How do the 20 full-time IndyCar drivers stack up against one another after the first race of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit, which was the seventh race of the 2018 season?
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon became the fifth different race winner through seven races so far in the 2018 IndyCar season by winning the first race of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit on the 14-turn, 2.35-mile temporary street circuit on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan.
Dixon’s victory was just the third victory of the season by a non-Team Penske driver, and it was the third victory of the season for a Honda driver. However, while Chevrolet drivers, specifically Team Penske drivers, have four wins so far this season, Honda drivers have been better and more consistent in racking up good results as a whole, as evidenced by the fact that they took each of the top six positions in the finishing order in the first race on Belle Isle.
Only one race so far, the Indianapolis 500, has featured more than one Chevrolet driver finishing in the top five. In that race, Team Penske’s Will Power won in his #12 Chevrolet and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Ed Carpenter finished in second place in his #20 Chevrolet. Meanwhile, Honda drivers completed the rest of the top five in that event.
How did the action in the seventh race of the 17-race 2018 IndyCar season affect the IndyCar Driver Power Rankings? Here are the formulated IndyCar Driver Power Rankings and the non-formulated IndyCar Driver Power Rankings following Dixon’s victory and the rest of the action from the first race of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit.
To see how the formulated IndyCar Driver Power Rankings are calculated, click here.
#20 through #16
| Last Rank | 20th (-) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 0 |
| Top 5 finishes | 0 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Average finish | 19.14 |
| Average finish in last five races | 19.40 |
| Most recent finish | 20th |
| Points in most recent race | 10 |
| Standings position | 20th |
| Points | 84 |
| Last Rank | 19th (-) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 1 |
| Top 5 finishes | 0 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Average finish | 18.14 |
| Average finish in last five races | 18.00 |
| Most recent finish | 19th |
| Points in most recent race | 11 |
| Standings position | 19th |
| Points | 95 |
| Last Rank | 14th (-4) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 0 |
| Top 5 finishes | 0 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Average finish | 16.29 |
| Average finish in last five races | 17.00 |
| Most recent finish | 18th |
| Points in most recent race | 12 |
| Standings position | 17th |
| Points | 112 |
| Last Rank | 16th (-1) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 0 |
| Top 5 finishes | 0 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Average finish | 16.86 |
| Average finish in last five races | 15.00 |
| Most recent finish | 15th |
| Points in most recent race | 15 |
| Standings position | 18th |
| Points | 109 |
| Last Rank | 15th (-1) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 1 |
| Top 5 finishes | 1 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Average finish | 15.29 |
| Average finish in last five races | 15.00 |
| Most recent finish | 12th |
| Points in most recent race | 18 |
| Standings position | 16th |
| Points | 116 |
#15 through #11
| Last Rank | 13th (-2) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 1 |
| Top 5 finishes | 0 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Average finish | 14.86 |
| Average finish in last five races | 15.00 |
| Most recent finish | 10th |
| Points in most recent race | 20 |
| Standings position | 15th |
| Points | 121 |
| Last Rank | 12th (-2) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 2 |
| Top 5 finishes | 0 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Average finish | 14.00 |
| Average finish in last five races | 15.80 |
| Most recent finish | 14th |
| Points in most recent race | 16 |
| Standings position | 14th |
| Points | 122 |
| Last Rank | 18th (+5) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 3 |
| Top 5 finishes | 1 |
| Podium finishes | 1 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Average finish | 15.71 |
| Average finish in last five races | 16.40 |
| Most recent finish | 6th |
| Points in most recent race | 28 |
| Standings position | 13th |
| Points | 125 |
| Last Rank | 17th (+5) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 3 |
| Top 5 finishes | 1 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Average finish | 14.14 |
| Average finish in last five races | 15.20 |
| Most recent finish | 5th |
| Points in most recent race | 30 |
| Standings position | 12th |
| Points | 130 |
| Last Rank | 9th (-2) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 4 |
| Top 5 finishes | 0 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Average finish | 12.43 |
| Average finish in last five races | 12.80 |
| Most recent finish | 17th |
| Points in most recent race | 13 |
| Standings position | 10th |
| Points | 168 |
#10 through #6
| Last Rank | 11th (+1) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 3 |
| Top 5 finishes | 3 |
| Podium finishes | 1 |
| Wins | 1 |
| Average finish | 11.00 |
| Average finish in last five races | 12.60 |
| Most recent finish | 13th |
| Points in most recent race | 17 |
| Standings position | 8th |
| Points | 185 |
| Last Rank | 6th (-3) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 6 |
| Top 5 finishes | 2 |
| Podium finishes | 1 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Average finish | 9.29 |
| Average finish in last five races | 10.80 |
| Most recent finish | 23rd |
| Points in most recent race | 8 |
| Standings position | 7th |
| Points | 191 |
| Last Rank | 10th (+2) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 4 |
| Top 5 finishes | 1 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Average finish | 9.43 |
