Here are the (unofficial) IndyCar iRacing points after Motegi

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.

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.

Even in a virtual racing series, Team Penske remains at the top of their game. Simon Pagenaud, who won at Twin Ring Motegi and Michigan International Speedway, moved into the top spot in the standings after back-to-back victories.

Pagenaud’s teammates Will Power and Scott McLaughlin (who won at Barber Motorsports Park), are second and third, respectfully.

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 four of six races:

1. Simon Pagenaud – 160
2. Will Power – 147
3. Scott McLaughlin (R) – 129
4. Sage Karam – 109
5. Felix Rosenqvist – 94
6. Graham Rahal – 82
7. Santino Ferrucci – 73
8. Alex Palou (R) – 71
9. Josef Newgarden – 70
10. Zach Veach – 67
11. Dalton Kellett (R) – 63
11. Conor Daly – 63
11. Marcus Ericsson – 63
14. Jack Harvey – 62
15. Robert Wickens – 61
16. Oliver Askew (R) – 60
16. Scott Dixon – 60
18. Alexander Rossi – 53
19. Colton Herta – 51
20. Kyle Kaiser – 50
21. Ed Carpenter – 47
22. Scott Speed (R) – 45
23. Sebastien Bourdais – 44
24. Felipe Nasr (R) – 39
25. Ryan Hunter-Reay – 39
26. Dale Earnhardt Jr (R) – 35
27. Patricio O’Ward (R) – 33
28. Kyle Kirkwood (R) – 32
28. Jimmie Johnson (R) – 32
30. Tony Kanaan – 28
31. James Hinchcliffe – 21
32. Takuma Sato – 18
33. Kyle Busch (R) – 17
34. James Davison – 15
35. Max Chilton – 10
35. Marco Andretti – 10
37. Rinus VeeKay (R) – 7
38. Helio Castroneves – 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

Points earned at Motegi:

1. Simon Pagenuad – 51 (+1 for leading a lap)
2. Scott Dixon – 41 (+1 for leading a lap)
3. Will Power – 38 (+1 for leading a lap, +2 for leading the most laps)
4. Marcus Ericsson – 33 (+1 for leading a lap)
5. Robert Wickens – 32 (+1 for leading a lap, +1 for winning pole)
6. Jack Harvey – 29 (+1 for leading a lap)
7. Sage Karam – 27 (+1 for leading a lap)
8. Zach Veach – 25 (+1 for leading a lap)
9. Santino Ferrucci – 22
10. Graham Rahal – 20
11. Conor Daly – 19
12. Takuma Sato – 18
13. Kyle Busch – 17
14. Felix Rosenqvist – 16
15. Josef Newgarden – 16 (+1 for leading a lap)
16. Ryan Hunter-Reay – 14
17. Ed Carpenter – 13
18. Colton Herta – 12
19. Dalton Kellett – 11
20. Sebastien Bourdais – 10
21. Oliver Askew – 10 (+1 for leading a lap)
22. Alex Palou – 8
23. Rinus VeeKay – 7
24. Scott McLaughlin – 6
25. Marco Andretti – 5
26. Patricio O’Ward – 5
27. Kyle Kaiser – 5
28. Alexander Rossi – 5
29. Helio Castroneves – 5
30. Tony Kanaan – 5
31. Felipe Nasr – 5
32. Max Chilton – 5
33. James Hinchcliffe – 0 (Did not start)

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 – 129
2. Alex Palou – 71
3. Dalton Kellett – 63
4. Oliver Askew – 60
5. Scott Speed – 45
6. Felipe Nasr – 39
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr – 35
8. Patricio O’Ward – 33
9. Kyle Kirkwood – 32
9. Jimmie Johnson – 32
11. Kyle Busch – 17
12. Rinus VeeKay – 7

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 – 389
2. Honda – 266

INDIANAPOLIS – Alex Palou had not turned a wheel wrong the entire Month of May at the Indy 500 until Rinus VeeKay turned a wheel into the Chip Ganassi Racing pole-sitter leaving pit road on Lap 94.

“There is nothing I could have done there,” Palou told NBC Sports. “It’s OK, when it is my fault or the team’s fault because everybody makes mistakes. But when there is nothing, you could have done differently there, it feels bad and feels bad for the team.”

Marcus Ericsson was a master at utilizing the “Tail of the Dragon” move that breaks the draft of the car behind him in the closing laps to win last year’s Indianapolis 500. On Sunday, however, the last of three red flags in the final 16 laps of the race had the popular driver from Sweden breathing fire after Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden beat him at his own game on the final lap to win the Indianapolis 500.

Despite the two disappointments, team owner Chip Ganassi was seen on pit road fist-bumping a member on his four-car team in this year’s Indianapolis 500 after his drivers finished second, fourth, sixth and seventh in the tightly contested race.

Those are pretty good results, but at the Indianapolis 500, there is just one winner and 32 losers.

“There is only one winner, but it was a hell of a show,” three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and Chip Ganassi Racing consultant Dario Franchitti told NBC Sports. “Alex was very fast, and he got absolutely caught out in somebody else’s wreck. There was nothing he could have done, but he and the 10 car, great recovery.

