INDYCAR Championship: Full Driver Standings After Mid-Ohio
Alex Palou continues to run away with the 2023 championship, which has now crossed the halfway point. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver earned his third consecutive victory today at Mid-Ohio, and his fourth in the last five races. The 2021 champ increased his lead to 110 points after today's race. His teammate Scott Dixon moved up to second place after his runner-up finish in the race. Dixon moved up three spots, and was the biggest mover in the standings this weekend.
Josef Newgarden remains in third place, 116 points behind Palou. The Team Penske driver struggled all weekend at Mid-Ohio, in qualifying and the race. If he winds up finishing just short of winning his third title this year, this might be the one event that he looks back on with great distain. He is the only Penske driver currently inside the top-five.
Marcus Ericsson suffered the biggest blow this weekend, crashing on the opening lap of the race. After qualifying up front, Ericsson made a mistake and collided with fellow Swede Felix Rosenqvist. The contact sent Ericsson flying over the top of Felix's Chevrolet, suffering significant damage. His last place finish today knocked him from second in the standings to fourth, 122 points behind his teammate Palou.
Despite gaining 17 positions and finishing 8th at Mid-Ohio today, Pato O'Ward slid down a spot to fifth in the standings. The Arrow McLaren driver made up some ground on Newgarden and Ericsson but Dixon's strong run prevented him from moving up. With eight races remaining in the season, O'Ward sits 127 points behind Palou.
Teammates Scott McLaughlin and reigning series champ Will Power are sixth and seventh in the standings, just ahead of Alexander Rossi and former teammate Colton Herta. It was a rough Sunday for Herta for the second consecutive race, dominating the event only to have a mistake take him out of contention. Christian Lundgaard climbed into the top-ten of the standings, as he positions himself as the face of the future for RLL Racing.
2023 INDYCAR Series Championship Standings | ||||
Pos | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
1 | Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 377 |
2 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 267 |
3 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 261 |
4 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 255 |
5 | Pato O'Ward | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet | 250 |
6 | Scott McLaughlin | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 229 |
7 | Will Power | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 226 |
8 | Alexander Rossi | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet | 216 |
9 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 204 |
10 | Christian Lundgaard | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 194 |
11 | Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 177 |
12 | Romain Grosjean | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 167 |
13 | Felix Rosenqvist | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet | 163 |
14 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 145 |
15 | Callum Ilott | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Chevrolet | 142 |
16 | Rinus VeeKay | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 141 |
17 | Marcus Armstrong | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 130 |
18 | Santino Ferrucci | AJ Foyt Racing | Chevrolet | 125 |
19 | David Malukas | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda | 124 |
20 | Helio Castroneves | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 104 |
21 | Devlin DeFrancesco | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 104 |
22 | Conor Daly | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 98 |
23 | Jack Harvey | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 95 |
24 | Agustin Canapino | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Chevrolet | 95 |
25 | Simon Pagenaud | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 88 |
26 | Benjamin Pedersen | AJ Foyt Racing | Chevrolet | 75 |
27 | Sting Ray Robb | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda | 71 |
28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 44 |