Track Walk: Laguna Seca 2022

The 17th and final round of the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season occurs at Laguna Seca. Five drivers head to the Northern California course with a chance at hoisting the Astor Cup as the 2022 IndyCar Series champion. Three drivers are looking to add another IndyCar championship to their résumés. Two drivers are going for their first IndyCar title. IndyCar could have its fourth different champion in four seasons, a level of parity not seen in IndyCar since 2011 through 2014. Along with the five championship contenders, 21 other drivers will take to the circuit looking to close the season with a victory.

Coverage

Time: Coverage begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday September 11 with green flag scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.
Channel: NBC
Announcers: Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe will be in the booth. Kevin Lee, Marty Snider and Dillon Welch will work pit lane.

IndyCar Weekend Schedule

Friday:

First Practice: 5:30 p.m. ET (75 minutes)

Saturday:

Second Practice: 1:15 p.m. ET (60 minutes)
Qualifying: 5:05 p.m. ET 

Sunday:

Warm-Up: 12:00 p.m. ET (30 minutes)

Race: 3:30 p.m. ET (110 laps)

* - All sessions will be available live on Peacock

The Championship Picture

Will Power enters Laguna Seca with the championship lead on 523 points. Power is 20 points ahead of Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon. Marcus Ericsson is fourth in the championship, 39 points behind Power. Scott McLaughlin's victory last week at Portland has him 41 points behind Power entering the finale. 

Power will clinch the IndyCar championship with a finish of third or better regardless of what any other driver does. 

Newgarden or Dixon could win the championship with a victory and Power finishing fifth or worse. If Newgarden or Dixon were to win the race and score at least two bonus points, they could win the championship if Power finishes fourth but scores no bonus points. If either Newgarden or Dixon were to win the race with at least three bonus points or the maximum four bonus points, they could win the championship if Power finishes fourth with no more than one bonus point scored. 

A second-place finish could still net Newgarden or Dixon the championship, but it would mean a ninth-place finish would be enough for Power to clinch the championship. If Newgarden or Dixon scored the maximum four bonus points and finished second, then Power would need to finish seventh to clinch the championship. 

For Ericsson and McLaughlin, the championship will require a little more work. 

If Ericsson wins at Laguna Seca, he would need Power to finish 18th or worse with no bonus points, Newgarden to finish fifth or worse with no more than one bonus point and Dixon to finish fourth or worse with no bonus points. If Ericsson won with the maximum bonus points, he would need Power to finish 15th or worse with no bonus points, Newgarden to finish fourth or worse and Dixon to finish third or worse with no bonus points. 

McLaughlin must win the race to win the championship, as he cannot overtake Power on points with any form of a second-place finish. 

If McLaughlin wins at Laguna Seca, he would need Power to finish 20th or worse with no bonus points, Newgarden to finish sixth or worse with no more than one bonus point and Dixon to finish fifth or worse with no bonus points. If McLaughlin won with the maximum bonus points, he would need Power to finish 18th or worse, Newgarden to finish fourth or worse with no bonus points and Dixon to finish fourth or worse with no more than one bonus point. 

There is no way for Ericsson to win the championship if McLaughlin won the race. 

Newgarden owns the tiebreaker over every driver with five victories. McLaughlin owns the tiebreaker over Power, Dixon and Ericsson with three victories while Dixon has won twice and Power and Ericsson have only won once. 

Dixon currently owns the tiebreaker over Ericsson, but if Ericsson were to win the finale, the two drivers would be level on two victories, but the tiebreaker would switch to Ericsson's favor as he has a second-place finish while Dixon does not. 

Ericsson could finish level on points with Power with a runner-up finish. It would require Ericsson to score the maximum four bonus points and Power to finish 25th or worse with no bonus points. However, in that scenario, Power would own the tiebreaker as each driver would have one victory, each driver would have finished second twice, but Power would own the tiebreaker with five third-place finishes to Ericsson's one. 

Eighth place with at least one bonus point scored is the worst position either Newgarden or Dixon can finish and win the championship over Power, but that would require Power finishing 25th or worse with no bonus points. 

What is at Stake for Each Driver?

Each of these five drivers have something in play when it comes to this championship, and each could set a place for themselves in history. 

For Power, he is going for his second championship, eight years after his first title in the 2014 season. He would become the 27th driver with multiple championships. Power also enters this weekend fifth all-time in race victories on 41 and could tie Michael Andretti for fourth all-time if he were to end the season with a race triumph at Laguna Seca. Without a victory, but still with enough to claim the championship, Power could become the first champion with one victory or fewer since Tony Stewart in the 1996-97 Indy Racing League season. 

Newgarden is aiming for his third championship, and all three would have come in the last six seasons. Newgarden would become the 13th three-time champion. He would tie Rick Mears for most IndyCar championships won for Team Penske, but Newgarden would join Ted Horn as the only three-time champions without an Indianapolis 500 victory. Newgarden has five victories, and it would be the most race victories for a champion since Simon Pagenaud in 2016. If Newgarden were to win at Laguna Seca and win the championship, he would be the first champion with six victories since Scott Dixon in 2008.

Dixon has the most history on the line. This could be his seventh championship, which would put him tied with A.J. Foyt for the most championships in IndyCar history. It has been 43 years since Foyt's seventh championship. It took Foyt 22 years from his debut until his seventh title. For Dixon, it has been 21 years since he made his debut in Monterrey, Mexico. This would be Dixon's third title in the last five seasons. 

Ericsson could become the first IndyCar champion with Formula One experience prior to his IndyCar career since Alex Zanardi won the 1998 CART title. Ericsson could become the first champions whose only victory was the Indianapolis 500 since 1946. He would join Kenny Bräck as the second Swedish champion. Sweden would become the sixth country to produce multiple IndyCar champions. Ericsson will need to lead at least a lap to become champion this weekend. However, his 37 laps led would be the fewest for a champion since Scott Sharp was co-champion of the inaugural Indy Racing League season in 1996 with Buzz Calkins. Sharp led only 40 laps over that three-race season. 

The only other champions since 1946 with fewer than 100 laps led in a season are Ted Horn in 1946 with 98, Henry Banks in 1950 with 12, Sam Hanks in 1953 with 57, Tom Sneva in 1977 with 59 and George Snider in the 1981-82 USAC Gold Crown season with 23.

McLaughlin could also make New Zealand the sixth country to produce multiple IndyCar champions. If either Dixon or McLaughlin won the title it would be the seventh IndyCar championship for New Zealand, putting it tied for second with the United Kingdom for IndyCar championships and only behind the United States. McLaughlin would become the 11th Penske driver to win the IndyCar championship. 

The champion will either come from Team Penske or Chip Ganassi Racing. This will be the tenth consecutive season the champion has come from one of these two organizations. This would be Ganassi's third consecutive championship, the first time a team has won three consecutive titles since Ganassi's four-year run from 2008 to 2011. 

A title for Dixon or Ericsson would be Ganassi's 14th IndyCar championship. Team Penske could leave Laguna Seca with its 17th IndyCar championship.

What Does the Season Tell Us?

Sixteen races have taken place. What can we take from the first six-and-a-half months of the season into the season finale?

Power has the best average finish this season at 6.125, slightly better than Dixon, who is averaging a 6.375. Ericsson has the third best average finish this season at 8.0 while Newgarden is at 8.5625 and McLaughlin is at 8.9375. 

Newgarden leads in victories but Power leads in podium finishes with eight and top five finishes with 11. It is Dixon who enters Laguna Seca with the most top ten finishes, 15 from the first 16 races. Newgarden has won on three ovals, a street course and a road course. Half of Power's podium finishes have been on natural-terrain road courses while Dixon has only four podium finishes all season. Ericsson has only three podium finishes this season. McLaughlin is second to Power on podium finishes with seven, three of which were on ovals.

Things spread out when it comes to average starting position. Newgarden leads all of IndyCar with an average starting spot of 5.5. McLaughlin is second amongst the five championship eligible drivers at 6.875 with Power averaging an 8.0625. Dixon and Ericsson both average worse than a top ten starting position. For Dixon, it is by a hair at 10.938 while Ericsson is at 11.813, 12th best among the regular IndyCar competitors. 

Newgarden has started in the top ten of seven consecutive races and in 14 of 16 races this season. Hs worst starting position was 14th in the Indianapolis 500 and at Mid-Ohio. Power has six consecutive top ten starts, five of which have been top five starting positions, and four of those have been front row starts. 

Dixon has only two top five starts on road/street courses this season. He started fifth at Mid-Ohio and second at Toronto. He has started outside the top ten in five of the last six races. Ericsson has started outside the top ten in nine of 16 races. McLaughlin has nine top ten starts in the last ten races, six of which are top five starts. He has started in the top ten in 13 of 16 races with his three non-top ten starts being the two Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course races and the Indianapolis 500. 

Newgarden leads IndyCar with eight Firestone Fast Six appearances, but he is one of five drivers to make the second round of qualifying on ten occasions. Power and McLaughlin are two of those other four drivers with ten second-round appearances. Dixon and Ericsson have both made it out of the first round of qualifying seven times this season, but each driver has made the Fast Six only twice. Both did it at the Indianapolis 500, Ericsson did it at Road America and Dixon did it at Toronto. 

Power and Dixon have completed every lap this season with 2,173 laps run. On four occasions has a driver completed every lap in a season. The first to do it was Tony Kanaan in the 2004 Indy Racing League season. Simon Pagenaud was the next to do it in 2017 and Newgarden and Dixon did it in 2020 as they went 1-2 in the championship. In Power's 2014 championship season, he competed 2,394 out of 2,395 laps. The only lap Power did not complete that season was in the first Houston race where he finished 14th, tied for his worst finish that season.

The three Penske drivers are the top three drivers in laps led. Newgarden has led the most, 522 laps with McLaughlin second on 433 and Power in third on 318 laps led. Dixon is fourth in laps led on 177 while Ericsson has led 37 laps, tenth in IndyCar.

Newgarden and Power are tied for the most races led this season, each having led in nine. McLaughlin has led a lap in eight races, including the last four. Dixon has only led a lap in five races, four street courses and the Indianapolis 500. Ericsson has also only led a lap in five races, three ovals, the IMS road course and Road America.

If you remove the two Iowa races, Newgarden has still led 166 laps this season, but only 28 of those have been on natural-terrain road courses, 26 at Road America on his way to victory and two at Barber Motorsports Park. 

Spoilers

While Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing, have their sights set on the championship, there are nine other teams and 21 other drivers running at Laguna Seca hoping to end the season with a victory and some hardware of their own.

For the first time possibly all season, Andretti Autosport enters a race weekend as a favorite. Colton Herta has won the last two Laguna Seca, an undefeated record for the American at the track. In two starts, Herta has two victories, two pole positions and he has led 174 of 185 laps. Herta is the only driver with two top five finishes in the last two Laguna Seca races. He is one of six drivers with consecutive Laguna Seca victories, and he could join Bobby Rahal as the only drivers with at least three consecutive Laguna Seca victories this weekend. 

