Post-Pocono points stats in IndyCar

By Jul 9, 2013, 7:00 PM EDT
2 Comments

The IZOD IndyCar Series’ Pocono INDYCAR 400 Fueled by Sunoco marked the end of the series’ four-race run of ovals. The teams won’t have another run on one until the season-ending MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway at Fontana in October.

Exiting Detroit, Marco Andretti and Helio Castroneves were tied for the points lead on 206 apiece. Four races later, Castroneves leads Andretti’s teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay by 23 points (356-333), with Andretti 55 points behind in third.

Castroneves won at Texas to kick off this four-race oval stretch and has added top-10 finishes in the other three races. The Team Penske driver is the only driver in the field to have completed such a run on the diverse stretch of ovals: 1.5-mile (Texas), 1-mile (Milwaukee), 0.875-mile (Iowa) and 2.5-miles (Pocono).

Although Hunter-Reay and Andretti are further back, their results have not matched how well they’ve run. On pure pace, Andretti Autosport Chevrolets have been the fastest cars throughout the run of ovals. They’ve grabbed 12 of a possible 20 top-five starting positions in the four races, led 542 of 888 laps (61.03 percent), and won at both Milwaukee with Hunter-Reay and Iowa with James Hinchcliffe.

Hunter-Reay and Castroneves have scored 186 points apiece on all ovals this year, with Castroneves outscoring Hunter-Reay by eight, 150-142, in the last four races. Tony Kanaan (166), Ed Carpenter (145) and Andretti (140) round out the top five of those who have scored the most oval points this year.

Andretti, twice a polesitter in this stretch, had the hardest luck because leading at Pocono made him a victim of his own success. As he spent 88 laps in the lead, he burned fuel faster rather than those who could sit behind in the draft to save fuel and run longer. The Hondas had a slight advantage anyway.

Elsewhere in the points, Hinchcliffe has advanced four spots from ninth to fifth after Detroit, despite his first lap exit at Pocono, while Takuma Sato has, since Indianapolis, dropped from second to 10th in points.

See a comparison of where the points are now compared to where they were before this four-race run of ovals, below:

       Exiting Detroit 2, Round 7   Exiting Pocono, Round 11
1.	Marco Andretti, 206              Helio Castroneves, 356
2.	Helio Castroneves, 206           Ryan Hunter-Reay, 333
3.	Ryan Hunter-Reay, 191            Marco Andretti, 301
4.	Scott Dixon, 186                 Scott Dixon, 291
5.	Simon Pagenaud, 177              James Hinchcliffe, 272
6.	Takuma Sato, 175                 Tony Kanaan, 271
7.	Justin Wilson, 169               Simon Pagenaud, 269
8.	Tony Kanaan, 160                 Justin Wilson, 253
9.	James Hinchcliffe, 154           Will Power, 243
10.	Charlie Kimball, 149             Takuma Sato, 241

IndyCar Power Rankings: Pato O’Ward moves to the top entering Texas Motor Speedway

By Mar 29, 2023, 6:00 AM EDT
0 Comments

The NBC Sports IndyCar power rankings naturally were as jumbled as the action on the streets of St. Petersburg after a chaotic opener to the 2023 season.

Pato O’Ward, who finished second because of an engine blip that cost him the lead with a few laps remaining, moves into the top spot ahead of St. Pete winner Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi, who finished fourth in his Arrow McLaren debut. Scott Dixon and St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who led 31 laps) rounded out the top five.

St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who started first at St. Pete after capturing his second career pole position) Callum Ilott (a career-best fifth) and Graham Rahal entered the power rankings entering the season’s second race.

Three drivers fell out of the preseason top 10 after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – including previously top-ranked Josef Newgarden, who finished 17th after qualifying 14th.

Heading into Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through the first of 17 races this year (with previous preseason rankings in parenthesis):

NBC Sports’ IndyCar Power Rankings

1. Pato O’Ward (5) – If not for the dreaded “plenum event” in the No. 5 Chevrolet, the Arrow McLaren driver is opening the season with a victory capping a strong race weekend.

2. Marcus Ericsson (7) – He might be the most opportunistic driver in IndyCar, but that’s because the 2022 Indy 500 winner has become one of the series’ fastest and most consistent stars.

3. Alexander Rossi (10) – He overcame a frustrating Friday and mediocre qualifying to open his Arrow McLaren career with the sort of hard-earned top five missing in his last years at Andretti.

4. Scott Dixon (3) – Put aside his opening-lap skirmish with former teammate Felix Rosenqvist, and it was a typically stealthily good result for the six-time champion.

5. Romain Grosjean (NR) – The St. Petersburg pole-sitter consistently was fastest on the streets of St. Petersburg over the course of the race weekend, which he couldn’t say once last year.

6. Scott McLaughlin (6) – Easily the best of the Team Penske drivers before his crash with Grosjean, McLaughlin drove like a legitimate 2023 championship contender.

7. Callum Ilott (NR) – A quietly impressive top five for the confident Brit in Juncos Hollinger Racing’s first race as a two-car team. Texas will be a big oval litmus test.

8. Graham Rahal (NR) – Sixth at St. Pete, Rahal still has the goods on street courses, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan remains headed in the right direction.

9. Alex Palou (4) – He seemed a step behind Ericsson and Dixon in the race after just missing the Fast Six in qualifying, but this was a solid start for Palou.

10. Will Power (2) – An uncharacteristic mistake that crashed Colton Herta put a blemish on the type of steady weekend that helped him win the 2022 title.

Falling out (last week): Josef Newgarden (1), Colton Herta (8), Christian Lundgaard (9)