By Noah Poser, Staff Writer
In a largely unsurprising development, two-time defending champion Alex Palou has now not only won the season-opener at St. Petersburg, but also the season’s second race at The Thermal Club.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he is also No. 1 in this season’s first edition of the Kickin’ the Tires IndyCar Power Rankings. But as he looks to win his third consecutive title and fourth title overall, it’s his own Ganassi teammate, along with a couple of Arrow McLaren drivers that appear poised to challenge him for the crown.
1. Alex Palou
2 Wins, 2 Top 5s, 2 Top 10s, 39 Laps Led
Palou hasn’t been the dominant driver in either race this season, but he’s been the best when it mattered in order to win them both. After two races, he already has a 39-point advantage over Pato O’Ward in the standings and looks primed to be the front-runner throughout the duration of the season.
2. Pato O’Ward
1 Top 5, 1 Top 10s, 51 Laps Led
Speaking of front-runners, O’Ward was the dominant driver for the majority of the race at Thermal, but an ill-fated tire strategy derailed any hopes of the fan favorite leaving California victorious. But despite having to settle for a runner-up finish, it was another impressive drive for O’Ward, following a performance in the season-opening race at St. Petersburg that saw him start 23rd and finish 11th.
3. Scott Dixon
1 Top 5, 2 Top 10s, 5 Laps Led
It was a quiet day for Dixon on Sunday, as he started 11th and finished 10th. But as Dixon usually does, he minimized the damage on a day where he didn’t have the pace he needed to be in contention, and after a runner-up finish in the opening race at St. Petersburg, he sits third in points through two races.
4. Christian Lundgaard
1 Top 5, 2 Top 10s, 23 Laps Led
Lundgaard looks poised to capitalize on his move to Arrow McLaren after two impressive showings to start the season. He led 23 laps and finished eighth in the season opener, and followed it up with his first podium in papaya in just his second race with the team. He should contend for more podiums, and even for wins as the season progresses.
5. Josef Newgarden
1 Top 5, 1 Top 10, 2 Laps Led
It was an uncharacteristic day for Newgarden and his Penske team. He had a poor showing in qualifying and never seemed to find his footing throughout the race either, finishing 13th. He did snag a podium at St. Petersburg, however, so we’ll have to chalk this one up as simply a bad race. He’ll likely bounce back in a few weeks at Long Beach.
6. Scott McLaughlin
1 Top 5, 1 Top 10, 40 Laps Led
Finishing last is definitely not what McLaughlin and co. were looking for after such a strong start in the season opener. Unfortunately, an incident with Devin DeFrancesco before they even took the green flag was just the start of his troubles and the day just got worse from there. He’ll be looking to bounce back in Long Beach as well.
7. Felix Rosenqvist
1 Top 5, 2 Top 10s
Rosenqvist has been as consistent as any driver through the first two races aside from Palou, having followed up his seventh place finish at St. Petersburg with a top five at Thermal this past weekend. The speed out of the Meyer Shank Racing stable as a whole has been impressive thus far and gives reason to believe these performances from Rosenqvist may become the norm as the season plays out.
8. Kyle Kirkwood
1 Top 5, 2 Top 10s
Two races in, two top 10 finishes for Kirkwood. A solid, clean start to the season has him leading the Andretti Global trio thus far, but after improving upon his consistency last season, his next task will be to end a 23-race winless streak that dates back to Nashville in 2023.
9. Colton Herta
1 Top 5, 1 Top 10, 1 Lap Led
Herta bounced back after a less than stellar performance at St. Petersburg to collect his first top five of the season at Thermal, finishing fourth. Herta is coming off his best season in IndyCar, having finished runner-up to Palou last year in the standings, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t be in contention for the title again this season.
10. Will Power
1 Top 10
Power had what was perhaps the drive of the weekend at Thermal. As his Penske teammates struggled, he went from 21st on the grid to sixth in the race. After finishing 26th and not even getting a chance to really race at St. Petersburg, this performance was just what the doctor ordered to kick his season into gear.
11. Alexander Rossi
2 Top 10s, 1 Lap Led
Rossi finished 10th in his debut for Ed Carpenter Racing at St. Petersburg. He followed that up by doing one spot better at Thermal. It’s exactly the type of performance ECR was hoping for from Rossi when they signed him, as they haven’t had a driver finish higher than 12th in the final standings since Newgarden finished fourth for the team all the way back in 2016. Rossi sits ninth in the standings after two races.
Next up: Marcus Armstrong and Marcus Ericsson