Herta will be the man to beat, but Alexander Rossi should be a challenger for the race victory as well. Rossi has started third and second in the last two Laguna Seca races, but he lost ground in the 2019 race as strategy played out. Last year, Rossi was running side-by-side with Herta entering turn five on the opening lap before slight contact spun Rossi off track and he lost a lap before his car could be restarted. 

It has not been a great season for Romain Grosjean, but Laguna Seca could be the perfect place for him to wrap up his season. Grosjean went from 13th to third in last year's race and he led four laps during pit cycle, the only driver other than Herta to lead. 

Álex Palou will not make it consecutive championships, but he has a chance to end the season with a victory. Palou had an impressive drive last year at Laguna Seca and he kept the margin close between him and Herta. In the final stint, Palou closed the gap to 1.975 seconds over Herta at the finish. 

Arrow McLaren SP does not have a driver in the championship battle, but it has two drivers in the top ten of the championship, and one of which is looking for his first victory in over two years. Patricio O'Ward leads the AMSP effort, but he is seventh in the championship. O'Ward has finished fourth in the last two races. He has not had three consecutive top five finishes yet this season. O'Ward was fifth in last year's Laguna Seca race. 

Felix Rosenqvist currently sits tenth in the championship, but he could finish as high as eighth in the championship. Rosenqvist had an impressive drive in the 2019 Laguna Seca race going from 14th to sixth. However, last year was a step in the wrong direction, dropping from 15th to 19th. 

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is looking for its first victory since the 2020 Indianapolis 500, and it is heading on a wave of momentum after Portland. Graham Rahal scored his second top five finish this season and Christian Lundgaard spent much of the race in the top ten. Rahal was fourth last year at Laguna Seca after starting 12th. Along with Bobby Rahal's four victories as a driver, the team has three more victories. Bryan Herta won the 1998 and 1999 races and Max Papis won there in 2001. 

Super License Points

There is more than the championship on the line at Laguna Seca. With IndyCar drivers now regularly in the conversation for Formula One opportunities, this season finale could go a long way into deciding who has a future in the world championship and who does not, as the top ten drivers in the championship will be awarded Super License points. 

The IndyCar champion will receive 40 Super License points, enough to automatically qualify for a Super License and race in Formula One. Second in the championship will get 30 points while third and fourth get 20 points and 10 points respectively. Fifth will receive eight points with six points going to sixth. Seventh will earn four points while eighth, ninth and tenth will get three points, two points and one point respectively.

Forty points is what is necessary to qualify for a Super License, but those 40 points must come from the best three seasons over the last four years. This best-three-in-four-year provision was put in after the 2020 season was disrupted due to the pandemic. 

Twelve drivers could leave Laguna Seca with Super License points scored from this weekend. 

At the present moment, Newgarden, Dixon and Palou will all leave Laguna Seca with over 40 points. They are the last three champions, and their championships will carry for another season. Newgarden has also scored 30 points in each of the last two seasons for finishing second, meaning he has an additional 60 points carrying over. Dixon has an additional 20 points and Palou has 15 points from the 2019 Super Formula season where he finished third that will carry over.

Power enters the weekend below 40 points and he is due to lose 20 points for finishing third in the 2018 season this weekend. A top two championship finish will ensure Power will be over 40 points after the 2022 season. 

McLaughlin has 45 points based off his three championship seasons in Supercars from 2018 through 2020. He will lose 15 points as his 2018 Supercars title will no longer count toward Super License points. He must finish fourth or better in the IndyCar championship to maintain on or above the 40-point threshold. 

The 2018 Indy Lights season has been a source of questions ever since O'Ward's brief time in the Red Bull driver program. At the current moment, that season is in question with Herta's potential inclusion into the Red Bull program. Originally, it was ruled the 2018 Indy Lights season did not count due to lack of entries, meaning O'Ward does not get 15 points for the championship, nor does Herta get 12 points for being second that season. 

With those points off the board, O'Ward and Herta are both on 30 points and neither driver would be dropping a points total at the end of this seaosn. O'Ward would need to crack the top four to reach the 40-point threshold, a possible yet difficult task as O'Ward is 28 points behind Ericsson for fourth in the championship. Herta can finish no better than eighth in the championship, meaning the most Super License points he can earn from this season is three points.

Rossi has 52 points based on his best three seasons from the last four years, but he will be dropping his 30 points for his runner-up finish in the 2018 IndyCar championship. The most points Rossi can earn is three points for eighth. Rossi's recent Formula One experience could keep make him exemption from the Super License point system

Rosenqvist only has 12 Super License points and will drop six points for his sixth-place finish in the 2017-18 Formula E season. The best Rosenqvist can do in this championship is three points for eighth. 

Rahal and VeeKay are the two drivers currently outside the championship top ten that could earn Super License points. Rahal enters with 13 points but will drop three. He is 27 points behind Rosenqvist for tenth in the championship. Rahal could finish as high as eighth. 

VeeKay has 22 points based on Indy Lights and Indy Pro 2000 results, but he will drop ten points from his 2018 Indy Pro 2000 championship. VeeKay is 45 points behind Rosenqvist in the championship. In theory, VeeKay could get as high as eighth in the championship, but the only way he can crack the top ten is with a race victory.

Indy Lights

Linus Lundqvist did not close out the Indy Lights championship at Portland last week, but all he needs to do is start one of the two races over the Laguna Seca doubleheader and the 2022 championship will be his. 

Lundqvist has five victories this season, nine podium results and he has finished in the top five in all 12 races. Lundqvist will become the first HMD Motorsports driver to win an Indy Lights championship and this title will snap Andretti Autosport's streak of three consecutive championships in the series. 

Lundqvist will be the first European champion since Tristan Vautier won the 2012 title, and Lundqvist will be the first Swedish champion. 

Matthew Brabham's run of five consecutive top five finishes has him second entering the final weekend on 412 points, 11 points ahead of Andretti Autosport teammate Hunter McElrea, who has seven consecutive top five finishes. Brabham and McElrea are the only other drivers with multiple victories this season besides Lundqvist. 

It has tightened up for fourth in the championship. Sting Ray Robb sits on 389 points, three ahead of Benjamin Pedersen, who is fresh off his first career Indy Lights victory last week at Portland. Christian Rasmussen is 40 points outside the top five while Danial Frost has 330 pains in seventh. 

Jacob Abel is coming off a fourth-place finish in Portland and has 293 points. Kyffin Simpson sits on 276 points. Ernie Francis, Jr. has 263 points, seven points ahead of Christian Bogle. 

Indy Lights will race at 3:20 p.m. ET on Saturday September 10 and the final race of the Indy Lights season will be at 12:55 p.m. ET on Sunday September 11. 

Fast Facts

This will be the eighth IndyCar race to take place on September 11 and first since Dan Wheldon won at Chicagoland in 2005. Wheldon clinched the 2005 championship that day with two races remaining. It was the last time an Indy Racing League/IndyCar Series championship was decided before the season finale. 

Sunday will be Rinus VeeKay's 22nd birthday. VeeKay could become the tenth IndyCar driver with a birthday victory. The most recent was Dan Wheldon at Iowa on June 22, 2008. 

Rinus VeeKay would be the youngest birthday winner at 22 years old. The current youngest birthday winner are Lou Moore, Sam Hornish, Jr. and Scott Dixon, who all won on their 27th birthday. 

This will be the tenth time Laguna Seca has hosted the IndyCar season finale. Since 1979, no track has hosted a season finale more than Laguna Seca. 

In the previous nine Laguna Seca finales, the championship leader entering the weekend left Laguna Seca as the champion. 

In four of those nine years, the championship had been clinched prior to Laguna Seca (Emerson Fittipaldi 1989, Al Unser, Jr. 1990 and 1994, Nigel Mansell in 1993).

In the five years the title was undecided entering Laguna Seca, the championship leader extended the gap with Michael Andretti doing it in 1991 and Jimmy Vasser doing it in 1996.

In 1992, Bobby Rahal entered Laguna Seca with a 12-point lead over Michael Andretti, but the final championship margin was four points as Andretti finished second and Rahal was fourth. In 1995, Jacques Villeneuve had a 16-point championship lead entering the race over Al Unser, Jr. and the final championship margin was 11 points, as Unser, Jr. finished sixth and Villeneuve finished 11th. In 2019, Josef Newgarden entered with a 41-point lead over Alexander Rossi, but the final championship margin was 25 points over Simon Pagenaud in second and 33 points over Rossi in third.

In the last six seasons the championship leader entering the finale has held on to win the championship. The last time the championship lead changed after the final race was 2015 when Scott Dixon won the championship over Juan Pablo Montoya, who had led the championship after every race entering the final race at Sonoma.

The average starting position for a Laguna Seca winner is 2.541667 with a median of one. 

Sixteen of 24 Laguna Seca races have been won from pole position. Twenty of 24 Laguna Seca races have been won from the front row. Twenty-two of 24 Laguna Seca races have been won from a top three starting positions. 

The other two Laguna Seca races were won from sixth in 1997 with Jimmy Vasser and from 25th in 2001 with Max Papis.

The average number of lead changes in a Laguna Seca race is 3.08333 with a median of three.

There have been six Laguna Seca races with no lead changes.

The average number of cautions in a Laguna Seca race is 1.75 with a median of one. The average number of caution laps is 7.25 with a median of 7.5.

Six Laguna Seca races have had no cautions, but the last caution-free Laguna Seca race was in 1997, ten Laguna Seca races ago.

Six Laguna Seca races have had three cautions or more.

The most cautions in a Laguna Seca race is eight in 2001 and the most caution laps is 29, which also came in 2001.

Predictions

Scott Dixon wins the race. Scott Dixon wins the championship. Andretti Autosport drivers provide an assist, as will Álex Palou. Josef Newgarden finishes fifth. Will Power finishes seventh. A Team Penske driver does not score fastest lap. Romain Grosjean will have one of his best races of the season and not go off course. Christian Lundgaard will take Rookie of the Year honors, but he will not be the top Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing finisher. Jimmie Johnson will be in the way and provide a strategic advantage for his teammates. Ed Carpenter Racing and Meyer Shank Racing will not see any of its cars suffer mechanical issues. There will be at least one notable pass into the corkscrew. At least one driver will get his or her best finish of the season. Sleeper: Felix Rosenqvist.

Musings From the Weekend: Myles Matters

Five drivers will be alive for the IndyCar championship entering Laguna Seca. IndyCar figured out how to have a clean start at Portland. Colton Herta might have a contract with Red Bull. That is only destined to go poorly. Meanwhile, there was a lot of orange and Mercedes botched its best chance at a victory this season. Ferrari continues to be a mess. NASCAR did call a caution for rain this weekend. Darlington broke many hearts. Ducati riders were falling like flies in Misano, but that didn't stop MotoGP from having a photo finish. It was nearly a podium sweep for Italians on home soil, but the Spaniards did sweep a podium. Some junior series awarded championships this weekend. Here is a rundown of what got me thinking.

