The 2022 NTT IndyCar series sadly ended almost 2 weeks ago and with that, a champion was crowned. 5 drivers went into it with a mathematical shot of winning the title but only 1 could win, it couldn’t be set up any better with legendary names, legendary teams facing each other, 2 none champions in contention, and 1 legendary track.
Laguna Seca is a legendary circuit in America and once again we went into the race with a championship on the line. Talking of legendary, the teams involved in the title fight are legendary figures Chip Ganassi Racing vs Team Penske. Scott Dixon and Marcus Ericsson were flying the flag for Chip Ganassi Racing while Scott McLaughlin, Will Power, and Josef Newgarden were flying the flag for Team Penske.
Power came into the weekend with a 20-point lead over Dixon and Newgarden while Ericsson was 39 and McLaughlin was 41 points off the lead. The Swede and the Kiwi both needed a miracle but from where they came from 12 months before this stage, they’ve both made an incredible stride forward.
Ericsson coming off a breakout season in 2021 with 2 wins, would have been hoping for more this season. Yet to claim a pole position in his IndyCar career, it was something that would have been high on the achievement list but was yet to appear. The biggest accolade that the Swede claimed was victory at the Indy 500 which propelled him to the top of the IndyCar standings with 226 points while also making him the highest-scoring oval driver at the time. He had also been top for the most extended amount of rounds (6) which is more than his championship rivals. Going into the last race of the season Ericsson needed a miracle to win his first title since 2009 in the Japanese Formula 3 championship. Ericsson’s season consisted of 5 top 5’s, 12 top 10’s.
McLaughlin has had an outstanding season and cemented himself as a strong title contender for the 2023 season. A season that contained 3 poles, 3 wins, 8 top 5’s, and 12 top 10’s. A long shot for the title being 41 points off the lead and his role at Laguna Seca was more helping out either his Team Penske teammates against Scott Dixon. This season for McLaughlin was about getting up to speed with his more experienced teammates and it was something that the Kiwi did at the season opener at St Petersburg, dominating the race leading from pole to the chequered flag.
Dixon had a slow start to the season, but it was a record-breaking season for the Kiwi equalling the 2nd most wins in IndyCar history tying Mario Andretti with 52 wins with victory at the Indy Toronto Grand Prix and then breaking it with victory at the Music City Grand Prix. Dixon was cruelly denied victory at the Indy 500 after taking a very impressive pole but it was his teammate Ericsson who finished off what he started for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon’s season consisted of 9 top 5’s, and 15 top 10’s, and completed 100% of the laps available.
Newgarden was undeniably the driver of the season, a bold statement given what happened with Power, but what he did this season deserved a title at the end of it. Newgarden achieved 5 wins, and could and should have been 6 with a late crash at Iowa denying that from happening and probably winning the title. Newgarden’s race at Laguna Seca was incredible, starting P25 he came home and finished P2 and just demonstrated just what a season he has had this year. Any other season winning 5 races would have seen any driver win the title but this year is one that got away from the American. His season consisted of 1 pole, 8 top 5’s, and 12 top 10’s.
Power ended up winning his second IndyCar title, nearly 10 years since his first one and it was a season that was filled with consistency. Just like Dixon, Power both tied Mario Andretti’s pole record at Gateway and went on to beat it at the season finale at Laguna Seca. Power now has the record 69 pole positions in IndyCar. Power’s season consisted of 5 poles, 1 win, 12 top 5’s, and 12 top 10’s and with stats like that, it’s hard to find a driver who had more consistency at a time of the season who needed it. The moment that made Power’s season was arguably his drive in Portland when he started to drive like a champion in taking no risk with other drivers who had nothing to lose.
Comments