IndyCar: Oliver Askew move shakes up Team Penske standings

Team Penske currently have a 1-2-3 sweep atop the unofficial IndyCar iRacing Challenge championship standings. But that 1-2-3 sweep would look a lot different if not for Oliver Askew’s move at the end of the race at virtual Twin Ring Motegi.

With 10 laps remaining in the IndyCar iRacing Challenge race at virtual Twin Ring Motegi on Saturday afternoon, the sight atop the leaderboard was a familiar one.

Team Penske entered this 113-lap race around the four-turn 1.549-mile (2.493-kilometer) egg-shaped oval in Motegi, Japan having won the most recent two IndyCar iRacing Challenge races at virtual Barber Motorsports Park and virtual Michigan International Speedway.

Both races resulted in 1-2 finishes for the team, with Scott McLaughlin winning at virtual Barber Motorsports Park ahead of Will Power and Simon Pagenaud winning at virtual Michigan International Speedway ahead of McLaughlin.

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That sent these three drivers into the top three in the unofficial championship standings, with McLaughlin ahead of Power and Pagenaud in a second place tie.

On lap 104 of Saturday’s race, that 1-2-3 sweep was well-positioned to remain, and via the first 1-2-3 Team Penske finish. Power was leading the race ahead of a hard-charging McLaughlin with Pagenaud in third place. But between McLaughlin and Pagenaud was Arrow McLaren SP rookie Oliver Askew, who was a lap off the lead lap.

Heading into turn three on lap 104, McLaughlin went to the outside of Power and briefly took the lead. Meanwhile, Askew sent his car down the inside of both drivers and made contact with Power. This slightly damaged Power’s car, but the chain reaction sent McLaughlin into the wall.

Pagenaud took advantage of Power’s damaged car to win the race. Power held on to third place behind Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon. McLaughlin officially finished in 24th, one lap off the lead lap.

These three Team Penske drivers still sit atop the championship standings. The next closest driver is Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Sage Karam in fourth place. He placed seventh at virtual Twin Ring Motegi.

Here is how the top four look after four races.

Position – Driver: Points (Behind)
1st – Simon Pagenaud: 160 (0)
2nd – Will Power: 147 (-13)
3rd – Scott McLaughlin: 129 (-31)
4th – Sage Karam: 109 (-51)

Karam is 20 points from breaking into the Team Penske stranglehold, seven points closer than he was entering this race.

But these top four could look a lot different if not for Askew’s move.

Take the #7 Chevrolet out of the picture, and McLaughlin wins the race ahead of Power in second place. As a result, he would score 50 points instead of six as well as a bonus point for leading at least one lap. So move his point total from 129 to 174.

Power, meanwhile, would have finished in second place instead of third and scored 40 points instead of 35. He scored three bonus points (one for leading at least one lap and two for leading the most laps), so he really would have scored 43 points instead of 38. So move his point total from 147 to 152.

Pagenaud would have finished in third place instead of first and scored 35 points instead of 50. He also scored a bonus point for leading a lap, so he really would have scored 36 points instead of 51. Drop his point total from 160 to 145.

Karam would have finished in eighth place instead of seventh since McLaughlin wouldn’t have dropped to 24th, so he would have scored 24 points instead of 26. He did score a bonus point for leading a lap as well, so he really would have scored 25 points instead of 27. Drop his point total from 109 to 107.

Now here’s what the championship standings would have looked like.

Position – Driver: Points (Behind)
1st – Scott McLaughlin: 174 (0)
2nd – Will Power: 152 (-22)
3rd – Simon Pagenaud: 145 (-29)
4th – Sage Karam: 107 (-67)

This still would have been a Team Penske 1-2-3 sweep, but the order would have been inverted. Karam would have been nearly twice as far from breaking into the top three (38 points) as he is in reality (20).

Relative to Power, McLaughlin lost 40 points as a result of Askew’s move while Pagenaud gained 20. Relative to McLaughlin, Pagenaud gained 60 points.

Askew apologized for the move.

rather than real life. I hope everyone is enjoying the show that @IndyCaronNBC @IndyCar and @iRacing have been putting on as much as we do. Looking forward to what next week has in store. Sorry guys.
— Oliver Askew (@Oliver_Askew) April 18, 2020

In the post-race Zoom video conference, Power shared the message he texted the 23-year-old Jupiter, Florida native.

“I had three of the clapping signs with a little sign like this [sarcastic OK sign]: ’Took out the two leaders with a few laps to go. Huge lack of respect for the drivers who worked hard to be there racing for the win at the end, which you will be at some point.’ That’s what I sent to Askew.”

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As Scott McLaughlin was quick to point out in an attempt to calm himself down after the incident, “it’s a video game. It’s a video game. It’s a video game. It’s a sim. It’s a sim. It’s a sim. It’s a sim.” But let’s not forget what he added: “I’m so pissed. I don’t care if it’s a video game. I’m so pissed.” I don’t think anybody blames him, and the effect on the unofficial IndyCar iRacing Challenge championship standings reflects that.