IndyCar results and points standings after GMR Grand Prix at Indy

By May 15, 2021, 6:30 PM EDT
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Rinus VeeKay seized command of the second half of the Indy GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course Saturday, leading the results as the latest first-time winner in the NTT IndyCar Series to shake up the points standings.

The Dutchman took the top step of an international podium that also featured Frenchman Romain Grosjean in second and Spaniard Alex Palou in third.

VeeKay, 20, became the fifth winner in five races this season after Palou (Barber Motorsports Park), Colton Herta (Grand Prix of St. Petersburg), Scott Dixon (Texas Motor Speedway) and Pato O’Ward (Texas).

VeeKay, Palou and O’Ward are all first-time IndyCar winners. Along with Herta, they’ve given IndyCar four winners 24 and younger in the first five races this season.

Here are the IndyCar final results and points standings Saturday in the GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

RESULTS

Click here for the box score from the GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Click here for the lap leader chart.

Here is the finishing order with starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out:

1. (7) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 85, Running
2. (1) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 85, Running
3. (4) Alex Palou, Honda, 85, Running
4. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 85, Running
5. (11) Graham Rahal, Honda, 85, Running
6. (10) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 85, Running
7. (14) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 85, Running
8. (5) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 85, Running
9. (16) Scott Dixon, Honda, 85, Running
10. (15) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 85, Running
11. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 85, Running
12. (19) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 85, Running
13. (8) Colton Herta, Honda, 85, Running
14. (9) Ed Jones, Honda, 85, Running
15. (18) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 85, Running
16. (17) Takuma Sato, Honda, 85, Running
17. (13) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 85, Running
18. (22) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 85, Running
19. (20) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 84, Running
20. (24) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 84, Running
21. (25) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 84, Running
22. (21) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, 84, Running
23. (3) Jack Harvey, Honda, 84, Running
24. (23) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 84, Running
25. (6) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 50, Contact

Winner’s average speed: 116.096 mph; Time of race: 1:47:08.5773; Margin of victory: 4.9510 seconds; Cautions: 1 for 3 laps; Lead changes: 8 among 5 drivers; Lap leaders: Grosjean 1-24; Palou 25; Dixon 26-27; Grosjean 28-43; Hunter-Reay 44-47; VeeKay 48-59; Grosjean 60-63; Dixon 64;
VeeKay 65-85.

POINTS

Click here for the points tally in Saturday’s race.

Through five races, here are the full points standings for:

Drivers

Entrants

Engine manufacturers

Top 10 in the standings: Dixon 176, Palou 163, Newgarden 148, O’Ward 146, Rahal 137, VeeKay 135, Pagenaud 130, McLaughlin 123, Power 118, Herta 117.

NEXT: The NTT IndyCar Series will remain at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Indy 500 qualifying May 22-23 and the Indy 500 on May 30. Click here for all the details for watching the Indy 500 coverage in May.

IndyCar Power Rankings: Pato O’Ward moves to the top entering Texas Motor Speedway

By Mar 29, 2023, 6:00 AM EDT
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The NBC Sports IndyCar power rankings naturally were as jumbled as the action on the streets of St. Petersburg after a chaotic opener to the 2023 season.

Pato O’Ward, who finished second because of an engine blip that cost him the lead with a few laps remaining, moves into the top spot ahead of St. Pete winner Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi, who finished fourth in his Arrow McLaren debut. Scott Dixon and St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who led 31 laps) rounded out the top five.

St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who started first at St. Pete after capturing his second career pole position) Callum Ilott (a career-best fifth) and Graham Rahal entered the power rankings entering the season’s second race.

Three drivers fell out of the preseason top 10 after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – including previously top-ranked Josef Newgarden, who finished 17th after qualifying 14th.

Heading into Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through the first of 17 races this year (with previous preseason rankings in parenthesis):

NBC Sports’ IndyCar Power Rankings

1. Pato O’Ward (5) – If not for the dreaded “plenum event” in the No. 5 Chevrolet, the Arrow McLaren driver is opening the season with a victory capping a strong race weekend.

2. Marcus Ericsson (7) – He might be the most opportunistic driver in IndyCar, but that’s because the 2022 Indy 500 winner has become one of the series’ fastest and most consistent stars.

3. Alexander Rossi (10) – He overcame a frustrating Friday and mediocre qualifying to open his Arrow McLaren career with the sort of hard-earned top five missing in his last years at Andretti.

4. Scott Dixon (3) – Put aside his opening-lap skirmish with former teammate Felix Rosenqvist, and it was a typically stealthily good result for the six-time champion.

5. Romain Grosjean (NR) – The St. Petersburg pole-sitter consistently was fastest on the streets of St. Petersburg over the course of the race weekend, which he couldn’t say once last year.

6. Scott McLaughlin (6) – Easily the best of the Team Penske drivers before his crash with Grosjean, McLaughlin drove like a legitimate 2023 championship contender.

7. Callum Ilott (NR) – A quietly impressive top five for the confident Brit in Juncos Hollinger Racing’s first race as a two-car team. Texas will be a big oval litmus test.

8. Graham Rahal (NR) – Sixth at St. Pete, Rahal still has the goods on street courses, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan remains headed in the right direction.

9. Alex Palou (4) – He seemed a step behind Ericsson and Dixon in the race after just missing the Fast Six in qualifying, but this was a solid start for Palou.

10. Will Power (2) – An uncharacteristic mistake that crashed Colton Herta put a blemish on the type of steady weekend that helped him win the 2022 title.

Falling out (last week): Josef Newgarden (1), Colton Herta (8), Christian Lundgaard (9)