Bob Pockrass
FOX Motorsports Insider
Alex Palou is back on top. No surprise after his sixth victory of the season Sunday at Road America.
Alex Palou during the NTT IndyCar Series XPEL Grand Prix at Road America
And the driver who finished second to him, Felix Rosenqvist, is back in these power rankings. He and David Malukas are now on the list.
Off the list? All the Penske drivers.
Hard to fathom but they just have not had the results in recent weeks. They’ve had speed. It would be no surprise to see any of them win a race. But their recent results have to be frustrating. They’ve got no top 10s in the last two races.
Here are the power rankings after back-to-back race weekends. The series has an off-week coming up, before four consecutive weeks of racing at Mid-Ohio, Iowa, Toronto and Laguna Seca.
Dropped out: Will Power (Last Week: 6), Scott McLaughlin (LW: 10)
On the verge: Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, Will Power
10. Colton Herta (LW: 8)
Herta was 16th at Road America and just did not have a good weekend. Yes, Power was ahead of him on the list previously and finished a couple of spots ahead of him on Sunday, but Herta has earned more points than Power over the last month, keeping Herta on the list.
Colton Herta prior to the NTT IndyCar Series XPEL Grand Prix at Road America
9. David Malukas (LW: NR)
A seventh-place finish was his second top 10 in the last four races with the other finishes in the top 15. The A.J. Foyt Racing driver is grinding out good finishes, despite having some adversity in races.
8. Marcus Armstrong (LW: 9)
Armstrong was a solid fifth at Road America, giving him three consecutive top-10 finishes. The Meyer Shank Racing driver has five top 10s in the nine races this year.
7. Christian Lundgaard (LW: 5)
Lundgaard, at one point, was the fastest car on his tire strategy. But his day went south with a spin while racing Herta at Road America. The Arrow McLaren driver had to settle for 24th.
EVERY WRECK from XPEL Grand Prix at Road America
6. Felix Rosenqvist (LW: NR)
After finishes of 21st and 16th in the previous two races, Rosenqvist earned his fourth top five of the year with a second-place finish at Road America. The Meyer Shank driver hopes that he will get back some of the momentum he had earlier in the year.
5. Santino Ferrucci (LW: 7)
Ferrucci earned his fourth consecutive top-five finish with a third at Road America, giving the A.J. Foyt Racing driver a second, a third and two fifths in his last four starts.
4. Pato O’Ward (LW: 3)
A forgettable weekend pretty much for O’Ward, as he finished 17th at Road America. Expect the Arrow McLaren driver to be better at Mid-Ohio. He won there last year.
Pato O’Ward prior to the NTT IndyCar Series XPEL Grand Prix at Road America
3. Scott Dixon (LW: 4)
Dixon had speed but not the strategy, as he had to pit from the lead with a couple laps remaining to finish ninth. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver could use some luck.
2. Kyle Kirkwood (LW: 1)
Kirkwood didn’t have the speed to keep pace with the leaders but made the most of his strategy and finished fourth. The Andretti driver was coming off back-to-back wins and has five top fives this year.
1. Alex Palou (LW: 2)
Palou was fast all weekend and ended up having the victorious strategy at Road America. With six wins this year, it makes you wonder if this is a battle for second.
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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