First Impressions: St. Petersburg 2020 - Season Finale

1. I am going to try and make this quick, because this race was a mess and I have a migraine 

This was the most fortunate victory of Josef Newgarden's career, but that was not going to be enough for Newgarden to overcome the championship deficit to Scott Dixon. 

Alexander Rossi lost his car in the marbles while on the verge of cycling back to the lead. Colton Herta had overboost issues. James Hinchcliffe spun under caution. Andretti Autosport coughed up the ball on three separate occasions and when it landed in the lap of Team Penske's Josef Newgarden, he clutched onto to and never let go. 

However, he needed Dixon to have one of his worst days of the season and after the hardship Dixon experienced in the last two rounds, that was likely not going to happen. 

Bravo to Newgarden for making this championship close. I thought Dixon was going to lock it up with three races to go. I thought IndyCar was going to be in the odd position of having multiple dead rubbers to close out a season that was delay three months and the season finale occurred a month late usual. 

Newgarden did his best. The Astor Cup will not bear his name for a third time, but it was an admirable title defense. 

2. Patricio O'Ward came out of nowhere and finished second. The Andretti Autosport misfortune gave O'Ward another runner-up finish. This might have been at best a sixth-place finish if it wasn't for these incidents. 

O'Ward doesn't get the fanfare of a rookie year. He made about two too many starts last year, but fourth in the championship in his first full season is outstanding. He has done exceptional and victories will be coming for him in 2021.

3. And our champion. Scott Dixon. Six championships. 

I joked when Dixon won at Texas the season was over in June because every year Dixon has won at Texas, he has won the championship. Dixon opened the year with three consecutive victories and after his Gateway victory, his championship lead was 117 points. 

Dixon used all that insurance, because his final championship margin was 16 points. Dixon was incredible this year, even if it came down to the final corner. An Indianapolis 500 eluded him. It was the one missing mark from a perfect season, but even on his worst days, he was stellar. He had one finish outside the top ten, a 12th at Road America after his three consecutive victories. We were worried when Dixon had a pair of tenth-place finishes at Mid-Ohio. 

Dixon and Newgarden both completed all 1,900 laps. Both drivers won four races. They were first and second in podium finishes. They were tied for most top five finishes. They were first and second in laps led and first and second in average finish. Dixon was a little bit better. Newgarden had one too many off days and Newgarden only had two finishes outside the top ten. His worst finish was 14th, though that was the first Road America race, which Newgarden probably should have one. 

This was a wonderful championship battle, even if it was not the most frantic. 

In how tumultuous this year has been, a Scott Dixon championship is comforting. It is familiar. It feels right.

4. Sébastien Bourdais was fourth in his third race with A.J. Foyt Racing. Bourdais is going to do special things in 2021 with this cellar-dwelling team. This was only his second race weekend. The Harvest Grand Prix was a test session. Take two was phenomenal. Foyt could be looking at its best season in almost 20 years come 2021.

5. Ryan Hunter-Reay should not be the top Andretti Autosport finish in fifth. Hunter-Reay started 19th, though he made up ground in the early portion of the race and a top ten result was certain. Then a parade of nonstop cautions happened, the other four Andretti Autosport cars were taken out and Hunter-Reay was the last man standing. It is a good result for him, but this day could have been much better for Andretti Autosport.

6. Simon Pagenaud quietly came home in sixth. Pagenaud has to improve in qualifying next year. He had too many races where he was starting outside the top ten. His talent got him up to sixth today and many other top ten finishes, but he has got to do better at setting himself up in a better position. 

7. Marcus Ericsson was seventh, and this is likely four spots better than he should have been, but this was a sneaky good year, borderline great year for Ericsson. He didn't win, nor did he stand on a podium, but he had nine top ten finishes. He had more top ten finishes than Felix Rosenqvist. If I told you Ericsson would have more top ten finishes than Rosenqvist back in January, you would have been shocked. 

8. Charlie Kimball gets his best finish of the season in eighth. Kimball was not an eighth-place car today. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.

9. The Rossi caution caught out Graham Rahal. Rahal still got a ninth place finish out of it. Good day for him. Rahal piles up solid results, but victories and podium finishes are few and far between.

10. Takuma Sato ran over four guys today and still finished tenth. This was vintage Sato.

11. Colton Herta had overboost, went wide in turn four to lose second at one point to drop to fourth, got the lead after Rossi's accident, overboost bit him again, dropped him to third, he got back to second, fell to third when O'Ward took the spot and then ended up in the turn four tires but only softly got into them and he backed up to finish 11th. 

I am going to handle all of Andretti Autosport here. Alexander Rossi got into the marbles during a pit cycle and his spin ruined his best race of the season. This was Rossi's race. No one was close to him and one mistake, which I don't even want to call it a mistake. He was a hair more to the left exiting turn three and he lost it. I am not sure who has had a worst year, Rossi or Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Cup Series. Both drivers have been strong and had great results, but victories have been hard to come by.

Marco Andretti had a dream race today and drove into the top ten. Andretti was ahead of Hunter-Reay. I thought he would finish seventh. And then Takuma Sato and Jack Harvey bounced into each other and Andretti was taken out. This was not a result that Andretti deserved.

For a portion of this race, it appeared it would be an Andretti 1-2-3 with James Hinchcliffe in third behind Rossi and Herta. After Rossi's issue, Hinchcliffe spun in the final corner under yellow and then drove into the side of Harvey. Hinchcliffe had a broken front wing. He was out of contention for victory, 14th would have to do.

Andretti should have had at least two podium finishes, three in the top five and at least four in the top ten if not all five. Instead, all it had was Hunter-Reay in fifth. This is worse than Indianapolis 500 qualifying when Marco Andretti saved the day with pole position. 

12. Max Chilton was 12th and another top ten fell out of his grasp. Chilton is good. Carlin has good pace. We saw what the team can do on the ovals with Conor Daly. I think this team has a lot to be excited about in 2021.

13. Álex Palou gambled on fuel but had to stop with six laps to go from fifth and he finished 13th. Not the greatest rookie year from Palou, but we have seen far worse. I hope Palou returns in 2021.

14. Quickly through the rest of the field: Rinus VeeKay tangled with Scott McLaughlin and was 15th. McLaughlin's race was done. McLaughlin looked good over the two days, but he has plenty to learn ahead of his rookie season next year. Oliver Askew's miserable stint with Arrow McLaren SP ended miserably. Askew looked to be in prime position for a top ten and then he got into the tires. Conor Daly had his car step out on him under caution in turn three. Daly hit the wall and the hop of a good day was gone early.

15. Felix Rosenqvist was all over the place today. He had a flat tire that took him out of it. Rosenqvist appeared to be Ganassi's future and now it seems he will be off to AMSP to replace Askew. I hesitated to say Rosenqvist had a sophomore slump this year because he did win at Road America and he had some good days, but there were too many bad days, some were out of his control, but others did not make any sense. AMSP has a short leash. I think Rosenqvist could still be great. He has to be better.

16. Jack Harvey was hit multiple times today and he should have had a top ten finish instead of 19th. Takuma Sato got into Santino Ferrucci and ended Ferrucci's day. Will Power hit the same barrier as Daly did. Power did it while in the top five. Power was having downshift issues before that. It cost him the lead to Rossi and a handful of positions at the start. These kinds of things happen too often to Power. 

17. I am going to close here. I am glad this season is over. As nice as it was to have IndyCar race into October, this year has been such a mess, I can't say I was enjoying this finish, not as much as I have in recent seasons. I was happy IndyCar was around, and we did have a longer break between races at the start of the season, but this was different, and I just want a break from life. 

I am happy the season got in. It was only 14 races, but that is a sufficient season. We got a street course race in. We still had Road America, Mid-Ohio, Gateway, Iowa, Texas and the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. We even had a doubleheader on the IMS road course. And we had the Indianapolis 500. 

There were a couple of venues we did not get to visit, and we missed Long Beach, Barber, Portland and Laguna Seca. Unfortunately, this pandemic has taken Austin from IndyCar before it could make a second visit and the long-awaited return to Richmond will have to wait a little longer. We are losing Iowa. There is plenty of uncertainty ahead.

But we got through this year. None of the drivers caught the virus and had to miss races. None of the key crew members, team owners and officials got ill. That is the best part of finishing this season to me. For the last month it felt like IndyCar was playing with fate ad something was bound to bite the series. It got through it unscathed. 

Now we can look unto 2021. For all the uncertainty, there is plenty to be excited about. 

18. There are only 133 days until we are back in St. Petersburg for the 2021 season opener. If everything goes as planned. As we have seen this year, plans are subject to change. 