Myles Matters

It wasn't the fairy tale ending to the U.S. F2000 season for Myles Rowe, who entered the Portland weekend as the championship leader with three races remaining. An off-track moment in the first race of the weekend while running second cost him a significant number of points and put in greater danger from teammate Jace Denmark and his other championship rival Michael d'Orlando. In the second race, Rowe and Denmark collided in the firs corner with both coughing up massive amounts of points. In the final race, Rowe had a tire punctured after contact early, but recovered to drive from 15th to fifth. However, d'Orlando's victory in the final race was enough to earn him the championship.

Though Rowe didn't win the championship, his 2022 season was an historic achievement as he became the first black driver to win a Road to Indy race and this could be the first milestone toward Rowe becoming the Road to Indy's most influential driver. 

There is great difficulty for anyone to get into racing. The cost is out of reach for most average people. It requires a lot of sacrifice to get a child into racing and on the path to a driving career. Just making it to a top series can cost millions of dollars alone. Once at the top, a driver could be scrapping to find the millions necessary to remain in competition. 

If a driver is good enough, a sponsor will see the value and talent and fund that career early on. Once at the top, the best talents will draw sponsors who want to be associated with the best and it can turn a costly dream into a lucrative livelihood. Many experience the former. Only a fraction gets a taste of the latter. 

Rowe's career nearly didn't happen. He competed in karting as a teenager but a brief taste of car racing in the Lucas Oil School Formula Race Car Series where he won the winter series championship and caught Will Power's eye. However, at 18 years old, Rowe's career stalled out. There was no move to the Road to Indy, no move to a European junior series or a sports car series. Rowe went to college, Pace University. 

While getting an education, Rowe still ran some karting and stayed in touch with Power. During the pandemic, in response to the racial injustices that had afflicted minorities, many organizations increased diversity efforts and IndyCar did the same, creating the "Race for Equality & Change" initiative and creating the Force Indy team for the Road to Indy. 

Force Indy started in U.S. F2000 last year and Rowe was drafted to be its driver. Rowe had not been in a race car in three years, a difficult circumstance to face. Testing pace was encouraging. Race results were harder to come by, but Rowe found his way into the top ten. He also had many incidents that left him with damaged race cars. It became a theme and his position in the standings was not something to boast about. But at New Jersey Motorsports Park, in damp conditions Rowe won. He was fifth in the penultimate race of the season at Mid-Ohio. The talent was being harnessed and the raw pace was becoming results. 

However, motorsports is not a place for ideal plans. Force Indy moved up to Indy Lights to support Trans-Am champion and Superstar Racing Experience race winner Ernie Francis, Jr. Rowe was left on the sidelines again. He found an open seat at Pabst Racing but didn't have the funding for the full season. He had enough for the first three race weekends. He won at St. Petersburg and then at Barber. He was fourth in the championship through the race weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. 

Despite no longer being a Force Indy driver, Roger Penske has continued to support Rowe and we got to see a full season of what the Georgia-born driver is capable of. Given the opportunity, we saw a promising driver who could have a career in IndyCar someday. 

It will not be easy moving forward. Success doesn't guarantee funds. While the Road to Indy scholarships cover champions, deserving drivers who finish second, third or fourth in a championship get no support. Any upward movement is mostly dependent on the driver. Rowe was able to get together part of a program for this season and his success turned it into a full campaign. The offseason will raise the question over whether or not he can raise more, whether that is to continue in U.S. F2000 or move to Indy Pro 2000. 

The Road to Indy was formally established ahead of the 2010 season. Rowe is the first black driver to complete a full season. He is on a path to a series that has had only two competitors compete in its biggest race. Through 106 Indianapolis 500s, Willy T. Ribbs and George Mack are the only black drivers to compete in arguably the most famous race in the world. That is two out of 791 drivers, barely 0.25%. 

Diversity may exist in nationalities and languages spoken on the grid, but it has never existed in terms of skin color. Rowe is the closest IndyCar has had to a driver of color in 20 years. He could become the first black driver to make a career in IndyCar, but it will still have taken until the 2020s for IndyCar to see a regular black competitor. 

Every motorsports series lacks racial diversity. The NHRA might be the one exception. Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time World Drivers' Champion, but we haven't another driver of color on the Formula One grid in the 15 years since Hamilton's debut. Bubba Wallace is full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, but when Wallace made his debut in 2017, he was the first black driver to start a Cup race since Bill Lester nearly 11 years earlier. Before Lester's Cup debut in 2006, NASCAR's top series had not had a black driver since Ribbs in 1986.

There are many factors as to why black drivers are not more common in the 2020s, and each step to make a series more inclusive and accessible is greatly welcomed. 

Rowe got an opportunity with the Force Indy program, and it opened a door to this second season in U.S. F2000, a year where he went wire-to-wire in the championship discussion and was one of the best drivers in the series. Hopefully, this season leads to more not just for Rowe but other drivers like him down the road. 

While Rowe competed for the U.S. F2000 championship this weekend, on the other side of the United States, Serena Williams competed in the US Open, which could be her final grand slam tournament. Williams, along with her sister Venus, shattered the stereotype of what a tennis player could be. Black players were uncommon in tennis for most of the 20th century, but the Williams sisters revolutionize the sport. They showed a generation of black girls they could play in tennis and in the two-plus decades since they debuted, many black American women have followed in their footsteps and become top-ranked professional tennis players. 

Motorsports has not had that Williams figure yet. Hamilton is without a doubt a person of inspiration and there is a group of young hopefuls who hope to follow his footsteps, but the progress must come in who competes and who gets opportunities. 

In the United States, Rowe has gotten an opportunity at the entry level. It might not lead to IndyCar, but should the results remain at the level seen in 2022 throughout each step in the Road to Indy system, Rowe should get that IndyCar opportunity. 

As with Hamilton, any IndyCar appearance for Rowe would not mean the job is done. There are plenty of things within IndyCar and within society at large that must be done to increase the opportunities for minority drivers hoping to break into motorsports. The work is only getting started.

Champions From the Weekend

You know about Michael d'Orlando, but did you know....

Louis Foster clinched the Indy Pro 2000 championship with his victory in the first Portland race on Friday morning. 

Dominique Aegerter clinched the MotoE championship with finishes of second and fourth at Misano.

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Scott McLaughlin and more, but did you know...

Max Verstappen won the Dutch Grand Prix, his tenth victory of the season and fourth consecutive. 

Francesco Bagnaia won MotoGP's San Marino and Rimini Riviera motorcycle Grand Prix by 0.034 seconds over Enea Bastianini. Alonso López won the Moto2 race, his first career grand prix victory. Dennis Foggia won the Moto3 race, his third victory of the season. Mattia Casadei and Matteo Ferrari split the MotoE races.

Erik Jones won the Southern 500, his first victory since the 2019 Southern 500. Noah Gragson won the NASCAR Grand National Series race, his fourth victory of the season.

Benjamin Pedersen won the Indy Lights race from Portland, his first career victory in the series. Reece Gold won the final two races of the Indy Pro 2000 season. Jace Denmark and Mac Clark split the first two U.S. F2000 races.

Marcus Armstrong and Felipe Drugovich split the Formula Two races from Zandvoort. Caio Collet and Zane Maloney split the Formula Three races.

The #25 Sainteloc Audi of Christopher Mies, Patric Niederhauser and Lucas Legeret won the 3 Hours of Hockenheim.

Coming Up This Weekend

IndyCar season finale from Laguna Seca.

Italian Grand Prix. 

NASCAR has an earlier visit to Kansas.

The 6 Hours of Fuji returns to the FIA World Endurance Championship calendar. 

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters are back at Spa-Francorchamps.

Supercars has one final trip to Pukekohe Park Raceway.

World Superbike is back after six weeks off with a round at Magny-Cours. 

The World Rally Championship will contest the Acropolis Rally.

First Impressions: Portland 2022

1.  Scott McLaughlin might be the best driver in the world. Consider his Supercars success in Australia, a three-time champion, 56 victories, tied for fifth all-time and a Bathurst 1000 victory. Now add in his sophomore season where he has won three IndyCar races, and McLaughlin will head to Laguna Seca with a chance at the IndyCar championship. 

It was a flawless drive from the New Zealander, leading 104 of 110 laps at Portland. No one came close to him even after traffic bunched the field up and a late restart. This is McLaughlin's fifth consecutive top five finish. Only one other driver has five consecutive top five finishes this season. That would be his teammate and championship leader Will Power. There are a lot of excellent drivers in IndyCar. For McLaughlin to have accomplished this and be in such an exclusive group is stunning. 

Forty-one points separate McLaughlin and Power in the championship. It will require a long chain of event for McLaughlin to win the championship, but I do not think he should look at missed opportunities, such as the Indianapolis 500 and Belle Isle, with any dismay because he lost points. Every driver has a bad day in IndyCar. Some will have two. For a sophomore to be alive for the championship entering the finale, even if it requires a Hail Mary to take it, is a grand achievement. 

McLaughlin moved to America planning to be here for a while. If he is already contesting a championship to the final race in year two, he is on the right path.

2. Team Penske tested at Portland a week ago after a rather disappointing performance last year. I didn't believe one test would put Penske ahead of the field. It did more than that and if it wasn't for Josef Newgarden's six-spot grid penalty, there is a good chance this team would have swept the podium. 

Will Power was second and strengthened his championship lead. Power's championship lead is 20 points over Newgarden and Scott Dixon entering the finale. 

We know Power's championship history, but it has been a long time since he has been in this position. He hasn't led the championship into the finale since his title season in 2014. We know from 2010 through 2012 he led the championship into the final race all three years and left the final races without any silverware. During this race there was a little dread knowing his past. 

The only restart was nervy because Power had Patricio O'Ward behind him and O'Ward had to finish ahead of Power to stay alive. The two made contact into the chicane, but it was side-by-side and not dirty. It was hard racing. Power made it through clamming any concerns. It also helped that Newgarden was losing ground and extended Power's advantage heading to the finale. 

Twenty points is not a significant lead. It is somewhat comforting. There is a margin for error, but Power cannot have his worse day of the season. His worst finish is 19th. He cannot expect to get away with that and win the championship, but he has 11 top five finishes, eight podium results. Third would be enough. But if there is anyone who has had finales from Hell, it is Power and until we see the checkered flag at Laguna Seca, the worst is still out there. 

3. Scott Dixon achieved another memorable run to keep the championship alive. From 16th on the grid to third at the checkered flag. This could have been a day where Dixon was eliminated from the championship, but after each stint he made up spots. On the only restart, Dixon caught out Newgarden and Alexander Rossi as they battled for position, and then he got a position after Patricio O'Ward was called for blocking. That was six points in Dixon's advantage in about two laps. 

Twenty points is nothing for Dixon. He has to have his best day of the season to win the title, but we have been here before, Dixon entering in third and pulling out a race victory to take the title. For most of this season, it didn't feel like a championship run from Dixon, and yet he is here and a seventh title remains a possibility. 

4. Patricio O'Ward had one run at Power and it just didn't work. O'War did block on Dixon entering turn four. O'Ward knew he couldn't lose a spot to Dixon in that case. It was bad enough he couldn't get ahead of Power. 

