Today’s question: Only four drivers have won NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season – Alex Palou, Kyle Kirkwood, Pato O’Ward and Scott Dixon. Who is most likely to join that list in the last three races of the season?
Curt Cavin: The pick almost has to be a Team Penske driver, but which one? I’ll go with Will Power, who won last year’s race at Portland in convincing fashion (101 laps led, 9.8267-second margin of victory over Alex Palou). After this weekend’s road race, two oval races remaining, the first being Aug. 24 at the Milwaukee Mile, where Power won in 2014 and finished second last year. The driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet hasn’t won at Nashville Superspeedway, site of the Aug. 31 season finale, but he has wins at seven different oval tracks, proof that he can win anywhere. Finally, it’s not as if Power is more motivated than teammates Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden, but he is the one who seems to be driving for a seat next season.
Eric Smith: I’ll take Scott McLaughlin. The Team Penske driver has won at two of the final three tracks on the schedule. He claimed victory at Portland in 2022 and has four consecutive top-10 finishes there. At Milwaukee, he finished eighth and first in last year’s doubleheader. In Nashville, he placed fifth in his only start. Across 16 short oval starts at Iowa Speedway, World Wide Technology Raceway, Nashville Superspeedway, and Milwaukee, McLaughlin has recorded 12 top-five finishes. He’s due – and with three chances left, he’s in position to secure a fourth consecutive season with at least one win.
Arni Sribhen: Santino Ferrucci just might be the driver who could break into winner’s column during August’s stretch drive. The AJ Foyt Racing driver won the pole for the Portland race last season and finished fourth in both Milwaukee races and sixth at Nashville to end the 2024 season. This season, he’s raced better than he’s qualified and scored podium finishes at both Detroit and Road America in June. With a little luck in qualifying this weekend, he could find himself back in the Firestone Fast Six in Portland, and if you can survive the first trip through the Festival Curves, you could have a great day. We know Ferrucci is always a threat on an oval, so sure, why couldn’t he notch his first win in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES to end the year?
Paul Kelly: Let’s get one thing out of the way first: Alex Palou will win this weekend at Portland to clinch his fourth NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship in the last five years. So, that leaves two oval races – at Milwaukee and Nashville – to finish the season. Curt and Eric have picked Team Penske drivers based on their performances in previous seasons on ovals. But what about this season’s results on circle tracks gives any indication Penske won’t go 0-for-2025 in the win column? The team has produced one strong oval result this year – the first race of the Iowa doubleheader, in which Josef Newgarden finished second, Will Power third and Scott McLaughlin fourth. So, I’m taking a different direction and choosing a stunner: Christian Rasmussen of Ed Carpenter Racing will win one of the last two oval races. The Dane has been steady on circle tracks this season, with finishes of sixth at Indy, third at World Wide Technology Raceway and sixth and eighth at Iowa. In a season with just four winners so far, Rasmussen will be a fresh new face in victory lane in the culmination of a season of improvement for the 2023 INDY NXT by Firestone champion.