Morning Warm-Up: St. Petersburg 2020 - Season Finale

Will Power closes the season with his fifth pole position of 2020

Will Power picked up his 62nd career pole position with a lap of 61.0369 seconds in the Fast Six session ahead of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. This is Power's ninth St. Petersburg pole position in 13 appearance, his most pole positions at one track He has never qualified worse than sixth in St. Petersburg with an average qualifying position being 1.769. The last two times he has started on pole position he has won. Power has never won in three consecutive starts from pole position. He has two St. Petersburg victories in 2010 and 2014. Power has finished on the podium in the season finale the last three years. In 2013, Power won the finale at Fontana to end the year with consecutive victories. In that season, Power's first victory came in the fifth-to-last race. This year, Power's first victory came in the fifth-to-last race and he could end the season with consecutive victories.

Alexander Rossi will make his first front row start of the season in the finale. Rossi was 0.1361 seconds off Power's pole position time. This is Rossi's best starting position at St. Petersburg. He looks to avoid his first winless season in IndyCar. Rossi has not had a winless year since 2014, when he competed in only 12 GP2 races after he left the Caterham F1 program and the 24 Hours of Daytona driving the DeltaWing. He has finished in the top five the last two years at St. Petersburg. The only time he has won from second on the grid was his most recent victory at Road America last year.

Colton Herta enters third in the championship and Herta will start in third position. He could become the first Andretti Autosport driver to lead an IndyCar season in road course points since Tony Kanaan in 2005, the first Indy Racing League season to feature road and street courses. Since Kanaan in 2005, all the drivers to top the road/street course points drove for Team Penske or Chip Ganassi Racing. Herta's road/street course points lead is only 12 points over Power after the Australian's pole position. Power has been the top road/street course driver five times.

James Hinchcliffe makes it three consecutive Andretti Autosport cars on the grid in fourth position, Hinchcliffe's best starting position of the season. He has had a podium finish in his last eight seasons. The only time he did not stand on a podium in his career was his rookie season when his best finish was fourth on three occasions. His only podium finish at St. Petersburg was his first career victory in 2013, which came from fourth on the grid with Will Power starting on pole position.

Jack Harvey ended up fifth in qualifying, the fifth time Harvey has started in the top five this season and the 11th time he has started in the top ten. He ends with the fifth-best average starting position in 2020 at 8.785. Harvey picked up his and Meyer Shank Racing's first IndyCar top ten finish last year at St. Petersburg with a tenth-place result. Harvey has not won a race since the 2015 Freedom 100. The only Freedom 100 winners to win an IndyCar race are Ed Carpenter, Josef Newgarden and Colton Herta.

Patricio O'Ward rounded out the top six. O'Ward will be making his 22nd start this season. He could become the seventh driver to score a first career victory in a 22nd career start. The last driver to do it was Buddy Rice in the 2004 Indianapolis 500. The other drivers to pick up a first career victory in a 22nd career start are George Connor, Chuck Stevenson, Jim Rathmann, Scott Sharp and Mark Blundell. 

Sébastien Bourdais missed out on the Fast Six, but Bourdais will start seventh, A.J. Foyt Racing's best starting position of the season and the team's best since Tony Kanaan started sixth at Texas in 2018. Bourdais has won the season finale three times in his career, doing it in 2004, 2006 and 2007. However, those are the only times Bourdais has finished in the top five of season finales. He has finished in the top ten of the last four finales.

Josef Newgarden will start eighth and he will have some work to do to win the championship. With Scott Dixon starting 11th, Newgarden will cut the deficit to 27 points at the drop of the green flag, but to gain the 28 points necessary to win the championship he will need to win and lead the most laps. Newgarden could become the sixth driver to win three championships before the age of 30. The others were Louis Meyer, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Sam Hornish, Jr. and Sébastien Bourdais. Newgarden could become just the second Penske driver to come from behind on the last day of the season to win a championship. The other was Hornish in 2006, when he overcame a one-point deficit to take the title from teammate Hélio Castroneves.

Rinus VeeKay and Oliver Askew make it an all-rookie row five. VeeKay has won at St. Petersburg in Indy Pro 2000 and Indy Lights. Patricio O'Ward is the only other driver to have done that. Ed Carpenter Racing's best St. Petersburg finish was ninth in 2015 with Luca Filippi when the team was CFH Racing. Askew could become the first Florida-born driver to win an IndyCar race, and he could do it in his home state. The best finish for a Florida-born driver was George DeWitt coming in second at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the G & J Trophy Race on August 20, 1909. DeWitt was second to Lewis Strang. Askew's third-place finish at Iowa made him the third Florida-born driver to stand on a podium. The other was LeeRoy Yarbrough, who finished third at Trenton on April 25, 1971.

Scott Dixon starts 11th, the third consecutive race he has started outside the top ten. This is the first time Dixon has failed to start in the top ten of three consecutive races since 2013, when he did not start in the top ten for four consecutive races from Texas to Pocono. Dixon could become the 12th champion since 1946 to win a championship after the age of 40. Other champions over the age of 40 are Tony Bettenhausen, Rodger Ward, Joe Leonard, Roger McCluskey, A.J. Foyt, Gordon Johncock, Johnny Rutherford, Al Unser, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi and Nigel Mansell. 

Simon Pagenaud had his fastest two laps defeated for causing a red flag in round two and he will start 12th. This is the tenth time Pagenaud has started outside the top ten this season. He has finished in the top five of the last four season finales, however, he enters this race without a top five result in his last seven races. His longest streak without a top five finish was when he opened the 2018 season with eight races without a top five finishes.

Takuma Sato starts 13th. Sato has never finished in the top five in a season finale, and he has finished outside the top ten in last four finales and in seven of ten finales in his career. Sato has finished outside the top ten in the last four races. This is the eighth time in his IndyCar career he has a streak of at least four consecutive finishes outside the top ten.

Conor Daly will roll off from the 14th position. Daly has made only two starts at St. Petersburg, a 13th in 2016 and a 15th in 2017. He won at St. Petersburg in 2010 in Star Mazda and he was runner-up in the 2011 Indy Lights race to Josef Newgarden. No driver has won in Star Mazda/Pro Mazda/Indy Pro 2000 and IndyCar at St. Petersburg.

Marcus Ericsson ended up 15th, his fourth consecutive start outside the top ten and the tenth time he has started outside the top ten this season. Ericsson has not won a race since July 6, 2013 in the GP2 Series feature race at the Nürburgring. James Calado and former IndyCar driver Stefano Coletti rounded out the podium that day. Alexander Rossi was 11th.

Álex Palou will start 16th. Palou has finished ahead of his Dale Coyne Racing teammate Ferrucci in six of 13 races. Neither DCR driver had a streak of best finisher in the team longer than two races. He has qualified ahead of Ferrucci in nine of 14 races. In the previous eight races where Palou has been top DCR qualifier, five times Ferrucci has come out as the top DCR finisher. Palou has finished worse than his starting position in seven races. 

Graham Rahal starts the season finale from 17th on the grid. After finishing first and seventh in his first two St. Petersburg starts, Graham Rahal has one top ten finish in his last nine starts at the track, a second in 2018. He could end his season with five consecutive top ten finishes, which would be his longest streak to end a season. Last year, Rahal had an eight-race top ten streak, which matched his career-high.

Santino Ferrucci has positioned car #18 in 18th on the grid. Last year, Ferrucci did not score a top ten finish between race ten and race 13 of the season. He enters this race after having not scored a top ten finish between race ten and race 13. In race 14 last year, he ended up picking up a fourth-place finish at Pocono. If he does not finish in the top ten today it will be his longest streak without a top ten in his IndyCar career.

Ryan Hunter-Reay qualified 19th, his worst starting position of the season and his worst starting position ever at St. Petersburg. Hunter-Reay has four podium finishes at St. Petersburg, tied with Mid-Ohio for track with his most podium finishes without a victory. He has six top five finishes in 13 St. Petersburg starts. He has only led eight laps at this track. Hunter-Reay has finished on the podium seven times when starting outside the top ten in his career. He has won from 19th once, the 2014 Indianapolis 500.

Charlie Kimball rounds out the top twenty. Kimball's best St. Petersburg finish was ninth in 2012. A.J. Foyt Racing has not had a top ten finish in the last three St. Petersburg races. The team has never had a top five finish in this race. A.J. Foyt Racing has a combined three top ten finishes. It would be the team's fewest since 2012.

After brushing the wall in qualifying, Scott McLaughlin will make his IndyCar debut from 21st position on the grid. McLaughlin will be full-time next year in a fourth Team Penske entry. This will be McLaughlin's first single-seater race since the 2010 Victorian State Formula Ford 1600 championship. The only driver to win on a Team Penske debut was Sam Hornish, Jr. at Homestead in 2004. Team Penske has won nine St. Petersburg races with five different drivers.