| Average finish in last five races | 9.00 |
| Most recent finish | 4th |
| Points in most recent race | 34 |
| Standings position | 9th |
| Points | 175 |
| Last Rank | 7th (-) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 5 |
| Top 5 finishes | 3 |
| Podium finishes | 2 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Average finish | 9.43 |
| Average finish in last five races | 9.20 |
| Most recent finish | 8th |
| Points in most recent race | 24 |
| Standings position | 6th |
| Points | 202 |
| Last Rank | 5th (-1) |
| Races | 6 |
| Top 10 finishes | 5 |
| Top 5 finishes | 2 |
| Podium finishes | 1 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Average finish | 6.67 |
| Average finish in last five races | 7.20 |
| Most recent finish | 11th |
| Points in most recent race | 19 |
| Standings position | 11th |
| Points | 163 |
#5 through #1
| Last Rank | 8th (+3) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 5 |
| Top 5 finishes | 5 |
| Podium finishes | 2 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Average finish | 8.14 |
| Average finish in last five races | 9.40 |
| Most recent finish | 2nd |
| Points in most recent race | 41 |
| Standings position | 5th |
| Points | 227 |
| Last Rank | 4th (-) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 5 |
| Top 5 finishes | 3 |
| Podium finishes | 3 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Average finish | 9.14 |
| Average finish in last five races | 6.40 |
| Most recent finish | 7th |
| Points in most recent race | 26 |
| Standings position | 3rd |
| Points | 269 |
| Last Rank | 3rd (-) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 6 |
| Top 5 finishes | 2 |
| Podium finishes | 2 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Average finish | 6.29 |
| Average finish in last five races | 7.20 |
| Most recent finish | 9th |
| Points in most recent race | 22 |
| Standings position | 4th |
| Points | 255 |
| Last Rank | 2nd (-) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 6 |
| Top 5 finishes | 4 |
| Podium finishes | 3 |
| Wins | 1 |
| Average finish | 4.71 |
| Average finish in last five races | 4.60 |
| Most recent finish | 1st |
| Points in most recent race | 54 |
| Standings position | 2nd |
| Points | 272 |
| Last Rank | 1st (-) |
| Races | 7 |
| Top 10 finishes | 6 |
| Top 5 finishes | 6 |
| Podium finishes | 4 |
| Wins | 1 |
| Average finish | 4.29 |
| Average finish in last five races | 4.80 |
| Most recent finish | 3rd |
| Points in most recent race | 35 |
| Standings position | 1st |
| Points | 276 |
Biggest Movers
Up: Takuma Sato, Ed Jones (+5)
Down: Gabby Chaves (-4)
Non-formulated IndyCar Driver Power Rankings
| Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Engine | Last Rank | Trend |
| 1 | Scott Dixon | #9, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda | 3 | +2 |
| 2 | Alexander Rossi | #27, Andretti Autosport, Honda | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | Will Power | #12, Team Penske, Chevrolet | 1 | -2 |
| 4 | Josef Newgarden | #1, Team Penske, Chevrolet | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | #28, Andretti Autosport, Honda | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | Robert Wickens | #6, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda | 6 | 0 |
| 7 | Marco Andretti | #98, Andretti Herta Autosport, Honda | 11 | +4 |
| 8 | Graham Rahal | #15, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda | 7 | -1 |
| 9 | Sebastien Bourdais | #18, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda | 9 | 0 |
| 10 | James Hinchcliffe | #5, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda | 10 | 0 |
| 11 | Simon Pagenaud | #22, Team Penske, Chevrolet | 8 | -3 |
| 12 | Takuma Sato | #30, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda | 16 | +4 |
| 13 | Ed Jones | #10, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda | 18 | +5 |
| 14 | Spencer Pigot | #21, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet | 14 | 0 |
| 15 | Zach Veach | #26, Andretti Autosport, Honda | 17 | +2 |
| 16 | Tony Kanaan | #14, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet | 15 | -1 |
| 17 | Matheus Leist | #4, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet | 12 | -5 |
| 18 | Gabby Chaves | #88, Harding Racing, Chevrolet | 13 | -5 |
| 19 | Charlie Kimball | #23, Carlin Motorsport, Chevrolet | 19 | 0 |
| 20 | Max Chilton | #59, Carlin Motorsport, Chevrolet | 20 | 0 |
Biggest Movers
Up: Ed Jones (+5)
Down: Matheus Leist, Gabby Chaves (-5)
Conclusion
In the first race of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit, the casual viewer may have thought the “Chevrolet” was a misprint and it should have been called the Honda Dual in Detroit, as Scott Dixon led a top six Honda driver sweep of the finishing order.
As a result, it is no surprise to see so many Honda drivers toward the top of both the formulated IndyCar Driver Power Rankings and the non-formulated Indycar Driver Power Rankings. This race was the second race so far this season during which Honda drivers have swept the top six positions in the finishing order. They also did in in the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.
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To show just how competitive the Honda drivers have been, only two of the Honda drivers who made up the top six of the finishing order in St. Petersburg finished in the top six on Belle Isle. Those drivers were Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who finished in third and fifth place, respectively, in St. Petersburg, and third and second, respectively, on Belle Isle.
Can the Honda drivers start to collect more victories as the season progresses to reflect just how strong they have been so far this season? If the first race of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit, a race that no Chevrolet driver led at any point, is any indicator, they just might.
Next: Top 10 IndyCar drivers of all-time
The next IndyCar race is scheduled to take place tomorrow. That race is the second race of the 2018 Chevrolet Dual in Detroit, and it is set to be broadcast live on ABC at 3:30 p.m. ET.