The Verizon IndyCar Series has arrived at the halfway point in the 2016 season. Eight out of 16 races have been ran and there has been an abundance of action for racing enthusiasts around the world.The immense challenge of driving an open-wheel racing car has proved to be a challenge to some, while others have excelled in 2016. There have been six different speedsters that have found their way in victory lane so far in the Verizon IndyCar season.
Open-wheel racing manufacturer Chevrolet has dominated over Honda at midway through the 2016 season. The manufacturer has reeled in seven victories besting Honda seven to one in the win column. Honda manufacturing did lay claim to the biggest race of the season, the Indy 500.
Takuma Sato sits 16th in the Verizon IndyCar Series point standings. This is his fourth season with the AJ Foyt Racing, which officially makes him the longest tenured driver since A.J. Foyt was behind the wheel. Sato has maneuvered his #14 ABC Supply Co./Panasonic Honda to one top five victory in the streets of St. Petersburg, California.
He became the first Japanese driver to win a IndyCar sanctioned event at that same venue in 2013. Sato will need to find some more of that aggression that he was known for over the last two seasons. If he can reproduce that he has a chance to find his way into the top ten.
Marco Andretti, grandson of racing legend Mario Andretti, resides in the 17th points position in his 11th IndyCar season. The veteran has only accumulated two wins and four pole positions in his career. With the racing pedigree that Andretti was born into, it amazes me he has not found consistent success throughout his career. The same is true for the 2016 Verizon IndyCar 2016 season. The third generation driver has one top ten on the season and has yet to lead a lap in any event.
Mikhail Aleshin sits in 18th place in his IndyCar sophomore campaign. The first Russian to ever race in the Indy circuit has struggled to find his way in 2016. Aleshin drove his way to one top five finish in the first event of the year in St. Petersburg. Since that impressive performance he has only registered on other top ten finish. The youngster did manage to keep his car on the track for seven of the eight races completed, so there is a chance to improve upon his points position with some more top ten’s.
The 19th driver in the Verizon IndyCar Series points standings is Chip Gnassi Racing’s Max Chilton. The first year IndyCar racer has driven his #8 Gallagher Chevrolet to only one top ten placement at Phoenix International Raceway through the first half of the Verizon IndyCar Series.
To compound the unimpressive results in the previous events, Chilton has gotten himself into some on track fiascoes recently in both events at Belle Park Raceway in Detroit. Those wrecks combined with mid-pack placement are a bad combination that has Chilton sitting back in the standings.
Jack Hawksworth rounds out the Verizon IndyCar’s top 20 point standings. The third place finisher in the 2014 Rookie of the Year honors has failed to perform up to his talent in 2016. The Sam Schmidt Motorsports driver still has not recorded a single top five performance this year. To make matters worse, Hawksworth missed several opportunities late in races to reach a top ten position and has only finished 75% of the races ran.
Many of the drivers in the 16th through 20th spots in the Verizon IndyCar Series have their work cut out for them in the second half of the season. Keeping their racing machines intact for the full completions of the remaining contests is a must. There also needs to be better communication between the drivers and their crew chiefs. That teamwork can lead to some top ten finishes and maybe even a few top five for the second half of the season.
The 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series Top 20 Point Standings:
1 Simon Pagenaud 357
2 Scott Dixon 277
3 Helio Castroneves 271
4 Josef Newgarden 259
5 Alexander Rossi 242
6 Carlos Munoz 242
7 Will Power 240
8 Tony Kanaan 240
9 Juan Pablo Montoya 233
10 Charlie Kimball 227
11 James Hinchcliffe 226
12 Graham Rahal 225
13 Ryan Hunter-Reay 224
14 Sebastien Bourdais 210
15 Conor Daly 177
16 Takuma Sato 173
17 Marco Andretti 166
18 Mikhail Aleshin 155
19 Max Chilton 139
20 Jack Hawksworth 127
