3 former IndyCar champs: They've all done it before, but can they do it again?
PORTLAND, Oregon – Only two races remain in the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season, yet seven drivers still have a realistic chance to hoist the Astor Cup at Laguna Seca come September 11.
Among those seven drivers, the three men who have the greatest chance to become this year’s champion already know what it feels like.
Will Power, the 2014 IndyCar Champion, enters this weekend’s Grand Prix of Portland with a narrow three-point lead over teammate (and 2017 and 2019 IndyCar champ) Josef Newgarden.
Eleven points behind Newgarden sits Scott Dixon, who looks to win a record-tying seventh title this year. And just three points behind Dixon is his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson.
But this story is all about the three former champs, not the potential champ-in-waiting if one, two or all three drivers ahead of him make mistakes that may cost them the chance at the 2022 title.
Power and Newgarden cannot forget about the guy who is going for a record-tying 7th IndyCar championship, namely, Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon. Photo: USA Today Sports / Stephanie Amador / The Tennessean
To prepare for the final two races of the season, Dixon spent Monday testing at Laguna Seca. Meanwhile, Newgarden and Power took to the track at Portland International Raceway last Friday to prepare for this weekend’s race.
“It’s extremely valuable to have extra laps here for us,” Power told media at the track Friday. “It’s a very tough track to get right.
“It’s quite a short lap. It stacks everyone really tight on turns. It’s really hard to differentiate yourself on speeds. That’s why we picked this place. We needed some laps.”
Depending on how qualifying goes, Power may very well be the favorite leading into Sunday’s 110-lap race at PIR. He won the 2019 edition of the race, and Portland holds a special place in his heart as it was the first track he ever drove on in the U.S. when he joined Champ Car in 2005.
“I like this track,” Power said. “It really suits my style. It’s very flowing and produces a really unique type of driving.
“It's going to take a really good qualifying run and just a good strategy [to win at Portland]. You can only do your best in this series. You never know what is going to be thrown at you.”
Teammate Newgarden made similar comments when asked what it will take to win at Portland as well as the championship. The two-time champion that the team needs to “be really good here and at Laguna Seca” if they want to win the title.
“We have two races so consistency is probably going to pay the biggest reward,” Newgarden said. “Things outside of our control that we don’t need to be focusing on are yellows and things that can happen that we just can’t predict. We’re just going to focus on ourselves and put two good races together. That’s what it’s going to take.”
When asked if he would race Power any differently due to being a teammate, Newgarden stated that as much as he and Power are friends and mates, when they're on the racetrack, Power is “just another competitor.”
“Obviously for us, securing the championship for Team Penske is a big deal and that’s what we’re focused on,” Newgarden said. "But you've got to run your race like it’s anybody else, regardless if it's a teammate or not.
“We don’t have team orders. Obviously, we try to take care of each other. If it's not me winning the race, we’re going to make sure it's Will or Scott [McLoughlin]. That’s sort of our mindset, but there’s not an order in place of how it’s gonna go.”
Both drivers agreed that with the points as close as they still are, the race for the championship is still wide open.
“It's very tight,” Power said of the point standings. “The top four positions are incredibly tight. All very good guys. It’s going to be a tough fight through the end.
"That’s just IndyCar for you these days. It’s just pedal to the metal until you get to the last lap of the last race.”
The Grand Prix of Portland takes place this Sunday at 3 pm ET (NBC).