Unfortunately, this was another year where O'Ward was either stellar or dreadful. There were too many races with mechanical issues and he had a few races where he just wasn't in it. He did win two races, but he needed more to stay alive for the title. Power has eight podium finishes and hasn't finished outside the top twenty. O'Ward had only four podium finishes and has three finishes outside the top twenty. There is the difference race there. 

In IndyCar, three bad races is all it takes to keep a driver out of the championship battle. O'Ward is great. He will put it together one season, next year is highly possible, but he knows where the improvement must come.

5. Graham Rahal looked good today and was making ground on each stint. Rahal went long on the first stint and went forward. He had a good balance on strategy. He didn't go too long that he lost ground. It got Rahal a top five and I think that is all Rahal and his team could ask for in this race. 

This was a great race for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Christian Lundgaard spent much of the race in the top five before stalling on his final pit stop and then blowing the first turn trying to pass Alexander Rossi and hitting one of the sponsor boards in the runoff with it remaining stuck to his front wing, forcing an extra pit stop. 

It has been an encouraging second half of the season for RLLR. It should have had a double top ten finish. Hopefully the team is heading in the right direction for 2023. That appears to be the case.  

6. Colton Herta was sixth. Andretti Autosport was only good today. Nothing flashy. Herta wasn't even the best Andretti driver in the field, but he kept his nose out of harm's way and got sixth. There was a point where Herta lost ground on a pit cycle and it looked like it was going to be another finish outside the top ten, but Herta overcame that and got more than expected. 

This also comes on a day where it sounds like Red Bull may have come to terms with Herta about a possible Formula One role, possibly a race seat at AlphaTauri, pending the FIA granting Herta an exemption for a Super License. We must wait until that hearing happens to know but we have an interesting week ahead of us that will affect both the Formula One and IndyCar paddocks. 

7. Alexander Rossi looked strong in this race, and if Rossi hadn't be run wide trying to pass Newgarden into the chicane on the only restart, he likely would have finished better than seventh and possibly been on the podium. 

Rossi had a run, but the car carried wide, he and Newgarden then were bogged down because of the Power and O'Ward battle and all of a sudden, Rossi had Dixon and Herta pass him. Rossi did eventually get Newgarden but it was for three positions further down the order. 

It wasn't as good as it could have been, but Andretti wasn't really mixing it at the front this weekend. 

8. Josef Newgarden was caught out on the only caution because his team went with the primary tires for the final stint. Once the field was bunched up Newgarden was a sitting duck. 

It backfired, but I don't think it is the worst strategy call in racing history. Newgarden made that stop on lap 79. There had been no cautions up to that point. It isn't always the best strategy to plan for a caution. I actually think that is a dumb strategy because cautions are out of a driver's hands. A driver and team can only plan for what it can control and ending on the primary tire while making a green flag pit stop made sense. Then the caution came out and that decision put Newgarden in a corner. 

Newgarden went from three points behind Power to 20 points back. That is a tough swing, but Newgarden is still in it. He has won five times this season. He isn't looking to luck into a championship. If he has to go out and earn, Newgarden is ready to do that and it is still within Newgarden's control. 

9. Callum Ilott was ninth! Ilott was competitive in this race and looked poised for a top ten run. It worked out that way. Ilott has performed better than his equipment this season, and that isn't a slight on Juncos Hollinger Racing. It is one of the smallest teams in IndyCar and it only returned to the series this time a year ago after a brief stint that never had fantastic results. 

We have seen Ilott regularly in contention to advance from the first round of qualifying this season on road and street courses. That has been harder for some teams than others. Ilott and JHR are ahead of a few established groups in that area. The finishes haven't been as good, but for a rookie new to the series Ilott has shown great signs for the future. He and JHR are in a good position for next year.

10. Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top ten. Looking at Rosenqvist's results, I don't know if Arrow McLaren SP can move on from the Swede. O'Ward is beating Rosenqvist, but Rosenqvist is providing great support and is on the verge of being in the top ten of the championship. Is dropping Rosenqvist really for the best of the team? 

We know Alexander Rossi is joining this team next year. We know AMSP could have Álex Palou in its lineup next year in a third car. But can AMSP guarantee either of those drivers will do better than what we have seen from Rosenqvist? The incumbent has made it difficult.

11. We will cover Marcus Ericsson and Álex Palou here because they were 11th and 12th. Ericsson remains in the championship fight, but there was a moment it looked like the Indianapolis 500 and made who led the championship for a good portion of spring and summer was going to be eliminated. 

This is what I expected from Ericsson in the final half of the season. He would continue to get good results, but when looking at what Power was doing and the speed of Newgarden, that wasn't going to be enough for Ericsson to take the championship. Ericsson is still alive but we have no reason to believe he will win this championship. He hasn't had a top five finish since Toronto and he has only led 37 laps all season. 

As for Palou, he was mathematically eliminated from the championship. It hasn't been bad year for Palou, but he hasn't won a race and Chip Ganassi Racing is suing him. He and Ericsson swung and missed today. Palou didn't have the car set up to excel and Ericsson went long on the first two stints hoping for... I don't know what. It cost both drivers today.

12. Kyle Kirkwood was 13th and this was the kind of day Kirkwood needed. Right in the middle of the field. No incidents. No mechanical issues. No muffed pit stops. Just 110 solid laps. Good for Kirkwood.

13. David Malukas was ok in 14th. He wasn't really a threat in this one, but he had a few good moves, and Lundgaard's unfortunate collision with the sponsorship board means Malukas is now only five points back in the Rookie of the Year battle, so that is another thing to keep an eye on at Laguna Seca.

14. While two Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing cars spent most of the race in the top ten, Jack Harvey was 15th. He really wasn't mentioned at all in this race. Harvey just needed to be a little better in this race. He didn't needed to run in the top five. He just had to be pushing for tenth or 11th. He was barely pushing for 15th and really got a few breaks to finish that high, including the misfortune of his teammate Lundgaard.

15. Let's run through the rest of the field. Devlin DeFrancesco didn't look great but got his best road/street course finish in 16th. Hélio Castroneves was 17th and that seems like the best he can do on road/street courses. Meyer Shank Racing is making a mistake bringing Castroneves back for a full season next year. Takuma Sato was nowhere and finished 18th. 

16. Scott McLaughlin is proving the sophomore slump is not the rule. Romain Grosjean is proving sophomore slumps do happen. Grosjean went off course on the opening lap and then cut the first chicane, didn't properly go through the runoff and he earned himself a penalty. This has been a disappointing season for Grosjean, no way around it. 

17. Rinus VeeKay lost a top ten result when he was penalized for avoidable contact when VeeKay bumped Jimmie Johnson into the wall on the straightaway before entering turn one. 

It didn't look good, but I thought a penalty was harsh. Johnson was a lap down. He was running close to two seconds slower than the top ten runners. That doesn't mean Johnson can be run over, but Johnson is regularly in the way. At times, it feels like Ganassi uses Johnson to the team's advantage when Johnson can hold up another driver to allow a Ganassi driver close in. Even when that isn't the case, Johnson doesn't have the best back-marker etiquette. 

Again, that doesn't mean it is fair game for others to take out Johnson. VeeKay didn't make the greatest move in the world. Did it deserve a penalty? I would have been fine if VeeKay didn't get anything for that. Accident do happen. 

18. We went over Lundgaard in 21st. At worst, he should have been seventh or eighth. He really should have been in the top five. Speaking of poor back-marker etiquette, Dalton Kellett was 22nd. I am not sure what happened to Simon Pagenaud, but this was another race where Pagenaud had something go wrong and he ended up finishing outside the top twenty. Johnson was 24th and Conor Daly had a pit fire that burned out the clutch.

Between Meyer Shank Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing, it feels like every week each of these teams have a mechanical issue that ruins the race for one of its drivers. 

19. IndyCar deserves credit because it figured out how to have a clean start at Portland. The drivers accelerated earlier on the straightaway and we didn't have 25 cars jumbled up entering the corner. 

I will say, Will Power never got to the outside of McLaughlin at the start and form an actual front row. At some point, IndyCar just has to penalize these guys. Power was never in the correct position at the start. NASCAR does an entire pace lap side-by-side coming to the green flag. I know the courses are tight, but IndyCar has to do the same. About 75% of the starts look like crap in IndyCar. This would be one way to provide some fairness to the start and actually have a start look formal and not a free-for-all where the drivers can do whatever they want without any repercussions. 

Start aside, Portland put on a good race. Yes, McLaughlin put a spanking on the field, but there were drivers moving forward and plenty of overtaking. Turn seven is a passing zone. If there was only a way the turn ten area could be adjusted to make it friendlier to passing attempts, Portland could have three good areas for passes. 

Portland is still a basic facility that the city owns. It isn't going to get a massive facelift and become some spectacular place to see a race with a fancy garage area and other amenities, but it is a fun course. 

20. This is it. Seven days until the season is over. Five drivers alive for the championship. This has been a great season. We do not know how it will end. It could be uneventful. It could be chaotic to the checkered flag. All we can do is wait. 

Morning Warm-Up: Portland 2022

Scott McLaughlin took his third pole position of the IndyCar season at Portland International Raceway with a lap of 58.2349 seconds in Saturday qualifying. Each time McLaughlin has started on the front row this season he has finished first or second. McLaughlin enters Portland with four consecutive top five finishes, and he has led a lap in three consecutive races. Only three drivers have at least four consecutive top five finishes this season. Will Power was in the top five of the first five races of the season and Scott Dixon was in the top five at Mid-Ohio, Toronto and the Iowa doubleheader. McLaughlin enters 54 points behind championship leader Will Power. McLaughlin must leave Portland within 49 points of the championship to have a chance at the championship at Laguna Seca.

Will Power makes it an all-Team Penske front row after being 0.1905 seconds off McLaughlin's top time. This is the sixth time Power has started on the front row this season. It is the fourth time Team Penske has swept the front row and the third time in the last six races. Four of Will Power's 41 career victories have come in the 16th race or later in a season. He has won the 16th race twice in his career, at Milwaukee in 2014, his championship season, and at Portland in 2019. He has finished outside the top ten in three of five Portland starts. 

Christian Lundgaard starts third for the second time in three races. This is also the third time in the last four races Lundgaard has started in the top ten. He had only two top ten starts in the first 12 races this season. He has finished in the top ten in the last three road/street course races. This is Lundgaard's 17th career start. The last driver to have a first career victory in a 17th career start was Will Power at the 2007 Las Vegas season opener for Champ Car.

Álex Palou joins Lundgaard on row two. Palou could become the first driver to win consecutive Portland races since Gil de Ferran in 1999 and 2000. Palou would become the fifth driver with consecutive Portland victories (Mario Andretti 1985-86, Michael Andretti 1990-92, Al Unser, Jr. 1994-95, de Ferran 1999-00). Only three of 79 races since the introduction of the universal aero kit in 2018 have been won from fourth starting position. 

Patricio O'Ward leads an all-Arrow McLaren SP front row. This is the 12th time O'Ward has been the top AMSP qualifier this season. O'Ward swept the 2018 Indy Lights doubleheader at Portland on his way to the Indy Lights championship. No driver has ever won at Portland in IndyCar and Indy Lights. O'Ward is one of four past Indy Lights winners entered in the IndyCar race this weekend. 

