IndyCar: The other championship up for grabs at Laguna Seca

The 2022 IndyCar champion is set to be crowned on Sunday at Laguna Seca, but there is another IndyCar championship up for grabs.

Only the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey remains on the 17-race 2022 IndyCar schedule, and there are still five drivers mathematically eligible to win the championship.

2014 champion Will Power owns a 20-point lead over Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon heading into WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson sits 39 points out of the lead, with Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin two points behind him.

Here are the standings among these five drivers.

Rank – Driver – Points (Behind)
1 – Will Power – 523 (0)
2 – Josef Newgarden – 503 (-20)
3 – Scott Dixon – 503 (-20)
4 – Marcus Ericsson – 484 (-39)
5 – Scott McLaughlin – 482 (-41)

There are 54 points on the table for each driver heading into Sunday’s season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca: 50 for the race winner, one for the polesitter, one for any driver who leads a lap, and two for the driver who leads the most laps around the 11-turn, 2.238-mile (3.602-kilometer) Monterey, California natural terrain road course.

With all entrants guaranteed to score at least five points, this means that any given driver can make up 49 points on a competitor this weekend.

Not since 2015, which featured a double points-paying season finale, has the driver leading the standings heading into the final race not won the championship.

However, Power has quite a bit of experience blowing leads in the final race, having done so in regular points-paying season finales in 2010, 2011, and 2012 before he finally converted to win his first championship in 2014. Can he win his second in 2022?

While this championship battle, which is the 17th consecutive IndyCar championship battle to come down to the season finale, is the one which will rightfully generate the most buzz this weekend, there is another championship up for grabs on Sunday as well.

And it is another one for which five drivers remain eligible: the road and street course championship.

Dixon owns a four-point lead over McLaughlin heading into the season finale. Power and Newgarden are also eligible, as is reigning champion — and reigning road and street course champion — Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing.

Here are the road and street course standings after 11 of the 12 road or street course races on the 2022 schedule.

Rank – Driver: Points (Behind)
1 – Scott Dixon – 354 (0)
2 – Scott McLaughlin – 350 (-4)
3 – Will Power – 347 (-7)
4 – Alex Palou – 308 (-46)
5 – Josef Newgarden – 305 (-49)

Tune in to NBC at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, September 11 for the live broadcast of the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Now would be a great time to begin a free trial of FuboTV if you have not already done so!