Back last November came the most shocking announcement in a long time. Roger Penske had purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the NTT IndyCar Series and all of their assets. For years, we’ve been told that none of those business are for sale. Then, out of no where, not only was it sold, it was sold to Roger Penske.

At first, I was hesitant on how a current IndyCar owner would be in charge of the series as a whole. For IMS, it made a ton of sense. Penske, is synonymous with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and his attention to detail would be what that track needed. For the series itself, wouldn’t it be a conflict of interest?

Penske, vowed to not let it be. For most decisions, he’d allow the people already in place to make them. There’s a reason Jay Frye and Mark Miles and their teams were largely kept in tact. Any call that needed to be made to where Penske could have a conflict of interest, he’d allow them to make it.

The deal became official in January as the keys were handed over to Penske this past winter. Now, six months into his tenure, we’ve yet to see an IndyCar race. The entire Month of May was postponed. While the IndyCar season gets started Saturday night at the Texas Motor Speedway, most drivers believe that if the deal wasn’t made last November, then we’d have no race to watch this weekend.

“I think we have the best we ever had, to be honest,” Tony Kanaan said of Penske running the show now. “We went through very difficult times since the split. I’m not saying that we didn’t have good leadership before, but I think now, between Mark Miles, Jay Frye and then when Roger stepped in, it couldn’t be any better.

More: Fans May Soon Be Welcomed Back To Races Again

“I also have to say I don’t think we would be racing this year if Roger hadn’t bought the series. He’s putting a lot of effort in, reinvesting a lot to keep all of us together.

“To me we’re in the best hands we can possibly be in. We’re in the best hands since I joined this series, which is 23, 22 years ago. We’re in the best hands I’ve ever seen. I’m really happy about that.”

How would Penske’s biggest rival team in Chip Ganassi Racing feel? Scott Dixon, Penske’s main nemesis for IndyCar championships over the last decade, is all for it. He notes that IndyCar was already rising in popularity in the last few years and now having Penske leading the charge could take them to new depths.

“I think INDYCAR probably even the last sort of five plus years has been on a steady progression I think in times where a lot of other sports have been going the other way,” the five-time series champion said. “I think it’s definitely been good.

“I think obviously this was a weird and strange kind of timing, especially for the new ownership. I think with what Roger has been able to do in his personal life to his business life, even living in Indianapolis, driving by the Speedway, seeing updates they’re continuing on with already. Having him at the helm, whether it’s manufacturers or different circuits or racing maybe a little more internationally, I think he knows how to do it. He’s in a lot of other countries, as well. I think just his general knowledge is going to be huge.

“It’s going to be exciting. I think it’s going to be really exciting for us drivers, but for everybody involved in the series to see where this is going to go. The sky’s the limit.”

Dixon’s two second year driver teammates in Marcus Ericsson and Felix Rosenqvist agree. They’re new to this type of racing as they spent most of their backgrounds racing overseas. So, they have a unique perspective on this purchase and say that IndyCar racing is growing in Europe still.

“The feeling I get overall is that INDYCAR is on a good path right now,” Rosenqvist said. “There’s a lot of talk about it. It seems like it has a peak in terms of popularity that we haven’t seen for a while. It’s probably been like two or three of those peaks in the last 30 years. This is definitely one of them.

“Maybe also back in Europe, there’s a lot more talk. Obviously me and Marcus coming into the series, back home in Sweden, I think it’s actually more popular than F1 now. Think the world is kind of getting to know more about it.

“I think also with Roger coming in, it seems to be a more aggressive mindset going forward. I’ve only seen positive things so far. Let’s see when we get going what more things we can do and progress with.”

Ericsson, concurs.

“I really agree there with Felix. I think the series is moving in the right direction, gaining momentum all the time. I think especially being from Europe, knowing that European racing scene, I really feel and believe that INDYCAR is growing more and more over in Europe as well, gaining more interest, more followers, more drivers that’s looking at INDYCAR and the American racing scene. It really feels like the momentum is going in the right direction for the series.

“Also with Roger taking over, as well, I think it’s been another thing that’s been very positive. I think the series is going very much in the right direction.

“I think just from a personal view to be able to go back and do a race in Europe or somewhere else in the world I think would be even more to grow the interest for the series. I think that will be another step in the right direction.”

Now, they get a spotlight all to themselves this weekend. The Genesys 300 (8 p.m. ET, NBC, INDYCAR Radio Network) will be on primetime TV on network television at that, running during the midst of a world wide pandemic. Most places still aren’t open yet and even if they are, they’re at limited capacity. A majority of the folks are still hunkering down at home and without much live TV available, an IndyCar race on NBC feeds that appetite for normalcy.

Saturday night will lead the charge for IndyCar’s growth forward.