Felix Rosenqvist starts sixth. This is the 11th race Rosenqvist has started in the top ten this season. In seven of those occasions, Rosenqvist qualified behind O'Ward. The Swede was second and sixth in his first two Portland starts. The only tracks where Rosenqvist has at least three top ten finishes are the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and Road America. 

Colton Herta is the top Andretti Autosport starter in seventh position. This is the sixth consecutive race Herta has started outside the top five, his longest streak without a top five starting position. Herta has been the top Andretti Autosport finisher in six races, leading all the drivers in that team. However, three of those occasions have been races where Andretti Autosport has not had any top ten finishers. 

Josef Newgarden takes eighth position on the grid after serving a six-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change after the Gateway race. Newgarden was the second fastest qualifier, the middle of a Penske sweep of the top three times. He was 0.0780 seconds off McLaughlin's pole time. Newgarden has only won from eighth starting position once, the 2020 season finale at St. Petersburg. Only five of 27 Portland races have been won from a starting position outside the top five. The last time Newgarden started eighth he didn’t complete a lap as he spun four turns into the 2021 season opener at Barber Motorsports Park.

Alexander Rossi qualified ninth. Through 15 races, Alexander Rossi has finished in 15 different positions, tied for the most different finishing positions from the start of a season with Ed Jones, who opened the 2017 season with 15 different finishing positions. He did finish ninth at Barber Motorsports Park. The best position Rossi has not achieved this season is sixth. 

David Malukas gets his sixth top ten starting position of the season. Malukas has be the top Dale Coyne Racing finisher in seven consecutive races. Malukas could become the first driver to score a first career victory after a runner-up finish in the previous race since Robert Doornbos at Mont-Tremblant in the 2007 Champ Car season. 

Graham Rahal will start 11th. Rahal led 36 laps in last year's Portland race. It was the most laps Rahal has led in a race since his most recent victory in the second Belle Isle race in 2017. Those 36 laps led is the third most laps led in a single race for Rahal behind the two Belle Isle races in 2017, which he swept. 

Rinus VeeKay takes the outside of row six. This the 12th time VeeKay has been the top Ed Carpenter Racing qualifier this season. He has been the top ECR finisher in seven of 15 races this season, but VeeKay has finished off the lead lap in three of the last four races. All three ECR finishers were outside the top twenty at Gateway. The team hasn't had a double top ten since last year's Indianapolis 500.

Kyle Kirkwood missed out on advancing to the second round of qualifying by 0.0702 seconds. This is Kirkwood's best starting position since he was ninth at Mid-Ohio. He has won at Portland in all three Road to Indy series. Kirkwood swept the 2018 U.S. F2000 doubleheader and the 2019 Indy Pro 2000 doubleheader. He split the Indy Lights races last year, winning race two and finishing second in the first race.

Callum Ilott was 0.0491 seconds shy of advancing from group two of qualifying. Ilott has finished better than his starting position in five consecutive races, but none of those have been top ten finishes. He did start 19th or 22nd in each of the last five races. This is only the sixth time he has stated in the top fifteen this season. 

Romain Grosjean rolls off from 15th position. Grosjean has finished outside the top ten in three consecutive races, the second time he has three consecutive finishes outside the top ten. The other time was the two Indianapolis races in May and Belle Isle. Grosjean has yet to have four consecutive results outside the top ten in his IndyCar career.

Scott Dixon will start 16th, his fifth time starting outside the top ten in the last six races. This is Dixon's worst starting position at Portland. His previous worst was 11th. Dixon has three consecutive top five finishes at Portland, including podium finishes in the last two races. Dating back to Dixon's two CART starts at Portland over 20 years ago, he has never finished worse than seventh at this track. 

Jack Harvey starts 17th, his worst starting spot since he started 24th at Mid-Ohio. Harvey was fourth in last year's Portland race, but he was 16th and 19th in his first two Portland starts. Harvey was punted in turn one of the 2019 race while running the top five when Ryan Hunter-Reay collided with the back of the Brit's car.

Marcus Ericsson qualified 18th, his third time occupying the outside of row nine in 2022. Ericsson only made his Portland debut last year and he finished seventh. Ericsson missed the 2019 race due to Formula One responsibilities with the Alfa Romeo Racing as Kimi Räikkönen was uncertain for the Belgian Grand Prix with neck stiffness. Räikkönen did end up competing that weekend. 

Simon Pagenaud finds himself 19th in the starting order. Five of Pagenaud's seven top ten finishes this season have come when he has started outside the top ten. He has finished in the top ten of the 16th race of the season on five consecutive occasions. The only time he was not in the top ten of the 16th race of the season was the 2015 Sonoma season finale when he finished 16th.

Conor Daly rounds out the top twenty on the grid. Daly has finished outside the top fifteen in six consecutive races and he has finished worse than his starting position in four of the last five races. He was 21st and 16th in his first two Portland starts. Four of Daly's 18 career top ten finishes have come from starting positions of 20th or worse. Three of those came in the 2016 season. The other was the 2017 Texas race. 

Hélio Castroneves starts 21st, his worst start at Portland. Castroneves had started in the top three in three of his five Portland starts. He has finished outside the top ten in four of five Portland starts. His average finish at the track is 17.2. Entering this race, he has finished outside the top ten in six consecutive races and his average finish in that span is 16.8333.

Takuma Sato matches his worst starting position of the season in 22nd. This is Sato's third time starting 22nd. The Japanese driver is coming off finishing fifth at Gateway, snapping a 23-race top five finishes drought. Sato has not had consecutive top five finishes since he won the Indianapolis 500 and was second at Gateway in 2020. Sato has not had a top five finish on a natural-terrain road course since he won at Barber Motorsports Park in 2019. 

Jimmie Johnson takes 23rd on the grid. Johnson has started outside the top twenty in every road/street course race this season. He has finished in the top fifteen in three of the last five races, all on ovals, and Johnson has four top twenty finishes in the last five races. He ended last season with three consecutive top twenty finishes, which began with a 20th at Portland. 

Devlin DeFrancesco starts 24th, the seventh time DeFrancesco has started outside the top twenty this season. He was 11th and seventh in last year's Indy Lights races at Portland. DeFrancesco is coming off his best finish in IndyCar when he was 12th at Gateway. His best finish on a road/street course is 17th, which occurred at Barber Motorsports Park and Mid-Ohio.

Dalton Kellett rounds out the grid in 25th. Kellett was the slowest qualifier, but he also had a six-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change. He had a mechanical failure end his Portland race last year and it classified him in 26th. Kellett did finish fifth at Portland in the first Indy Lights race in 2019, one of 12 top five finishes he had in 70 Indy Lights starts.

NBC's coverage of the Grand Prix of Portland begins at 3:00 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 110 laps.

2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Preview

Twenty-six races have been completed in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, and after a whirlwind seven-month regular season, the playoff field is set. 

Sixteen drivers won a race in the regular season, tied for the most winners through the first 16 races with the 1961 and 2003 seasons. Fifteen of those drivers will compete in the playoffs after Kurt Busch removed himself due to concussion-like symptoms that have kept him out of a race car since the end of July and will keep out for the first few races of the playoffs. 

However, there are five past champions in this playoff field, four of which are looking for a second title. Four drivers are making their playoff debut this year. 

It has been a breathtaking season as the NASCAR Cup Series calendar has been shaken up and seen events at different spots in the year and we even saw a new track in the regular season. 

Those changes carry into the playoffs. There are some familiar tracks in the final ten races, but the order has been mixed up and we see it immediately in round one. 

Darlington will be the first race for the third consecutive year, but Kansas moves to the second spot in the playoffs ahead of Bristol. Round two will begin at Texas before Talladega and the Charlotte roval close out the round. The semifinal round has two new tracks. Las Vegas moves to the seventh spot in the playoff order, while Homestead returns to the playoffs after being a regular season race the previous two years. Homestead will be the eighth playoff race ahead of Martinsville, the third race in the semifinal round. For the third consecutive year, Phoenix hosts the season finale. 

You know the playoff schedule, but now it is time to learn about the 16 playoff drivers, what they have done through the first 26 races, how they shape up for round one and what their expectations are for the final ten weeks of the season. 

1. Chase Elliott - 2040 Points

Victories: 4 (Dover, Nashville, Atlanta II, Pocono)

Top Fives: 10

Top Tens: 17

Darlington I Result: 5th

Kansas I Result: 29th

Bristol Average Finish: 14.4 (Zero victories, three top fives, five top tens, 11 starts)

What are his expectations: Final four. 

In this season of variety, Elliott has been the one driver to standout above the rest. No other driver has more than two victories and Elliott has four. Elliott's 17 top ten finishes are three more than the next driver. His 719 laps led are 107 more than the next driver and only three drivers have led more than 500 laps this season. 

All of the playoff tracks are favorable to Elliott. Round one should not be a problem. He should have won the Southern 500 two years ago, and he should have won the Bristol playoff race last year. He has won at Talladega, and he is arguably the best road course driver in NASCAR. The semifinal round would be Elliott's weakest just because he hasn't been lights out at either Las Vegas or Homestead, but he does have an average finish of ninth at Homestead. He is good at Martinsville. 

Anything less than a final four appearance would be a wet blanket to a season where Elliott won the regular season championship by 130 points. 

2. Joey Logano - 2025 Points

Victories: 2 (Darlington, Gateway)

Top Fives: 7

Top Tens: 12

Darlington I Result: 1st

Kansas I Result: 17th

Bristol Average Finish: 15.0 (Two victories, six top fives, ten top tens, 25 starts)

What are his expectations: Round of eight, possibly final four. 

Logano sneakily ended up second in the regular season championship, and he was getting hot at the right time. Prior to Daytona, he had four consecutive top ten finishes, all results of sixth or better. However, in the four races prior to that run, he had four finishes of 20th or worse. 

He hasn't been perfect, but he has two victories, and he has been good on the short tracks. Eighth at Phoenix, second at Martinsville and sixth in the second Richmond race. 

There isn't a track in the playoffs where Logano cannot win. He has already won at Darlington, he is good at Talladega and Las Vegas, and he has won the Martinsville playoff race before. We know he will make any move necessary to win a race. 

In this season, I am not sure anyone but Elliott can be considered a lock for the final four. Logano could go out and win three playoff races. He could also be bounced in the second round. One poor result can do more damage in these playoffs than in previous rounds.

3. Ross Chastain - 2020 Points

Victories: 2 (Austin, Talladega)

Top Fives: 10

Top Tens: 14

Darlington I Result: 30th

Kansas I Result: 7th

Bristol Average Finish: 26.8 (Zero victories, zero top fives, zero top tens, five starts)

What are his expectations: Round of eight, but possibly eliminated in either of the first two rounds. 

For about 12 races, Chastain looked like the best driver in the Cup Series. In the last six races, Chastain had failed to finish in the top fifteen and has fallen back to Earth. The darling of the first half of the regular season, Chastain was the second multi-time winner after successes at Austin and Talladega and he had plenty of other strong runs.

