IndyCar teams will run the final oval race and final 500 miler of the season schedule this weekend at the unique Pocono Raceway.
Juan Pablo Montoya has led the championship standings since he captured the victory in the season opener at St. Petersburg but there are two drivers that are close behind and ready to pounce.
Graham Rahal sits second overall and over the last four races has slashed the deficit to only nine points. Third overall is Scott Dixon, only 34 points back setting up a great fight to the finish.
You can make a case for any of the top three in the championship and a number of other drivers as to which one is the favorite this weekend. Montoya won after starting from pole at Pocono a year ago though teammate Will Power also looked strong before a drive through penalty for blocking took him out of contention.
Rahal has been on a tremendous hot streak with two wins, another podium and a fourth-place result in the last four races – Although his struggles on previous oval tracks are definitely a concern.
Scott Dixon was the winner at Pocono two years ago and that victory kick started his season and helped propel him to his third career title. Dixon came home fifth last year, his teammate Tony Kanaan was out front for 78 of the 200 race laps a year ago, most by any driver, but came up a little short on fuel.
All the Andretti cars are also worth keeping an eye on. Ryan Hunter-Reay was a winner at Iowa, Carlos Munoz ran third last year at Pocono, Justin Wilson was the runner-up at the race at Mid-Ohio a few weeks ago and Marco Andretti typically runs near the front on ovals.
Aerokits have been a story all season long, sometimes for the wrong reasons, and this week the great unknown is how the bodywork will affect the speed of the cars and the ability to draft and pass. That’s vitally important for this race that has seen plenty of green flag action. Of the 400 total race laps in the last two seasons there were 12 laps of yellow in 2013 and only six last year.
Pocono Raceway is referred to as the “Tricky Triangle” due to its unique configuration with three distinct and unique corners. The car set up is a balance of compromise, it won’t be perfect but you need to be able to handle all three corners.
The front stretch is also very wide and you’ll see cars fan out three, four or even five wide looking to gain spots.
As mentioned before Power was penalized for blocking in last year’s race. Earlier this year, at Fontana, drivers were looking behind them as much as in front trying to protect their position and no blocking penalties were called. Will we see the same “see no evil” approach be used by officials here?
What we should expect is all drivers fighting as hard as they can to grab that title. It’s not possible to clinch this weekend, but with a good result you can certainly improve your chances heading into the season finale at Sonoma.
