Let's Look at the League - June 2019
We are at halfway point in the IndyCar season. Eight races down, nine races to go; eight race weekends down, eight to go, the end is approaching and summer is yet to begin but this isn't just the halfway point in the real world.
Back in March, I proposed a league format for IndyCar that created weekly head-to-head match ups as a way to have an alternative betting property instead of having straight up odds and betting the winner of the race.
The IndyCar field would be split into two leagues, one featuring 16 teams split between two conferences of eight with the top four of each conference going to the playoffs. The bottom team from each conference would be relegated to the second division and the top two from the six-team second division would get promoted.
League One would have a regular season take place over the first 14 races with the field three being the quarterfinals, semifinals and final. League Two would have a 15-race regular season with the top two teams of the round robin earning promotion and the final two races would have no bearing on the League Two results.
We would have only six races left in the League One regular season and League Two would have seven races left before that season would end. This is the best time to take a look at where everything would stand with it reaching the nitty-gritty of the season.
League One Conference A featured the #9 Ganassi entry, the #2 Penske entry, the #26 and #28 Andretti Autosport entries, the #15 and #30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entry, the #18 Dale Coyne Racing entry and the #20 Ed Carpenter Racing entry.
Conference B is made up of the #27 and #98 Andretti Autosport entries, the #5 and #7 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports entries, the #12 and #22 Team Penske entries, the #10 Ganassi entry and the #21 Ed Carpenter Racing entry.
In Conference A, the #2 Penske and #28 Andretti would be tied for first with 6-2 records. With Josef Newgarden's retirement in the second Belle Isle race was the second defeat for the entry with the other being at Barber when Newgarden lost to Sébastien Bourdais by one position. Newgarden finished ahead of Ryan Hunter-Reay at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and Hunter-Reay's engine failure in St. Petersburg led to an easy victory for Takuma Sato.
The #30 RLLR and the #9 Ganassi entries would be tied for third on 5-3 records with Sato holding the tiebreaker thanks to a victory at Austin but they will meet in Texas next week. Sato started off 3-0 but lost the next two weeks to Newgarden and Ed Jones. His third loss was in the second Belle Isle race to Hunter-Reay. Dixon lost to Newgarden in the Indianapolis 500 and his dead last finish in the first race gift-wrapped an easy win for Hunter-Reay.
The #20 ECR entry would sit in fifth at 4-4 and there would be a tie for sixth between the #18 Coyne entry and the #15 RLLR entry Head-to-head, Rahal beat Bourdais at both St. Petersburg and the second Belle Isle race, giving him the upper hand throughout the rest of the season.
The #26 Andretti entry of Zach Veach rounds out the conference at 0-8 and he is in great danger of relegation. Unfortunately for Veach, he finished eighth in both Belle Isle races but in each race he was paired with the eventually race winner, Newgarden and Dixon. Dixon beat him at St. Petersburg with a second place finish to Veach's 14th. Veach was 22nd at Austin and lost to Bourdais' 5th. Veach was 12th at Barber but was paired with another race winner in Sato. He lost by a position to Jones at Long Beach with Jones in 16th and Veach in 17th. In the Indianapolis races he lost to Rahal 9th to 12th and to Hunter-Reay eighth to 29th.
In conference B, the #27 Andretti entry of Alexander Rossi is on top at 7-1 and the one defeat wasn't his disastrous Grand Prix of Indianapolis or his ninth place finish after not making his final pit stop before caution at Austin. It was his second place finish in the Indianapolis 500 when he was paired with race winner Simon Pagenaud. Rossi was paired with Marcus Ericsson in the IMS road course race.
The #22 Penske entry of Pagenaud started out 0-3 but he has since gone on a five-race winning streak and he is tied for second with his teammate, the #12 Penske entry of Will Power and the #5 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports entry of James Hinchcliffe. Hinchcliffe would have been 6-2 had it not been for Pagenaud completing one more lap in the second Belle Isle race.
