IndyCar results and points standings after Portland

IndyCar results and points after Portland: The NTT IndyCar Series will enter the Sept. 11 season finale at WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway with its closest championship battle in 19 years.

There are 41 points separating the five drivers who remain eligible for the championship. Will Power leads the standings by 20 points over Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon with Marcus Ericsson (minus-39 points) and Grand Prix of Portland winner Scott McLaughlin (-41) also in the hunt.

There was a 30-point spread from first to fifth entering the 2003 Indy Racing League finale (Dixon won his first championship by 18 points over Gil De Ferran).

McLaughlin won from the pole position Sunday at Portland as Alex Palou (12th) and Pato O’Ward (fourth) were eliminated from championship contention.

Here are the IndyCar results and points standings Sunday after the Grand Prix of Portland:

RESULTS

Click here for the official box score from the 110-lap race on a 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course in Portland, Oregon. Click here for the lap leader summary.

Here is the finishing order in the Grand Prix of Portland with starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (1) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 110, Running
2. (2) Will Power, Chevrolet, 110, Running
3. (16) Scott Dixon, Honda, 110, Running
4. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 110, Running
5. (11) Graham Rahal, Honda, 110, Running
6. (7) Colton Herta, Honda, 110, Running
7. (9) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 110, Running
8. (8) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 110, Running
9. (14) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 110, Running
10. (6) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 110, Running
11. (18) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 110, Running
12. (4) Alex Palou, Honda, 110, Running
13. (13) Kyle Kirkwood, Chevrolet, 110, Running
14. (10) David Malukas, Honda, 110, Running
15. (17) Jack Harvey, Honda, 110, Running
16. (24) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 110, Running
17. (21) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 110, Running
18. (22) Takuma Sato, Honda, 110, Running
19. (15) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 110, Running
20. (12) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 110, Running
21. (3) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 110, Running
22. (25) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 109, Running
23. (19) Simon Pagenaud, Honda, 100, Running
24. (23) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 82, Contact
25. (20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 67, Mechanical

Winner’s average speed: 111.493 mph. Time of race: 01:56:15.6892. Margin of victory: 1.1792 seconds. Cautions: 1 for 4 laps. Lead changes: 9 among 4 drivers. Lap Leaders: McLaughlin 1-20, Lundgaard 21, Rahal 22, Ilott 23, McLaughlin 24-47, Power 48, Rahal 49, McLaughlin 50-78, Power 79, McLaughlin 80-110.

POINTS

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

Here are the points standings after 16 of 17 races this season:

Top 10 in points: Power 523, Newgarden 503, Dixon 503, Ericsson 484, McLaughlin 482, Palou 457, O’Ward 456, Herta 362, Rossi 361, Rosenqvist 360.

Rest of the standings: Rahal 333, VeeKay 315, Grosjean 302, Pagenaud 301, Lundgaard 293, Malukas 288, Daly 261, Castroneves 252, Sato 251, Ilott 213, Johnson 200, Harvey 199, DeFrancesco 191, Kirkwood 174, Kellett 128, Tony Kanaan 78, Ed Carpenter 75, Santino Ferrucci 71, Tatiana Calderon 58, JR Hildebrand 53, Juan Pablo Montoya 44, Simona De Silvestro 26, Marco Andretti 17, Sage Karam 14, Stefan Wilson 10.

Ryan Hunter-Reay was named to replace Conor Daly in Ed Carpenter Racing’s No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet, starting in the NTT IndyCar Series event next week at Road America.

Hunter-Reay is the 2012 series champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner. He finished 11th for Dreyer & Reinbold last month in the 107th Indy 500, his first start since the 2021 season finale. He drove full time for Andretti Autosport from 2010-21.

“We need to improve our competitiveness and I wanted to add a fresh perspective from a driver like Ryan who has a massive amount of experience and success as well as a reputation as a team leader. I am excited to welcome Ryan to the team,” team owner Ed Carpenter said in a team release. “We have worked together in the past as teammates and he tested for ECR at Barber Motorsports Park in October 2021, where he made an immediate impact as we were able to qualify one of our cars on the pole following that test. I am confident that his experience and technical abilities will be an asset to ECR as we move forward toward our goals as a team.”

Hunter-Reay has 18 IndyCar victories, most recently in 2018. He also is a winner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, having been a part of winning entries in the 2020 Twelve Hours of Sebring and 2018 Petit Le Mans. Last year, he was an endurance driver for Cadillac Racing while being on standby for Chip Ganassi Racing.

He replaces Daly, whose departure was announced a day earlier in what the driver and team said was a mutual decision.

“I was surprised when I got the call from Ed,” Hunter-Reay said in a team release. “He described how frustrated he was that his team has not been able to realize its potential despite their efforts, investments, as well as technical and personnel changes over the past few years and asked for my help. Ed and I are very close friends and have been for a long time. I’ve worked with the team in the past and they are a very talented group with high expectations and a committed partner in BITNILE.COM.

“This will certainly be a challenge for me as well. It’s a tough situation jumping in a car in the middle of the season without any testing in what I believe to be the most competitive series in the world. Certainly, part of my motivation in saying ‘yes’ to Ed is the great challenge ahead. The last time I turned right driving an NTT IndyCar Series car was in October of 2021 with this team at Barber. However, I remain very confident in both my driving and technical abilities and believe by working with the talented people at ECR and Team Chevy, while representing BITNILE.COM, we will make progress. I am going to do everything I can do to help the team achieve its long-term objectives.”

Said Milton “Todd” Ault, the chairman of sponsor BitNile.com: “It is great for BitNile.com to be aligned with an Indy 500 Winner and an NTT IndyCar Series champion. I have followed Ryan’s career for years and I am confident he will challenge the entire ECR team to perform at higher levels. I wish everyone luck at Road America.”

IndyCar results, points after Portland

Ryan Hunter-Reay hired as replacement for Conor Daly at Ed Carpenter Racing