But those strong runs have been fewer as of late. Chastain could turn it around and he could easily make the round of eight and sneak into the championship race, but Chastain has also made enemies with about 29 other drivers on the grid and about 14 of the other 15 playoff drivers. He will not catch a break over the final ten races. It is hard to see him getting to the championship race unless he has untouchable speed and Trackhouse has not shown that in the last few races.

4. Kyle Larson - 2019 Points

Victories: 2 (Fontana, Watkins Glen)

Top Fives: 10

Top Tens: 13

Darlington I Result: 36th

Kansas I Result: 2nd

Bristol Average Finish: 13.4 (One victories, three top fives, eight top tens, 13 starts)

What are his expectations: Round of eight, possibly final four. 

After a historic championship season, Larson has been pedestrian in 2022. Still good, but two victories are far from ten victories in 2021. He won the second race of the season at Fontana and then didn't win again until the penultimate regular season race at Watkins Glen. 

We just saw Larson win the title. He can win anywhere. He won at Bristol, the Charlotte roval, Texas, Kansas and Phoenix last year in the playoffs. You only need to win four playoff races to win the championship. There isn't one weak spot in the playoffs for Larson. He can turn it on and pull out a second consecutive championship. He has only gone consecutive races without top ten finishes twice this year, a three-race run from Phoenix to Austin and then Gateway and Sonoma. He should be good enough to make the round of eight and then it comes down to getting one victory to make it back to Phoenix.

5. William Byron - 2014 Points

Victories: 2 (Atlanta I, Martinsville)

Top Fives: 4

Top Tens: 5

Darlington I Result: 13th

Kansas I Result: 16th

Bristol Average Finish: 18.1 (Zero victories, one top fives, two top tens, seven starts)

What are his expectations: Possible first round elimination, possibly round of 12

If you watched all 26 regular season races, you may be surprised to see William Byron start the playoffs as the fifth seed. 

Here are Byron's numbers in the first eight races: Two victories, four top five finishes, four top ten finishes. 

Here are Byron's numbers in the last 18 races: Zero victories, zero top five finishes, one top ten finishes. 

Byron was the first multi-time winner this season. He hasn't finished in the top ten since ninth at Sonoma. He has finished 30th or worse in four of the last ten races. Byron has the second most laps led this season at 612 laps, but 334 of those came between the first Richmond race and first Martinsville race, two races in a seven-day span in April.

He was leading late at Darlington before Joey Logano bumped him into the wall, but between the six playoff tracks that have regular season events, only Martinsville and Las Vegas did he score top ten finishes in the regular season. 

Based on his results, it is hard to see him making it out of the first round. He could put together a respectable round one and get off the snide, but it is difficult to envision of deep playoff run for Byron.

6. Denny Hamlin - 2013 Points

Victories: 2 (Richmond I, Charlotte)

Top Fives: 5

Top Tens: 7

Darlington I Result: 21st

Kansas I Result: 4th

Bristol Average Finish: 14.5 (Two victories, nine top fives, 15 top tens, 31 starts)

What are his expectations: Anywhere between first round elimination to final four appearance.

Hamlin was outside the top twenty of the championship in ten of the 26 regular season races. He was never ranked better than 12th in the championship, and yet many think he is a potential championship driver. 

He was one of the quickest drivers in the regular season, but in some cases the results didn't go his way, whether it be because of a penalty or an accident. There is an irregularity that Hamlin was as quick as he was and yet had only on top ten finish in the first 12 races. 

Hamlin is plenty capable of making the championship four, but his results also show he could lay an egg in round one and fail to advance. Things have balanced out for Hamlin, but pit lane penalties are still a concern. He should make it through a few rounds, but it is still questionable whether he can be fast enough, clean enough and consistent enough to make a deep run.

7. Ryan Blaney - 2013 Points

Victories: 0

Top Fives: 8

Top Tens: 12

Darlington I Result: 17th

Kansas I Result: 12th

Bristol Average Finish: 18.7 (Zero victories, two top fives, five top tens, 12 starts)

What are his expectations: Round of eight, possibly final four. 

The only winless driver in the playoffs, Blaney was third in the regular season while being tied for the fourth-most top five finishes this season. Blaney's success was front-loaded this season. Four of his eight top ten finishes came in the first nine races, as were six of his 12 top ten finishes. Even with how good he was, his best finish was third at Nashville. He didn't even have a runner-up finish in the regular season. 

He led 417 laps, but 334 of those laps were in the first seven races of the season, 362 of those laps were in the first ten races and he hasn't led more than 20 laps in a race since his 23 at Talladega in April. 

We have seen winless regular season drivers go on and win the championship before. Tony Stewart went 0-for-26 and then went five-for-ten on his way to his third championship in 2011. I am not sure Blaney can do that, but he could get his first victory of the season in the playoffs and turn it into more.

8. Tyler Reddick - 2012 Points

Victories: 2 (Road America, Indianapolis)

Top Fives: 8

Top Tens: 11

Darlington I Result: 2nd

Kansas I Result: 30th

Bristol Average Finish: 17.3 (Zero victories, one top fives, one top tens, three starts)

What are his expectations: Round of 12, possibly round of eight. 

The long-awaited breakout of Tyler Reddick occurred this season with his first two victories coming this summer. Reddick also had a victory get away from him at Bristol in the dirt race. He likely should have won Fontana before he lost a tire while leading. 

Reddick has shown good pace and he enters the playoffs with three top five finishes and four top ten finishes in the last six regular season races. It is still hard to imagine Reddick carrying the pace throughout the playoffs to make a deep run, but he should get out of the first round. With Talladega and the Charlotte roval in round two, the door is open for anyone to advance, and Reddick has already won twice on road courses. The round of eight is a realistic outcome and one great race in that round can setup a shot at the championship.

9. Kevin Harvick - 2012 Points

Victories: 2 (Michigan, Richmond II)

Top Fives: 7

Top Tens: 13

Darlington I Result: 4th

Kansas I Result: 15th

Bristol Average Finish: 13.2 (Three victories, 14 top fives, 21 top tens, 41 starts)

What are his expectations: Round of eight, possibly round of 12 elimination. 

After a lengthy winless drought, Harvick won consecutive races at Michigan and Richmond and quickly shot up many people's boards among the championship favorites. Harvick has been rather good, especially at short tracks. Four of his seven top five finishes were on tracks a mile or shorter in length. 

While he won consecutive races, four of his last six results have been finishes outside the top ten. He only led 106 laps in the regular season, 93 of those laps were in his two victories. He led in only three other races, a lap at Fontana, 11 laps at Atlanta and a lap at Darlington.

History says Harvick can challenge for a championship, but results are not stellar to think he can do it again. Though he recent won two races, Harvick must be much better to contest for a second title.

10. Christopher Bell - 2011 Points

Victories: 1 (Loudon)

Top Fives: 7

Top Tens: 14

Darlington I Result: 6th

Kansas I Result: 5th

Bristol Average Finish: 22.0 (Zero victories, zero top fives, one top ten, three starts)

What are his expectations: Round of 12 or round of eight. 

Bell had a quietly good season. He has already matched his most top five finishes in a season and his 14 top ten finishes are only two fewer than his most in a single season. 

He has shown good pace on the short tracks and the first round sets up for him. He has also had good runs on intermediate tracks where Toyota has shown good horsepower. Bell might be the best Toyota driver on road courses this year. He was third at Austin and eighth at Watkins Glen. Bell should challenge for the round of eight.

11. Kyle Busch - 2010 Points

Victories: 1 (Bristol)

Top Fives: 6

Top Tens: 13

Darlington I Result: 33rd

Kansas I Result: 3rd

Bristol Average Finish: 13.0 (Eight victories, 14 top fives, 19 top tens, 32 starts)

What are his expectations: Anywhere between the round of 12 and the final four.

With contract negotiations looming in the background, Busch has been good this season, but we haven't seen many standout days. His only victory was after Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe tangled on the final lap at the Bristol dirt race and Busch slid through for the victory, leading only the final lap. There were a few others races where he was in contention. Busch was on his way to victory at Las Vegas before the final caution mixed up the field with some teams not making pit stops while others did, Busch included. 

He had good days at Dover, Gateway and Nashville. The first round shouldn't be a concern, but the second round is worrying. Outside of Texas, Talladega is a crapshoot and Toyota has been dreadful on road courses with Charlotte as the cutoff race. An average Texas race combined with a poor Talladega could doom any Toyota driver advancing from round two, Busch included.

12. Chase Briscoe - 2009 Points

Victories: 1 (Phoenix)

Top Fives: 3

Top Tens: 4

Darlington I Result: 20th

Kansas I Result: 24th

Bristol Average Finish: 13.0 (13th in one start)

What are his expectations: First round elimination

Briscoe stunned everyone when he won the fourth race of the season at Phoenix with 101 laps led. He was third in the championship after Atlanta, and it appeared Briscoe would disrupt the dynamic of the Cup grid and be the new face regularly at the front of the field, leading the Stewart-Haas Racing charge. However, he had one top ten finish in the final 18 races of the regular season, a fourth in the Coca-Cola 600. 

Speed has been hard to find for Briscoe. He hasn't started in the top ten on an oval since his pole position at Gateway. He started second and third at Road America and the IMS road course but failed to crack the top ten in either of those races. Six of his nine top ten starting positions came in the first nine races of the season. I don't think Briscoe is a playoff worthy driver. Phoenix was an anomaly of his season.

13. Daniel Suárez - 2007 Points

Victories: 1 (Sonoma)

Top Fives: 6

Top Tens: 10

Darlington I Result: 10th

Kansas I Result: 33rd

Bristol Average Finish: 16.0 (Zero victories, zero top fives, two top tens, nine starts)

What are his expectations: Round of 12, but possible first round elimination

Trackhouse has come back to earth in the last ten races. Suárez scored a popular first career victory at Sonoma, and he was good in the following events with three top five finishes and five top ten finishes in the final ten races of the regular season, but he was outside the top fifteen in four of the last five races. It should also be noted that in the ten races prior to his Sonoma victory, Suárez's best finish was tenth at Darlington. 

I am not sure what Suárez we will see. He could miss out on round two if he is only average. He starts the round on the outside looking in. He will need to drive at his highest level to advance, but that might not get him further than the second round.

14. Austin Cindric - 2006 Points

Victories: 1 (Daytona I)

Top Fives: 5

Top Tens: 8

Darlington I Result: 18th

Kansas I Result: 11th

Bristol Average Finish (Xfinity Series): 11.1 (Zero victories, three top fives, four top tens, seven starts)

What are his expectations: First round elimination or round of 12.

Cindric has had a good rookie season. Five top five finishes and eight top ten finishes. There have been a few races he has held his own against the veterans. Cindric has also shown his youth and he frankly wasn't much of a factor in any of the five road course races in the regular season, but still had good results. 

The Daytona 500 victory is spectacular. It has been a good season. A playoff appearance alone is a good thing. It is possible he could string together some consistency in round one, avoid accidents and advance. Then the second round is open for him to become a stunning round of eight driver should he have his best road course race of the season at Charlotte. That is unlikely. 