Felix Rosenqvist lost his fastest two lap times in round one for qualifying interference and will start 22nd, his worst starting position since 29th in last year's Indianapolis 500. This is Rosenqvist's first time starting outside the top twenty on a road/street course. Last year, Rosenqvist led 31 laps from third on the grid on his way to a fourth-place finish on debut at St. Petersburg. He picked up his first career Indy Lights victory at the track in 2016. Chip Ganassi Racing's only St. Petersburg victory was with Dario Franchitti in 2011.

Marco Andretti ended up 23rd after losing his top two laps for qualifying interference in round one on Newgarden. Andretti has finished outside the top twenty in seven of 13 races this season. Entering this season, he had finished outside the top twenty in 19 races. This could be the second time in his career he will not score a top five finish in a season. The other time was in 2016.

Max Chilton brought out a red flag in his round one group and will start 24th. Chilton started 24th last year at St. Petersburg. He has never finished in the top fifteen at St. Petersburg with his average finish being 17th. His only top ten finish on a street course was seventh at Toronto in 2017. Chilton is only eight points ahead of Hinchcliffe for 22nd in the championship. Chilton was 22nd in the championship last year.

NBC's coverage of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET with green flag schedule for 2:32 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 100 laps.

Track Walk: St. Petersburg 2020 - Season Finale

For the first time, St. Petersburg will decide the IndyCar champion

 

The 14th and final round of the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season will be the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Seven and a half months ago, the IndyCar teams were set up at Alfred Whitted Airport, ready to begin another season, this one with over two-dozen entries carrying aeroscreens for the first time at a race weekend. In a blink, the 2020 season was indefinitely delayed, eventually starting at Texas in June and St. Petersburg was rescheduled to the season finale spot on October 25. This is the first time a street course has hosted the season finale since 2003 at Surfers Paradise. This year's St. Petersburg race has been shortened to 100 laps for the first time since 2012. 

Coverage
Time: Coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday October 25 with green flag scheduled for 2:32 p.m. ET.
Channel: NBC
Announcers: Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy will be in the booth. Kevin Lee and Marty Snider will work pit lane.

IndyCar Weekend Schedule 
Saturday:
Practice: 10:55 a.m. ET (90 minutes)*
Qualifying: 3:05 p.m. ET * (NBCSN will have tape-delayed coverage at 8:00 p.m. ET) 
Sunday:
Warm-up: 10:40 a.m. ET (30 minutes)*
Race: 2:32 p.m. ET (100 laps)

* - All practice and qualifying sessions are available live with the NBC Sports Gold IndyCar pass.

Dixon vs. Newgarden

The Astor Cup will either go to Scott Dixon or Josef Newgarden at the end of this weekend. 

Dixon will clinch the championship with a finish of ninth or better regardless of what Newgarden does and the number of bonus points he earns. The number of possible outcomes that end with a Newgarden championship is small. 

A Newgarden victory, with the minimum of 51 points, combined with a Dixon finish of 12th or worse will give the Tennessean his second consecutive championship and his third title in four seasons. If Newgarden wins with two bonus points, Dixon has to finish 11th or worse. If Newgarden wins with three or four bonus points, Dixon has to finish tenth or worse.

If Newgarden finishes second, he will need Dixon to finish 23rd or worse to win the championship. 

If Newgarden finishes third, he will need to score all the bonus points, the one for pole position, the one for leading a lap and then the two for most laps led and have Dixon finish dead last, 24th, with no bonus points to take the championship. 

In case of a tie, Dixon owns the tiebreaker over Newgarden with four victories to Newgarden's three. Even if Newgarden were to win at St. Petersburg, Dixon would still own the tiebreaker with two runner-up finishes to Newgarden's one. 

Dixon is going for his sixth IndyCar championship, which would put him one behind A.J. Foyt's all-time record of seven championships. This would be Dixon's second title in three seasons, and it would be his fourth championship in the last eight seasons. This will be his 12th time in the last 14 seasons he has finished in the top three of the championships and it will be his 15th top five championship finish in 20 IndyCar seasons. 

If Dixon wins this championship, he will be the first champion over the age of 40 since Nigel Mansell in 1993 and the oldest champion since Emerson Fittipaldi won the 1989 CART championship at 43 years old.

Newgarden is aiming for his third IndyCar championship in four seasons. He is looking to become the first driver to win consecutive championships since Dario Franchitti won three consecutive titles from 2009 to 2011. He would become the first Penske driver to win consecutive championships since Gil de Ferran in 2000 and 2001. A third title for Newgarden would put him level with Rick Mears for most IndyCar championships for a Team Penske driver. 

Newgarden could become the 13th driver with at least three IndyCar championships joining Foyt, Dixon, Mario Andretti, Sébastien Bourdais, Franchitti, Louis Meyer, Ted Horn, Jimmy Bryan, Mears, Al Unser, Bobby Rahal and Sam Hornish, Jr. He would be the sixth driver to win three championships before the age of 30.

This is the 15th consecutive year with an American open-wheel series championship being decided in the final race of the season. 

In those 14 previous seasons, the championship lead changed hands six times, but it has not happened since Dixon won the 2015 championship over Juan Pablo Montoya on tiebreaker. Dixon trailed the Colombian by 47 points entering the Sonoma finale and that was double points race. In the five other times a driver overcame a deficit in a finale, those were not double points races and the largest margin overcome was 17 points in 2012 when Ryan Hunter-Reay took the title from Will Power at Fontana.

Since the formation of CART, this is the 34th time the championship will be decided in the finale. If you include Scott Sharp coming from behind to become a co-champion in the inaugural Indy Racing League season in 1996, only eight times has a driver come from behind on the last day of the season to take the title.

This is the sixth time Dixon has led the championship entering the finale. The only time Dixon lost the championship lead on the final day of the season was in 2009. He entered Homestead three points ahead of Franchitti. Franchitti won the race and the championship while Dixon finished third and Dixon lost the championship by ten points.

Newgarden is the most recent St. Petersburg winner, but his best St. Petersburg finish prior to last year was seventh and he had never led at St. Petersburg prior to last year's victory. His qualifying record is suspect. He started second last year, but that was only the second time he has made the Fast Six in qualifying and he has failed to make it out the first round of qualifying four times in eight starts.

Dixon has had rough days at St. Petersburg. While he has ten top ten finishes and seven top five finishes, he has never won at the track and last year was the fourth time he has finished runner-up at the 1.8-mile street course. He does have five finishes of 15th or worse in this race with three retirements. The good news is he has not retired from a St. Petersburg race since 2010, however, he has not led in this event since 2012. 

Dixon and Newgarden have been the top two drivers this season. They are first and second in victories, first and tied for second in podium finish with Newgarden, Will Power and Alexander Rossi all on five. Dixon and Newgarden are tied for most top five finishes with eight, but Dixon has 12 top ten finishes over Newgarden's 11, however they rank first and second again. Dixon leads IndyCar with an average finish of 5.153 to the 5.538 Newgarden sports. 

The two drivers have both completed all 1,800 laps this season and prior to 2020 only twice in IndyCar history has a driver completed every lap, Tony Kanaan in 2004 and Simon Pagenaud in 2017. Newgarden does have the edge in a few categories. He does have three pole positions this year, while Dixon has not won a pole position since the 2017 Indianapolis 500. In average starting position, Newgarden has a clear upper hand, leading IndyCar with 5.307 while Dixon is sixth in IndyCar averaging a grid position of ninth.

For the third consecutive season, Newgarden will lead IndyCar in laps led, the first driver to lead in laps led for three consecutive seasons since Alex Zanardi in 1996-98. With 434 laps led, Newgarden has led 104 laps more laps than Dixon, who ranks second.

Last Chance For Success

While two drivers battle for a championship, 17 drivers are fighting to end the 2020 season with at least one victory to their name.

Patricio O'Ward is the top driver in the championship without a victory as O'Ward sits fifth in the championship. He has three podium finishes this year and in all three of those races he was a factor for victory. O'Ward has won at St. Petersburg in Indy Pro 2000 and Indy Lights. He is looking to give Arrow McLaren SP its first victory since Iowa 2018 and its first victory on a road/street course since NOLA Motorsports Park in 2015.

Graham Rahal's first career victory came at St. Petersburg 12 years ago, but Rahal returns in 2020 stuck on six career victories since the middle of 2017. He has finished on the podium three times this year and he has four consecutive top ten finishes entering this weekend. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has not had multiple race winners in a season since 2001 with Max Papis and Kenny Bräck.

Alexander Rossi has not won a race in his last 20 starts and Rossi is on a bit of a hot streak. He has finished on the podium in the last four races, the longest podium streak in his IndyCar career. Rossi could become the first driver with five consecutive podium finish since 2016 when Will Power had six consecutive podium finishes from the second Belle Isle race through Pocono. All those results for Power were first or second-place finishes. Simon Pagenaud opened the 2016 season five consecutive podium finishes; two runner-up finishes and three victories.

