52 Week Rankings – Monday, April 25th, 2016
By Dylan Reynolds, The Open Wheel
Our new reoccurring feature at The Open Wheel continues with the production of Verizon IndyCar Series point standings over the last 52 weeks of the calendar. All points are accumulated based on what the driver earned in applicable races via the standard Verizon IndyCar Series points system. Date equity continues to make this relevant as last year’s Barber race fell off the rankings and was replaced with this year’s event while the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis is next up on the 2016 schedule and the next race to fall off of these rankings.
Here are the rankings for the last 52 weeks as of Monday, April 25, 2016:
Simon Pagenaud moved into the Top 5 of these rankings with his second straight Verizon IndyCar Series win at Barber Motorsports Park and now sits in fourth place. Results at Barber caused Scott Dixon’s lead to Juan Pablo Montoya shrink to only 17 points while Graham Rahal continues to close in on him as well from third in the standings. This is likely the final appearance in the rankings for last-placed Francesco Dracone for a while as the 2015 GP of Indy was Dracone’s last race in the series and there doesn’t appear to be any news on him returning.
Looking ahead to the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indy, Will Power has plenty of points to defend as last year’s event is his last win in the Verizon IndyCar Series. Pagenaud is poised for a big improvement in his points totals as he finished last on the road course at IMS last year. Fellow podium finishers from last year were Rahal and Montoya so three of the current Top 5 in the rankings need big results while Dixon and Pagenaud have little to defend. Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves, or Tony Kanaan could have a chance to move in to the Top 5 if Power has a bad day and they can find themselves on the podium or better.
We’ll add more features to these rankings as time goes on. We have some big ideas for this project. Check back after the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis for an update.
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All stats courtesy of INDYCAR.