Verizon IndyCar Series standings after 2018 IndyCar Grand Prix

Josef Newgarden hangs on to the 2018 IndyCar season lead after the IndyCar Grand Prix. Here are the current Verizon IndyCar Series standings.

The battle for the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series championship is razor-thin after Saturday’s IndyCar Grand Prix. Defending champion Josef Newgarden is still in the top spot, but not by much after a single-car spin that dropped him from a Top 5 finish to outside of the Top 10.

Newgarden was running fourth when he lost control, and although he battled back from almost the rear of the field to come in 11th, that still cost him in the points—especially because the man he’s been trading the lead with, Alexander Rossi, wound up fifth.

Conversely, Will Power’s first victory in his 2018 IndyCar season gave the 2015 champion some much needed points. Power was barely hanging among the Top 10 after the last race, and the win improves his position to seventh. Ryan Hunter-Reay falls from sixth to ninth in a tough weekend, but no one has dropped out from the top portion of the standings.

There is, however, a massive logjam in the heart of the Top 10 with only ten points separating third through seventh places going into next weekend’s double-points race. Because the margins are still so narrow, what happens at the Indianapolis 500 will be even more important since there will definitely be changes at the top following that race.

And here’s a fun fact: due to Ed Carpenter’s only running oval races, Helio Castroneves is now ahead of Carpenter in the 2018 IndyCar standings despite the fact that he’s an Indy-only driver. His sixth-place finish on Saturday was worth more points than Carpenter’s seventh-place finish on the Phoenix oval. Both will be back in action on May 27, though, along with the rest of the Verizon IndyCar Series drivers.

Below are the updated Verizon IndyCar Series standings after the IndyCar Grand Prix:

1 – Josef Newgarden – 178 pts
2 – Alexander Rossi – 176 pts
3 – Sebastien Bourdais – 152 pts
4 – Scott Dixon – 147 pts
5 – James Hinchcliffe – 144 pts
6 – Graham Rahal – 142 pts
7 – Will Power – 135 pts
8 – Robert Wickens – 133 pts
9 – Ryan Hunter-Reay – 125 pts
10 – Marco Andretti – 105 pts
11 – Tony Kanaan – 95 pts
12 – Simon Pagenaud – 90 pts
12 – Takuma Sato – 90 pts
14 – Ed Jones – 87 pts
15 – Zach Veach – 84 pts
16 – Spencer Pigot – 76 pts
17 – Gabby Chaves – 68 pts
18 – Charlie Kimball – 60 pts
19 – Matheus Leist – 60 pts
20 – Max Chilton – 58 pts
21 – Zachary Claman De Melo – 49 pts
22 – Jordan King – 44 pts
23 – Kyle Kaiser – 35 pts
24 – Helio Castroneves – 28 pts
25 – Ed Carpenter – 26 pts

Next: Complete 2018 IndyCar Grand Prix standings

The next race in the 2018 IndyCar season is the 102nd Indianapolis 500 on May 27, which is a double-points event. For complete coverage of the 2018 IndyCar season, follow the Motor Sports category at FanSided.