Ryan Hunter-Reay looks to avoid his second consecutive winless season and his fourth in the last five years with a victory at St. Petersburg. Hunter-Reay's most recent victory was the 2018 season finale at Sonoma. The only other time Hunter-Reay has a top five in a season finale was his first career victory at Surfers Paradise in 2003, his rookie year. Surfers Paradise became the finale after Fontana was cancelled due to wildfires.

Santino Ferrucci heads to St. Petersburg on four consecutive finishes outside the top ten. Ferrucci has never finished outside the top ten in five consecutive races. Last year, he was ninth at St. Petersburg, his best finish on a street course.

Jack Harvey has six top ten finishes this season, including three in the last four races. Last year, Harvey picked up his first career top ten finish when he was tenth at St. Petersburg. He did have three podium finishes at St. Petersburg in Indy Lights.

Rinus VeeKay scored his first podium finish with a third-place result in the first Harvest Grand Prix race. In six Road to Indy starts, VeeKay's worst finish at St. Petersburg was fifth in Indy Lights. He has three victories at the track (one in Indy Lights and two in Indy Pro 2000) and he has five podium finishes.

Marcus Ericsson has one final shot to do something that has never been done in Chip Ganassi Racing history: Have three different drivers win an IndyCar race in one season. The only drivers that have more top ten finishes this season than Ericsson are Dixon, Newgarden, Colton Herta and Patricio O'Ward.

Conor Daly has not finished in the top ten on a road course this season and Daly has not had a top ten on a road course since finishing tenth in the 2017 season finale at Sonoma. When it comes to street courses, Belle Isle is the only one where he has a top ten finish. He was sixth in the second Belle Isle race in 2015. In 2016, Daly was runner-up to Sébastien Bourdais in race one and sixth in race two. 

Álex Palou will be making his first street course start in IndyCar and it is coming off a ninth-place finish in the second Harvest Grand Prix race. The only street course Palou has competed on is Macau. He first ran the Macau Grand Prix in 2014 and finished 16th while Rosenqvist took the victory and Ferrucci finished eighth. In 2017, he was 11th and in 2018 he was involved in a first lap accident.

After missing the Harvest Grand Prix due to concussion-like symptoms, Oliver Askew will be back in the #7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet. This will be Askew's final race with the team and it will come in his backyard. Askew is from Melbourne, Florida. No Florida-born driver has ever win an IndyCar race. In six Road to Indy starts at St. Petersburg, his only victory was in U.S. F2000.

The last driver to have his only victory come in the season finale was Tony Kanaan, who won the 2014 season finale at Fontana.

Besides the Battle at the Top

All eyes will be on the championship battle, but there are plenty of other battles for championship positions. 

Colton Herta is third on 401 points, 13 points ahead of Will Power, but these two drivers are also fighting for most road/street course points this season. Herta leads with 244 road course points, seven markers clear of Power. Power has been the top road/street course driver in five of the last ten seasons. The only other drivers to lead road/street course are Dixon in three seasons, Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud. 

Newgarden, Dixon and Rossi are also in contention for most road/street course points this season. Newgarden is 25 points back, Dixon is 38 points behind Herta, and Rossi trails his teammate by 42 points. 

O'Ward is 12 points off Power in fifth of the overall championship. O'Ward is attempting to be the first Arrow McLaren SP driver to finish in the top five of the championship since Pagenaud was fifth in 2014. Graham Rahal has breathing room around him in sixth, 22 points off O'Ward and 26 points ahead of Sato. This could be Rahal's sixth consecutive season in the top ten of the championship. Sato is 17 points clear of Pagenaud with Pagenaud six points ahead of Rossi. 

A seventh-place championship finish would be the best for Sato in his IndyCar career, and it would be his third top ten championship finish in the last four seasons. Sato did not have a top ten championship finish in his first seven years in IndyCar. 

Rosenqvist sits in tenth on 294 points, 11 points off Rossi. Rosenqvist is nine points ahead of Hunter-Reay with Ferrucci 11 points outside the top ten. Harvey is 17 points outside the top ten and VeeKay is 20 points out. Ericsson sits in 15th on 265, nine behind VeeKay, but with a 41-point gap ahead of Daly.

Hunter-Reay has finished in the top ten of the championship in nine of the last ten seasons. He was 12th in the 2016 championship. Ferrucci, Harvey, VeeKay and Ericsson have all yet to finish in the top ten of the championship and are all looking for career-best championship finish.

VeeKay will clinch 2020 Rookie of the Year honors simply starting at St. Petersburg. He is 54 points clear of Palou, who sits 17th in the championship, entering the finale. VeeKay will make it six different nationalities for the last six IndyCar rookies of the year and Ed Carpenter Racing will become the sixth different team in the last six seasons to field the rookie of the year. VeeKay will also be the first Chevrolet driver to win rookie of the year since Chevrolet returned to IndyCar in 2012.

Long-Awaited Debut

The season finale will be the IndyCar debut for three-time Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin, who will make his long-awaited IndyCar debut with Team Penske.

McLaughlin wrapped up his ninth Supercars season last week with a fifth-place finish in the Bathurst 1000. He won the championship for the third consecutive season this year with 13 victories from 30 races. He had finished in the top ten of the championship in all eight of his full seasons. In 2012, he competed as a co-driver at Sandown and Bathurst before running the final race on the Homebush street circuit in Sydney for his solo debut. 

He is one of nine drivers with at least three Supercars championships and he is fourth all-time in victories with 56. Forty-eight of his 56 victories came with DJR Team Penske and he is ranked third all-time in Team Penske victories behind Brad Keselowski (66) and Mark Donohue (59).

McLaughlin was originally supposed to make his debut at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis when it was scheduled for May. He did participate in the preseason test at Circuit of the Americas and he ended up third fastest behind only Power and Rossi and ahead of Newgarden, Herta, Pagenaud, Askew, Dixon, Palou and O'Ward. 

McLaughlin also participated in all six iRacing events IndyCar held during the lockdown. McLaughlin won the events at Barber and Indianapolis while he was runner-up at Michigan and fourth at Watkins Glen and Austin. He was 24th in the Motegi event, but he was taken out while in second after contact from Askew when the American was fighting to get back on the lead lap late in the race.

With McLaughlin sliding behind the wheel of the #3 Chevrolet, he will be the first driver other than Hélio Castroneves to drive car #3 since the 2009 season opener at St. Petersburg when Will Power drove the car while Castroneves was sidelined due to his tax evasion case. McLaughlin will become the seventh New Zealander to start an IndyCar race. He will be the second New Zealander to drive for Team Penske. Mike Thackwell made his only two IndyCar starts with Team Penske in 1984 at Laguna Seca and the Caesar's Palace street course. 

Scott Dixon has made 334 starts but none of the other New Zealanders have made more than five starts. Wade Cunningham is the second most experienced Kiwi with five starts. Denny Hulme made four starts and Matt Halliday and Graham McRae each started three races. 

Since 1946, only three drivers have won their first career start: Graham Hill in the 1966 Indianapolis 500, Nigel Mansell in the 1993 season opener at Surfers Paradise and Buzz Calkins in the inaugural Indy Racing League race held at Walt Disney World Speedway in 1996.

Road to Indy

Both Road to Indy championships were claimed on October 11 at New Jersey Motorsports Park, as each Indy Pro 2000 and U.S. F2000 ran triple-headers to bolster their 2020 schedules. Each season will end with a doubleheader at St. Petersburg.

Idaho-native Sting Ray Robb clinched the Indy Pro 2000 championship with a second, first and third in New Jersey. This was Robb's fourth season in the series and his second with Juncos Racing. He has five victories and eight podium finishes from 13 starts. His worst finish was tenth in the first Mid-Ohio race back in July. Robb is the third Juncos Racing driver to win the Indy Pro 2000 championship in the last four seasons. 

Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport driver Devlin DeFrancesco will fall short of the championship, sitting 73 points behind Robb entering the final round. He has finished tenth or worse in four of the last five races after starting the season with a victory, five podium finishes and eight top five finishes from the first ten races with his worst result being eighth. 

Artem Petrov and Danial Frost are tied on 292 points, 20 points behind DeFrancesco. Petrov won two of the first four races but has not won since. Frost won the first race of the season and opened with three consecutive podium finishes. Since the first three races, his only podium finish was second in the first Mid-Ohio race of the September weekend. 

Hunter McElrea and Parker Thompson are each looking for their first victories of the season. McElrea has four runner-up finishes, the most this season. Thompson has not won in Indy Pro 2000 since the second St. Petersburg race last year. Manuel Sulaimán is ending 2020 on a strong note. He has won two of the last five races and sits seventh in the championship, nine points behind McElrea and five points off his DEForce Racing teammate Thompson.

