Beyond the Flag
Fansided

IndyCar: Early 2020 power rankings; a new champion?

By Asher Fair

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - JUNE 08: Takuma Sato of Japan, driver of the #30 ABeam Consulting Honda, races Scott Dixon of New Zealand, driver of the #9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, at the start of the NTT IndyCar Series DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 08, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TEXAS - JUNE 08: Takuma Sato of Japan, driver of the #30 ABeam Consulting Honda, races Scott Dixon of New Zealand, driver of the #9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, at the start of the NTT IndyCar Series DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 08, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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AUSTIN, TEXAS – FEBRUARY 12: Santino Ferrucci, driver of the #18 SealMaster Honda (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS – FEBRUARY 12: Santino Ferrucci, driver of the #18 SealMaster Honda (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /

#10 and #9

. No. 30. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda. TAKUMA SATO. #10

Inconsistency has defined the IndyCar career of Takuma Sato. Fortunately for him, he is finally starting to achieve both the positive and negative aspect of it instead of just the negative. After winning two races in nearly nine full seasons of competition in America’s premier open-wheel racing series, Sato won three races in a calendar year, including a career-high two in his career-best 2019 season. Eliminating the rather frequent errors and misjudgments will be key to actually contending for a championship. If you take away any one of his errors in 2019, he would have finished in a career-high sixth place in the championship standings instead of ninth.

#9. . No. 18. Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan, Honda. SANTINO FERRUCCI

Santino Ferrucci’s 13th place finish in the 2019 championship standings doesn’t accurately tell the full tale of his rookie season. He finished no higher than ninth in the road and street course races, but he lost what appeared to be a sure win on the streets of Belle Isle due to an untimely caution flag period. On the ovals, he was spectacular, recording three top four finishes in a four-race span; Dale Coyne Racing, which have competed in IndyCar since 1984, entered the season with just four top four finishes in oval races — ever. He finished in fourth in the oval standings behind only Simon Pagenaud, Josef Newgarden and Alexander Rossi, and he could have finished higher had another untimely caution flag period not taken place late during the race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, all but ruining his chance to win. Ironically, the caution flag periods that ruined his chances to win the two races he should have won were both caused by teammate Sebastien Bourdais. Bourdais no longer drives for Dale Coyne Racing. Just food for thought.