Team Penske duo tied atop IndyCar iRacing points standings

Heading into the season finale of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge, there’s a Team Penske logjam atop the unofficial points standings.

Teammates Simon Pagenaud and Will Power are tied with 176 points through five races.

Pagenaud finished 14th at Circuit of The Americas after back-to-back victories at Michigan International Speedway and Twin Ring Motegi. The 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner lost a 13-point lead on Power, who finished sixth at COTA.

FULL BOXSCORE: Click here to see the complete results from COTA

POSTRACE REACTION: What drivers said after the COTA race

Scott McLaughlin, the Penske driver who competes in the Australian Supercars Series, is third in the rankings at 161 points after a fourth at COTA, which was won by Formula One’s Lando Norris in his series debut.

The finale of the six-race IndyCar iRacing Challenge will take place Saturday (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN) at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The 33-driver field will be open to full-time NTT IndyCar Series entries, Indianapolis 500 winners who have raced in the IndyCar iRacing Challenge and any series race winner (including Norris).

The remainder of the field for the 70-lap race will be filled Wednesday in a qualifying event.

INDYCAR iRACING CHALLENGE POINTS STANDINGS

Here are the current IndyCar iRacing Challenge standings after five of six races:

1. Simon Pagenaud – 176
1. Will Power – 176
3. Scott McLaughlin (R) – 161
4. Felix Rosenqvist – 129
5. Sage Karam – 114
6. Santino Ferrucci – 103
7. Graham Rahal – 95
8. Alex Palou (R) – 94
9. Josef Newgarden – 90
10. Marcus Ericsson – 87
11. Scott Dixon – 79
12. Jack Harvey – 76
13. Dalton Kellett (R) – 75
14. Pato O’Ward (R) – 74
15. Zach Veach – 72
16. Conor Daly – 68
16. Alexander Rossi – 68
16. Colton Herta – 68
19. Robert Wickens – 66
20. Oliver Askew (R) – 65
21. Felipe Nasr (R) – 57
22. Kyle Kaiser – 55
22. Ed Carpenter – 55
24. Lando Norris – 54
25. Sebastien Bourdais – 50
26. Scott Speed (R) – 45
27. Ryan Hunter-Reay – 44
28. Tony Kanaan – 35
28. Dale Earnhardt Jr (R) – 35
30. Rinus VeeKay (R) – 33
31. Kyle Kirkwood (R) – 32
31. James Hinchcliffe – 32
31. Jimmie Johnson (R) – 32
34. Takuma Sato – 23
35. Max Chilton – 19
36. Kyle Busch (R) – 17
37. James Davison – 15
38. Marco Andretti – 10
38. Chaz Mostert – 10
40. Helio Castroneves – 5
40. Spencer Pigot – 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. Pato 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. Pato 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. Pato 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. Pato 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)

Points earned at COTA:

1. Lando Norris – 54 (50 +4 for pole, lap led, most laps led)
2. Pato O’Ward – 41 (+1 for lap led)
3. Felix Rosenqvist – 35
4. Scott McLaughlin – 32
5. Santino Ferrucci – 30
6. Will Power – 29 (+1 lap led)
7. Rinus VeeKay – 26
8. Marcus Ericsson – 24
9. Alex Palou – 23 (+1 lap led)
10. Josef Newgarden – 20
11. Scott Dixon – 19
12. Felipe Nasr – 18
13. Colton Herta – 17
14. Simon Pagenuad – 16
15. Alexander Rossi – 15
16. Jack Harvey – 14
17. Graham Rahal – 13
18. Dalton Kellett – 12
19. James Hinchcliffe – 11
20. Chaz Mostert – 10
21. Max Chilton – 9
22. Ed Carpenter – 8
23. Tony Kanaan – 7
24. Sebastien Bourdais – 6
25. Spencer Pigot – 5
26. Zach Veach – 5
27. Kyle Kaiser – 5
28. Oliver Askew – 5
29. Conor Daly – 5
30. Takuma Sato – 5
31. Ryan Hunter-Reay – 5
32. Robert Wickens – 5
33. Sage Karam – 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 what the current standings would be for iRacing Challenge :

1. Scott McLaughlin – 161
2. Alex Palou – 94
3. Dalton Kellett – 75
4. Pato O’Ward – 74
5. Oliver Askew – 65
6. Felipe Nasr – 57
7. Lando Norris – 54
8. Scott Speed – 45
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr – 35
10. Rinus VeeKay – 33
11. Kyle Kirkwood – 32
11. Jimmie Johnson – 32
13. Kyle Busch – 17
14. Chaz Mostert – 10

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:

For the second consecutive week, Jett Lawrence had perfect results in the Pro Motocross round at Hangtown in Rancho Cordova, California with a pair of moto wins and the overall victory, only this time he didn’t have Chase Sexton, who sat out the round with a concussion, to keep him honest in the second race.

