2014 Grand Prix of Indianapolis Scores
| Finish | Driver | Grid | Led | Completed | A.R.P | Race Score | RSWC Points |
| 1 | Pagenaud | 4 | 6 | 82 | 3.60 | 69.64 | 5 |
| 2 | Hunter-Reay | 3 | 18 | 82 | 3.39 | 70.80 | 6 |
| 3 | Castroneves | 10 | 15 | 82 | 6.52 | 72.07 | 10 |
| 4 | Bourdais | 7 | 1 | 82 | 6.66 | 59.53 | 4 |
| 5 | Kimball | 23 | 0 | 82 | 11.63 | 71.15 | 8 |
| 6 | Briscoe | 14 | 0 | 82 | 10.78 | 57.63 | 2 |
| 7 | Hawksworth | 2 | 31 | 82 | 4.82 | 59.51 | 3 |
| 8 | Power | 5 | 0 | 82 | 7.59 | 44.55 | |
| 9 | Sato | 16 | 0 | 82 | 15.50 | 46.00 | |
| 10 | Kanaan | 9 | 0 | 82 | 12.33 | 38.23 | |
| 11 | Wilson | 18 | 4 | 82 | 10.85 | 51.15 | |
| 12 | Servia | 22 | 7 | 82 | 12.37 | 53.02 | 1 |
| 13 | Huertas | 17 | 0 | 82 | 11.59 | 41.89 | |
| 14 | Andretti | 13 | 0 | 82 | 14.04 | 30.62 | |
| 15 | Dixon | 6 | 0 | 82 | 10.71 | 23.06 | |
| 16 | Montoya | 8 | 0 | 81 | 15.07 | 17.19 | |
| 17 | Newagarden | 15 | 0 | 80 | 18.14 | 19.63 | |
| 18 | Plowman | 20 | 0 | 80 | 14.46 | 28.28 | |
| 19 | Conway | 24 | 0 | 58 | 21.64 | 18.16 | |
| 20 | Hinchcliffe | 11 | 0 | 56 | 6.41 | 17.64 | |
| 21 | Rahal | 12 | 0 | 50 | 9.56 | 12.72 | |
| 22 | Montagny | 21 | 0 | 47 | 15.30 | 12.75 | |
| 23 | Saavedra | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23.00 | 4.00 | |
| 24 | Munoz | 19 | 0 | 0 | 24.00 | 2.67 | |
| 25 | Aleshin | 25 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 | 1.33 |
Observations
- This is the first time this year that things have gotten well and truly funky, so let's tease apart these scores (especially at the top).
1) Helio Castroneves -- 72.07 Castroneves is the "beneficiary" of his "poor" qualifying effort here. In starting P10, Helio gains marks for making up places on track to achieve his podium finish. He also led several laps (15) and gains marks there too. Despite not having the lofty Average Running Position of those who finished ahead of him, Helio is again buffered by his qualifying position. Also, I'm not complaining that the driver on the "Run Hard" strategy gets max RSWC Points.
2) Charlie Kimball -- 71.15 This is an even more extreme case than above. Kimball qualified back in the 23rd position. Basically, continuing to turn laps after the melee at the start would have given him an "upgrade" over his finishing position score-wise. But, by the end, Kimball was on the same "Run Hard" strategy that worked so well for Helio, and once again, Kimball's A.R.P. of 11.63 doesn't look so bad when you compare it to a P23 grid spot.
3) Ryan Hunter-Reay -- 70.80 RHR comes by his score in the more traditional way. While he gains some degree of dubious benefit from starting P3 instead of P1 (for bringing out the red flag in Q3), it is primarily his excellent running position and multitude of laps led that get Hunter-Reay into 70s.
Finally, note that the difference between the best Race Score (72.07) and the fourth-best (69.64) is less than two and a half points. That's a beautiful thing. It means there were several good performances, achieved on several different strategies. That, my friends, is a good race.
Prediction Review
Not my best ever batting average this week, but I'm proud of my performance on predictions. You'll see why...
#GPofINDY Prediction 1) Both row 3 starters finish higher than both row 1 starters.
- VERDICT -- Well, they both beat Saavedra... 0.5 for 1
#GPofINDY Prediction 2) One of the "Indy only" cars (Montagny or Plowman) puts it in the Top 10.
