IndyCar: Unofficial iRacing standings after Twin Ring Motegi

Following Simon Pagenaud’s second consecutive IndyCar iRacing Challenge victory at Twin Ring Motegi, take a look at the unofficial championship standings.

The fourth race on the IndyCar iRacing Challenge, which is currently serving as the virtual replacement for the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season due to the coronavirus pandemic putting real-life action on hold, took place at virtual Twin Ring Motegi on Saturday afternoon.

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There hasn’t been a real IndyCar race at the four-turn, 1.549-mile (2.493-kilometer) egg-shaped oval in Motegi, Japan since September of 2010 when it hosted a race for the eighth consecutive year, although the track’s road course did host a race in September of 2011.

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A total of 38 drivers have competed in at least one of the first four races of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge.

Of these 38 drivers, 22 have competed in all four races, four have competed in three, six have competed in two and six have competed in only one.

Of the six drivers who have competed in only one race, four competed in the race at Twin Ring Motegi. Those four drivers were two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, Japanese driver and 2017 Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato, 2006 and 2010 Twin Ring Motegi winner and three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves, and rookie Rinus VeeKay.

Points are not officially awarded for results, pole positions, laps led or most laps led in these races like they would be in real life, but what if they were?

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

Position – Driver: Points (Behind)
1st – Simon Pagenaud: 160 (0)
2nd – Will Power: 147 (-13)
3rd – Scott McLaughlin: 129 (-31)
4th – Sage Karam: 109 (-51)
5th – Felix Rosenqvist: 94 (-66)
6th – Graham Rahal: 82 (-78)
7th – Santino Ferrucci: 73 (-87)
8th – Alex Palou: 71 (-89)
9th – Josef Newgarden: 70 (-90)
10th – Zach Veach: 67 (-93)
11th – Dalton Kellett: 63 (-97)
11th – Conor Daly: 63 (-97)
11th – Marcus Ericsson: 63 (-97)
14th – Jack Harvey: 62 (-98)
15th – Robert Wickens: 61 (-99)
16th – Oliver Askew: 60 (-100)
16th – Scott Dixon: 60 (-100)
18th – Alexander Rossi: 53 (-107)
19th – Colton Herta: 51 (-109)
20th – Kyle Kaiser: 50 (-110)
21st – Ed Carpenter: 47 (-113)
22nd – Scott Speed: 45 (-115)
23rd – Sebastien Bourdais: 44 (-116)
24th – Felipe Nasr: 39 (-121)
24th – Ryan Hunter-Reay: 39 (-121)
26th – Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 35 (-125)
27th – Pato O’Ward: 33 (-127)
28th – Kyle Kirkwood: 32 (-128)
28th – Jimmie Johnson: 32 (-128)
30th – James Hinchcliffe: 31 (-129)
31st – Tony Kanaan: 28 (-132)
32nd – Takuma Sato: 18 (-142)
33rd – Kyle Busch: 17 (-143)
34th – James Davison: 15 (-145)
35th – Marco Andretti: 10 (-150)
35th – Max Chilton: 10 (-150)
37th – Rinus VeeKay: 7 (-153)
38th – Helio Castroneves: 5 (-155)

It is still a Team Penske 1-2-3 sweep atop the championship standings, just like it was after the race at virtual Michigan International Speedway last Saturday. Team Penske have now won three consecutive races, as Simon Pagenaud backed up his win last weekend with another win at virtual Twin Ring Motegi.

Will Power still hasn’t finished outside of the top four in the IndyCar iRacing Challenge, but he also hasn’t yet been able to win. He finished in third, second, fourth and third place at virtual Watkins Glen International, virtual Barber Motorsports Park, virtual Michigan International Speedway and virtual Twin Ring Motegi. His average finish of 3.00 is a series-best.

Scott McLaughlin, who won at virtual Barber Motorsports Park after placing fourth at virtual Watkins Glen International and then went on to place second at virtual Michigan International Speedway, saw a potential great result get away late at virtual Twin Ring Motegi and had to settle for 24th after Oliver Askew, who was not on the lead lap, attempted to get his lap back and caused a wreck.

Power’s car was also damaged in this incident, and that allowed Pagenaud to get around him to take the lea. Scott Dixon also got around him to take second place before the checkered flag flew.

Aside of Pagenaud and McLaughlin, the other IndyCar iRacing Challenge winner thus far is the driver who trails only the top three Team Penske drivers in the unofficial championship standings, and that is Sage Karam. Karam won the opener at virtual Watkins Glen International.

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The remaining two races of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge are scheduled to take place at a 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. Depending on when real action resumes, this schedule could very well be extended. IndyCar recently released an updated 2020 schedule which features the opening race at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, June 6.