Week 1 (BARBER):
#9 Ganassi vs. #29 Andretti (3 to 17)
#5 AMSP vs. #21 ECR (4 to 6)
#12 Penske vs. 18 Coyne (2 to 15)
#22 Penske vs. #27 Andretti (12 to 9)
#2 Penske vs. #7 AMSP (23 to 21)
#26 Andretti. vs. #51 Coyne (22 to 10)
#15 RLLR vs. #10 Ganassi (7 to 1)
#30 RLLR vs #28 Andretti (13 to 24)
Week 2 (ST. PETERSBURG):
#9 Ganassi vs. #21 ECR (5 to 9)
#5 AMSP vs. #29 Andretti (19 to 18)
#12 Penske vs. #22 Penske (8 to 3)
#27 Andretti vs. #18 Coyne (21 to 20)
#2 Penske vs. #51 Coyne (2 to 13)
#26 Andretti vs. #7 AMSP (1 to 12)
#15 RLLR vs. #30 RLLR (15 to 6)
#28 Andretti vs. #10 Ganassi (14 to 17)
Week 3 (TEXAS):
#9 Ganassi vs. #18 Coyne (1 to 12)
#5 AMSP vs. #22 Penske (3 to 10)
#12 Penske vs. #29 Andretti (14 to 23)
#27 Andretti vs. #21 ECR (8 to 20)
#2 Penske vs. #10 Ganassi (6 to 4)
#26 Andretti vs. #30 RLLR (22 to 9)
#15 RLLR vs. #7 AMSP (5 to 13)
#28 Andretti vs. #51 Coyne (16 to 15)
Week 4 (TEXAS):
#9 Ganassi vs. #27 Andretti (4 to 20)
#5 AMSP vs. #18 Coyne (1 to 22)
#12 Penske vs. #21 ECR (13 to 9)
#22 Penske vs #29 Andretti (6 to 18)
#2 Penske vs. #28 Andretti (2 to 10)
#26 Andretti vs. #10 Ganassi (5 to 7)
#15 RLLR vs. #51 Coyne (3 to 21)
#30 RLLR vs. #7 AMSP (14 to 16)
Week 5 (GPOI):
#9 Ganassi vs. #22 Penske (9 to 6)
#5 AMSP vs. #12 Penske (15 to 11)
#27 Andretti vs. #29 Andretti (7 to 18)
#18 Coyne vs. #21 ECR (14 to 1)
#2 Penske vs. #30 RLLR (4 to 16)
#26 Andretti vs. #15 RLLR (13 to 5)
#28 Andretti vs. #7 AMSP (12 to 17)
#10 Ganassi vs. #51 Coyne (3 to 2)
Week 6 (INDIANAPOLIS 500):
#9 Ganassi vs. #12 Penske (17 to 30)
#5 AMSP vs. #27 Andretti (4 to 29)
#22 Penske vs. #21 ECR (3 to 8)
#18 Coyne vs. #29 Andretti (28 to 21)
#2 Penske vs. #15 RLLR (12 to 32)
#26 Andretti vs. #28 Andretti (16 to 22)
#30 RLLR vs. #51 Coyne (14 to 25)
#10 Ganassi vs. #7 AMSP (2 to 27)
Week 7 (BELLE ISLE):
#9 Ganassi vs. #5 AMSP (8 to 3)
#12 Penske vs. #27 Andretti (20 to 7)
#22 Penske vs. #18 Coyne (12 to 9)
#21 ECR vs. #29 Andretti (2 to 17)
#2 Penske vs. #26 Andretti (10 to 14)
#15 RLLR vs. #28 Andretti (5 to 21)
#30 RLLR vs. #10 Ganassi (4 to 15)
#51 Coyne vs. #7 AMSP (23 to 25)
Week 8 (BELLE ISLE):
#9 Ganassi vs. #29 Andretti (7 to 14)
#5 AMSP vs. #21 ECR (1 to 18)
#12 Penske vs. 18 Coyne (6 to 17)
#22 Penske vs. #27 Andretti (8 to 13)
#2 Penske vs. #7 AMSP (2 to 25)
#26 Andretti vs. #51 Coyne (3 to 24)
#15 RLLR vs. #10 Ganassi (5 to 3)
#30 RLLR vs #28 Andretti (12 to 11)
Week 9 (ROAD AMERICA):
#9 Ganassi vs. #21 ECR (4 to 12)
#5 AMSP vs. #29 Andretti (9 to 15)
#12 Penske vs. #22 Penske (3 to 18)
#27 Andretti vs. #18 Coyne (7 to 23)
#2 Penske vs. #51 Coyne (21 to 5)
#26 Andretti vs. #7 AMSP (2 to 24)
#15 RLLR vs. #30 RLLR (11 to 8)
#28 Andretti vs. #10 Ganassi (13 to 1)
1. #5 AMSP (7-2)
Based on his loss to O'Ward at Belle Isle, Dixon is second on tiebreaker. Dixon's other loss was the Simon Pagenaud at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. He knocked off Rossi in the second Texas race and Power in the Indianapolis 500.
