After a solid first season for the Dallara IL-15, the theme for Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires in 2016 is quality growth. After a hotly contested championship that went down to the very last race, with Spencer Pigot ultimately besting Jack Harvey, there’s a lot to live up to in 2016. However, with an expanded field of 16 cars and an even mix of rookies and veterans, it could be an even more unpredictable season than last. Off we go on a great voyage to try and decipher what it will all mean in 2016.

Indy Lights actually has three changes to their schedule in 2016, with Phoenix replacing Milwaukee as the third oval and Road America and the new Grand Prix of Boston joining the calendar. Once again, the entire Mazda Road to Indy will end their season with the Soul Red Finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Championship-winning team Juncos Racing will have a tough act to follow-up. Winning the championship in their first full season of Indy Lights competition was a dramatic rollercoaster of emotions. The team brings Kyle Kaiser back for his second season in Indy Lights and third overall with the squad, while young Canadian racer Zach Claman De Melo steps in to fill the large void left by Pigot’s move up to IndyCar.

Over at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, the team brings back one (and a half) returning driver, with sophomore Floridian RC Enerson being joined by newcomers Andre Negrao and Pro Mazda champ Santi Urrutia. Scott Anderson will return for a partial second season with SPM, sharing the #77 ride with Heamin Choi in 2016.

Carlin Racing came close to winning the championship with Ed Jones in 2015 after a dream start to their foray into racing stateside. Jones won the first three races of the year and finished third in the championship, and returns to the team as a favorite for the championship this season. Jones will have two new teammates as the team expands to three cars, with Felix Serralles returning to the series and moving over from Belardi Auto Racing, while Neil Alberico makes the step up to Indy Lights thanks to the backing of Rising Star Racing.

Andretti Autosport had a tough go in 2015, with a single entry for Shelby Blackstock resulting in an overall poor effort for the IndyCar entrants. After shuttering their Pro Mazda team, Andretti brings three cars to the party in 2016, moving Canadian Dalton Kellett up from their Pro Mazda effort and bringing promising British driver Dean Stoneman to the states.

New name, new ownership, new drivers, but a number of familiar faces highlight the first season for Team Pelfrey’s Indy Lights team. The team, formerly the 8Star Motorsports squad, was purchased by Dale Pelfrey in the offseason. Pelfrey has kept Gary Neal’s core group together, though, considering they were two-time victors with Sean Rayhall in a partial season effort. Scott Hargrove, who ran the opening round at St. Pete in 2015 for 8Star, is back again for St. Pete only at this point, while Colombian Juan Piedrahita is in for his third season of Indy Lights competition with his third team.

Belardi Auto Racing won the Indy Lights championship in 2014 with Gabby Chaves, and did manage a single race victory in 2015 with Felix Serralles at Milwaukee. Their chances of victory are greatly increased, though, with Zach Veach returning to the series for his third season after pursuing an IndyCar ride in 2015. Joining Veach is European Formula 3 Champion Felix Rosenqvist, who has shown tons of speed on the road courses in testing.

This field couldn’t be more wide open heading into the season-opening race. There’s an obvious boost to the crop of eight veteran drivers in the series in the second year of the Dallara IL-15. That being said, though, there is so much talent in the rookie bunch that it’s hard to tell what will happen.

Based on results from testing, Rosenqvist and Urrutia are the early pacesetters for the rookies, while Jones has been consistently at the front of the rookies. Scott Hargrove really found his pace once the series tested on a road course, placing himself at the front as well. If Hargrove can put together a full-season package, he could be a threat for Rookie of the Year. That’s not to discount the other five rookies—it’s just hard to gauge with so little time together on track for the entire field.

Ed Jones, RC Enerson, and Kyle Kaiser have been the best veterans so far in preseason testing. How everyone will fare when they get to a street circuit for the first real race weekend, though, is a different story. Carlin appeared to have a slight advantage on the street circuits last season, while SPM and Juncos were stronger on road courses. The ovals were owned by SPM on sheer pace, although they split the three victories with Carlin and Juncos.

What does it all mean? Terrible prognostication.

What will I say? It’s going to be a highly entertaining season, you can put your money on that.