Full IndyCar championship standings (if Penske scandal didn't happen)

IndyCar is now in the midst of its four-week summer break, thanks to NBC's commitment to coverage of the Summer Olympics in Paris, France.

Following a chaotic race on the streets of Toronto, Ontario, there are just five races remaining on the 17-race 2024 schedule.

The first four of those five events are scheduled to take place within a span of 16 days, while the relocated season finale at Nashville Superspeedway is scheduled to take place two weeks later in mid-September.

The 2024 season got off to an interesting start, with the first two races having been contested before it was revealed, 45 days after the fact, that Team Penske had cheated by manipulating the push-to-pass overtake system in the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Josef Newgarden was stripped of his win, and it was instead given to Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward. Scott McLaughlin was stripped of his third place finish.

Will Power was promoted from fourth to second place, as it was discovered that he did not cheat, but to avoid the possibility of another Team Penske driver effectively backing into a championship by gaining eight points due to the fact that his team bent the rules, IndyCar docked him 10 points as well, meaning he suffered a net loss of two points.

Here is what the IndyCar championship standings look like through the season's first 12 races.

1 - Alex Palou - 411 (0)
2 - Will Power - 362 (-49)
3 - Scott Dixon - 358 (-53)
4 - Colton Herta - 354 (-57)
5 - Pato O'Ward - 340 (-71)
6 - Scott McLaughlin - 328 (-83)
7 - Kyle Kirkwood - 314 (-97)
8 - Josef Newgarden - 266 (-145)
9 - Alexander Rossi - 265 (-146)
10 - Santino Ferrucci - 231 (-180)
11 - Christian Lundgaard - 229 (-182)
12 - Marcus Ericsson - 222 (-189)
13 - Felix Rosenqvist - 221 (-190)
14 - Marcus Armstrong - 203 (-208)
15 - Rinus VeeKay - 201 (-210)
16 - Romain Grosjean - 199 (-212)
17 - Graham Rahal - 197 (-214)
18 - Linus Lundqvist - 173 (-238)
19 - Pietro Fittipaldi - 135 (-276)
20 - Kyffin Simpson - 133 (-278)
21 - Sting Ray Robb - 121 (-290)
22 - Christian Rasmussen - 110 (-301)
23 - Agustin Canapino - 109 (-302)

Here is how the current championship standings would look, had the initial results of the season opener been kept.

1 - Alex Palou - 407 (0)
2 - Will Power - 364 (-43)
3 - Scott McLaughlin - 363 (-44)
4 - Scott Dixon - 354 (-53)
5 - Colton Herta - 349 (-58)
6 - Pato O'Ward - 330 (-77)
7 - Josef Newgarden - 319 (-88)
8 - Kyle Kirkwood - 312 (-95)
9 - Alexander Rossi - 261 (-146)
10 - Santino Ferrucci - 228 (-179)
11 - Christian Lundgaard - 227 (-180)
12 - Marcus Ericsson - 220 (-187)
13 - Felix Rosenqvist - 217 (-190)
14 - Marcus Armstrong - 203 (-204)
15 - Rinus VeeKay - 197 (-210)
16 - Romain Grosjean - 197 (-210)
17 - Graham Rahal - 195 (-212)
18 - Linus Lundqvist - 171 (-236)
19 - Pietro Fittipaldi - 133 (-274)
20 - Kyffin Simpson - 131 (-276)
21 - Sting Ray Robb - 120 (-287)
22 - Christian Rasmussen - 108 (-299)
23 - Agustin Canapino - 107 (-300)

The big loser here is McLaughlin, whose "cheating" only involved an accidental misuse of the overtake button on just a single occasion.

Because Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou moved up from sixth to fourth place and thus gained four points, and McLaughlin lost all 35 he originally scored by finishing in third, the driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet suffered a net loss of a whopping 39 points to the two-time and reigning series champion – and points leader.

McLaughlin is the oval points leader, so the difference between trailing Palou by only 44 points vs. by 83 points with four of the season's final five races set to be contested on ovals could prove significant.

For context, Palou has two top five finishes, including a runner-up finish, in the three oval races that have been contested this year. Despite his reputation as a top-tier road and street course talent, he is no slouch on ovals. Yet McLaughlin outscored him by 52 points in those three races.

On street courses, McLaughlin's disqualification started what was simply a disastrous season. Get this: he was officially credited with a 27th place DSQ. His results improved in all three street course races contested thereafter, yet his top effort was still a DNF (16th in Toronto).

The big surprise here is the fact that Newgarden, who sits in eighth place in the championship standings, would only be in seventh. He has not finished lower than fifth since joining Team Penske in 2017, and the two-time series champion has only twice finished outside of the top two.

Aside from winning the Indy 500 for a second straight year, Newgarden really hasn't had that great of a season, even if his St. Petersburg win had stood. He has just four other top 10 finishes, and he left Iowa Speedway, where he is a six-time winner, as the only Team Penske driver without a win during the doubleheader weekend.

Keep in mind, he was the championship betting favorite even after the disqualification was first revealed, simply because of the fact that there were seven oval races on this year's schedule, the most since he joined IndyCar in 2012. He entered the 2024 season with wins in eight of the 11 most recent oval races.

Sure, it's a 57-point swing better than the 145-point deficit he actually faces, but an 88-point deficit to Palou at this point in the season is still not what Newgarden would have hoped for either, even with races at World Wide Technology Raceway, the Milwaukee Mile (doubleheader), and Nashville remaining on the upcoming schedule.

It's not like Newgarden has struggled on ovals; he still sits in second place in the oval standings. But in the road and street course standings, he finds himself in a dismal 15th, trailing drivers from eight of the nine teams that have full-time drivers.

As for Power, he only lost a net total of two points due to the scandal, so if he happens to lose out on the championship by that margin, perhaps more controversy would ensue. Alas, the probability of that scenario unfolding is quite slim. Palou did gain six points over him thanks to the scandal, not just the four he gained by moving up two spots.

IndyCar action is scheduled to get back underway at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Saturday, August 17 with the Bommarito Automotive Group 500. USA Network is set to provide live coverage beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss it!