Colin Kaminsky is coming off a runner-up finish from pole position in New Jersey. He is eighth in the championship ahead of Antoine Comeau and Braden Eves. Eves has missed the last seven races after his accident at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Eves had a victory, two podium finishes, four top five finishes and two pole positions in his eight starts this season.

Kory Enders and Moisés de la Vara are 20 points and 21 points respectively behind Eves for that final spot in the top ten of the championship.

Indy Pro 2000 will race at 5:40 p.m. ET on Saturday October 24 and 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday October 25.

Christian Rasmussen's two victories in New Jersey locked up the 2020 U.S. F2000 championship for the Danish driver, but Rasmussen has something to race for this weekend. If Rasmussen will sweep the weekend, he will become the all-time leader in U.S. F2000 victories with 14 victories. Current Chip Ganassi Racing performance director Chris Simmons holds the record of 13 victories.

Nine of Rasmussen's 12 career U.S. F2000 victories have come this season. He has stared on pole position for eight of 15 races and he is 69 points clear of Eduardo Barrichello and Reece Gold, who are tied for second. Rasmussen's championship is also the first for Jay Howard Driver Development, which is in its second U.S. F2000 season. 

Barrichello has three victories this season while Gold has two, though Gold has more podium finishes this season, holding the advantage at nine to seven over the Pabst Racing driver. Michael d'Orlando is the only other driver to win a race this season and he is on 259 points in fourth, 47 behind Barrichello and his Cape Motorsports teammate Gold. 

Exclusive Autosport driver Christian Brooks has nine top five finishes this season and he is eight points behind d'Orlando for fourth. Josh Green has two runner-up finishes this season and he is sixth on 216 points, eight points ahead of Cameron Shields, who had a runner-up finish in the second race in New Jersey. 

Matt Round-Garrido opened the season with four consecutive top five finishes but has only one top five result in the last 11 races. He is on 199 points. Jack William Miller was third at Indianapolis Raceway Park and second on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, however he has only four top five finishes from 15 races and sits on 186 points in ninth. 

Yuven Sundaramoorthy rounds out the top ten on 164 points. Sundaramoorthy picked up his first top five finish in New Jersey, while Prescott Campbell scored his first top five result and a podium finish. Campbell is 19 points outside the top ten. Nolan Siegel is three points off Campbell and has two podium finishes and a pole position this season. 

The U.S. F2000's first race will be at 4:40 p.m. ET on Saturday October 24. The season concludes on Sunday October 25 at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Fast Facts
This will be the fifth IndyCar race on October 25 and first since A.J. Foyt won at Sacramento in 1964.

Other October 25 winners include Tommy Milton at Charlotte in 1924, Jimmy Bryan at Sacramento in 1953 and Jim Hurtubise at Sacramento in 1959.

Last year, Josef Newgarden became the first driver to win the championship after winning the season opener since Will Power in 2014.

Last year, Josef Newgarden became the first driver to win at St. Petersburg in IndyCar and Indy Lights. He won the 2011 Indy Lights race at St. Petersburg.

Five other drivers entered for this year's IndyCar race have won at St. Petersburg in Indy Lights (Marco Andretti, Felix Rosenqvist, Colton Herta, Patricio O'Ward and Rinus VeeKay).

Last year's St. Petersburg race was the fastest since the race expanded to 110 laps, 198 miles with an average speed of 95.572 MPH.

Graham Rahal and James Hinchcliffe are the only drivers to have their first career IndyCar victory come at St. Petersburg.

Graham Rahal and Josef Newgarden are the only two American drivers to have won the IndyCar race at St. Petersburg.

The average starting position for a St. Petersburg winner is 5.6875 with a median of fourth.

The pole-sitter has not won at St. Petersburg since Will Power in 2010. The only other time the pole-sitter won at St. Petersburg was Hélio Castroneves in 2007.

Fourth starting position has produced five St. Petersburg winners, more than any other starting position.

A St. Petersburg winner has never started third.

Sébastien Bourdais is the only driver to win at St. Petersburg from a starting position outside the top ten. Bourdais won from 21st on the grid in 2017 and from 14th in 2018.

Since 2012, Chevrolet has won six of eight St. Petersburg races. Sébastien Bourdais is the only driver to win for Honda at St. Petersburg since 2012.

The average number of lead changes in a St. Petersburg race is 6.5625 with a median of seven. The most lead changes were 11 in 2018. The fewest lead changes was two in 2003.

The average number of cautions in a St. Petersburg race is 4.25 with a median of five. The average number of caution laps is 18.8125 with a median of 18 laps.

Every St. Petersburg race has had at least two cautions. Four of the last six St. Petersburg races have had exactly two cautions. The fewest caution laps in a St. Petersburg race was eight in 2017.

Possible Milestones:

Will Power is one victory away from being the fifth driver to reach the 40 victories milestone. 

If Scott Dixon wins at St. Petersburg, he would tie Mario Andretti's record of 26 different tracks with a victory.

Scott Dixon needs to lead 59 laps to reach the 6,000 laps led milestone, the fifth driver to reach that milestone.

Scott Dixon needs to lead 97 laps to surpass Hélio Castroneves for fourth all-time.

Sébastien Bourdais needs to lead 47 laps to reach the 2,700 laps led milestone.

Josef Newgarden needs to lead 22 laps to reach 2,500 laps led milestone.

Ryan Hunter-Reay needs to lead 51 laps to reach the 1,600 laps led milestone.

James Hinchcliffe needs to lead 21 laps to reach the 800 laps led milestone.

Graham Rahal needs to lead 73 laps to reach the 500 laps led milestone.

Predictions
Alexander Rossi holds off Will Power for his first victory of the season. Josef Newgarden rounds out the podium. Scott Dixon will cross the final line in fifth with Colton Herta in fourth. Scott McLaughlin will qualify and finish ahead of Simon Pagenaud. One of the rookies will finish in the top ten, but not better than eighth. Sébastien Bourdais will finish at least in the top 12. Marco Andretti will finish in the top twenty. There will be a record-low number of cautions. Sleeper: Felix Rosenqvist.

Musings From the Weekend: Should the IndyCar Finale Have Remained Double Points?

We had one of the best Petit Le Mans on record. Hindsight says Alexander Rossi should have stayed in the #7 Acura over Ricky Taylor. Nobody wants to win the MotoGP championship. Four different riders led the Moto2 championship during that race from Aragón. The World Superbike championship ended as planned, though Portugal's increased lockdown measures is making people worried ahead of Formula One's return to the country. Clean air won again in NASCAR and it was cold. The Supercars season concluded with the Bathurst 1000 and a popular winner. The IndyCar season finale is upon us and that is where we will start our week. Here is a rundown of what got me thinking.

Should the IndyCar Finale Have Remained Double Points?

There have been many revisions, cancellations, postponements, adjustments, amendments, expansions and truncations to get the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season in and now we are staring down the finale, one month later than scheduled at an event originally intended as the season opener. 

Five events became doubleheaders. Many race weekends were shortened to two days. We had a new qualifying format for the doubleheaders on ovals. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course hosted three races. The 2020 season did have three fewer races than originally planned but reaching the finish line feels like a significant achievement and also pure survival. 

Back in March, we weren't sure if any races would happen. We were preparing for the first year without an Indianapolis 500 in 75 years. This year could have been much worse, and yet, we have made it and the championship will be decided in late October on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico instead on the final day of summer in Monterey with the Pacific Ocean in the distance. 

One of the many changes for this season was IndyCar deciding the season finale would not be a double points race. The finale had been worth double points since 2014, when Fontana was the finale and the triple crown races, the 500-mile races at Indianapolis, Pocono and Fontana were all double points that season. Sonoma became the season finale in 2015, Pocono and Fontana each became regular point-paying events, while Indianapolis remained double points and Sonoma became a double points race. 

Double points races have divided the fan base. Many see it as an unnecessary gimmick. Others understand Indianapolis being double points because of its length and prestige (and IndyCar fans will give the Indianapolis 500 a pass for anything). Some are ok with Indianapolis and the finale being double points race because the series can make up the rules, these are established rules, the drivers and teams know the rules and that is fair. There are no surprises. This is all laid out before the start of a season. Everyone is competing with the same rulebook.

I can live with it either way. Did it hurt IndyCar when every race was worth the same? No. Are double points for two races, including the finale, a travesty? No. A driver can still clinch the championship a race early, it just requires double the points. Think of it as a driver needing to win by two to clinch a title early. It is still possible; it just requires a little more work.

During the lockdown, IndyCar decided this year's finale would not be a double points race, and that was a smart decision because we didn't know where the finale would be or when it would be or if it would happen as scheduled. When IndyCar made the decision on March 30, we had four races postponed and there was a chance Long Beach could be rescheduled, though that had plenty of hurdles to clear and we were still suspect of Portland and Laguna Seca happening. After being at St. Petersburg only to have the event called off on the Friday of race weekend, we all knew there would be a chance we could get through the penultimate race and then have the finale cancelled days before the event was to take place and it would not be rescheduled. 

