IndyCar’s mirage of parity vanishes
First seven races had different winners, but trend has since gone opposite way
Remember this season when everyone was talking about how cool it was that seven different drivers had won the first seven races and that parity was alive and well in the Verizon IndyCar Series?
That’s over. Parity is dead. And Team Penske is largely responsible. Of the last seven races, only Team Penske star Helio Castroneves and four-time series champion Scott Dixon weren’t among the drivers with a win in the first seven. Meanwhile, Will Power and Josef Newgarden have each added two more wins.
After Power’s win Sunday at Pocono Raceway, Chevrolet drivers have four wins in a row, five of the last six and eight of 14 overall in 2017. And their run of dominance might not be over.
Chevrolet-powered cars are expected to enjoy an advantage in at least two of the three remaining races, meaning it is possible — if not likely — Penske sweeps the rest of the season and finishes with more victories (11) than it accumulated last season (10).
Unpredictability can be fun, but the best of the best should win consistently, and that’s exactly what Team Penske is doing.
DEMAND HIGH FOR ROSSI
During qualifying Saturday, Al- exander Rossi put his car on the third row before running down the track and passing along some calming words of wisdom to Andretti Autosport teammate Takuma Sato just before the Japanese veteran made his bold run for the pole.
Then Sunday, Rossi and his team nailed their race-day setup and competed all day for a win before settling for a second podium in three races.
“It’s a really good result, but when you come so close to a win, it’s sometimes difficult to swallow,” Rossi said after the race. “But looking back to where we were at Pocono last year, when we had a strong car and didn’t finish, to come back to be on the podium is a testament to Andretti Autosport and the entire team and the work that they’ve done all year.”
Safe to say the IndyCar sophomore enjoyed a strong weekend at Pocono and quite possibly upped the ante for teams — including Andretti — competing for his services next year. Rumors have circulated that even before Pocono, Rossi had been in talks with a number of teams about a ride next season.
No doubt the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner and potential free agent already was a hot commodity, but weekends like this past one demonstrate that he has all the makings of a bona fide star.
TITLE DREAMS FADE
After he won the pole Saturday, it looked like Sato might be on his way to a stellar weekend that would keep his faint title dreams alive. But it was not to be. He and his team struggled with setup throughout the race, and the 40year-old driver walked away with a 13th-place finish that likely snuffed the last flicker of his championship hopes.
Meanwhile, Graham Rahal knew he was a long shot to surpass four Penske cars and Dixon, but he sounded hopeful after a podium finish at Mid- Ohio Sports Car Course.
Unfortunately for Rahal, Poco- no did not go the way he had hoped. He led nine laps and raced well — his battle with Tony Kanaan was a pleasure to watch — but in the end, he finished ninth, behind all four Penskes and Dixon. Now 76 points back of championship leader Newgarden and 34 back of fifth-place Power, Rahal has begun to recalibrate his goals.
“We’re just going to have to work harder to be better and finish as high as we can in the championship,” Rahal said in a postrace interview. “We will go out there and continue to push hard to end the season strong.”
With Sato and Rahal out, that leaves five championship contenders to battle it out in the final three races: Newgarden (494 points), Dixon (18 pionts behind), Castroneves (-22), Simon Pagenaud (-26) and Power (-42).
Superstar teammates and an IndyCar legend in a fight to the finish? This final month of the season is going to be a whole lot of fun.
Ayello writes for The Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network.