Power Rankings: Detroit Victory Helps Kirkwood Climb
Kyle Kirkwood climbed in Power Rankings following his second victory of the season at the Sunday's Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear.
The win, coupled with his earlier triumph at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, underscores Kirkwood's rising prominence in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Kirkwood is the only driver besides points leader Alex Palou to win a race this season.
Palou – who won five of the first six races of the season – finally fell to Earth in Detroit by placing 25th after an accident. But one crash doesn't drop the driver with six top-two finishes in seven races.
Here are the rest of Power Rankings entering the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline on Sunday evening, June 15 at World Wide Technology Raceway (8 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
↓10. Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda; Last Rank: 8)
Dixon remains a fixture in the Power Rankings, holding steady at 10th. Despite a challenging stretch with three finishes of 11th or worse in the last four races, Dixon's presence in the top 10 of the standings – he's seventh – has kept him in the rankings. He kicked off the season with a strong runner-up finish in St. Petersburg and finished fifth in the Sonsio Grand Prix on May 10.
↓9. Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 TireRack.com Chevrolet; Last Rank: 7)
McLaughlin spun Nolan Siegel early in Detroit, sparking an avoidable contact penalty that dropped him from the lead on the primary strategy to outside the top 10. Despite the setback, he recovered to finish 12th. This is two straight finishes outside the top 10, following a 30th-place finish in the '500' on May 25. Before the downturn, McLaughlin was on a strong run, finishing sixth or better in four of the first five races.
↑8. David Malukas (No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet; Last Rank: 10)
Malukas finished 14th in Detroit, but that result doesn't reflect the full story. He was in the mix for a second consecutive top-five finish before a Lap 73 incident with Alex Palou, which led to an avoidable contact penalty that derailed his race. Malukas qualified second in Detroit, building off an impressive second-place finish in the Indy 500 just a week earlier.
↑7. Santino Ferrucci (No. 14 Sexton Properties/AJ Foyt Racing; Last Rank: NR)
Ferrucci earned his best-career finish by crossing the finish line second in Detroit. That comes a week after finishing fifth in the '500.'
↑6. Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda; Last Rank: 9)
Herta earned his first NTT P1 Award of the season in Detroit and third front-row start this season. Unfortunately, he didn't convert the pole to a win, but he still finished third. That's enough to boost him up the Power Rankings, earning his fourth top-seven finish in the last six races. The outliers are an underwhelming Month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In the Sonsio Grand Prix, Herta qualified 13th but finished 25th after a challenging race. In the '500,' he started 27th and managed to finish 14th.
↓5. Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet; Last Rank: 3)
Lundgaard earned his best-career '500' finish with a seventh-place last Sunday and crossed the finish line eighth in Detroit. He has six top-10 finishes in seven races this season.
↔4. Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet; Last Rank: 4)
Power rebounded in Detroit to finish fourth, scoring his fifth top-six finish in the last six races. The outlier was the Indianapolis 500, where he started 33rd and finished 16th. Power has crossed the finish line ahead of his Team Penske teammates in five of the last six races, too.
↓3. Pato O'Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet; Last Rank: 2)
O'Ward drops to third but limited the damage at Detroit by climbing from 18th to finish seventh. That's his best street course result this season after finishing 11th in St. Petersburg and 13th at Long Beach. Up next is an oval at World Wide Technology Raceway. O'Ward has three runner-up finishes there and five top-seven finishes in seven starts this season.
↑2. Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Siemens AWS Honda; Last Rank: 5)
Kirkwood won from the third starting spot in Detroit after leading 48 of 100 laps. He has three top-five finishes this season, including two victories. He is third in points with five top-10 results, too.
↔1. Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda; Last Rank: 1)
Palou finished 25th in Detroit, but five wins in seven races leave him on top under further notice. He still leads the standings by 90 points over O'Ward, a gap of nearly two races.
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