15. Alex Bowman - 2052 Points

Victories: 1 (Las Vegas)

Top Fives: 3

Top Tens: 10

Darlington I Result: 29th

Kansas I Result: 9th

Bristol Average Finish: 20.5 (Zero victories, two top fives, three top tens, 11 starts)

What are his expectations: First round elimination, but he could sneak into the round of 12

It has been a tale of two seasons for Bowman. Through the first 11 races he was fifth in the championship with three top five finishes and seven top ten finishes. He ended the regular season 12th in the championship and his only top ten finish in the final 12 races of the regular season was ninth at Michigan. 

This team has been heading the wrong way and fast. Bowman has led 29 laps all season, 11 of those came at Daytona last week. The only other laps he led were 16 at Las Vegas after rolling the dice and not making a pit stop under the final caution, and two laps led were at Dover, his third and most recent top five finish. 

In the same vein as Briscoe, Bowman really isn't a playoff worthy driver.

16. Austin Dillon - 2005 Points

Victories: 1 (Daytona II)

Top Fives: 4

Top Tens: 8

Darlington I Result: 9th

Kansas I Result: 13th

Bristol Average Finish: 17.4 (Zero victories, one top five, three top tens, 15 starts)

What are his expectations: First round elimination

Dillon made his way through the rain shower that took out half the field entering turn one with 25 laps remaining at the Daytona regular season finale and after a rain delay that lasted longer than the race itself, Dillon crossed the line for not only victory but a playoff spot. He entered that day 19th on points and only a victory would get him in. 

He started the season strong with three top five finishes in the first ten races, including runner-up results at Fontana and Talladega, but Daytona was his first top five finish since Talladega. He had one top ten finish in the prior 13 races before his Daytona victory. 

We saw Dillon string together a strong first round before and advance. He could do the same in 2022, but it is unlikely.

Playoff Predictions

First Round Eliminations:

16. Austin Dillon

15. Chase Briscoe

14. William Byron

13. Alex Bowman

Second Round Eliminations:

12. Austin Cindric

11. Daniel Suárez

10. Kevin Harvick

9. Ross Chastain

Round of Eight Eliminations:

8. Kyle Busch

7. Tyler Reddick

6. Christopher Bell

5. Ryan Blaney

Final Four:

4. Joey Logano

3. Kyle Larson

2. Chase Elliott

1. Denny Hamlin

Track Walk: Portland 2022

The 16th and penultimate round of the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season will be held at Portland International Raceway. This is IndyCar's second of three visits to the Pacific Time Zone. The series' only other visit was Long Beach back in April. Only 205 laps remain in this season, 110 of those laps will be completed this weekend in Oregon for the 28th Grand Prix of Portland. There have been six different winners from six different countries representing six different teams in the last six Portland races. Those six Portland races stretch back to the 2005 Champ Car season. The driver who has led the most laps has not won three of the last four Portland races. 

Coverage

Time: Coverage begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday September 4 with green flag scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.
Channel: NBC
Announcers: Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe will be in the booth. Kevin Lee and Dillon Welch will work pit lane.

IndyCar Weekend Schedule

Friday:

First Practice: 5:30 p.m. ET (75 minutes)

Saturday:

Second Practice: 12:00 p.m. ET (60 minutes)
Qualifying: 3:05 p.m. ET 

Final Practice: 7:15 p.m. ET (30 minutes)

Sunday:

Race: 3:30 p.m. ET (110 laps)

* - All sessions will be available live on Peacock

The Championship Picture

Two races remain and seven drivers are alive for the IndyCar championship.

On top is Will Power with 482 points. Power has led the championship after the last three races and after five of 15 races run so far in the 2022 season. Power's lone victory was at Belle Isle in June, but he has seven podium finishes, the most in IndyCar this season. His ten top five finishes also top the series. Power also leads IndyCar with four pole positions and his pole position at Gateway has him tied with Mario Andretti for most pole positions in IndyCar history. 

Josef Newgarden's fifth victory of the season at Gateway has Newgarden three points off his Team Penske teammate Power in the championship with only two races remaining. Newgarden's five victories are his only podium finishes this season, He has only two top five finishes that were not victories, a fourth at Belle Isle and a fifth on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in August. 

Scott Dixon dropped to third in the championship and 14 points behind Power after Gateway. Dixon has nine consecutive top ten finishes and 14 top ten finishes from 15 races. The lone exception was a 21st-place finish in the Indianapolis 500 after a pit lane speeding penalty on his final stop. Despite the penalty, the 33 points Dixon scored in the Indianapolis 500 are the fourth most he has scored in a race this season. 

Marcus Ericsson has dropped to fourth in the championship, Ericsson's lowest championship position since eighth after the Grand Prix of Indianapolis in May. The Swede has lost one championship position after each of the last three races, and he is now 17 points behind Power's championship lead. Ericsson has not had a top five finish in the last five races. Since his Indianapolis 500 victory, he has only led four laps, three at Road America and one at Gateway.

Defending champion Álex Palou is back within a race of the championship lead. Palou is 43 points back and could leave Portland with the championship lead with a victory and a combination of other results. At the moment, Palou will be hoping to remain within 49 points of the championship lead after this race, the greatest number of points a driver can make up should the championship leader also start the race. He has only one top five finish in the last six races. 

Scott McLaughlin has some work to do to remain alive for the championship after Portland. McLaughlin trails Power by 54 points, the most possible points a driver can score this weekend. However, with Power likely to start this race, McLaughlin will not be the championship leader after this race. McLaughlin has four consecutive top five finishes after having only three top five finishes in the first 11 races of this season. He has led laps in three consecutive races. 

Patricio O'Ward is the final driver mathematically eligible for the championship. Fifty-eight points separate O'Ward in seventh and Power in first. In the last ten races, O'Ward has five top ten finishes, but he has finished outside the top ten in those other five races and three of those results were finishes outside the top twenty. His only podium finish on a road/street course this season was his victory at Barber in May. 

With only 108 points remaining on the table, Felix Rosenqvist, Alexander Rossi, Colton Herta and Rinus VeeKay were mathematically eliminated from the championship after Gateway. 

There is a chance Will Power could clinch the championship this weekend. It would require Power winning the race with at least two bonus points, Newgarden finishing 25th or worse with no bonus points, Dixon finishing 16th or worse with no bonus points and Ericsson finishing 11th or worse with no bonus points. If Power wins the race, Palou, McLaughlin and O'Ward would be eliminated no matter where they finish.

We will be guaranteed the championship going to the final race if Newgarden scores at least eight points, which would be achieved with a finish of 22nd or better with no bonus points, Dixon finishing 11th or better with no bonus points and/or Ericsson finishing ninth or better with no bonus points. 

Only Power could clinch the championship a race early. If Power starts the race, he will be guaranteed a chance at the Astor Cup at Laguna Seca. If Newgarden scores a maximum points victory, Dixon would need to finish 14th or better and Ericsson would need to finish 11th or better to remain alive for the championship. 

The only way Palou says alive if Newgarden wins the race is if Palou finishes second with a share of bonus points. If Newgarden wins with only one bonus point, Palou must finish second with at least three bonus points. If Newgarden wins with multiple bonus points, Palou would be mathematically eliminated for the championship.

Roaring Rookies

While seven drivers are still alive for the championship, the Rookie of the Year battle has intensified in recent races. 

Christian Lundgaard is the top rookie in the championship with 283 points, but David Malukas is only 11 points back. Both drivers scored their first career podium finishes in recent races. Lundgaard was runner-up to Alexander Rossi on the IMS road course at the end of July. Malukas was second to Josef Newgarden at the most recent race at Gateway. 

In the tale of the tape, Lundgaard has six top ten finishes this season while Malukas has only three top ten finishes. Lundgaard has an average finish of 13.2 compared to Malukas' 14.067, but Malukas has the better average starting position between the two drivers. Malukas' average starting position is 13.267 compared to Lundgaard's 15.6. Both drivers have made the Firestone Fast Six twice this season with Malukas having five second-round qualifying appearances to Lundgaard's four second-round appearances. 

Two other drivers have an outside chance at Rookie of the Year honors. 

Callum Ilott is 93 points off Lundgaard entering the final two races. Ilott has only one top ten finish this season, an eighth in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis in May. He has made the second round of qualifying five times this season, but the Briton has not made the Fast Six once this season. Prior to finishing 21st at Gateway, Ilott had finished in the top fifteen in five consecutive races. Ilott must win at Portland to remain alive for Rookie of the Year. 

Devlin DeFrancesco is mathematically alive for Rookie of the Year, 106 points behind Lundgaard with 108 points left on the table. If Lundgaard starts at Portland, DeFrancesco will be eliminated from Rookie of the Year contention. Even if Lundgaard does not start, DeFrancesco would have to win the final two races and score at least six bonus points between the two races to claim Rookie of the Year.

One rookie already out of the Rookie of the Year picture is Kyle Kirkwood. Kirkwood sits on 157 points, 126 points behind Lundgaard. Kirkwood has been ranked outside the top twenty in the championship for 11 consecutive races and after 12 of 15 races this season. He has finished outside the top fifteen in four consecutive races and in 13 of 15 races this season. 

The last seven Rookies of the Year have represented seven different countries. Lundgaard could make it eight different nationalities in the last eight years, and he would be the first Danish driver to ever win IndyCar Rookie of the Year. Lundgaard would become the first Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver to win Rookie of the Year since Ryan Hunter-Reay took the honor in the 2007 Indy Racing League season. He would be the fourth RLLR driver to take Rookie of the Year after Kenny Bräck, Danica Patrick and Hunter-Reay. 

Malukas is attempting to become the first American to win Rookie of the Year since Alexander Rossi in 2016, and Malukas would become the third Dale Coyne Racing driver to win Rookie of the Year. The first two were Alex Lloyd in 2010 and Ed Jones in 2017. Malukas would be the first American Rookie of the Year to have competed in Indy Lights the season prior since Marco Andretti in 2006. 

Outside the Title Fight

Focus will be on the championship over the final two races, but there are contests for championship positions from top to bottom. 

Forty-nine points cover eighth through 11th in the championship with Felix Rosenqvist leading this group with 340 points, five points ahead of Alexander Rossi. Colton Herta rounds out the top ten, six points behind Rosenqvist. 

There is then a 29-point gap between Herta and Rinus VeeKay with Graham Rahal only three points behind VeeKay. Simon Pagenaud sits on 294 points, three more than Romain Grosjean in 14th.  

Rossi has finished in the top ten of the championship in five consecutive season and his worst championship result is 11th. Rosenqvist is aiming for his best championship finish since he was sixth as a rookie in 2019. Arrow McLaren SP is aiming for multiple top ten championship finishers for the team's first time in IndyCar history, even dating back to the Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports days. Herta has finished in the top ten of the championship in all three of his full IndyCar seasons. 

VeeKay went from 14th in the championship to 12th in the championship during his sophomore season last year. Rahal has seven consecutive top ten championship finishes and nine in the last 11 seasons. Pagenaud has only finished outside the top ten in the championship once in his career, 11th in 2015. Meyer Shank Racing is also looking for its first top ten championship finish in IndyCar. Grosjean was 15th in the championship last year despite only starting 13 of 16 races. 

