forefront of some of the world's most cutting-edge advancements in the automotive world, while collecting checkered flags along the way.

That sounds like a win-win.

The 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season kicks off with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, March 5. The 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 is set for Sunday, May 28, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend.

Be sure to keep watching The BLOCK for Chevrolet Performance coverage throughout the year, including all motorsports disciplines.