IndyCar: Why Spencer Pigot could be the best superspeedway driver in the sport

4 of 5

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MAY 26: Tony Kanaan of Brazil, driver of the Hydroxycut KV Racing Technology-SH Racing Chevrolet, celebrates as he races towards the start/finish line to take the checkered flag and win ahead of Carlos Munoz of Colombia, driver of the #26 Unistraw Chevrolet and Ryan Hunter-Reay, driver of the #1 DHL Chevrolet (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /

Could Spencer Pigot be the best superspeedway driver in IndyCar?

Would it be an overreaction to call Spencer Pigot, who is entering just his third superspeedway race and first as a full-time driver, the top superspeedway driver in IndyCar after one great qualifying effort? There is no doubt about it.

After all, anyone “could” technically be the best superspeedway driver in IndyCar. An 11-year-old go-kart driver could theoretically have the most driving talent on superspeedways. We have no way to tell otherwise, so why not make an argument for it?

Here’s why. In regard to Pigot, this is more than a wild guess. He has had one legitimate shot to shot his talent on superspeedways so far in his IndyCar career. One. That was his Indy 500 qualifying effort, and he nailed it by qualifying in sixth place, his new career-high by far.

Is one opportunity enough to call Pigot the best superspeedway driver in IndyCar? Of course not, especially with some of the other proven top-tier drivers in the sport.

Also, look at a driver such as Carlos Munoz. He qualified in second place and finished in second in his first Indy 500 and first overall IndyCar race in 2013. To this day, he hasn’t won any oval race, much less a superspeedway race. In fact, he no longer has a full-time ride in IndyCar after four full-time seasons that resulted in just one win on the Belle Isle street course in a rain-shortened race.