Paul Pfanner closes his six-part series on what should come after IndyCar's IR-28. With the sport's audience growing fast on FOX, he argues the next Indy car should be an instrument of human expression, one that lets fans see the driver, for a series ready to upshift to the next gear.

Paul Pfanner is the 2026 Russo-Marvel Founders Award recipient. He dedicates it to the late Jim Michaelian — and to the reporters and editors who held the standard in the sport he dedicated his life to .