This Sunday, Will Power, Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon, and Marcus Ericsson aim to be crowned the 2022 IndyCar champion in the final race of the season at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca at 3 pm on NBC. Here’s how we got here.
Will Power is currently leading the points by 20 over Josef Newgarden. This year, Power tied the great A.J. Foyt for the most poles in IndyCar history (67) and won Belle Isle back on June 5th. He has four top-five and two top-ten finishes in the last six races. He has to finish third or better for a chance to win his second championship.
Last year, Power finished in 26th place, but in 2019 finished second. He will need to drive the car like he stole it if he is going to win his second championship.
Josef Newgarden enters this race with the most wins this season (5) and will look to make it number six and win his third IndyCar championship. In his last six races, Newgarden has two wins. He would’ve swept Iowa had his car not broken during the second Iowa race.
Newgarden has been consistent this year and definitely has a shot at winning his third championship. Newgarden finished in seventh place last year at Laguna Seca.
Scott Dixon enters the race also 20 points behind Will Power. He is looking to win his seventh championship of his historic career. This year, Dixon has won two races in Toronto and Nashville. In his last six races, Dixon has a win, three top-five, and six top-ten finishes. Last year, Dixon finished in 13th place at Laguna Seca.
Marcus Ericsson is currently in fourth place in the standings trailing Will Power by 39 points. He’s won one race, which was the 106th Indianapolis 500. In the last six races, Ericsson has three top-ten finishes. He will need to run in front and hope the other contenders have problems. Ericsson finished in sixth place last year at Laguna Seca.
Scott McLaughlin is in fifth place in the standings and 41 points behind Power. He has been hot in the last six races, scoring five top-five finishes, and won last week at Portland International Raceway. Last year, he finished in 12th place at Laguna Seca. Like Ericsson, McLaughlin will need to run in the front and hope the others have problems with their cars.
My pick to win the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series championship is Josef Newgarden. He has been consistent all year long, and it will be tough for Will Power to hold him off. Newgarden has not won at Laguna Seca, and I think that will change this weekend.