The Swedes are tied for fifth at 3-5 with the #7 SPM entry of Marcus Ericsson ahead of Felix Rosenqvist because Ericsson defeated Rosenqvist head-to-head at the Indianapolis 500. The #21 ECR entry of Spencer Pigot and the #98 Andretti entry of Marco Andretti are tied at the bottom at 2-6 with Pigot owning the tiebreaker after he defeated Andretti in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Andretti's sixth place finish this past weekend came when Ericsson finished second.
League Two is much closer. The two promotion spots belong to the #19 Dale Coyne Racing entry and the #14 A.J. Foyt Racing entry, each at 5-3. The #88 Harding Steinbrenner Racing entry and the #4 Foyt entry are tied at 4-4 and the #23/31 Carlin entry and the #59 Carlin entry are tied at 3-5.
Herta had won the first two weeks but his four consecutive retirements led to four consecutive defeats before he turned it around at Belle Isle. Kanaan started off 3-0 and he is 2-0 against Ferrucci, meaning he owns the tiebreaker. Ferrucci's only other defeat was to Leist at Long Beach.
Here is the remaining League One schedule:
Week 9 (Texas):
#9 Ganassi vs. #30 RLLR
#28 Andretti vs. #20 ECR
#2 Penske vs. #15 Rahal
#18 Coyne vs. #26 Andretti
#27 Andretti vs. #10 Ganassi
#12 Penske vs. #5 SPM
#22 Penske vs. #98 Andretti
#7 SPM vs. #21 ECR
Week 10 (Road America):
#9 Ganassi vs. #20 ECR
#28 Andretti vs. #15 RLLR
#2 Penske vs. #18 Coyne
#30 RLLR vs. #26 Andretti
#27 Andretti vs. #5 SPM
#12 Penske vs. #98 Andretti
#22 Penske vs. #7 SPM
#10 Ganassi vs. #21 ECR
Week 11 (Toronto):
#9 Ganassi vs. #15 RLLR
#28 Andretti vs. #18 Coyne
#2 Penske vs. #30 RLLR
#20 ECR vs. #26 Andretti
#27 Andretti vs. #98 Andretti
#12 Penske vs. #7 SPM
#22 Penske vs. #10 Ganassi
#5 SPM vs. #21 ECR
Week 12 (Iowa):
#9 Ganassi vs. #18 Coyne
#28 Andretti vs. #2 Penske
#15 RLLR vs. #26 Andretti
#20 ECR vs. #30 RLLR
#27 Andretti vs. #7 SPM
#12 Penske vs. #22 Penske
#98 Andretti vs. #21 ECR
#5 SPM vs. #10 CGR
Week 13 (Mid-Ohio):
#9 Ganassi vs. #2 Penske
#28 Andretti vs. #26 Andretti
#18 Coyne vs. #30 RLLR
#15 RLLR vs. #20 ECR
#27 Andretti vs. #22 Penske
#12 Penske vs. #21 ECR
#7 SPM vs. #10 CGR
#98 Andretti vs. #5 SPM
Week 14 (Pocono):
#9 Ganassi vs. #28 Andretti
#2 Penske vs. #26 Andretti
#18 Coyne vs. #20 ECR
#15 RLLR vs. #30 RLLR
#27 Andretti vs. #12 Penske
#22 Penske vs. #21 ECR
#7 SPM vs. #5 SPM
#98 Andretti vs. #10 Ganassi
And in League Two...
And in League Two...
Week 9 (Texas):
#14 Foyt vs. #23 Carlin
#4 Foyt vs. #19 Coyne
#88 HSR vs. #59 Carlin
Week 10 (Road America):
#14 Foyt vs. #59 Carlin
#23 Carlin vs. #19 Coyne
#4 Foyt vs. #88 HSR
Week 11 (Toronto):
#14 Foyt vs. #4 Foyt
#23 Carlin vs. #59 Carlin
#88 HSR vs. #19 Coyne
Week 12 (Iowa):
#14 Foyt vs. 19 Coyne
#23 Carlin vs. #88 HSR
#4 Foyt vs. #59 Carlin
Week 13 (Mid-Ohio):
#14 Foyt vs. #88 HSR
#23 Carlin vs. #4 Foyt
#19 Coyne vs. #59 Carlin
Week 14 (Pocono):
#14 Foyt vs. #23 Carlin
#4 Foyt vs. #19 Coyne
#88 HSR vs. #59 Carlin
Week 15 (Gateway):
#14 Foyt vs. #4 Foyt
#23 Carlin vs. #59 Carlin
#88 HSR vs. #19 Coyne
The key match ups to watch will be the #30 RLLR vs. the #20 ECR at Iowa, the #12 Penske and the #22 Penske at Iowa the #27 Andretti vs. the #22 Penske at Mid-Ohio and the #27 Andretti vs. the #12 Penske at Pocono and those are just in Conference B, which I think is the stronger of the two conferences.
