IndyCar: Unofficial iRacing standings after Michigan

Take a look at the updated unofficial championship standings for the IndyCar iRacing Challenge following the race at virtual Michigan International Speedway.

The third race of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge, which is currently serving as the virtual replacement for the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season with real racing on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, took place at virtual Michigan International Speedway on Saturday afternoon.

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There hasn’t been a real IndyCar race at the four-turn, 2.0-mile (3.219-kilometer) Michigan International Speedway oval in Brooklyn, Michigan since August of 2007, and fans have begged the series for a return for years.

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The excitement of this virtual race magnified those wishes.

Aside of the failed start and a few pit road miscues, the race was a relatively clean race, and it still provided tight pack racing for all 85 laps, something that hasn’t been seen since June of 2015 at Auto Club Speedway. Auto Club Speedway is a carbon copy of Michigan International Speedway in Fontana, California.

A total of 34 drivers have competed in at least one of the first three races of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge. Of these 34 drivers, 22 have competed in all three races, seven have competed in two and five have compete in just one.

All five drivers who have competed in just one race competed in the race at virtual Michigan International Speedway. The first two races took place at virtual Watkins Glen International and virtual Barber Motorsports Park.

Unlike in real life, points are not officially awarded for results in these races, and they are obviously not awarded for pole positions, laps led or most laps led, either. But what if they were?

Let’s take a look at what the championship standings would be following the virtual race at Michigan International Speedway if IndyCar’s scoring system were being used for the IndyCar iRacing Challenge.

Position – Driver: Points (Behind)
1st – Scott McLaughlin: 123 (0)
2nd – Simon Pagenaud: 109 (-14)
2nd – Will Power: 109 (-14)
4th – Sage Karam: 82 (-41)
5th – Felix Rosenqvist: 78 (-45)
6th – Alex Palou: 63 (-60)
7th – Graham Rahal: 62 (-61)
8th – Josef Newgarden: 54 (-69)
9th – Dalton Kellett: 52 (-71)
10th – Santino Ferrucci: 51 (-72)
11th – Oliver Askew: 50 (-73)
12th – Alexander Rossi: 48 (-75)
13th – Scott Speed: 45 (-78)
13th – Kyle Kaiser: 45 (-78)
15th – Conor Daly: 44 (-79)
16th – Zach Veach: 42 (-81)
17th – Colton Herta: 39 (-84)
18th – Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 35 (-88)
19th – Sebastien Bourdais: 34 (-89)
19th – Ed Carpenter: 34 (-89)
19th – Felipe Nasr: 34 (-89)
22nd – Jack Harvey: 33 (-90)
23rd – Kyle Kirkwood: 32 (-91)
23rd – Jimmie Johnson: 32 (-91)
25th – Marcus Ericsson: 30 (-93)
26th – Robert Wickens: 29 (-94)
27th – Pato O’Ward: 28 (-95)
28th – James Hinchcliffe: 26 (-97)
29th – Ryan Hunter-Reay: 25 (-98)
30th – Tony Kanaan: 23 (-100)
31st – Scott Dixon: 19 (-104)
32nd – James Davison: 15 (-108)
33rd – Marco Andretti: 5 (-118)
33rd – Max Chilton: 5 (-118)

Simon Pagenaud won the race at virtual Michigan International Speedway after placing sixth and fifth in the races at virtual Watkins Glen International and virtual Barber Motorsports Park, respectively. Scott McLaughlin, who won the race at virtual Barber Motorsports Park after placing fourth at Watkins Glen International, placed second.

Team Penske drivers now own all three positions in the top three in the unofficial championship standings. The only non-winner among these three drivers is Will Power, who has finished everywhere in the top four except for first place thus far. The other race winner thus far is Sage Karam, who won at virtual Waktins Glen International.

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The remaining three races of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge are scheduled to take place at a “Random Draw” virtual track on Saturday, April 18, virtual Circuit of the Americas on Saturday, April 25 to replace its original real-life race weekend and a non-IndyCar “Dream” virtual track on Saturday, May 2. This schedule could very well be extended depending on when real action resumes. IndyCar recently released an updated 2020 schedule.