IndyCar: 7 teams represented in top 7 of driver standings

Seven drivers representing seven of the 10 full-time IndyCar teams currently sit in the top seven in the driver championship standings.

If you want a good definition of parity, don’t bother checking out a dictionary or Googling it. Instead, just look at what the 2019 IndyCar season has had to offer thus far.

Following the first three races of the 17-race 2019 season, including the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, the season’s second race at Circuit of the Americas and the season’s most recent race at Barber Motorsports Park, three different drivers have gone to victory lane.

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden won the season opener before Harding Steinbrenner Racing rookie Colton Herta became the youngest race winner in IndyCar history by winning the season’s second race and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato won the season’s third race.

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Sato’s victory made the 2019 season the seventh consecutive season during which three different drivers had been to victory lane following the season’s first three races.

But perhaps more notable than this statistic is the fact that the seven drivers who currently sit in the top seven in the championship standings drive for seven different teams.

With only 10 teams competing in IndyCar on a full-time basis, this illustrates clearly the insanely high level of parity that currently exists within the sport.

Newgarden leads the championship standings with 125 points after winning the season opener and finishing in second and fourth place in the season’s second and third races, respectively.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon trails Newgarden by 27 points with 98 points, and he sits in second in the standings with his two second place finishes in the season’s first and third races and his 13th place finish in the season’s second race.

Behind Newgarden and Dixon in third place in the championship standings is Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato, who trails Newgarden by 34 points with 91 points after winning the season’s third race and recording finishes of 19th and seventh in the season’s first and second races, respectively.

Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi sits in fourth place in the championship standings, and he trails Newgarden by 51 points with 84 points as a result of his two fifth place finishes in the season’s first and third races and his ninth place finish in the season’s second race.

Herta sits in fifth place in the championship standings and trails Newgarden by 54 points with 81 points as a result of his first career victory in the season’s second race and his other two finishes of eighth and 24th in the season’s first and third races, respectively.

Dale Coyne Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais has rebounded from his 24th place finish in the season opener in the form of a fifth place finish in the season’s second race and a third place finish in the season’s third race, and he has propelled himself into sixth in the championship standings with 72 points because of it. He trails Newgarden by 53 points.

Finally, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ James Hinchcliffe sits 54 points behind Newgarden in seventh place in the championship standings with 71 points as a result of his two sixth place finishes in the season’s first and third races and his 16th place finish in the season’s second race.

Team Penske’s Will Power and Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay ended this trend at the top seven, as they are currently tied for eighth place in the championship standings with 66 points.

Aside of Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Andretti Autosport, Harding Steinbrenner Racing, Dale Coyne Racing and Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, the team with the highest driver in the championship standings are Meyer Shank Racing, and they are not a full-time team. Their lone driver, Jack Harvey, sits in 14th place in the standings.

Among full-time teams, the team with the highest driver in the championship standings aside of these seven teams are Ed Carpenter Racing, as their lone full-time driver, Spencer Pigot, sits in 15th place in the standings.

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How will the IndyCar championship standings look following the season’s fourth race, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, on the streets of Long Beach, California? Will the top seven in the standings continue to feature seven drivers from seven different teams? This race is scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 14, and NBC Sports Network is set to air it live beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET.