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