IndyCar Power Rankings: Scott Dixon surging, Takuma Sato sliding

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FORT WORTH, TEXAS – JUNE 08: Josef Newgarden of the United States, driver of the #2 Fitzgerald USA Team Penske Chevrolet, leads Scott Dixon of New Zealand, driver of the #9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images) /

Formulated IndyCar Driver Power Rankings Analysis

Sunday, June 23, 2019. That is the most recent date on which Scott Dixon competed in an IndyCar race but did not finish in the top two.

Yet in a way, it also served as the date on which he got his current four-race top two streak going. He spun out early in this race at Road America and fell to 23rd (last) place, yet while the race did not feature a single caution flag period, he rallied to finish in fifth.

Since then, he has recorded three second place finishes and a victory, giving him an average finish of a series-best (by far) 2.40 in the last five races and an average finish of a series-best (again, by far) 1.75 in the last four races.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there is Takuma Sato.

Saturday, June 1 is the most recent date on which he finished higher a race in than 10th place. In the seven races that have been contested since then, his average finish is just 17.14, better than only that of Matheus Leist (18.43), and Leist drives for a vastly slower team.

But what sets Sato apart on this end of the spectrum this week is the fact that he appeared to trigger a massive wreck trying to win the ABC Supply 500 between turns one and two on the opening lap. This crash took out championship contender Alexander Rossi and three others, including Felix Rosenqvist, who was sent into the catch fence as a result of it.

Non-formulated IndyCar Driver Power Rankings

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Engine – [Last Rank (Trend)]
1st – Josef Newgarden – #2, Team Penske, Chevrolet – [2nd (+1)]
2nd – Scott Dixon – #9, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda – [3rd (+1)]
3rd – Simon Pagenaud – #22, Team Penske, Chevrolet – [4th (+1)]
4th – Alexander Rossi – #27, Andretti Autosport, Honda – [1st (-3)]
5th – Will Power – #12, Team Penske, Chevrolet – [6th (+1)]
6th – Graham Rahal – #15, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda – [8th (+2)]
7th – Ryan Hunter-Reay – #28, Andretti Autosport, Honda – [5th (-2)]
8th – Santino Ferrucci – #19, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda – [14th (+6)]
9th – Sebastien Bourdais – #18, DCR with Vasser-Sullivan, Honda – [12th (+3)]
10th – Felix Rosenqvist – #10, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda – [7th (-3)]
11th – James Hinchcliffe – #5, Arrow SPM, Honda – [10th (-1)]
12th – Spencer Pigot – #21, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet – [11th (-1)]
13th – Colton Herta – #88, Harding Steinbrenner Racing, Honda – [13th (0)]
14th – Takuma Sato – #30, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda – [9th (-5)]
15th – Marcus Ericsson – #7, Arrow SPM, Honda – [16th (+1)]
16th – Tony Kanaan – #14, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet – [17th (+1)]
17th – Zach Veach – #26, Andretti Autosport, Honda – [18th (+1)]
18th – Marco Andretti – #98, Andretti Herta Autosport, Honda – [15th (-3)]
19th – Matheus Leist – #4, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet – [19th (0)]

Biggest Movers
Up: Santino Ferrucci (+6)
Down: Takuma Sato (-5)