2016 IndyCar Preseason Power Rankings

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May 25, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indy Car Series driver Mikhail Aleshin prior to the 2014 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports /

8. Mikhail Aleshin

Mikhail Aleshin is one of the question marks in the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season. It will be just his second year in the league, after a crash before the 2014 season finale at Fontana kept Aleshin out of IndyCar competition last season. But the Russian wasn’t sitting idly by; he’s been driving in the European Le Mans series, so there shouldn’t be any rust issues. And everything that he’s demonstrated so far in pre-season events shows that Aleshin has a ton of speed just waiting to be unleashed.

He posted incredibly fast times in the Rolex 24 at Daytona sportscar endurance race, including capturing the pole position. He’s also looked strong in IndyCar’s pre-season testing days so far. And for an idea of how he might do during the season, one only needs to look back to Aleshin’s rookie season. While he only reached one podium at Houston, he did still achieve seven Top 10’s, which is pretty darn good for a newcomer. Even when he came back for the 2015 finale on the same track that wrecked him, he still finished within the Top 10.

We haven’t seen anywhere near the best from Aleshin, and he’s returning to an organization he’s already comfortable with in Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. He also has a fantastic new teammate in James Hinchcliffe, who’s shown over the years that he’s very much a team player. No doubt Aleshin will be able to learn from him and vice versa, and it would not be a surprise to see Aleshin get his first victory in 2016.

Next: 7. Ryan Hunter-Reay