Tag: Championship Points

IndyCar Leaders Circle and driver points heading into Milwaukee 2

By the math, with 108 points available to any driver if they win the last two NTT IndyCar Series races, earn pole, lead a lap, and lead the most laps, there are five drivers who remain in contention heading into Sunday’s second race of the Hy-Vee …

By the math, with 108 points available to any driver if they win the last two NTT IndyCar Series races, earn pole, lead a lap, and lead the most laps, there are five drivers who remain in contention heading into Sunday’s second race of the Hy-Vee Milwaukee doubleheader.

But in reality, the fight for the championship has been reduced to two with leader Alex Palou (514 points) and Will Power (471, 43 points behind). Colton Herta (88 points down), Scott McLaughlin (92 back), and Pato O’Ward (101 points shy) are within that 108-point window, but the real contest boils down to the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda and the No. 12 Penske Chevy.

Power started sixth and finished second in Milwaukee one, and Palou rolled off 13th and came home fifth. For Milwaukee two, Power starts fourth and Palou is 10th.

If Palou can push the lead to 55 points by the end of Sunday, he’s a three-time champion. If Power can take more points off of Palou, a proper battle will await IndyCar fans at the season’s farewell on Sept. 15 at Nashville Superspeedway.

For the Rookie of the Year title, the all-Ganassi duel between Linus Lundqvist and Kyffin Simpson widened with Lundqvist’s sixth-place finish and problems for Simpson that left him 25th. Lundqvist (245 points) and Simpson (157 points) have already settled the matter unless Simpson clears his teammate by 89 points between now and the end of Nashville.

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There was significant movement in the Leaders Circle race, which pays $1 million contracts to the 22 entries who finish inside the top 22 at the end of the entrants’ championship.

The No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda driven by David Malukas arrived in Wisconsin with 164 points and held 19th in the standings. It held 19th after race one with 179 points, but thanks to Conor Daly’s amazing drive to third, the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy shot from 23rd to 20th and has 176 points. If Daly can run well in race two ahead of the No. 66, it could be an anxious two weeks for MSR on the approach to Nashville.

Pietro Fittipaldi had a decent first race with the No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda, which was 21st coming into the Milwaukee weekend and 21st leaving race one with 168 points. On the bubble in 22nd, it’s the No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevy at 163 points, and on the wrong side of the line in 23rd is the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy driven by Christian Rasmussen, which fell from 22nd (160 points).

Last again among Leaders Circle contenders in 24th and 25th is Dale Coyne Racing, with the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing Honda (144 points) and the No. 18 Honda (121 points).

Points for top 12 to be discussed by F1 Commission

A proposal to expand the points structure to include the top 12 finishers in Formula 1 races will be discussed by the F1 Commission this week. Currently the top 10 finishers score points in a grand prix, with the winner scoring 25 points, second 18, …

A proposal to expand the points structure to include the top 12 finishers in Formula 1 races will be discussed by the F1 Commission this week.

Currently the top 10 finishers score points in a grand prix, with the winner scoring 25 points, second 18, third 15, fourth 12, fifth 10, sixth score eight points, seventh score six, eighth pick up four, ninth get two and 10th place receiving one.

One of the teams has proposed that is expanded so that the top 12 score points, but with the top seven positions remaining unchanged. The revision would then see eighth place receive five points, ninth get four, tenth score three, 11th pick up two and 12th the final point.

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The topic will be discussed during the next F1 Commission meeting that is taking place virtually on Thursday, but there is no guarantee on a resolution. A change for next season does not require unanimity among the teams at this stage, with six of the 10 needing to vote in favor, but the teams could also agree to analyze its impact further and take a vote later in the year.

After the Chinese Grand Prix, Williams, Alpine and Stake have yet to score a point this season, with all three having at least one 11th place.

The points system has undergone a number of revisions over the past 20 years, with the top six scoring points — with 10 for a win — as recently as 2002, and that expanded to the top eight from 2003 until 2009, still with 10 for a win. The current points were introduced in 2010, with the fastest lap point returning in 2019.