Previous Indianapolis 500 winners Takuma Sato and Hélio Castroneves are tied on 239 points with two races remaining. Sato holds the tiebreaker for 18th in the championship based on his fifth-place finish at Gateway. Castroneves' best finish this season was seventh in the Indianapolis 500. Sato is on pace for his worst championship finish since he was 18th in the 2014 season. 

Castroneves is on pace for his worst championship finish in a full season since he was 15th in the 1999 CART season. His worst championship finish in a full season was 17th in his rookie season in 1998. The Brazilian is 17 points behind Conor Daly for 17th and 33 points behind Malukas for 16th. Daly's best championship finish is 17th, and he has finished 18th in the championship three times in his career. Daly trails Malukas by 16 points for 16th and possibly his best championship finish in IndyCar. 

Meanwhile, there is a tight fight for 20th in the championship. Jimmie Johnson currently holds the position with 194 points, only four points ahead of Callum Ilott. Jack Harvey is ten points behind Johnson while Devlin DeFrancesco is 17 points behind the Ganassi driver. 

Johnson is averaging 12.933 points per start this season, nearly four more than what he averaged last year only running the road and street course events. Ilott has only finished ahead of Johnson in six of 15 races they have both started this year. Harvey had finished in the top fifteen of the championship in the last two seasons. DeFrancesco has not been ranked in the top twenty of the championship once this season. 

Who Needs a Win?

Only two races remain in the 2022 IndyCar Series season and the opportunities for victories are vanishing quick. Through 15 races, there have been eight different winners, but 17 drivers will lineup on the grid in Portland looking to make it winner #9 in the 2022 season. 

Álex Palou leads the pool of winless drivers, and Palou has much need for a victory. The Spaniard is looking to avoid becoming the first winless defending champion since Scott Dixon in 2004. He is also looking to keep his championship hopes alive. Since 1979, only two defending champions took 16 races or more to get their first victory of a season, Jimmy Vasser in 1997 and Gil de Ferran in 2001. Currently fifth in the championship, Palou could become the second driver in three seasons to finish in the top five of the championship without a victory. The other was Patricio O'Ward in 2020. 

Felix Rosenqvist is the next winless driver in the championship and the only other one in the top ten of the championship. It has been 41 races since Rosenqvist's only IndyCar victory at Road America in 2020. He has only two top five finishes this season, a fourth at the Indianapolis 500 and a third at Toronto. He was second at Portland in 2019 and sixth here last year. 

Rinus VeeKay is looking for career victory number two. VeeKay's three top five finishes this year are tied for his most in a season with his rookie year in 2020. He was 26th at Gateway, his second worst finish of the season behind 33rd at Indianapolis. Indianapolis was in the middle of a three-race run without a top ten finish. The Dutchman has finished outside the top ten in the last two events. 

Graham Rahal carries an 88-race winless streak into Portland, the longest active streak in IndyCar. Despite Rahal's results, he has eight top ten finishes this season, tied with Rosenqvist for the seventh most in IndyCar. Rahal has also only led eight laps this season, six at Toronto and two at Gateway.

Simon Pagenaud is on the longest winless streak of his IndyCar career. Up to 40 races, Pagenaud has not won since the first race of the 2020 Iowa doubleheader. His one podium finish would be his fewest in a season since he had zero in his rookie season during the 2007 Champ Car season. That runner-up result in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis is Pagenaud's only top five result. Last year were his fewest top five finishes in a season with three. 

Ten of the 17 winless drivers this season are looking for their first career victory. Four drivers have had their first career victory come at Portland. The first was Al Unser, Jr. in the inaugural Portland race in 1984. The next was Alex Zanardi in 1996 with Mark Blundell scoring his first career victory in a memorable finish at Portland the following year. The final first-time winner at Portland was A.J. Allmendinger in 2006 in Allmendinger's first race with Forsythe Racing after being released from RuSport after the first three races of that season. 

The other two winless drivers entered this weekend are Takuma Sato and Hélio Castroneves. Sato won the 2018 Portland race while Castroneves' best Portland result was seventh in 2000 from pole position. 

Road to Indy

Two Road to Indy championships will be determined this weekend, but there is a chance all three could be claimed in Portland. 

Indy Lights has its penultimate round in Portland, and Linus Lundqvist has a 108-point lead with 162 points left on the table. If Lundqvist gains one point to his championship, he will not even need to show up for the Laguna Seca season finale. In all reality, Lundqvist should clinch the championship just by starting the final three races of the season. 

If Lundqvist finishes 12th in each of the final three races of the season with no bonus points scored and Matthew Brabham, second in the championship on 372 points, were to win all three races with the maximum 54 points in each, the two drivers would be tied on 534 points with the championship coming down to a tiebreaker. 

Both drivers would be level on five victories, level on one runner-up finish, level on two third-place finishes and level on two fourth-place finishes. The tiebreaker would come down to Lundqvist having one fifth-place finish while Brabham's next best finish would be sixth. However, that is an unlikely turn of events.

With Lundqvist having a hand on the trophy, the battle will be for second in the championship. Brabham is one-point ahead of Andretti Autosport teammate Hunter McElrea and 11 points clear of teammate Sting Ray Robb. Benjamin Pedersen moved back into the top five of the championship with his third-place result at Gateway. Pedersen is 41 points behind Brabham and Christian Rasmussen has dropped to sixth on 320 points. Danial Frost has 310 points in seventh. 

Jacob Abel, Kyffin Simpson, Ernie Francis, Jr., Christian Bogle and James Roe, Jr. round out the top 12 in the championship.

Indy Lights will race at 1:20 p.m. ET on Sunday September 4. 

Portland is the final round of the Indy Pro 2000 season, and it is a triple-header. With 99 points left on the table, three drivers could win the championship, but it will likely go to Louis Foster. 

Foster has 377 points, 77 points clear of Reece Gold in second. All Foster needs to do is score 22 points over the three races to clinch the championship. He can do that in race one with a third-place finish or better. He has ten podium finishes this season from 15 races. Gold has won twice this year, but not since the second race on the IMS road course in May. 

Nolan Siegel has an outside chance at the championship. Siegel is 86 points behind Foster. Siegel won two of the first four races of the season and he was runner-up at Gateway. Enaam Ahmed is 99 points behind Siegel, but even if Ahmed swept the three races with maximum points from each race, Foster would still be champion on tiebreaker as Foster has six victories.

There is a close fight for fifth in the championship Braden Eves has it with 268 points, three ahead of Josh Green. Eves and Green each have one victory. Green won the first race of these season at St. Petersburg and Eves won at Road America. Salvador de Alba has two victories after his triumph at Gateway. De Alba is 21 points outside the top five. Kiko Porto sits in eighth, 29 points off of Eves. 

Yuven Sundaramoorthy and Jack William Miller round out the top ten in the championship with 213 points and 209 points respectively.

Race one of the Indy Pro 2000 weekend will at 3:20 p.m. ET on Friday September 2 with the second race of that day being later that day at 8:00 p.m. ET. The final race of the Indy Pro 2000 season will be at 5:20 p.m. ET on Saturday September 3.

There is a proper championship tussle in U.S. F2000 with three drivers within 23 points and four drivers mathematically alive. 

Myles Rowe leads the championship with 345 points, 22 points ahead of Michael d'Orlando and 23 points ahead of Jace Denmark. 

Rowe has won five races and he has finished in the top five in eight consecutive races and in nine of the last ten races with that tenth race being a sixth on the IMS road course. D'Orlando and Denmark both have three victories. Rowe, d'Orlando and Denmark are all tied on 12 top five finishes this season. D'Orlando has four consecutive top five finishes and eight in the last ten races, but he was 14th in both of those other non-top five races. Denmark has five consecutive podium finishes and ten consecutive top five finishes. 

Jagger Jones has a slim shot at the champion. Jones is 80 points behind Rowe. It is unlikely Jones will win the championship. His only victory this season was in the second Barber Motorsports Park race. He has only two top five finishes in the last seven races. 

Outside of the championship fight, Billy Frazer looks to hold onto fifth in the championship with 229 points and has an eight-point advantage over Thomas Nepveu. Frazer has six podium finishes, but he has finished outside the top ten in the last four races and in five of the last six races. Nepveu was runner-up in the most recent race in Toronto. The Canadian has two podium finishes and six top five results this year. 

Bijoy Garg is on 203 points in seventh, 23 points ahead of Christian Weir. Nicky Hays has 172 points while Dylan Christie and Spike Kohlbecker are tied on 165 points with Christie owning the tiebreaker based on his third-place finish in the second Toronto race. Jacob Douglas is 19 points outside the top ten. 

U.S. F2000 will race twice on Friday September 2, first at 2:20 p.m. ET and then at 7:00 p.m. ET. The final race of the U.S. F2000 season will be at 1:15 p.m. ET on Saturday September 3.

Fast Facts

This will be the 15th IndyCar race to take place on September 4 and the first since Scott Dixon won at Watkins Glen. 

The only drivers with multiple victories on September 4 are Johnny Aitken, who won at Minneapolis and Cincinnati in 1915 and 1916 respectively, and A.J. Foyt, who won at DuQuoin in 1961 and 1967. 

Team Penske has won three of the last four races held on September 4.

Portland will become the eighth consecutive different track to host a race on September 4. The others are DuQuoin, Ontario, Mid-Ohio, Vancouver, Kentucky, Baltimore and Watkins Glen. 

Only one of the last 15 Portland races has had an American winner (A.J. Allmendinger 2006). 

Ten of the first 12 Portland races had American winners. Emerson Fittipaldi won the other two Portland races (1989 and 1993).

The average starting position for a Portland winner is 3.962 with a median of two. 

Seven Portland races have been won from pole position and seven races have been won from the second starting position. Twenty-two Portland races have been won from a top five starting position. 

Only twice has Portland been won from outside the top ten (Mark Blundell in 1997 (11th) and Takuma Sato in 2018 (20th)).

The average number of lead changes in a Portland race is 5.962 with a median of six. 

Last year's Portland race had a track record 12 lead changes, the first time a Portland race produced a double-digit number of lead changes. 

The last six Portland races have had at least seven lead changes. 

There have been at least two lead changes in every Portland race.

The average number of cautions in a Portland race is 2.1538 with a median of one. The average number of caution laps in a Portland race is 8.2962 with a median of seven. 

There have been six caution-free Portland races, most recently in 2007. 

Five of them first nine Portland races were caution-free 

Eight Portland races have had exactly one caution. 

Predictions

Álex Palou makes it two consecutive Portland victory and keeps his championship hopes alive. At the of Portland, five drivers will be alive for the championship. A minimum two of the top seven in the championship will not get out of round one of qualifying. But there will be no red flags in qualifying. At least two Team Penske drivers finish in the top ten. The top three starters will not all finish in the top three. Graham Rahal will lead fewer than 36 laps. There will not be multiple drivers taken out in the first corner on the opening lap of the race. Callum Ilott will not pull over because of a mechanical issue. Christian Lundgaard and David Malukas will finish within four spots of one another. Sleeper: Jack Harvey.