With uncertainty over when the finale would take place and what would be considered the finale, IndyCar had to do what was best for the sanity of the series. It could not afford to announce double points for a finale, only for the finale to be cancelled. That is a difficult position. If the finale was cancelled, you couldn't retroactively make the penultimate race a double points race. If there was a retroactive adjustment to the championship and there was a change at who was first, people would be furious that a champion was not decided on the racetrack. At the time, removing double points for the finale was the right thing to do. 

However, we have now reached the end of the season. IndyCar has contested 13 races. All signs point to St. Petersburg happening. There was no reason IndyCar had to decide right then in there on March 30 whether or not the finale was double points. There were plenty of decisions made during the season that affected the championship. IndyCar created an entirely new qualifying format for the oval doubleheader events during the season. With the increase in road course doubleheader events, there was an extra point available in each of those qualifying session because in the road course doubleheader events the fastest driver in each qualifying group gets a point. Instead of having only two extra points for the Belle Isle races, there were an additional four points available because of there being three road course doubleheaders. 

IndyCar didn't have to commit to double points for the finale immediately, but if the series wasn't going to do it for the finale, it shouldn't have done it for the Indianapolis 500 either. There should have been a balance to this season and every event should have been worth the same. The Indianapolis 500 results now weigh more heavily over the championship picture than if there was at least one more double points race. One more double points race doesn't necessarily even it out, but an argument can be made that it would be fairer. 

In the current situation, Scott Dixon holds a 32-point lead over Josef Newgarden heading into St. Petersburg race. All Dixon has to do to clinch the championship is finish ninth or better. If St. Petersburg had been worth double points, Dixon would have a smaller window to guarantee his championship. With double points, Dixon would have to finish third or better to clinch the championship. 

While you might think Dixon's margin of error shrinking for a top-nine finish to a top-three is unfair and it would diminish what has otherwise been a dominant series for the Ganassi driver, it actually wouldn't. If the Indianapolis 500 had been treated like the 13 other races on the 2020 calendar, which means 50 points for a victory, at many as three bonus points for leading lap, and no additional qualifying points, only one point for pole position, Dixon would be heading to St. Petersburg with a 15-point lead over Newgarden, meaning the only way Dixon could guarantee taking home the championship was with a second-place finish. 

It ends up working out that double points in the finale would balance the scales this year and effectively make the championship picture almost identical to if there were no double points races at all.  

Single points across the board would still mean it would only be a two-horse race, but Will Power would be third and Colton Herta would be fourth entering the finale. Takuma Sato would be tenth, not seventh in the championship, behind Simon Pagenaud, Alexander Rossi and Felix Rosenqvist. Marcus Ericsson would three spots higher in 12th, Rinus VeeKay and Jack Harvey would flip with VeeKay in 13th and Harvey in 14th and Santino Ferrucci would be three spots lower in 15th. 

Double points wouldn't have changed that much this year nor have double points done that much in the six previous seasons double. All double points have allowed this year is for Dixon to have a larger cushion and the top finishers in the Indianapolis 500 are gifted a few extra spots in the championship while those who struggled in that one race are a few spots lower. 

Since IndyCar adopted it, double points have never really produced a championship result that did not fit what actually happened on track. A few drivers have gotten some lucky breaks and ended up a few spots better in the championship. There were a few extra drivers with a shot at the championship entering a final race, but it allowed for a circumstance whereas many as six drivers were alive in a finale. Scott Dixon might have gotten an extra championship out of it in 2015, but Dixon did win the most races that season in a year where no driver was head and shoulders above the rest. 

IndyCar history has not tremendously shifted because of these double points races and specifically double points finales. Everything that has happened fits what has happened on track. It passes the eye test. We haven't had any odd champions that feel hollow. The double points races have not overshadowed the rest of a season. A driver still needs to be strong over 17 races. One great result in a double points race does not completely make up for a dozen average or poor results. 

I am for fewer points being awarded in races, but double points are not the worst thing to happen to IndyCar. If IndyCar had decided to keep double points for this year's finale, it would have been fine and after looking over it, it would have hardly changed anything heading into the finale. It would have still been Dixon vs. Newgarden. The only difference is how much breathing room Dixon is playing with.

Champions From the Weekend

Jonathan Rea clinched his sixth consecutive World Superbike championship with a fourth-place finish in race one from Estoril.

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Jonathan Rea's championship, but did you know...

Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander won the Bathurst 1000. It was van Gisbergen fourth victory of the season and his first Bathurst 1000 victory. It is Tander's forth Bathurst 1000 victory. Tander is the 12th driver to reach four Bathurst 1000 victories.

The #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac of Renger van der Zande, Ryan Briscoe and Scott Dixon won Petit Le Mans, the team's second victory of the season. The #8 Tower Motorsport by Starworks Oreca-Nissan of John Farano, Mikel Jensen and Job van Uitert won in the LMP2 class. The #911 Porsche of Nick Tandy, Frédéric Makowiecki won in the GTLM class. The #63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari of Alessandro Balzan, Cooper MacNiel and Jeff Westphal won in the GTD class.

Álex Rins won MotoGP's Aragón Grand Prix, his first victory of the season. Sam Lowes won the Moto2 race, his second consecutive victory and Lowes took the championship lead with this victory. Jaume Masiá won the Moto3 race, his first victory of the season.

Toprak Razgatlioglu won the first World Superbike races from Estoril with Chaz Davies taking the third race. Andrea Locatelli and Lucas Mahias split the World Supersport races. Locatelli ended his championship season with 12 victories from 15 races. 

Joey Logano won the NASCAR Cup race from Kansas, his third victory of the season. Chase Briscoe won the Grand National Series race, his ninth victory of the season. Brett Moffitt won the Truck race, his first victory of the season.

René Rast swept the DTM races from Zolder for the second consecutive weekend and he has six victories this season.

Nick Cassidy won the Super Formula race from Sportsland SUGO.

Esteban Guerrieri won the bookend WTCC races from Hungaroring with Yann Ehrlacher winning the middle race.

Coming Up This Weekend

The IndyCar finale at St. Petersburg with the Road to Indy series.

Formula One makes its first visit to Portimão for the first Portuguese Grand Prix since 1996.

MotoGP remains in Aragón for the Teurel Grand Prix.

There will be the 24 Hours of Spa and it will be 24 hours despite falling on the end of Daylight Savings in Europe.

NASCAR heads to Texas.

Super GT makes its second trip to Suzuka this season. 

Let's Look at the League - October 2020

There is still a little under two weeks until the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season finale at St. Petersburg and we know the championship picture. We know it will come down between one of two drivers for the crown. A few other drivers will be fighting for top five and top ten championship finishes. St. Petersburg will be the final chance to get a victory before the year is out. 

St. Petersburg will also be the conclusion of my second year of looking at IndyCar through a head-to-head, league format. We last looked at the league back in early September, prior to the Mid-Ohio round. There were three regular season weeks left, the playoff drivers were not set, a relegation spot was on the line, as was a promotion spot, and the second Harvest Grand Prix race would double as the semifinal round for the playoffs.

Where are we after those four races? Let's go over the finish to the regular season:

League One Results

Week 12 (MID-OHIO):

#1 Penske vs. #7 AMSP (2 to 19)

#9 Ganassi vs. #20 ECR (10 to 13)

#12 Penske vs. #55 Coyne (1 to 12)

#30 RLLR vs. #15 RLLR (17 to 4)

 

#22 Penske vs. #98 Andretti (18 to 23)

#27 Andretti vs. #14 Foyt (3 to 22)

#10 Ganassi vs. #5 AMSP (6 to 11)

#28 Andretti vs. #18 Coyne (5 to 14)

 

Week 13 (MID-OHIO):

#1 Penske vs. #12 Penske (8 to 7)

#9 Ganassi vs. #30 RLLR (10 to 18)

#15 RLLR vs. #20 ECR (4 to 16)

#55 Coyne vs. #7 AMSP (23 to 15)

 

#22 Penske vs. #10 Ganassi (6 to 22)

#27 Andretti vs. #28 Andretti (2 to 3)

#18 Coyne vs. #14 Foyt (14 to 21)

#5 AMSP vs. #98 Andretti (9 to 20)

 

Week 14 (HARVEST GP):

#1 Penske vs. #9 Ganassi (1 to 9)

#12 Penske vs. #30 RLLR (6 to 18)

#15 RLLR vs. #55 Coyne (7 to 17)

#20 ECR vs. #7 AMSP (12 to 20)

 

#22 Penske vs. #27 Andretti (16 to 2)

#10 Ganassi vs. #28 Andretti (5 to 19)

#18 Coyne vs. #5 AMSP (15 to 22)

#14 Foyt vs. #98 Andretti (21 to 25)

Conference 1 Standings:

#1 Penske 11-3

#9 Ganassi 11-3

#12 Penske 10-4

#15 RLLR 8-6

#30 RLLR 6-8

#7 AMSP 5-9

#55 Coyne 4-10

#20 ECR 1-13

Conference 2 Standings:

#10 Ganassi 12-2

#28 Andretti 9-5

#18 Coyne 9-5

#22 Penske 8-6

#5 AMSP 7-7

#27 Andretti 5-9

#98 Andretti 3-11

#14 Foyt 2-12

What happened?