- VERDICT -- One of them could have, but they they hit each other. 0.5 for 2
#GPofINDY Prediction 3) The gap between P1 and P3 in the RSWC shrinks. (It's currently at 10)
- VERDICT -- It is now 6. See below. 1.5 for 3
#GPofINDY Prediction 4) I'll take Pagenaud and Dixon to win, giving up the field.
- VERDICT -- What's that? Pagenaud won? I'm 2 for 4 on winners this year? Why yes, I think those things are true. 2.5 for 4
RSWC Update
Here are the Race Score World Championship standings, as of the GP of Indy:
| Driver | Points | Difference |
| Hunter-Reay | 24 | -- |
| Power | 20 | -4 |
| Castroneves | 18 | -6 |
| Pagenaud | 14 | -10 |
| Conway | 10 | -14 |
| Dixon | 10 | -14 |
| Andretti | 8 | -16 |
| Kimball | 8 | -16 |
| Wilson | 8 | -16 |
| Montoya | 6 | -18 |
| Munoz | 5 | -19 |
| Bourdais | 4 | -20 |
| Aleshin | 4 | -20 |
| Kanaan | 3 | -21 |
| Hawksworth | 3 | -21 |
| Saavedra | 3 | -21 |
| Briscoe | 3 | -21 |
| Huertas | 2 | -22 |
| Newgarden | 2 | -22 |
| Servia | 2 | -22 |
| Sato | 1 | -23 |
- Hunter-Reay has jumped Power and becomes your new RSWC leader.
- FYI, even though IndyCar is doing double points at Triple Crown races (in an effort to get closer to an equal number of points available on Ovals and Twisties, more info from my man Eric Hall here), I will be awarding RSWC points the same for every race. That means we won't really see the emergence of true "contenders" on this table until after Detroit.
Hall of Averages
Here are all the average Race Scores through the GP of Indy:
| Driver | Average Score |
| Power | 67.26 |
| Hunter-Reay | 61.68 |
| Pagenaud | 60.32 |
| Wison | 47.52 |
| Dixon | 46.02 |
| Castroneves | 45.56 |
| Kanaan | 39.62 |
| Briscoe | 39.24 |
| Servia* | 38.24 |
| Conway | 35.37 |
| Andretti | 34.45 |
| Sato | 32.84 |
| Kimball | 32.54 |
| Bourdais | 32.37 |
| Huertas | 32.01 |
| Newgarden | 31.94 |
| Hawksworth | 31.30 |
| Rahal | 28.62 |
| Plowman* | 28.28 |
| Montoya | 27.25 |
| Saavedra | 27.23 |
| Aleshin | 22.10 |
| Hinchcliffe | 19.13 |
| Munoz | 18.90 |
| Montagny* | 12.75 |
*Denotes Partial Schedule
- Again, this is probably a better indication of cumulative performance than the RSWC table. I don't think anyone would say that Hunter-Reay has had a better season so far than Will Power. And, I agree. The averages back me up in supporting Power here.
- Observe Oriol Servia. His average score is 38.24 (good for P9 on this table). Servia has scored RSWC points on two separate occasions, which means he had a Top 8 score. I said this last year, and I'll say it again now. Servia is the definition of serviceable IndyCar Series driver. He has experience. He has speed. He out-performs his teammates. Until Oriol says he doesn't want to drive IndyCars anymore (or until his numbers tank), he deserves to to get drives, and I will continue to stump for it.
- Quick, who had Carlos Huertas as the best-performing rookie through four races? Here's to you, Dale Coyne.
- Speaking of Dale Coyne, I attributed last year's excellent performance (in terms of Race Scores and RSWC points) by the Dale Coyne Racing stable to a couple of factors: 1) Justin Wilson's chemistry with Bill Pappas and 2) All the worlds that Mike Conway destroyed at the double-header weekends. With those two things out the window this season, I wasn't sure Coyne would do it. But, they have continued to perform. I'll talk more about Justin Wilson in a bit...
- Finally, I feel for James Hinchcliffe. He's had some high highs in the last year, with three race wins in 2013. But, he's also had some low lows, with what seems like a billion DNFs, and now this concussion issue. And, while Hinch has been cleared to drive in the 500, he's missed a week of practice (and, you don't get much more practice than that for the 500 any more). On top of that, he's had a really rough time of it on track so far. Ok, I'm done being sappy.
