An engineering shortage is creating challenges for multiple IndyCar teams heading into the 2025 season, with experienced race engineers becoming an increasingly scarce resource in the paddock.

Chip Ganassi Racing and Juncos Hollinger Racing are actively searching for race engineers, with Ganassi needing someone to pair with sophomore driver Kyffin Simpson and Juncos Hollinger looking to fill a vacancy left by Stephen Barker's departure to PREMA Racing.

The unique demands of IndyCar engineering - managing setups for multiple oval types plus road and street courses - make finding qualified candidates particularly challenging. Teams typically follow a hierarchical search approach:

1. Looking within the IndyCar paddock
2. Recruiting from other series (IMSA, F1, NASCAR, FIA WEC)
3. Promoting internal talent (assistant or performance engineers)
4. Searching junior formulas (Indy NXT, Formula 2)

Ganassi's Mike Hull emphasizes the ideal candidate would have both IndyCar experience and racing background, noting that "engineers who have driven race cars bring a different perspective on what the driver wants from the cockpit outward."

For smaller teams like Juncos Hollinger, the challenge is even greater. Team principal Dave O'Neill explains they often must balance between experienced veterans and promising university graduates. The complexity of oval racing makes it especially difficult to recruit from other series, as engineers without oval experience face a steep learning curve.

With a new car on the horizon, teams are particularly eager to secure stable engineering talent who can contribute to development and maximize performance during the transition. The shortage highlights the growing importance of experienced race engineers in modern IndyCar competition.

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