The IndyCar iRacing Challenge might be just for fun, but we thought it might be fun to calculate the points standings as if this were a championship operating on the same rules as its real-life counterpart.
It naturally revealed some weird twists that only could occur in the strange times brought on by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Two-time SuperCars champion Scott McLaughlin (who has yet to make his real-world IndyCar debut) leading the points standings for Team Penske?
Five-time series champion Scott Dixon (who missed the opener) ranked 31st overall?
If points actually were being kept in this virtual race series, that’s how the standings would appear through three races at Watkins Glen International (click here for results), Barber Motorsports Park (click here for results) and Michigan International Speedway (click here for results).
And Team Penske is having quite the year with McLaughlin, Will Power and Michigan winner Simon Pagenaud occupying the top three spots at the halfway mark of six races.
Just for kicks, we decided to tally the driver, Rookie of the Year and manufacturer standings for the iRacing Challenge in accordance with IndyCar’s official rules.
iRACING INDYCAR CHALLENGE POINTS STANDINGS
For the driver’s championship, IndyCar tallies points based on each driver’s finishing position, with the most points being awarded for finishing first. Additional points can be earned for winning the pole position (one additional point), leading at least one lap (only one bonus point will be rewarded regardless of how many laps a driver leads), and leading the most laps (two additional points).
Here’s a breakdown of how points are earned based on finishing position:
Here are the current IndyCar iRacing Challenge standings after three of six races:
1. Scott McLaughlin (R) – 123
2. Will Power - 109
2. Simon Pagenaud - 109
4. Sage Karam - 82
5. Felix Rosenqvist - 78
6. Alex Palou (R) - 63
7. Graham Rahal - 62
8. Josef Newgarden - 54
9. Dalton Kellett (R) - 52
10. Santino Ferrucci - 51
11. Oliver Askew (R) - 50
12. Alexander Rossi - 48
13. Scott Speed (R) - 45
13. Kyle Kaiser - 45
15. Conor Daly - 44
16. Zach Veach - 42
17. Colton Herta - 39
18. Dale Earnhardt Jr (R) - 35
19. Ed Carpenter - 34
19. Felipe Nasr (R) - 34
19. Sebastien Bourdais - 34
22. Jack Harvey - 33
23. Kyle Kirkwood (R) - 32
23. Jimmie Johnson (R) - 32
25. Marcus Ericsson - 30
26. Robert Wickens - 29
27. Patricio O’Ward (R) - 28
28. Ryan Hunter-Reay - 25
29. Tony Kanaan - 23
30. James Hinchcliffe - 22
31. Scott Dixon - 19
32. James Davison - 15
33. Max Chilton - 5
33. Marco Andretti - 5
Points Earned at Watkins Glen:
1. Sage Karam – 54 (+1 for winning pole, +1 for leading a lap, +2 for leading the most laps)
2. Felix Rosenqvist – 40
3. Will Power – 36 (+ 1 for leading a lap)
4. Scott McLaughlin – 32
5. Oliver Askew – 30
6. Simon Pagenaud – 28
7. Josef Newgarden – 26
8. Santino Ferucci – 24
9. Kyle Kirkwood – 22
10. Conor Daly – 20
11. Dalton Kellett – 19
12. Kyle Kaiser – 18
13. Patricio O’Ward – 17
14. Graham Rahal – 16
15. Felipe Nasr – 15
16. Jimmie Johnson – 14
17. Alexander Rossi – 13
18. Marcus Ericsson – 12
19. Zach Veach – 11
20. Alex Palou – 10
21. Scott Speed – 9
22. Colton Herta – 8
23. Sebastien Bourdais – 7
24. Tony Kanaan – 6
25. James Hinchcliffe – 0 (Did not start)
Points earned at Barber:
1. Scott McGlaughlin – 51 (+1 for leading a lap)
2. Will Power – 40
3. Scott Speed – 36 (+1 for leading a lap)
4. Alex Palou – 32
5. Simon Pagenaud – 30
6. Felix Rosenqvist – 29 (+1 for leading a lap)
7. Colton Herta – 26
8. Robert Wickens – 24
9. Josef Newgarden – 22
10. Santino Ferucci – 20
11. Dalton Kellett – 19
12. Jimmie Johnson – 18
13. Sebastien Bourdais – 17
14. Graham Rahal – 16
15. Oliver Askew – 15
16. Scott Dixon – 14
17. James Hinchcliffe – 13
18. Ed Carpenter – 12
19. Zach Veach – 11
20. Kyle Kirkwood – 10
21. Kyle Kaiser – 9
22. Alexander Rossi – 8
23. Conor Daly – 7
24. Patricio O’Ward – 6
25. Marcus Ericsson – 5
26. Tony Kanaan – 5
27. Sage Karam – 9 (+1 for winning pole, +1 for leading a lap, +2 for leading the most laps)
28. Jack Harvey – 5
29. Felipe Nasr – 5
Points earned at Michigan:
1. Simon Pagenaud - 51 (+1 for leading a lap)
2. Scott McLaughlin - 40
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr - 35
4. Will Power - 33 (+1 for leading a lap)
5. Graham Rahal - 30
6. Jack Harvey - 28
7. Alexander Rossi - 27 (+1 for leading a lap)
8. Ryan Hunter-Reay - 25 (+1 for leading a lap)
9. Ed Carpenter - 22
10. Alex Palou - 21 (+1 for leading a lap)
11. Zach Veach - 20 (+1 for leading a lap)
12. Kyle Kaiser - 18
13. Conor Daly - 17
14. Sage Karam - 19 (+1 for leading a lap, +2 for leading the most laps)
15. James Davison - 15
16. Dalton Kellett - 14
17. Felipe Nasr - 14 (+1 for leading a lap)
18. Tony Kanaan - 12
19. Marcus Ericsson - 13 (+1 for leading a lap, +1 for winning pole)
20. Sebastien Bourdais - 10
21. Felix Rosenqvist - 9
22. James Hinchcliffe - 8
23. Santino Ferucci - 7
24. Josef Newgarden - 6
25. Patricio O’Ward - 5
26. Robert Wickens - 5
27. Max Chilton - 5
28. Colton Herta - 5
29. Marco Andretti - 5
30. Scott Dixon - 5
31. Oliver Askew - 5
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGS
IndyCar’s Rookie of the Year Award is presented to the top finishing rookie in the series standings. Here are the current standings:
1. Scott McLaughlin - 123
2. Alex Palou - 63
3. Dalton Kellett - 52
4. Oliver Askew - 50
5. Scott Speed - 45
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr - 35
7. Felipe Nasr - 34
8. Kyle Kirkwood - 32
8. Jimmie Johnson - 32
10. Patricio O’Ward - 28
ENGINE MANUFACTURER STANDINGS
Engine manufacturer championship points will be awarded to the top two finishing full-season entrants for each manufacturer in a race using the same points structure as used for entrant and driver points. Five points will be awarded to the race-winning manufacturer while one point is awarded to the engine manufacturer that qualifies in the pole position at all races except the Indianapolis 500 (which is not part of the iRacing Challenge anyways).
Here are the current standings:
1. Chevrolet - 295
2. Honda - 191