The Chase for My Heart
Speaking of sappy, here is the update on my quest for a new (and completely arbitrary) favorite driver.
| Chaser | LBH (Race Finish) | ALA (A.R.P.) | IMS (Race Score) |
| Pagenaud | 5 | 7.65 | 69.64 |
| Bourdais | 14 | 11.97 | 59.53 |
| Wilson | 16 | 9.00 | 51.15 |
| Power | 2 | 3.30 | 44.55 |
| Kanaan | 18 | 10.96 | 38.23 |
| Andretti | 8 | 4.51 | 30.62 |
| Dixon | 12 | 4.32 | 23.06 |
| Newgarden | 19 | 8.26 | 19.63 |
| Briscoe | 17 | 13.68 | OUT |
| Castroneves | 11 | 13.83 | OUT |
| Munoz | 3 | 13.86 | OUT |
| Rahal | 13 | 15.70 | OUT |
| Hunter-Reay | 20 | OUT | OUT |
| Hinchcliffe | 21 | OUT | OUT |
| Sato | 22 | OUT | OUT |
| Kimball | 23 | OUT | OUT |
| Key: | BEST | ||
| SAFE | |||
| ELIMINATED |
- We wave goodbye to Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, Scott Dixon, and Josef Newgarden this week. And, that leaves us with four drivers. Whichever of these drivers posts the fastest speed in Indy 500 Time Trials this weekend, will become my new favorite.
- First, a word about what I mean by "fastest speed in Indy 500 Time Trials." Whosoever among Power, Wilson, Bourdais, and Pagenaud puts up the fastest four lap average speed in an official time trial on Saturday OR Sunday will win the Chase for My Heart regardless of where he starts the race. Speed is all that matters here.
- Now, for fun, and because it's Fast Friday (even if it's a little wet at IMS) I'm going to make the case for each driver to become my favorite, along with what his official Scoring Indy nickname will be if he wins the Chase. (For examples of "official Scoring Indy nickname[s]" see Dario Franchitti as the Gallant Fox and Mike Conway, Destroyer of Worlds.)
- The Case for Pagenaud -- As Twitter JUST informed me, Pagenaud is going to wear an Ayrton Senna inspired helmet for the Indy 500. That's awesome. Also, Pagenaud is only 29. He could be my favorite driver for several years to come. Pagenaud has climbed the standings every year, and I'd be getting in on something approaching the ground floor with him. Also, the animosity between Pagenaud and Will Power recently has me reminded of the old friction between Power and Franchitti. I like that. Official Scoring Indy Nickname-in-Waiting: The French Fox.
- The Case for Bourdais -- I've been a minor champion of Bourdais' ever since he ditched the Lotus in 2012. I think he's finally finding his way in "contemporary" open-wheel racing. I think Bourdais still has a couple of good years in him, and I'd be happy to be there for them. Plus, seeing him climb the all-time American Open-Wheel wins ladder would be cool. Official Scoring Indy Nickname-in-Waiting: My Man Sea Bass.
- The Case for Wilson -- Justin Wilson has done wonders over the last two years at Dale Coyne Racing. He is consistent. He puts up good Race Scores. He gets podiums. And, he does all of that with a team, who turns in so many TBAs on Entrant Lists that it has become one of the series' inside jokes. Wilson, like Bourdais, has at least a couple of good years left. I'll always have a pull-for-the-underdog style fondness for Wilson, but can he win my full and completely arbitrary devotion? Official Scoring Indy Nickname-in-Waiting: Mr. Wilson
- The Case for Power -- Will Power is the new Dario Franchitti. There, I said it. Power wins. He wins a lot. I like winners. Also, I can get behind the "Power fights for the championship he never got" storyline. That would be a fun chase. Also, Will Power is my wife's completely arbitrary favorite driver. That would make two of us. Marital bonding: I hear it's a good thing. Also, I would get to say Will Power's name a whole lot. It is fun to say "Will Power." Finally, Power's in his prime. There could be many future years of fandom, an idea that appeals to me. Official Scoring Indy Nickname-in-Waiting: Our Australian Overlord.
Stay Tuned
I know that I'll be watching Time Trials with GREAT interest this weekend. I hope you will too. Be sure to follow @ScoringIndy on Twitter to get all my thoughts, blog updates, and (usually) terrible race predictions. See you next week!
-- Guido
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