By Noah Poser, Staff Writer
After a one-week hiatus, the INDYCAR power rankings are back and to the surprise of nobody, Alex Palou remains on top after his sixth win of the season at Road America.
Kyle Kirkwood picked up his first career win on an oval the week prior at World Wide Technology Raceway to bring his total to three victories this season, a season that’s produced just two race winners in the first nine races between Palou and Kirkwood.
While those two are locked in at the top, there was plenty of movement behind them, as continued struggles for Colton Herta and the entirety of Team Penske have opened the door for new players at the front of the field.
Without further ado…
1. Alex Palou (Previous: 1)
Season Stats: 6 Wins, 7 Top 5s, 8 Top 10s, 169 Laps Led
After an eighth-place finish at Gateway, Alex Palou returned to the road course at Road America and proceeded to do what he’s been doing all season long, which is win. He was able to save just enough fuel in a race that had a variety of strategies to capture win No. 6 on the season and grow his points lead back up to 93 points over Kirkwood.
2. Kyle Kirkwood (Previous: 2)
Season Stats: 3 Wins, 5 Top 5s, 7 Top 10s, 105 Laps Led
Kirkwood was able to continue his winnings ways after taking victory in Detroit when he won for the first time on an oval at Gateway. He wasn’t able to complete the three-peat at Road America, finishing fourth, but he’s positioned himself as the clear No. 2 driver of this season behind Palou and continues to enjoy a career year.
3. Pato O’Ward (Previous: 3)
Season Stats: 4 Top 5s, 6 Top 10s, 64 Laps Led
O’Ward finished an uncharacteristic 17th at Road America, but it was coming off the heels of a runner-up finish at Gateway that saw him in contention for a win. He remains winless on the season, but after a week off, he and the rest of the drivers head to Mid-Ohio, where O’Ward won last year.
4. Scott Dixon (Previous: 9)
Season Stats: 3 Top 5s, 6 Top 10s, 79 Laps Led
In the last two races, Dixon has finished fourth and ninth. He led 70 laps combined between Gateway and Road America and sits in a tie for fourth in the standings with Felix Rosenqvist. By all accounts, this is the best Dixon has looked all season. But like O’Ward, he is still searching for that first win of the season, which alluded him this past weekend when he had to pit for fuel from the lead with just a few laps to go.
5. Christian Lundgaard (Previous: 4)
Season Stats: 3 Top 5s, 6 Top 10s, 53 Laps Led
Lundgaard is in the midst of his worst stretch of the season after finishing 14th at Gateway and 24th at Road America, the last driver on the lead lap in each race. The circumstances surrounding his poor finish this past weekend almost certainly make for a race to forget, as a spin took him out of contention for a potential podium.
6. Felix Rosenqvist (Previous: 8)
Season Stats: 4 Top 5s, 6 Top 10s, 7 Laps Led
Rosenqvist finally got back to doing what he’s been doing for much of the season, which is finishing in the top five or close to it. He finished 16th at Gateway but returned to the podium with a second-place finish at Road America. He’s tied with Dixon for fourth in the standings and continues to perform way above expectations in 2025.
7. Santino Ferrucci (Previous: 10)
Season Stats: 4 Top 5s, 4 Top 10s, 16 Laps Led
Ferrucci could arguably be much higher in these rankings. Third, fifth, second, fifth. Those are the finishes he’s achieved in his past four races. He’s up to ninth in the standings and is hot on the trail of the two Penske drivers directly ahead of him. Simply put, Ferrucci is on fire right now.
8. Marcus Armstrong (Previous: 11)
Season Stats: 1 Top 5, 5 Top 10s, 16 Laps Led
Speaking of drivers enjoying a string of good results, Armstrong scored his third consecutive top 10 finish this past weekend at Road America and first top five of the year, finishing fifth. Currently 11th in points, he’s one of a handful of drivers tracking for a career-best INDYCAR campaign.
9. Colton Herta (Previous: 7)
Season Stats: 2 Top 5s, 4 Top 10s, 12 Laps Led
Filling out the remainder of these rankings was pretty challenging, as many big name drivers have struggled over the past month. Herta has finished 17th and 16th in the past couple races while his teammate Kirkwood has finished first and fourth. With that said, the issues the drivers around him have faced keep him in the rankings for now.
10. Will Power (Previous: 5)
Season Stats: 4 Top 5s, 5 Top 10s, 1 Lap Led
Like Herta, a strong result a few races ago in Detroit is all that’s keeping Power in these rankings. He finished 14th at Road America after crashing out and finishing last at Gateway despite starting from the pole. Team Penske as a whole has been off in recent weeks, however, which is why you’ll notice Power is the team’s only driver ranked this week.
11. Rinus VeeKay (Previous: NR)
Season Stats: 1 Top 5, 5 Top 10s, 1 Lap Led
VeeKay is 14th in the standings, yes. But, he’s one of just nine drivers to finish in the top ten in more than half the races this season. He finished seventh at Gateway and 10th this past weekend at Road America, and that level of consistency from the Dale Coyne Racing driver is worthy of inclusion on this list.
Dropped out: Scott McLaughlin
Next up: David Malukas, Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden