If you think the finishing results in the first three rounds of the IZOD IndyCar Series have been a little curious then you’ll likely find the first edition of the power rankings pretty interesting as well.
You won’t find four-time series champion Dario Franchitti on the list and where some of the other top drivers slot in will illustrate what a surprising start it’s been to the season.
Here’s a bit of background on how I came up with the first version which because of the small sample size of only three races, along with the unpredictability we’ve seen early on shook up the results.
First of all when I took this IndyCar gig with Sportsnet I was told there wouldn’t be any math but things haven’t exactly worked out that way. I somewhat reluctantly poured over race stats, lap charts, starting position vs. finishing result and other fact sheets with all kinds of numbers on them.
Immediately afterward I took some Tylenol for my headache.
In addition I went back over some personal notes from each of the first three races and factored in observations from the events and pre-season testing I witnessed.
So here I present the boiled down version, remember as well the first three events were all on street and road courses, there are no ovals on the schedule until Indianapolis.
1. Helio Castroneves (Championship points: 99)
Yes, an easy choice as he’s the current points leader but he’s also produced. Podium finishes in the first two events, he hung on for a top ten at Long Beach and he’s led more laps than anyone else.
2. Scott Dixon (Championship points: 89)
Despite starting near the back at both St. Petersburg and Long Beach he raced his way toward the front gaining 15 spots in both events, plus his annual second-place result at Barber.
3. Marco Andretti (Championship points: 87)
No that’s not a typo. He’s finished top ten in all three races including a third place result in the season opener. His off-season dedication to improving is showing early results.
4. Takuma Sato (Championship points: 93)
About time I put a race winner in here. Sato was the class of the field at Long Beach and has shown speed at the other events. His finish results in the other races drop him back.
5. Justin Wilson (Championship points: 81)
Consistency gives Wilson this spot. He too has managed top ten results in all events so far. Plus he managed to climb 21 positions at Long Beach for a podium finish.
6. Ryan Hunter-Reay (Championship points: 73)
The race win at Barber is why Hunter-Reay is here. Mechanical failure and an overaggressive move at Long Beach hurt him.
7. James Hinchcliffe (Championship points: 61)
Again scoring a victory is big, your first series in at the season opener makes it even bigger. Hinch was a victim of circumstances at both Barber and Long Beach so I’m not penalizing him too harshly. If it happens again in Brazil, he’ll suffer a big drop off.
8. Will Power (Championship points: 62)
Finally. Power led the first 26 laps but was a victim getting run over at St. Petersburg, forced to ease back because of strategy at Barber but never really a factor at Long Beach. The next month will be very interesting.
9. Simona de Silvestro (Championship points: 62)
The likable Swiss driver has demonstrated speed at times and needs some consistency but is off to a good start.
10. Graham Rahal (Championship points: 66)
The team finally achieved a good result in Long Beach. Rahal hasn’t qualified particularly well but gained positions at the finish in two of three races and held his spot in the other. Better results are expected going forward.
Other notables…
Tony Kanaan has also shown reasonably well but had contact ruin his day at Long Beach… Alex Tagliani has struggled with the cars handling but his determination in the races has seen him gain positions in every event… Dario Franchitti has hopefully broken out of his slump with a fourth place finish in the last race and we’ll see how he fares in Brazil. Look for him to be strong at Indy.