With just three races remaining until the Astor Cup is awarded in Monterrey, a staggering 10 drivers are still mathematically in the hunt for the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series championship.
Who needs playoffs?
While consistent front-runners Will Power, Scott Dixon and Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson are most likely to claim the championship, with a maximum of 54 points per race up for grabs (win, pole position, most laps led) and a minimum of five, (25th-place finish) everyone down to 10th-place Colton Herta could still technically still lift the trophy in Laguna Seca.
So let’s run down the championship contenders as they stand.
1. Will Power – Team Penske No. 12 Chevy
– One win (Detroit), 10 top fives, 10 top 10s, 450 points (championship leader)
The 2014 series champion made headlines early in the season for a string of poor qualifying results, but turned it around with a NTT P1 Award sweep in the Iowa doubleheader to move within one pole of Mario Andretti’s all-time record.
No matter where he starts, the Aussie has been “Penske Perfect” on race days, winning Belle Isle’s final IndyCar race from 16th on the grid and only missing the top ten on four occasions. Consistent top-five finishes (and a 50% podium rate) leave the veteran driver with a narrow eight-point edge on Dixon.
2. Scott Dixon – Chip Ganassi Racing No. 9 Honda
– Two wins (Toronto, Nashville), eight top fives, 13 top 10s, 444 points (-80)
Despite Power’s best effort, no IndyCar driver will ever be as consistent as Dixon. ‘The Iceman’ has only missed the top 10 once this season, after a pit road speeding penalty brought an unfortunate end to a dominant run in the Indy 500.
Ranked just sixth in the standings after round nine at Mid-Ohio, two street-course wins in the next five races have brought Dixon well and truly into the hunt to tie AJ Foyt’s record of seven IndyCar titles.
With just three races to go and a ten-point difference between first and second place alone, it’s anyone’s championship at the moment, and the Kiwi is no stranger to down-to-the-wire battles. His fourth title came via tiebreaker with Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya in 2015.
3. Marcus Ericsson – Chip Ganassi Racing No. 8 Honda
– One win (Indianapolis 500), five top 5s, 10 top 10s, 438 points (-12)
The ‘sneaky Swede’ launched himself into the championship conversation with an emotional double-points win at the Brickyard, jumping from eighth to first in the title…
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