NTT IndyCar Series standings before 2019 Indianapolis 500

The 2019 Indianapolis 500 can completely change the NTT IndyCar Series standings, so here are the current championship points ahead of the Indy 500.

The Indianapolis 500 isn’t just IndyCar‘s biggest race — it also has the largest championship effect, because points will be doubled on Sunday, plus extra points were awarded for Indy 500 qualifying last weekend.

This is the only race where the entire field earns IndyCar championship points for qualifying; only the pole sitter normally receives a point for capturing the top spot. And it’s one of only two races that offer double points on the calendar; the other is the season finale at Laguna Seca.

With that in mind, IndyCar teams picked up some points for making it into the Indianapolis 500 and will stand to earn a lot more depending on where they finish.

How does that affect the current field? Well, it could go completely upside down. The Indy 500 winner will be awarded 100 points, and there’s only six points separating current championship leader Josef Newgarden and second-place Scott Dixon.

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Last year’s Indy 500 champion Will Power is currently in sixth place, but could easily vault over Newgarden if he repeats.

The ripple effect stretches all the way down the roster. Ed Jones is currently tied for 16th place, as he’s only driving a partial season for Ed Carpenter Racing. However, Jones is starting on the front row at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and has already proven himself with a Rookie of the Year-worthy performance in the 2017 race. He could easily haul in dozens of points and push himself into the Top 10.

And fan-favorite James Hinchcliffe, who had to drive his way into the race on Bump Day after a terrible wreck, might have just saved his season.

The Arrow Schmidt Peterson driver is currently in 10th place with 107 points; if he’d been bumped and therefore unable to earn any points this weekend while everyone else is getting double points, he could have easily tumbled down the IndyCar ranks.

See the full NTT IndyCar Series standings below, then tune into the Indy 500 on Sunday to find out who benefits most from the double-points race.

1 – Josef Newgarden – 182pts
2 – Scott Dixon – 176pts
3 – Alexander Rossi – 146pts
4 – Simon Pagenaud – 138pts
5 – Takuma Sato – 132pts
6 – Will Power – 119pts
7 – Graham Rahal – 113pts
8 – Sebastien Bourdais – 111pts
9 – Ryan Hunter-Reay – 109pts
10 – James Hinchcliffe – 107pts
11 – Felix Rosenqvist – 106pts
12 – Jack Harvey – 100pts
13 – Colton Herta – 95pts
13 – Marco Andretti – 95pts
15 – Spencer Pigot – 93pts
16 – Matheus Leist – 78pts
16 – Ed Jones – 78pts
18 – Santino Ferrucci – 76pts
19 – Zach Veach – 73pts
20 – Marcus Ericsson – 67pts
20 – Patricio O’Ward – 67pts
22 – Tony Kanaan – 66pts
23 – Max Chilton – 59pts

The 2019 Indianapolis 500 takes place this Sunday, May 26. For complete coverage of the 2019 IndyCar season, follow the IndyCar category at FanSided.