The #2 Penske takes on the #28 Andretti at Iowa and that should be a fun battle while the #28 Andretti and #9 Ganassi do not meet until Pocono. Even this weekend is a tough battle for the #28 Andretti as Hunter-Reay will face the #20 ECR of Ed Carpenter. None of the ovals were scheduled easy for Hunter-Reay.
As for League Two, it is so close that it could go in any direction. It seems like Herta was destined to easy into a promotion spot after a 2-0 start but with a pair of top ten finishes and a victory. Then Herta has four weeks from hell. He was easily going to take Long Beach over Chilton if he doesn't get into the barrier and he might have pulled out a win over Ferrucci in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis if he doesn't get hit from behind. Even the Indianapolis 500 was in Herta's favor as he was starting fifth and paired with Charlie Kimball.
The one odd thing with League Two is Kanaan has not been great but he keeps beating the drivers around him. It is not promising but if he keeps it up that car would earn promotion.
The match ups to watch in League Two are Herta vs. Ferrucci at Toronto and in the final week at Gateway and Herta vs. Kanaan at Mid-Ohio. Herta and Kanaan split their first two meetings with Kanaan taking Barber and Herta taking the second Belle Isle race. Ferrucci won the first match up against Herta at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
As for the final six weeks in League One and the playoff picture, right now the #2 Penske, #28 Andretti, #9 Ganassi and #30 RLLR advance from Conference A with the #27 Andretti, #22 Penske. #5 SPM and the #12 Penske holding the top four in Conference B. I could see both those staying the same. In Conference B, I am not sure any of the bottom four can jump in there and knock out one of the Penske entries or Hinchcliffe.
Conference A is a little more of a toss up. I could see the #20 ECR entry moving up into the top four, especially if Carpenter is spotless on the ovals. Bourdais has Veach this weekend but then Newgarden at Road America, Hunter-Reay at Toronto, Dixon at Iowa, Sato at Mid-Ohio and Carpenter at Pocono. Of the final six, I think Bourdais has to win at least four and that is a big ask.
As for the relegation battles, Veach is in dire trouble and he needs a miracle to stay up. Conference B is tight. In two weeks Rosenqvist could go from fifth to the bottom. That is the conference to watch down the stretch.
We will keep an eye on this over the next few races heading into the playoff battle and promotion fight.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon but did you know...
Danilo Petrucci won MotoGP's Italian Grand Prix, his first MotoGP victory. Álex Márquez won his second consecutive Moto2 race. Tony Arbolino won the Moto3 race from pole position, his first career grand prix victory.
Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Cup race from Pocono. Cole Custer won the Grand National Series race.
The #6 Acura of Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya won the IMSA race from Belle Isle, the team's second consecutive victory. The #14 AIM Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus of Jack Hawksworth and Richard Heistand won in GT Daytona for the second consecutive race.
The #107 Bentley Team M-Sport Bentley Continental GT3 of Jules Gounon, Steven Kane and Jordan Pepper won the Circuit Paul Ricard 1000kms.
Ott Tänak won Rally de Portugal, his second consecutive victory.
Coming Up This Weekend
IndyCar has its first night race of the season from Texas.
Formula One returns to Montreal.
NASCAR has its final race of spring at Michigan.
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters will be in Misano and Andrea Dovizioso will be a guest driver in an Audi.
World Superbike heads to Jerez.
Blancpain World Challenge America returns to Sonoma.
