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IndyCar: Team Power Rankings after St. Petersburg – Dale Coyne Racing start out strong

By Asher Fair

FORT WORTH, TX - JUNE 09: Tristan Vautier, driver of the #18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda, leads Ed Jones, driver of the #19 Boy Scouts of America Honda, during practice for the Verizon IndyCar Series Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX - JUNE 09: Tristan Vautier, driver of the #18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda, leads Ed Jones, driver of the #19 Boy Scouts of America Honda, during practice for the Verizon IndyCar Series Rainguard Water Sealers 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 9, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images) /
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With the first race of the 2018 IndyCar season in St. Petersburg officially in the books, which teams rank where in the team power rankings?

For the second consecutive year, Sebastien Bourdais opened up a new IndyCar season in style with a victory in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

For the second straight season, Bourdais did so driving the #18 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing, giving the team a victory for the second straight season. They have not won a race in consecutive seasons since winning a race in the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons.

The late Justin Wilson won in Texas for the team in the 2012 season before Mike Conway won in Belle Isle for the team in the 2013 season and Carlos Huertas won a race on pit strategy in Houston for the team in the 2014 season.

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Also for the second straight season, Bourdais won the race after using a pit strategy that was different from the strategies of the drivers who started the 110-lap race around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street course toward the front of the field. He started the race in 14th place. Last season, he won the race after starting back in last place (21st).

With Dale Coyne Racing being a two-car full-time team with just one drivers, only Bourdais is factored into the formula that calculates this year’s IndyCar Team Power Rankings. Part-time driver Zachary Claman DeMelo drove the team’s #19 Honda in the race en route to a 17th place finish.

For more information on how these power rankings are calculated, click here.

Here are the first IndyCar Team Power Rankings of the season following the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

IndyCar Team Power Rankings

RankTeamManufacturerLast RankTrend
1Dale Coyne RacingHondaN/AN/A
2Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHondaN/AN/A
3Andretti AutosportHondaN/AN/A
4Schmidt Peterson MotorsportsHondaN/AN/A
5Chip Ganassi RacingHondaN/AN/A
6Team PenskeChevroletN/AN/A
7A.J. Foyt EnterprisesChevroletN/AN/A
8Harding RacingChevroletN/AN/A
9Ed Carpenter RacingChevroletN/AN/A
10Carlin MotorsportChevroletN/AN/A

Biggest Movers
Up: N/A (-)
Down: N/A (-)

Non-formulated IndyCar Team Power Rankings

RankTeamManufacturerLast RankTrend
1Andretti AutosportHondaN/AN/A
2Schmidt Peterson MotorsportsHondaN/AN/A
3Dale Coyne RacingHondaN/AN/A
4Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHondaN/AN/A
5Chip Ganassi RacingHondaN/AN/A
6Team PenskeChevroletN/AN/A
7A.J. Foyt EnterprisesChevroletN/AN/A
8Ed Carpenter RacingChevroletN/AN/A
9Harding RacingChevroletN/AN/A
10Carlin MotorsportChevroletN/AN/A

Biggest Movers
Up: N/A (-)
Down: N/A (-)

Next: Top 10 most unbreakable records across Formula One, NASCAR and IndyCar

Be sure to tune into the next IndyCar race, which is the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix on the ISM Raceway oval in Avondale, Arizona. That race is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network starting at 9:00 pm ET on Saturday, April 7th.