INDYCAR Power Rankings: David Malukas’ Second-Place Run Continues

Pit strategies and cautions certainly were a big piece of the final results Sunday at Road America. How else would you explain Christian Lundgaard going from last to first? He did have a solid car and he has been solid on permanent road courses this year as he earned his second win and third podium. With the next race in two weeks on another road course — Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course — that certainly means Lundgaard carries some momentum into that event. Here are my power rankings after Road America: Dropped out: Rinus VeeKay (LW: 10) On the verge: Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Will Power Rahal nearly earned his fourth podium of the season until the tangle with Will Power on the final lap. You could argue that Rahal deserved to get the raw end of the deal, but the fact he was in position until the final turns keeps him on this list. Armstrong is another hard-luck driver from Road America as he was leading with four laps remaining when his engine expired. A win is coming. Newgarden, who did not deny that he had surgery on his left foot after the win at Gateway, struggled at Road America as he finished 22nd. He’s eighth in the series standings. O’Ward didn’t appear to have the speed he would have liked at Road America and then his strategy fell on the wrong side of the caution as he finished 12th. He’s still fifth in the series standings. Rosenqvist led a race-high 18 laps and finished eighth as he was among those who had to pit under caution with 22 laps to go and lose their track position. He’s sixth in the standings. McLaughlin started sixth and finished seventh, a solid but not exceptional day. It’s been that kind of season for McLaughlin, who is seventh in the standings. Kirkwood dropped to third in the standings and probably would just like to forget Road America, where he started 18th and finished 10th. He’s 61 points behind series points leader Palou. Lundgaard vaults several positions with his second win of the year. How is this guy not under contract yet for next year? He’s fourth in the standings. It was another second-place finish for Malukas, who now has three runner-up finishes in his last six starts. He moved to second in the standings, 60 points behind the driver who remains atop this list. A rare pit-road speeding penalty ended the winning hopes for Palou, who sat on the pole and finished fifth. It shows just how on the edge Palou is in trying to win races (he has four victories in the 10 races this year).