“Great recovery by all four cars because at half distance, we were not looking very good.”

After 92 laps, the first caution flew for Sting Ray Robb of Dale Coyne Racing hitting the Turn 1 wall.

During pit stops on Lap 94, Palou had left his stall when the second-place car driven by VeeKay ran into him, putting Palou’s Honda into the wall. The car sustained a damaged front wing, but the Chip Ganassi crew was able to get him back in the race on the lead lap but in 28^th position.

Palou ultimately would fight his way to a fourth-place finish in a race the popular Spaniard could have won. His displeasure with VeeKay, whom he sarcastically called “a legend” on his team radio after the incident, was evident.

“The benefit of being on pole is you can drive straight and avoid crashes, and he was able to crash us on the side on pit lane, which is pretty tough to do, but he managed it,” Palou told NBC Sports. “Hopefully next year we are not beside him. Hopefully, next year we have a little better luck.”

Palou started on the pole and led 36 laps, just three fewer than race leader Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren Racing.

“We started really well, was managing the fuel as we wanted, our car was pretty good,” Palou said. “Our car wasn’t great, we dropped to P4 or P5, but we still had some good stuff.

“On the pit stop, the 21 (VeeKay) managed to clip us. Nothing we could have done there. It was not my team’s fault or my fault.

“We had to drop to the end. I’m happy we made it back to P4. We needed 50 more laps to make it happen, but it could have been a lot worse after that contact.

“I learned a lot, running up front at the beginning and in mid-pack and then the back. I learned a lot.

“It feels amazing when you win it and not so good when things go wrong. We were a bit lucky with so many restarts at the end to make it back to P4 so I’m happy with that.”

Palou said the front wing had to be changed and the toe-in was a bit off, but he still had a fast car.

In fact, his Honda was the best car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway all month. His pole-winning four lap average speed of 234.217 miles per hour around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a record for this fabled race.

Palou looked good throughout the race, before he had to scratch and claw and race his way back to the top-five after he restarted 28^th.

In the Indianapolis 500, however, the best car doesn’t always win.

“It’s two years in a row that we were leading the race at the beginning and had to drop to last,” Palou said. “Maybe next year, we will start in the middle of the field and go on to win the race.

“I know he didn’t do it on purpose. It’s better to let that pass someday.”

Palou said the wild racing at the end was because the downforce package used in Sunday’s race means the drivers have to be aggressive. The front two cars can battle for the victory, but cars back in fourth or fifth place can’t help determine the outcome of the race.

That is when the “Tail of the Dragon” comes into the play.

Franchitti helped celebrate Ericsson’s win in 2022 with his “Tail of the Dragon” zigzag move – something he never had to do in any of his three Indianapolis 500 victories because they all finished under caution.

In 2023, however, IndyCar Race Control wants to make every attempt to finish the race under green, without going past the scheduled distance like NASCAR’s overtime rule.

Instead of extra laps, they stop the race with a red flag, to create a potential green-flag finish condition.

“You do what you have to do to win within the rules, and it’s within the rules, so you do it,” Franchitti said. “The race is 200 laps and there is a balance.

“Marcus did a great job on that restart and so did Josef. It was just the timing of who was where and that was it.

“If you knew it was going to go red, you would have hung back on the lap before.

“Brilliant job by the whole Ganassi organization because it wasn’t looking very good at half-distance.

“Full marks to Josef Newgarden and Team Penske.”

Franchitti is highly impressed by how well Ericsson works with CGR engineer Brad Goldberg and how close this combination came to winning the Indianapolis 500 two-years-in-a-row.

It would have been the first back-to-back Indy 500 winner since Helio Castroneves in 2001 and 2002.

“Oh, he’s a badass,” Franchitti said Ericsson. “He proved it last year. He is so calm all day. What more do you need? As a driver, he’s fast and so calm.”

Ericsson is typically in good spirits and jovial.

He was stern and direct on pit road after the race.

“I did everything right, I did an awesome restart, caught Josef off-guard and pulled away,” Ericsson said on pit lane. “It’s hard to pull away a full lap and he got me back.

“I’m mostly disappointed with the way he ended. I don’t think it was fair and safe to do that restart straight out of the pits on cold tires for everyone.

“To me, it was not a good way to end that race.

“Congrats to Josef. He didn’t do anything wrong. He is a worthy champion, but it shouldn’t have ended like that.”

Palou also didn’t understand the last restart, which was a one-start showdown.

“I know that we want to finish under green,” Palou said. “Maybe the last restart I did, I didn’t understand. It didn’t benefit the CGR team.

“I’m not very supportive of the last one, but anyway.”

Dixon called the red flags “a bit sketchy.”

“The red flags have become a theme to the end of the race, but sometimes they can catch you out,” Dixon said. “I know Marcus is frustrated with it.

“All we ask for is consistency. I think they will do better next time.

“It’s a tough race. People will do anything they can to win it and with how these reds fall, you have to be in the right place at the right time. The problem is when they throw a Red or don’t throw a Red dictates how the race will end.

“It’s a bloody hard race to win. Congrats to Josef Newgarden and to Team Penske.”

Follow Bruce Martin on Twitter at @BruceMartin_500