With Scott Dixon's victories in the two Mid-Ohio races, he locked up a playoff spot, while Josef Newgarden assured his spot with a victory in the first Mid-Ohio race. In the first Harvest Grand Prix race, Newgarden's victory over Dixon got him the #1 seed from his conference. 

Felix Rosenqvist had already locked up the #1 seed in his conference, but it was an interesting three-way battle for second. Simon Pagenaud won the two Mid-Ohio races and kept himself alive but lost the first Harvest Grand Prix race and fell a victory shy of making it a three-way tie. Santino Ferrucci went 2-1 and Ryan Hunter-Reay went 1-2 in the final three weeks, leaving the two drivers tied on 9-5 records. 

The tiebreaker was head-to-head record between the two drivers and Hunter-Reay went 2-0 over Ferrucci, defeating in Texas qualifying in week one and in the first Mid-Ohio race, meaning Hunter-Reay virtually locked out any hope of Ferrucci making the playoffs with that victory at Mid-Ohio because that meant at best they could finish tied and Hunter-Reay held the tiebreaker.

Even if Pagenaud had made it a three-way tie, Hunter-Reay would have gotten the playoff spot because the tiebreaker would be head-to-head between the three drivers. Hunter-Reay was 2-0 against Ferrucci and was 1-1 against Pagenaud, giving him a 3-1 record. Ferrucci was 2-0 against Pagenaud with victories in the first Road America race and the first Gateway race, but his record would be 2-2 and Pagenaud was 1-3. 

What about the relegation fight?

We knew the #20 ECR entry was going down in Conference #1, and it did not take look to settle Conference #2. Once Alexander Rossi defeated Dalton Kellett at the first Mid-Ohio race and Ferrucci defeated Kellett the next day, it was over. The #14 Foyt entry was going down. Bourdais did get a victory over Andretti in the first Harvest Grand Prix race after Andretti lost his engine, but it was merely a consolation prize.

The good news is the #20 ECR did get its first victory of the year in the final round when Conor Daly finished 20th, one spot ahead of Hélio Castroneves in the #7 AMSP entry. 

League Two Results

Week 12:

#88 AHSR vs. #60 MSR (9 to 7)

#21 ECR vs. #8 CGR (8 to 15)

#26 Andretti vs. #31 Carlin (Walkover)

#59 Carlin vs. #4 Foyt (16 to 21)

Week 13:

#88 AHSR vs. #26 Andretti (1 to 17)

#21 ECR vs. #59 Carlin (11 to 13)

#4 Foyt vs. #8 CGR (19 to 5) 

#31 Carlin vs. #60 MSR (Walkover)

 

Week 14:

#88 AHSR vs. #21 ECR (4 to 3)

#26 Andretti vs. #59 Carlin (14 to 11)

#4 Foyt vs. #31 Carlin (Walkover)

#8 CGR vs. #60 MSR (10 to 8)

League Two standings:

#88 AHSR 11-3

#21 ECR 10-4

#59 Carlin 9-5

#60 MSR 7-7

#8 Ganassi 7-7

#26 Andretti 6-8

#4 Foyt 5-9

#31 Carlin 0-11

League Two At-A-Glance:

Colton Herta was already assured promotion and with Rinus VeeKay going 3-0 in the final three weeks while Max Chilton went 2-1, the #21 ECR entry earned promotion, meaning the two ECR entries will pass each other like two ships in the night, one ascending to the top league while the other settles into the second-tier. 

Here are the tentative 16 entries that will be in League One next year:

#1 Penske 

#9 Ganassi

#10 Ganassi

#28 Andretti

#12 Penske 

#18 Coyne

#15 RLLR

#22 Penske

#30 RLLR

#5 AMSP

#7 AMSP

#27 Andretti

#55 Coyne

#98 Andretti

#88 AHSR

#21 ECR

Once again, this is tentatively. Some entries might close down. That might mean the #20 ECR or #14 Foyt could stay. Someone in League Two, like the #59 Carlin entry could get promoted or the #60 MSR entry could move up. I am not quite sure how I would rectify that issue if it arises, but I will come up with something if needed. We will set the conferences once this season is over, we know the final entrants' championship standings and when we know who will be running in 2021.

Tentative League Two entries:

#20 ECR

#14 Foyt

#59 Carlin

#60 MSR

#8 Ganassi

#26 Andretti

#4 Foyt

#31 Carlin

Playoffs

With all that done, and with this pandemic affected season, the playoffs were reduced to the top two from each conference, a semifinal round at the penultimate race and the championship settled in the finale. 

We split the entries from each conference, meaning the top seeds would face the second seed from the other conference.

That meant the #1 Penske faced the #28 Andretti and the two Ganassi entries matched up in the second Harvest Grand Prix. 

Newgarden ended up fourth with Hunter-Reay in 16th. 

Dixon was eighth with Rosenqvist in 11th. 

That means the head-to-head championship at St. Petersburg will come down to either Josef Newgarden or Scott Dixon, the two drivers that are battling for the actual championship. 

Last year, the head-to-head championship came down between Newgarden and Ed Jones in the #20 ECR entry, because Ed Carpenter finished ahead of Alexander Rossi at Gateway and then Dixon had his mechanical failure at Portland, allowing Jones to beat Dixon in the semifinal. The #20 ECR entry went 7-7 and was a four-seed. Newgarden was a one-seed and had the second-best record at 11-3 behind Rossi's 12-2. Newgarden beat Hinchcliffe and Pagenaud in the first two playoff rounds. In the finale, Jones never really got close to Newgarden and Newgarden took two championships, one actual and another hypothetical.

This was only year two of this theoretical competition. I was always curious how head-to-head matchups would play out. It is not as clean cut as the actual championship. A top five championship driver can have a ho-hum day and finish 10th but lose a head-to-head matchup to someone who is 19th in the championship because that driver finished ninth. 

But in the first two years, the actual IndyCar champion has made the finale. The first year, the champion was against an entry barely in the top 15 in the entrants' championship. The other two semifinalists were second and fourth in the championship and went to the Laguna Seca final with a shot at the actual title. 

This year, the other two semifinalists are currently tenth and 11th in the championship. Rosenqvist had the best record and he has only five top ten finishes from 13 races. The top five finishers from Conference #1 are all in the top seven of the championship. In Conference #2, three of the drivers in the top ten of the championship finished behind the 11th and 13th-place drivers on head-to-head matchups. Pagenaud has won a race and yet he finished behind a driver that hasn't even stood on the podium. The bottom three full-time teams in the entrants' championship had the three worst records in League One and yet the worst full-time entrant on points is staying in League One because of head-to-head results.

Strange, but sometimes strange is good. 

The championship battle between Dixon and Newgarden was already going to be on the mind of every IndyCar fan during the finale, but keep in mind the head-to-head battle during the St. Petersburg race. Newgarden might finish ahead of Dixon on the track and not score enough points to take the Astor Cup. However, that would be enough for Newgarden to take his second consecutive fictional head-to-head championship.

Musings From the Weekend: Squeezing in Events

This was an off-week for me. I had the Bathurst 1000 on my schedule a week earlier than its actually date, but I guess it is better to be a week early than a week late. I am at least prepared. However, I did not realize the MotoGP race and the Formula One race started an hour earlier than usual. Anyway, Lewis Hamilton tied Michal Schumacher's record of 91 grand prix victories. It rained at Le Mans and Ducati made history. It rained in Charlotte, NASCAR was a mess, but IMSA did quite well. The Road to Indy Series visited New Jersey and both series had titles wrapped up. We are going to start this week looking at Formula One pulling off the Nürburgring event and whether or not track of its ilk have a place on future calendars. Here is a rundown of what got me thinking.

Squeezing in Events

Despite the weather, Formula One's return to the Nürburgring received a warm welcome. 

People enjoyed being back at the famed German track for the first time in six years. People were excited last month to visit Mugello for the first time. Portimão, Imola and Istanbul are the next three races and there is anticipation for all three. 

It is fun to do something different, especially when the Formula One schedule can remain relatively unchanged year after year. There is always the occasional new venue in Formula One, but most of those tracks are newly built, typically Hermann Tilke designed with miles of paved runoff and 22 corners squeezed into three miles of tarmac. 

