SALINAS, Calif — With a race of nothing much to lose, how does Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SREIES season finale look? Normally, this could be a Penske vs. Ganassi battle.
Last Sunday in Portland was Ganassi’s 5th straight natural road course and combined with Penske they’ve won all 6 races on these tracks this season. They went 1-2-3 here a year ago too.
Can anyone stop them on Sunday?
Penske and Ganassi have 4 of the top 6 starters. The only two not is Felix Rosenqvist on the pole and Christian Lundgaard in 3rd. 21 of the last 24 visits won from a top 3 starter (15 from the pole, 4 from 2nd).
However, Roseqnvist is 1-for-78 in his career. Lundgaard is 1-for-34.
The thing is, McLaughlin, while starting second, he’s not had the best success while doing so. This season, he’s started in the top six 10 times including 8 on the front row. 7 of his last 8 races have been on the front row at that.
McLaughlin’s finishes from the front row have been 7th (Detroit), 6th (Toronto), 2nd and 5th (Iowa doubleheader), 2nd (Nashville), 5th (Gateway – 10 spot grid penalty), 9th (Portland). Can he pick up the win and end his 13 race winless streak?
Ironically enough, his win this season didn’t come from the front row. It came from 4th in Barber.
For Scott Dixon in 5th, He was 3rd in 2019 but 13th and 12th the last two years. Dixon has also finished 7th, 6th, 4th, 2nd, 1st and 3rd respectively on natural road courses in 2023 too. He’s finished 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 5th, 2nd, 1st, 17th, 4th, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 12th in the last 17 season finales.
Maybe it’s a battle of Josef Newgarden (starts 4th) vs. Alex Palou (starts 6th). They went 1-2 last year and 1-2 in Road America back in June, a track that was repaved and expected to race like this weekend’s.
Newgarden has finished 8th, 7th, 2nd here. He was runner-up at Road America. He’s also finished in the top 2 in 4 of the last 6 season finales including 3 straight years too (1st, 2nd, 2nd).
Palou won that Road America race and won this race from 11th last year. He was also runner-up in 2021 here.
On natural road courses in 2023, Palou has finished 5th, 1st, 1st, 1st, 7th and 1st.
Picks
- 2 Newgarden
- 10 Palou
- 6 Rosenqvist
- 5 O’Ward
- 3 McLaughlin
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