INDYCAR Power Rankings: Iowa Winners Alex Palou, Pato O’Ward No. 1 & 2

Bob Pockrass

FOX Motorsports Insider

The two winners of the Iowa Speedway doubleheader are ranked first and second in the power rankings.

The driver who won for the seventh time this year is still No. 1.

The driver who won for the first time this year is now No. 2.

Alex Palou celebrates in victory lane with his team during the INDYCAR Series Race 2 at Iowa

INDYCAR drivers compete on a variety of tracks and move from the relatively short Iowa oval to the final street course of the year this weekend as they head to Toronto.

Here’s a look at these rankings heading into Toronto:

Dropped out: Colton Herta (Last Week: 7); Rinus VeeKay (Last Week: 10)

On the verge: Colton Herta, Scott McLaughlin, Will Power

10. Santino Ferrucci (Last Week: 9)

Ferrucci had an eighth and a 15th at Iowa, which amounts to an OK weekend for the A.J. Foyt Racing driver. The big thing is that he and Conor Daly battled without drama, as Daly edged him by a spot in the first race and Ferrucci returned the favor in the second.

9. David Malukas (Last Week: Not Ranked)

Malukas had a 12th and a fourth in the two Iowa races, a strong bounce back after one top 10 in three of the four races heading into Iowa. This teammate of Ferrucci looked especially strong in the second race at Iowa.

David Malukas during the INDYCAR Series Sukup Race Weekend Race 1 at Iowa 

8. Josef Newgarden (Last Week: Not Ranked)

Newgarden arguably should have won both Iowa races but settled for a second and then a 10th. The Team Penske driver appeared to have a dominant car but pit road proved to be costly. First, he got beat on the final pit stop and then there the cautions that came out at inopportune times during the green-flag cycles.

7. Christian Lundgaard (Last Week: 5)

After a 21st-place finish in the first race, Lundgaard placed sixth in Race 2 to salvage the weekend. The Arrow McLaren driver is likely happy to be headed to Toronto.

6. Kyle Kirkwood (Last Week: 3)

After back-to-back wins, Kirkwood had finishes of fourth and eighth heading into Iowa, where he had an awful weekend as he crashed in practice, then again in the first race where he finished 26th. He finished the second race, but the Andretti driver certainly wasn’t happy with an 18th.

Kyle Kirkwood during the INDYCAR Series Race Weekend (Race 1) at Iowa Speedway 

5. Felix Rosenqvist (Last Week: 6)

Rosenqvist rebounded from a 17th-place finish in the first race to finish seventh in the second. The Meyer Shank Racing driver certainly had hoped for more as he qualified in the top three for both races.

4. Marcus Armstrong (Last Week: 8)

A ninth and a third at Iowa should make Armstrong feel good, considering his limited experience on ovals. The Meyer Shank Racing driver has finished ninth or better in each of the last six races.

3. Scott Dixon (Last Week: 2)

Dixon finished 10th in the first race and then second in the second race at Iowa. That wasn’t a bad weekend following the Chip Ganassi Racing driver’s first victory of the season at Mid-Ohio.

2. Pato O’Ward (Last Week: 4)

The first victory of the season for O’Ward was great for him, and he followed that up with a fifth-place finish in the second race. The Arrow McLaren driver is second in the standings but not close at all to Palou (129 points).

1. Alex Palou (Last Week: 1)

Palou had a solid Iowa, with a fifth-place finish in the first race and then a victory (his seventh of the year) in the second race. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver would need an unprecedented collapse to lose the title. 

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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