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

By Brennan Dolan

Will Power, Team Penske, Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport, IndyCar (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Will Power, Team Penske, Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport, IndyCar (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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Qualifying for the 107th running of the Indy 500 is scheduled for this weekend. There has been no shortage of talk and speculation regarding how the field stacks up.

Beyond the Flag released the power rankings for each IndyCar driver on the Indy 500 entry list earlier this week. This year’s running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is chock full of storylines.

Veteran drivers are going for history. Young guns are trying to prove they belong. Several teams trying to dethrone Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing, while those two organizations are looking to continue their stranglehold on the series.

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

Before qualifying rolls around, here are three drivers who will get plenty of shine but may not perform come race day and should be lower in the power rankings.

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

Overrated Indy 500 drivers: No. 3 – Will Power (Rank: 13th)

Will Power has had a tough start to the 2023 season but quietly sits in eighth place in the championship standings. The reigning IndyCar champion only had five finishes outside of the top five last year but has four such finishes in five races already this year.

Power and Team Penske have made some uncharacteristic mistakes. Contact with other drivers and pit lane issues have put Power out of contention a few times so far this year. Any such mistakes will ruin their day during the Indy 500.

The 2018 Indy 500 champion certainly can’t be counted out of contention. Putting together a solid qualifying weekend could be enough to vault Power come race day. However, a lackluster qualifying performance will likely result in some of the same race day issues we’ve seen a few times this year.

Power has the experience and the accolades to make anyone nervous if he comes up in their mirrors, but he’ll have to prove in qualifying that he’ll be a real force to be reckoned with come race day.