With only three races remaining in the Verizon IndyCar Series season, there are still a number of outstanding drivers who are yet to win a race this year.
Ryan Hunter-Reay made it nine winners in 13 races at Iowa Speedway and if three of the below drivers pull it off in the final three races at Mid-Ohio, Pocono and Sonoma, it will set a record for number of different winners in a season with 12.
The previous mark of 11 has been set three times: 2000 and 2001 in CART, and last year in IndyCar.
So who could still bank a win in the final three races this year? We examine:
Helio Castroneves, No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet
Castroneves has two prior wins at Mid-Ohio (2000, 2001) and one at Sonoma (2008), but it’s been dry spells for both. Incredibly quick in qualifying this year, as his only start outside the top seven all year came at Milwaukee, when his team missed qualifying.
Mid-Ohio has been a recent house of horrors for him with these four starts: 15th, 23rd, 14th and 15th and these four finishes: 19th, 16th, sixth and 19th, in the last four years.
BEST CHANCE: Pocono
WORST CHANCE: Mid-Ohio
Marco Andretti, No. 27 Snapple Honda
Andretti seeks to break a four-year dry spell but he has two decent shots in the last three races to do so.
Andretti was the out-and-out fastest driver at Pocono two years ago but struggled last year… considering how strong the Hondas have been on ovals, a relative home track win for the driver from nearby Nazareth is certainly possible there. He also, of course, won his first race at Sonoma in 2006. Without any top-fives at Mid-Ohio in eight prior starts, it’s unlikely he’ll break his duck this weekend.
BEST CHANCE: Pocono
WORST CHANCE: Mid-Ohio
Tony Kanaan, No. 10 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
Follow the above two capsules and apply it to TK, as well. Despite not having had much success at either Sonoma or Mid-Ohio, good win potential exists for him at Pocono, a race he dominated last year.
For Mid-Ohio, Kanaan finally broke a miserable qualifying string last year. He qualified third, which broke a run of 20th, 16th, 18th and 19th in the previous four years.
BEST CHANCE: Pocono
WORST CHANCE: Mid-Ohio
Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Penske Truck Rental Chevrolet
Pagenaud’s first season at Team Penske has followed an abnormal career form: qualify well, but fall back on race day. Usually he’s overcoming poor qualifying efforts but this year has seen the reverse.
Still, he should win either of Mid-Ohio or Sonoma, on paper. Pagenaud won overall in Mid-Ohio in the 2009 ALMS race, did a yeoman’s job filling in with short notice for Justin Wilson in the 2011 IndyCar race, then has finished third, second and ninth the last three years. If there’s a place for Pagenaud to win, it’s there… or Sonoma, where he has finished seventh, fifth, and third the last three years.
BEST CHANCE: Mid-Ohio or Sonoma
WORST CHANCE: Pocono
Charlie Kimball, No. 83 Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
The 2013 Mid-Ohio winner has been dynamic on permanent road courses throughout his career. Oddly, it’s Pocono where he might be an even better choice, as he’s also done well in 500-mile races.
BEST CHANCE: Mid-Ohio or Pocono
WORST CHANCE: Sonoma
Takuma Sato, No. 14 ABC Supply Co. Honda
Sato’s qualified very well at Pocono the last two years but it hasn’t come through with a result yet. That could well change this year, as Sato ran strongly at the most recent 500-mile race in Fontana.
BEST CHANCE: Pocono
WORST CHANCE: Mid-Ohio
Ryan Briscoe, No. 5 Arrow/Lucas Oil Schmidt Peterson Honda
A past winner at both Mid-Ohio and Sonoma, and having banked his best finish of 2014 at Pocono last year, don’t be surprised if Briscoe steals one of the final three races. The Australian has been quick, if unlucky, throughout his fill-in role in the No. 5 car this year.
Justin Wilson, No. 25 Andretti Autosport Honda
Hard to believe but second at Sonoma two years ago marks Wilson’s most recent podium finish on a permanent road course (he also came third in Houston a couple races later). Would qualify as a surprise because the car is a part-time entry, even though the driver isn’t lacking in skill.
THE FIELD
Save for Briscoe, Wilson and Ed Carpenter, the remaining drivers from 15th on back in the points standings have never won an IndyCar race.
Luca Filippi could well spring a surprise at Mid-Ohio or Sonoma and three-time winner Carpenter must not be counted out at Pocono; the same is true for rookie Sage Karam.
But seeing any of those three, plus James Jakes, Gabby Chaves, Jack Hawksworth, Stefano Coletti, Tristan Vautier or whoever else fills out the second Dale Coyne car would qualify as a definitive surprise, highly unlikely winner.
