INDYCAR: Power Rankings (Iowa)

Besides Indy, the ovals are making my job easier since more normal things are happening in Indycar now.  Penske and Ganassi are dominating.  There were attendance issues last week.  KV Racing caused Dallara stock to jump during Monday's trading (probably) which caused many cigars to be smoked back in Italy in celebration.  Simona felt the need once more to further display her attachments by breaking herself, taking another trip to the hospital, and coming back yet again creating yet another awesome nickname.

After this weekend's race we will come to the halfway point of the season and conclude the first stint of the ovals.  Who's the top dog entering the cornfields of Iowa?

 

(Forgive my late posting to the seven of you who read my Power Rankings weekly.  I've had a long week thus far; two overtime shifts at work and emptied the writing chambers Monday.  Hey, what do you expect out of a part-timer like me?  A Pulitzer-caliber effort?)

 

THE GRID

 

1.  Will Power

Previous Ranking: #1 (no change)

Although Dario won and both him and Will are tied in the championship I'm keeping The Powerful One at number one.  The way he moved through the field and how high he finished despite almost going a lap down deserves such props.  The doubters of his oval racing talent were OWNED.

 

2.  Dario Franchitti

Previous Ranking: #2 (no change)

I'm all for drivers speaking their minds (especially champions) but come on Dario.  Why all the wine?  Too bored with the champagne?

 

3.  Scott Dixon

Previous Ranking:  #4 (+1)

With this F-bomb by his crew, a new nickname is born: KING SATO, Heir to the throne of King Hiro.

 

4.  Oriol Servia

Previous Ranking:  #5 (+1)

It has to be somewhat disheartening to be 3rd in the points, but so very far behind the battle for 1st/2nd.

 

5.  Tony Kanaan

Previous Ranking:  #3 (-2)

Possible proof that those who drive for KV Racing may not be bad, but jinxed.

 

6.  Graham Rahal

Previous Ranking:  #8 (+2)

He's now starting to feel more at home not only with this new team, but the victory podium.

 

7.  Danica Patrick

Previous Ranking:  #10 (+3)

SPEED.com's Marshall Pruett is right, her racing style might not get her wins but it will steadily collect a chunk of points over the long haul.

 

8.  Alex Tagliani

Previous Ranking:  #6 (-2)

Apparently I was wrong.  Good engineers are needed, and he needed one.  He missed the setup for The Mile by....a mile. *rimshot*

 

9.  Helio Castroneves

Previous Ranking:  #13 (+4)

That race was his.  Considering the bad luck he's had all year it was understandable if he went batshit ape after the tire failure....but he didn't.  He calmly pitted and tried to regain as many positions as he could.

 

10.  Ryan Briscoe

Previous Ranking:  #11 (+1)

That was one HELL of a save by him dodging Ryan Hunter-Reay at the start.  The Captain would've not liked yet another bent race car...his fault or not.

 

11.  Vitor Meira

Previous Ranking:  #7 (-4)

Old AJ probably thought "Why in the hell is Vitor so damned slow?  I don't give a damn if it's a backup car and the weight-jacker is messed up!  I drove a dirt car here to a 2nd place finish, G**D*** pansy!"

 

12.  Marco Andretti

Previous Ranking:  #12 (no change)

I don't have much to say about him.  He's just collecting decent finishes at this point.  His 4th place at Alabama seems like it happened a year ago....

 

13.  Takuma Sato

Previous Ranking:  #14 (+1)

After the ***King Sato incident he rallied for a top-10 finish.  He's still in the top-10 in the championship.  If he can just have a quiet and solid weekend he can pull off more top-5's.

 

14.  James Hinchcliffe

Previous Ranking:   unranked

Yes, people are going to remember JR's 2nd place at Indy, but if this season keeps on going the way it is The Mayor is your series ROTY.  He's got a strong team on both ovals and twisties and a very solid veteran as a teammate.

 

15.  Justin Wilson

Previous Ranking:  unranked

A top 10 on an oval?  That's more I like it.  He's still got Toronto circled on his calendar, though.

 

DNQ (Bumped from the field)

 

JR Hildebrand

Previous Ranking:  #9

If only time stood still with two to go at Indy....since then it's been all bad.  Very bad.

 

EJ Viso

Previous Ranking:  #15

....and with that we're back to our regularly scheduled demolition derby already in progress.

 

Mike Conway

Previous Ranking:  unranked

Why does Andretti switch the paint schemes around like that between him and Ryan?  This isn't NASCAR and you aren't Roush Racing.

 

Simona De Silvestro

Previous Ranking:  unranked

It's almost a dream come true for me that her new nickname is "The Iron Maiden"...since 85% of my wardrobe is Maiden attire.  The events that led up to her getting that nickname (and her season since St. Petersburg) has been a nightmare.

 

Ryan Hunter-Reay

Previous Ranking:  unranked

Say what you want about how "easy" it is to drive the Dallara "crapwagon"...in 2004 he drove a beast of a Champ Car at Milwaukee to lead ALL 250 LAPS and almost lapped the field.  Last Sunday he didn't even complete a lap.