Beyond the Flag
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Indy 500 power rankings: 3 underrated drivers for 2023

By Brennan Dolan

Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, IndyCar (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, IndyCar (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Qualifying for the 107th running of the Indy 500 is scheduled to take place this weekend, and there has been plenty of talk and speculation regarding how the field stacks up.

The Beyond the Flag power rankings of each IndyCar driver on this year’s Indy 500 entry list were released earlier this week. This year’s race is stocked with storylines.

You have veteran drivers going for history, young guns trying to prove they belong, teams trying to dethrone Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing, and both of those teams trying to keep their stranglehold on the series.

When the green flag drops, only the teams and drivers that limit their mistakes and can put together a consistent 200 laps around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Speedway, Indiana oval with smart driving and strong pit stops will have a chance to win.

Before we get into qualifying, here are three drivers who can make some noise come race day and should be higher up in the power rankings.

NOTE: The term “underrated” is strictly related to each driver’s ranking in the aforementioned power ranking article.

Underrated Indy 500 drivers: No. 3 – Christian Lundgaard (Rank: 24th)

Christian Lundgaard is carrying loads of momentum heading into the Indy 500. The young Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver is coming off of his best performance of the year in the GMR Grand Prix, where he finished in fourth place after earning his first career pole position.

It’s no secret that Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing have struggled so far this year, but the strong showing last weekend on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course is a sign that the team can begin to turn this season around.

Lundgaard has been a bright spot for the faltering team. He has been able to take away a top 10 finish in three of five races so far this year.

Despite their struggle at the Indy 500 the past two years, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing have a history of success on Memorial Day Weekend. As recently as 2020, the team had two drivers finish in the top three, with Takuma Sato winning his second Indy 500.

If the improvements across the board for the team are any sign of things to come for the team, Lundgaard could be in for a big month of May.