3. #27 Andretti (5-4)
Rossi leads a three-way tie with Pagenaud and Power.
Pagenaud won at St. Petersburg over Power and Power won over Pagenaud at Road America. Rossi and Pagenaud split their two meetings. Rossi was on top at Barber and Pagenaud was on top at Belle Isle. Rossi defeated Power in the first Belle Isle race and they will meet in the regular season finale at Gateway.
For now, Rossi is on top at 2-1, while Pagenaud is 2-2 and Power is 1-2. If they are still tied overall and if they are all 2-2 against each other, the tiebreaker will be best race finish. Power's best finish is second, while Pagenaud has finished third in two races and Rossi has yet to finish in the top five.
4. #22 Penske (5-4)
Pagenaud holds the final playoff spot, but the next two rounds will be pivotal. He has O'Ward and Dixon. However, Pagenaud ends with two favorable matchups against the bottom two entries in this conference.
5. #12 Penske (5-4)
Rossi could be 4-5 if it wasn't for Power's failure in the first Belle Isle race, and then Power would be 6-3. That gifted Rossi a victory. However, it kind of balances out after St. Petersburg. That flat tire caused Rossi to lose to Ed Jones by a single spot. Without that contact, Rossi likely finishes at least 12 spots ahead of Jones. I expect this to go to the wire.
6. #21 ECR (3-6)
While Rinus VeeKay has been a shining star of this season, with a race victory to boot, his head-to-head outcomes have not been in his favor. Three of his losses have been when he has finished in the top ten. In each of those losses, his opponent finished in the top five. Talk about luck of the draw. Oliver Askew tried his best at Road America, but a 12th was no match for Scott Dixon in fourth.
7. #29 Andretti (2-7)
James Hinchcliffe's horrible season does not fine a silver lining in the land of make-believe. Hinchcliffe won week two at St. Petersburg over O'Ward and at the Indianapolis 500 over Ed Jones. You aren't going to win many when you have two top fifteen finishes through nine races.
8. #18 Coyne (2-7)
1. #30 RLLR (7-2)
The lucky duckling of the year so far is Takuma Sato. Last year, it was Felix Rosenqvist with an unusually successful record in head-to-head matchups. In 2021, it is Sato, who is tenth in the championship, and yet leads his conference despite being behind four of his conference rivals in the championship, one of which is the championship leader.
Sato opened the year 4-0 before losing to Josef Newgarden at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and his second loss was to Ryan Hunter-Reay in the second Belle Isle race.
2. #2 Penske (6-3)
The defending league champion Newgarden is second, but a few cruel results have kept him from the top spot. One was his opening lap accident Barber, which was an immediate defeat to an underwhelming Rosenqvist. Newgarden was sixth in the first Texas race, but lost to Álex Palou, who was fourth. Newgarden's third loss was Road America, a race he had in the bag, and a head-to-head matchup that was not in doubt over Romain Grosjean until a gearbox issue on the penultimate lap.
3. #51 Coyne (5-4)
Speaking of Romain Grosjean, his results in the #51 Coyne entry have led to it being in a three-way tie for third. The good news is the #51 Coyne entry is 2-1 over Colton Herta and Álex Palou, giving it third on tiebreaker. Grosjean beat Herta at Barber and Palou at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Grosjean is 4-2 with losses to Newgarden at St. Petersburg, and in the second Belle Isle race to Herta when Grosjean retired from that race. Pietro Fittipaldi is 1-2 in this entry. Fittipaldi defeated Hunter-Reay in the first Texas race.
With news out that Grosjean plans to run Gateway, he could decide this entry's fate, or he could get put in a third car and it could come down to Fittipaldi.
4. #26 Andretti (5-4)
Herta takes the final playoff spot for now, as he defeated Palou at the second Texas race. It has been hit or miss for Herta. All his losses have come from finishes outside the top ten. The one saving grace is he has one win while finishing outside the top ten. That was the Indianapolis 500, as Herta was 16th to his teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay's 22nd.
5. #10 Ganassi (5-4)
How is the championship leader outside the playoff picture through nine weeks? Palou has lost twice while finishing in the top ten. Once was to Herta at Texas and the other was finishing third in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis while Grosjean ended up second. Flip one of those results and Palou is in. Flip both and he is second. Palou will face Grosjean again in Nashville and Herta in Gateway qualifying.
