5 legitimate IndyCar title contenders; 2 others have outside shot

Following a much-needed week off, IndyCar is set for the first of a three races to conclude the 2022 season and crown a champion.

After the streets of Nashville hosted what was the fifth IndyCar race in 22 days, the series got a much-needed weekend off last week.

But things are set to get rolling again with the 2022 season’s fifth and final oval race this Saturday night, and things are sure to heat up under the lights at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway as the championship battle intensifies.

This race is the 15th of 17 races on the schedule, and while there is another weekend off after this one, the season’s antepenultimate race could set the tone as we head to the season’s final two road course races at Portland International Raceway (Sunday, September 4) and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (Sunday, September 11).

The title battle has never been tighter, as the top three drivers are separated by just 12 points, and another two drivers are within striking distance.

Two other drivers still have an off chance of closing the gap, but they will need to do so quickly — likely by finding victory lane in this Saturday night’s 260-lap Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at the four-turn, 1.25-mile (2.012-kilometer) Madison, Illinois oval.

It’s hard to believe we haven’t gotten into a time machine and turned the clock back to the early 2010s, but it’s Team Penske’s Will Power leading the championship standings by just six points over Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon.

By the way, 0.1 miles per hour slower on Indianapolis Motor Speedway pit lane, and a two-time Indy 500 winner Dixon has a record-tying seventh title already locked up.

Alas, it was not meant to be, and instead it was Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson’s big day in May, vaulting him to the front of the standings as the sport’s newest Indy 500 champion. While he has since dipped to third place, he still sits just 12 points behind Power and six behind Dixon and is more than capable of making a run at his first Astor Cup.

Things get interesting in fourth and fifth place, where — you guessed it — more Penske and Ganassi drivers reside. Sitting in fourth is Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, who would surely be three spots higher if not for a fluky disaster with his car at Iowa Speedway. He trails his teammate by 22 points.

In fifth place is reigning champion Chip Ganassi Racing’s (we can still say this, correct?) Alex Palou, who has weathered the “storm” quite nicely considering how many teams have recently signed him for 2023 — and the legal battle in which he finds himself because of it. He trails Power by 33 points.

Beyond these five contenders, there are still two drivers who have a shot to win this year’s championship. It’s only a semi-realistic shot, as it’s one which will require a lot, if not everything, to go their way.

Neither one can make up their gap to Power — or even Dixon, provided Dixon competes on Saturday — in a single race.

Amid a three-race run of top four finishes, Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin sits in sixth place, 58 points behind Power ahead of a race weekend where 54 points will be on offer (and one in which a 49-point deficit can be made up, with all entrants guaranteed to score five points).

One point behind McLaughlin is the first non-Penske/Ganassi driver (assuming, of course, we don’t count Palou as a McLaren driver), and that is Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward. O’Ward has recently been plagued by mechanical/reliability issues at basically every track except Iowa Speedway, the track which has singlehandedly kept him in this title fight.

There are no double points races left on the schedule, so assuming all drivers compete in the final three races, any one of these seven contenders can make up 147 points on any other driver during this upcoming three-race stretch.

This, of course, technically means that Andretti Autosport teammates Alexander Rossi and Colton Herta, as well as Arrow McLaren SP’s Felix Rosenqvist, can still win the championship, but all are 120 or more points behind Power. Realistically, they will probably be eliminated come Saturday night.

The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 is set to be broadcast live on USA Network beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET this Saturday, August 20. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss the antepenultimate race on the 2022 IndyCar schedule!