*Jett Lawrence’s performance in the first two Motocross rounds has him thinking of a rookie championship. – Align Media*

Lawrence led all 16 laps of both races after taking the holeshot in the second moto and grabbing the lead from Dylan Ferrandis in Turn 2 of Moto 1. Lawrence claimed a four-second lead in Moto 1 and five seconds in Moto 2, but as dominant as it seems on paper, there were some exciting moments during the weekend. In the second race, Lawrence wanted to build an advantage that would allow him to maintain his pace and he nearly high-sided a couple of times in heavy ruts.

RESULTS: Click here for full 450 Results; Click here for 250 Results

In his second race back from a concussion, Ferrandis finished in the runner-up spot with a second in Moto 1 and a third in Moto 2. While his finish of second overall goes into the record books, Pro Motocross points are rewarded for each individual race and that meant Ferrandis lost eight points in championship battle to Lawrence. With Sexton failing to mount up for the race, Ferrandis advanced to second in the standings with an 18-point gap to Lawrence. Equally important, Ferrandis gained ground in the SuperMotocross World Championship (WSX) points and now has a gap of 44 over 21st-place Justin Starling.

Cooper Webb is also in his second round since returning from a Supercross injury suffered in Nashville at the end of their season. Claiming results of fourth and second in the two races, Webb earned 40 SuperMotocross points at Hangtown and closed in on Sexton in the WSX battle. Sexton entered Hangtown with a large enough lead that he could not be overtaken, but he is now only 38 points up and could face a difficult decision next week at Thunder Valley in Lakewood, Colorado if he wants to hold onto his lead.

Aaron Plessinger had an adventurous weekend in which he seemed to close on Lawrence in his second race before crashing and dropping to fourth. Coupled with a fifth-place finish in Moto 1, he earned 35 points and was credited with fourth overall.

Cashing in on confidence he gained in the final rounds of the Supercross season, Adam Cianciarulo earned his first top-five of the Pro Motocross championship after narrowly missing out last week with a sixth. He earned the distinction with consistent results of fifth in Moto 1 and fourth in Moto 2.

Click here for 450 Overall results | Rider Points | Manufacturer Points

*Hunter Lawrence showed his back to the competition at Hangtown, just as he did the week prior at Fox Raceway. – Align Media*

The Lawrence brothers made history last week as the first siblings to win in two Pro Motocross divisions on the same day. Fans should get accustomed to seeing this happen with some regularity as Hunter Lawrence posted identical results in Hangtown to those he had at Fox Raceway in the season opener.

In both races, Lawrence got off to a slow start in Moto 1 and had to claw his way back to the podium. He dominated Moto 2 in both rounds to earn the overall victories.

Justin Cooper did not allow Lawrence to gain much of an advantage in the Motocross points’ standings, however. Finishing second in both motos, the earned only one point less than Lawrence. His modest showing in Round 1 of the outdoor season has him 12 points out of first in the championship standings.

Haiden Deegan scored his first moto win in just his fourth start in the series. In the first race of the day, he had to withstand constant pressure from Cooper, but when his teammate closed in on him, Deegan reached down and found a little more speed. Now that he’s won one of these races, he has his sight set on challenging Lawrence for the title. Deegan is second in the Pro Motocross championship standings with a 10-point deficit to the leader.

*Haiden Deegan scored podiums in both Motocross rounds of 2023. – Align Media*

Tom Vialle tied his career-best finish of fourth overall with a seventh-place finish in Moto 1 and a third in Moto 2. Vialle was fourth last week in overall ranking and has one fourth-place finish in the Supercross series that came in the Triple Crown format at Arlington.

Click here for 250 Overall results | Rider Points | Manufacturer Points

RJ Hampshire rounded out the top five with a pair of fifth-place results and 32 points for the round. Even though the deficit is a whopping 61 points, Hampshire climbed to second in the SuperMotocross championship standings now that Jett Lawrence has moved to the big bikes.

Jalek Swoll struggled last week and finished 21st overall at Fox Raceway. This week, he finished on the cusp of 10th in both races with a ninth in Moto 1 and 11th in Moto 2. In the SuperMotocross standings, he has a lot of ground to make up. He currently sits 49th on the chart with a 70-point gap to Chance Hymas, who is on the bubble to earn a guaranteed position in the SMX Mains for the three playoff races that will be held on September.

2023 Motocross Results

Round 1: Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence win

2023 Supercross Results

Round 17: Chase Sexton, Jett Lawrence win
Round 16: Chase Sexton, RJ Hampshire win
Round 15: Chase Sexton, Hunter Lawrence win
Round 14: Justin Barcia, Max Anstie win
Round 13: Chase Sexton, Hunter Lawrence win
Round 12: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win
Round 11: Eli Tomac bounces back with sixth win
Round 10: Chace Sexton wins, penalized
Round 9: Ken Roczen wins
Round 8: Eli Tomac wins 7th Daytona
Round 7: Cooper Webb wins second race
Race 6: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win
Race 5: Webb, Hunter Lawrence win
Race 4: Eli Tomac, Hunter Lawrence win
Race 3: Chase Sexton, Levi Kitchen win
Race 2: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win
Round 1: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win