6. #15 RLLR (4-5)
Graham Rahal has not had a poor year, and a few of these losses are tough to swallow. Rahal was seventh at Barber, but was paired against Palou, who won the race. He crashed out of Indianapolis when his left rear tire was not secured after a pit stop and he was paired against Newgarden. While Newgarden finished 12th, Rahal was looking at a top five finish and a shot at victory. Then in the second Road America race, Rahal lost spots late and Sato passed him on fresher tires as Sato was off-strategy. Let's say Rahal's tire is secure at Indianapolis and the Ed Jones caution does not come out at Road America, Rahal is likely 6-3, a much more respectable record.
7. #28 Andretti (3-6)
Like Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay's season has been dreadful, yet a 3-6 record is a positive. Hunter-Reay got a break that a 14th was good enough at St. Petersburg. A 12th also worked at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis over Rosenqvist. He got Sato by a spot in the second Belle Isle race, 11th to 12th. All three of Hunter-Reay's wins are from results outside the top ten. He lost the one race he finished in the top ten. It is crazy how these things shake out.
#8 #7 AMSP (1-8)
#8 Ganassi vs. #48 Ganassi (8 to 19)
#60 MSR vs. #3 Penske (11 to 14)
#59 Carlin vs. #20 ECR (20 to 16)
#4 Foyt vs. #14 Foyt (18 to 5)
#8 Ganassi vs. #3 Penske (7 to 11)
#60 MSR vs. #48 Ganassi (4 to 22)
#59 Carlin vs. #4 Foyt (24 to 23)
#14 Foyt vs. #20 ECR (10 to 16)
#8 Ganassi vs. #20 ECR (19 to 17)
#60 MSR vs. #4 Foyt (7 to 18)
#59 Carlin vs. #48 Ganassi (21 to 11)
#14 Foyt vs. #3 Penske (24 to 2)
#8 Ganassi vs. #14 Foyt (12 to 19)
#60 MSR vs. #20 ECR (17 to 11)
#59 Carlin vs. #3 Penske (24 to 8)
#4 Foyt vs. #48 Ganassi (23 to 15)
#8 Ganassi vs. #4 Foyt (10 to 20)
#60 MSR vs. #59 Carlin (23 to WD)
#14 Foyt vs. #48 Ganassi (19 to 24)
#20 ECR vs. #3 Penske (25 to 8)
#8 Ganassi vs. #59 Carlin (11 to 24)
#60 MSR vs. #14 Foyt (18 to 26)
#4 Foyt vs. #3 Penske (23 to 20)
#20 ECR vs #48 Ganassi (5 to 10)
#8 Ganassi vs. #60 MSR (1 to 16)
#59 Carlin vs. #14 Foyt (22 to 11)
#4 Foyt vs. #20 ECR (18 to 13)
#3 Penske vs. #48 Ganassi (19 to 24)
#8 Ganassi vs. #48 Ganassi (9 to 21)
#60 MSR vs. #3 Penske (19 to 20)
#59 Carlin vs. #20 ECR (22 to 15)
#4 Foyt vs. #14 Foyt (23 to 16)
#8 Ganassi vs. #3 Penske (6 to 14)
#60 MSR vs. #48 Ganassi (17 to 22)
#59 Carlin vs. #4 Foyt (10 to 25)
#14 Foyt vs. #20 ECR (16 to 20)
1. #8 Ganassi (8-1)
When you win a race and are eighth in the championship with six top ten finishes, you will likely be 8-1 and leading league two. Marcus Ericsson's one loss is to Ed Carpenter in the first Texas race and that was after Ericsson had a botched pit stop and a tire was not properly secured. Ericsson was set for a top ten that day.
2. #60 MSR (7-2)
Though Jack Harvey has not been as putting up the best results, Harvey's losses are the second Texas race when he had to retire due a wheel bearing issue and the first Belle Isle race, when he was paired with Ericsson and Ericsson won.
3. #14 Foyt (6-3)
For the rotten luck Sébastien Bourdais has had, he keeps getting the results in the head-to-head meetings. Two of his losses are the Texas races where Newgarden run over him in race one and he was collected in the start line accident. The other loss was to Harvey in the Indianapolis 500. Bourdais is 6-0 on road/street courses and there are three left with Gateway and Gateway qualifying the final two rounds.
4. #20 ECR (6-3)
Ed Carpenter is 3-0. Conor Daly is 3-3, but Daly has won two of the last three rounds.
5. #3 Penske (5-4)
Scott McLaughlin's foray into IndyCar has been good. McLaughlin has hit a rough patch in recent weeks. He is 3-0 on the ovals.
6. #48 Ganassi (2-7)
Tony Kanaan is 2-1. Jimmie Johnson is 0-6. The one loss for Kanaan was to Carpenter at Indianapolis when Kanaan was tenth and Carpenter was fifth.
7. #59 Carlin (1-8)
8. #4 Foyt (1-8)
Dalton Kellett's only win was over Max Chilon at St. Petersburg. Kellett was 23rd with an engine failure after 67 laps. Chilton retired after 18 laps due to a hydraulic issue and was classified in 24th.