It is rare to get a returning venue or for Formula One to visit a historic track that has never hosted Formula One before. There is always something that gets in the way, whether that is believing the circuit isn't up to standards or lack of money. Money is the answer 99% of the time. Not many places can drop $20 million to host a Formula One race. 

This year has led to a much different calendar, and one that is exciting because it is unprecedented. There was a strong belief Formula One would never visit Nürburgring or Imola again. I doubt anyone thought Mugello or Portimão would get races. Then Istanbul came in out of nowhere and Formula One decided to do a race around the Bahrain perimeter circuit. 

Three of those tracks have never hosted Formula One before. Two of them had not hosted a race in the previous six to ten years. Another had not been on the calendar in 14 years. This year has been terrible across the board, but if there is one positive we can look back on and smile about is the 2020 Formula One calendar. We might not see anything like this again. 

These visits to unfamiliar venues have led some to suggest Formula One should have a handful of "invitational" events, races at tracks not normally on the schedule and those races are different each year. It would allow some old venues to return, as well as allow some other newer tracks to get a race. 

There are more than 22 circuits that can host Formula One, but the one issue is timing and money. 

There are only so many weekends in a calendar year, and it costs a lot of money to host a Formula One race. I doubt any track would want a one-time $20 million cost. The tracks need a little more meat for that price tag. 

We have seen a condensed schedule with back-to-backs are possible for Formula One and I think that is one way we can get a few more events on the schedule. Liberty Media already set the goal of 25 grand prix weekends. The original 2020 schedule was supposed to have 22 races. The goal is within reach, and there are tweaks Formula One can do to get to 25 races. 

Mugello came the week after Monza, and with strategic back-to-backs, Formula One can get to 25 races while also visiting different venues and not heaping excessive travel on the teams. 

Back-to-backs have become more frequent in Formula One, as the schedule has inched over 20 races. This year we even had a few back-to-back-to-back stretches. There are fewer weekends to work with and I am sure teams want to limit the number of three consecutive weekends with races, but I think there are ways for such stretches to take place and not entirely wear out the teams. 

The first is hit strategic back-to-backs where it makes sense. Why couldn't Formula One have two races in Australia every three or four years? You can have Melbourne and then return to Adelaide or visit The Bend Motorsports Park or there could be another venue that pops up. Why couldn't Japan host two races every so often? Or China? Or France? Or Germany? Or the United Kingdom? 

We have heard plenty of talk about a second race in the United States. Depending on location, that second US race could be tied with the Canadian Grand Prix in June or Austin in autumn, which would likely have to be a three-week stretch of Austin, the second US race and Mexico. We could also pair a race in Argentina with the Brazilian Grand Prix. Malaysia could rotate in every now and then and either pair with Vietnam at the start of the year or Singapore toward the end. We could also pair Thailand with either Asia-Pacific swing as well. 

The season could also start earlier. For the last couple of years, Formula One has made preseason testing into a four-day event, normally at Barcelona. Why couldn't the first race occur immediately after testing? I know teams would hate that because they are trying out the cars for the first time and know there are massive updates that will be made, but maybe we adjust the regulations, allow the teams to test on their own for the two weeks prior to that test, schedule a four-day test from Monday to Thursday and then that Friday begin a race weekend before the season opener at the same track. 

It could be a "grand premiere grand prix" each year at the start February or in the middle of February. The venue could rotate. It likely wouldn't be at Barcelona, but it could be a way for Jerez, Portimão or Estoril to end up on the schedule. A Middle East venue like the Dubai Autodromo could be a suitable location. It could rotate to a few different venues. 

The "grand premiere grand prix" could also see different strategies when it comes to the new car. Even if the teams were given two weeks of free testing with their new cars ahead of the start of the season, some might decide to run the previous season's car because the new one is not fully polished and instead of going into a race weekend with something unproven, a team might go with something tried and true while others might roll the dice. That would lead to an interesting opening race. Does old faithful win out while other teams falter working out the kinks or does a team hit it out with a new car while a conservative strategy bites a team early? 

The European Grand Prix could return and become a rotating event where a different track hosts it every year, similar to the UEFA Champions League Final. A track could bid and maybe it could get two years in a five-year period if it has the funding. You could see a rotation that includes races at Donington Park, Magny-Cours, the new KymiRing in Finland (which was supposed to host MotoGP this year), a return to Donington Park, and then Zolder or Valencia (Circuit Ricardo Tormo, not the street course) or Hockenheim or maybe another track pops up because they have new found belief in hosting a Formula One race. Maybe its Brno. Could you imagine Formula One at Brno?

If these "invitational" events happen, they should get a little more security than just a one-and-done. For starters, these can be Formula One races at a typical Formula One price. These have to be discounted weekends and a favorable business deal for the track. Any agreement should see a track get two or three shots, whether that is hosting a race over consecutive years or spreading the dates out over five or ten years. These tracks should get multiple chances to host an event. One event cannot be indicative of what a track has to offer. Two or three years would take into account that poor weather could affect one weekend, allow a track to have a mulligan and it would allow these tracks to learn and make improvements from year to year. 

I think a lot of preconceived notions about what is possible for a grand prix weekend and an entire calendar have been obliterated this year. There are still limits. We are not going to have a grand prix every weekend, but I do believe Formula One is more open to taking chances and actually trying new things. Imola will be a two-day weekend. That could be a way to contest a few extra races without overstraining the teams. There were going to be nine European rounds in 2020. That would be 27 days on track. If there were 12 European dates and eight were two-day shows and four were three-day shows, that would be 28 days on track. You could get three more rounds and only spend one more day at a track. 

There would still be setup time and travel, but if it was Monza to Mugello or Zandvoort to Zolder or Barcelona to Portimão, the teams would at least be in the neighborhood all things considered. 

We are still in the pandemic and it is going to be around for a good portion of 2021. Any attempt at "invitational" races or a rotation of part-time events might be a few years away. When the time comes, the entire landscape could be different and such events could be impossible anyway. We still have to get through this, but I think many are looking to a different future once it is over and are ready to accept the change.

Champions From the Weekend

Christian Rasmussen clinched the U.S. F2000 championship with victories in the final two races from New Jersey Motorsports Park. Eduardo Barrichello won the first race of the weekend.

Sting Ray Robb clinched the Indy Pro 2000 championship with finishes of second, first and third from NJMP. Devlin DeFrancesco and Manual Sulaimán split the other two races.

The #22 United Autosport Oreca-Gibson of Filipe Albuquerque and Phil Hanson clinched the European Le Mans Series LMP2 championship with its victory at the 4 Hours of Monza, the team's third consecutive victory.

Jordi Torres won the MotoE World Cup championship with a victory and a sixth in the final weekend at Le Mans. Niki Tuuli won the second MotoE race. It was the first victory of the season for both Torres and Tuuli.

The #32 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi of Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts won the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup championship with finishes of sixth, second and second at the Barcelona season finale.

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Lewis Hamilton and company, but did you know...

Danilo Petrucci won MotoGP's French Grand Prix, his first victory of the season and it was Ducati's first victory at Le Mans and in the French Grand Prix. Sam Lowes won the Moto2 race, his first victory since the 2016 Moto2 race at Aragón. Celestino Vietti won the Moto3 race, his second victory of the season.

Chase Elliott won the NASCAR Cup race from Charlotte, his third victory of the season. A.J. Allmendinger won the Grand National Series race, his second victory of the season. 

The #3 Corvette of Jordan Taylor and Antonio García won the IMSA race from Charlotte, its fifth victory of the season. The #96 Turner Motorsport BMW of Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley won in the GTD class, its second victory of the season.

The #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier-Nissan of Martin Hippe and Dino Lunardi won the LMP3 class in the European Le Mans Series race from Monza. The #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari of Michael Broniszewski, David Perel and Nicola Cadei won the GTE class.

Dani Sordo won Rally Italia Sardegna, his second consecutive year winning the event.

René Rast swept the DTM races from Zolder.

The #163 Emil Frey Racing Lamborghini of Albert Costa and Giacomo Altoe, the #66 Attempto Racing Audi of Nicolas Schöll and Frédéric Vervisch and the #88 AKKA ASP Mercedes-AMG of Timur Boguslavskiy and Raffaele Marciello split the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Series races from Barcelona.

Nathanaël Berthon, Tom Coronel and Nicky Catsburg split the WTCC races from Slovakia.

Coming Up This Weekend

Now it is Bathurst 1000 weekend.

IMSA has Petit Le Mans.

Jonathan Rea looks to clinch his sixth World Superbike championship at the season finale in Estoril.

MotoGP is in Aragón for its first of two consecutive race weekends at the track.

DTM has its second consecutive weekend at Zolder.

NASCAR begins its semifinal round at Kansas.

Super Formula will be at Sportsland SUGO. 

WTCC heads to Hungary.