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Power Rankings: David Malukas Jumps into Top 10 after Strong '500'

Power Rankings: David Malukas Jumps into Top 10 after Strong '500'

Fox Sports28-05-2025
INDYCAR
Alex Palou reached victory lane in Sunday's 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and continued his iron grip on the top spot in Power Rankings.
The three-time series champion, who won all three races during the Month of May when factoring in the Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix presented by AmFirst on May 4 at Barber Motorsports Park and the Sonsio Grand Prix on May 10 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, remains the only mainstay in the Power Rankings.
Here's who rose in the Power Rankings entering Sunday's Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear airing at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio Network.
↑10. David Malukas (No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet; Last Rank: NR)
Originally finishing third in the race, Malukas was elevated to second place following post-race penalties assessed to Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood for technical violations on their Andretti Global cars. Malukas' performance at the Indianapolis 500, coupled with his consistent speed during the oval practice sessions and qualifying seventh, propels him into the Power Rankings.
↓9. Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda; Last Rank: 8)
Herta's performance during the Month of May was notably underwhelming, especially considering his previous success on the IMS road course. 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.
↓8. Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda; Last Rank: 7)
Despite strong practice sessions leading up to the '500,' a brake issue before the field even took the green to start the race compromised Dixon's race, leading to a 20th-place finish and ending his streak of climbing through the field in previous races. Dixon gained 14 spots at Barber Motorsports Park to finish 12th and 11 more in the Sonsio Grand Prix, coming home fifth.
↓7. Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet; Last Rank: 3)
Starting from the 10th position, McLaughlin lost control of his car during the final pace lap while trying to warm his Firestone Firehawk tires, resulting in a collision that ended his race before it officially began. This incident disrupted a promising season for McLaughlin, who had previously achieved four top-six finishes in the five races leading up to the Indianapolis 500.
↓6. Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet; Last Rank: 2)
Power had a dismal '500', finishing 16th after starting 33rd. Entering the '500,' Power had finishes of sixth, fifth, fifth and third, respectively. While McLaughlin is two points ahead of Power in the standings, Power has crossed the finish line ahead of his Team Penske teammate in four of the last five races.
↔5. Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Siemens Honda; Last Rank: 5)
Kirkwood remains fifth after finishing 32nd in the '500.' While there's a case to drop him further, Kirkwood is the only driver not named Alex Palou to win this season when the Andretti Global driver was victorious in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. That's a race he dominated from the pole. Also, Kirkwood has four top-eight finishes in six races this season.
↑4. Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Honda; Last Rank: 10)
Rosenqvist started fifth and finished fourth in the '500,' the same spot he enters Detroit in the points standings. FRO has three top-five finishes in the last five races and five top-10 results in six races this season with Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian.
↑3. Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet; Last Rank: 6)
Lundgaard earned his best-career '500' finish with a seventh-place result Sunday. He has five top-10 finishes in six races this season, including three consecutive podiums at The Thermal Club, Long Beach and Barber Motorsports Park.
↑2. Pato O'Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet; Last Rank: 4)
O'Ward finished third in the '500' for his fourth top-six finish in the last five races this season. Next up, however, is a street course in Detroit. O'Ward finished 11th (St. Petersburg) and 13th (Detroit) on street tracks this season.
↔1. Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda; Last Rank: 1)
Palou has five wins in six races this season, with an average finish of 1.2. His worst result this season is second on the streets of Long Beach. Now that he's a '500' winner and points leader by 112, he's almost untouchable.
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Siegel Back On Track, DeFrancesco Back At Home: What To Know For INDYCAR At Toronto
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Siegel Back On Track, DeFrancesco Back At Home: What To Know For INDYCAR At Toronto

TORONTO — The lone INDYCAR race this season across the border goes green this weekend on the streets of Exhibition Place and Lake Ontario. The 2.874-kilometer course (OK, you want it in miles, 1.786-mile) has 11 turns and has been part of a summer festival for 37 years. The tight course requires precision and also handling a pit road that isn't straight but instead has some curves. At 90 laps, it is five laps longer this year (noon ET on FOX). The 27-driver field is the same as it has been for most races in 2025. And that wasn't a certainty until Thursday morning for the final street course race of the season. Let's dive into a few things you need to know about this race. Nolan Siegel Cleared The Arrow McLaren driver was cleared Thursday to race after missing the event Sunday at Iowa following a hard crash Saturday in Iowa. "Missing out on Sunday's race in Iowa was definitely tough, especially after qualifying fifth," Siegel said in a statement. "After a week of rest and recovery, I'm looking forward to being back in the car." Drivers have accelerometers in their ears, so INDYCAR doctors know how hard the hit is when they evaluate the driver. Any accident that registers 80Gs in any axis or direction is required to return for further evaluation. INDYCAR, like most sports leagues, uses the King-Devick test from the Mayo Clinic among its tools. INDYCAR's head neurologist, Dr. Bert Vargas, along with INDYCAR medical director Dr. Julia Vaizer, typically does the evaluation to clear a driver to return. Vargas serves as a member of the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee and is also a sideline unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant for the NFL. Earlier this year, Marcus Armstrong had to return to the medical center at Indianapolis a few hours after an accident to be cleared for the next session. Siegel had to revisit Sunday morning and was not cleared. Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan missed a race in 2001 because of a concussion so he knows how hard it is for the driver to sit out. "I crashed in Detroit on Saturday, got a concussion," Kanaan said. "They sat me out in the race on Sunday, but we had Portland next week, and I am sure I wasn't right because that weekend, I was so slow in Portland. I started that and I crashed again in the first lap, and I couldn't understand why. And I felt fine. "We've come a long way, and this is probably one of the worst things because when ... you're looking at yourself, you're perfectly fine, and you think you're fine. Those type of injuries are so frustrating." In the last 12 years, there have been two drivers who have not returned to INDYCAR because of concussions — Dario Franchitti and Simon Pagenaud. Alex Tagliani was the replacement when Franchitti got hurt and Conor Daly was the replacement when Pagenaud got hurt. Linus Lundqvist, the 2024 INDYCAR rookie of the year, is on standby for Siegel. Jack Harvey was the last driver before Pagenaud in 2023 to miss a race because of a concussion. He missed the race at Texas after a crash in practice in 2022 and was replaced by Santino Ferrucci. In 2021, Felix Rosenqvist missed two races following an accident in 2021 at Detroit. He was never diagnosed with a concussion but did not perform well on the post-crash concussion protocol tests. Oliver Askew and Kevin Magnussen replaced him in those races. Robb Car Escapes Damage in Hauler Fire About 150 miles into the trip from Iowa last Sunday, the transporter carrying Sting Ray Robb's car blew a tire, which broke a seal on the axle and started a fire. It burned the hole of about 5- to 6-feet high, according to Colona Township Fire Department Chief John Swan. The fire department is about four miles from where the accident occurred on Interstate 74/280 in Illinois and that was critical, Swan said, in keeping the car from getting damaged. The fire didn't penetrate the inside wall of the transporter, and equipment suffered smoke and heat damage. The Juncos Hollinger Racing team has both of its cars at Toronto. It is using its Indy NXT hauler for Robb this weekend. Comeback ... Of Performance Kind While all the Andretti drivers raced last weekend, they probably feel they need as much of a comeback as a driver such as Siegel. All three of the drivers blew right front tires during the Iowa doubleheader weekend. Since that race was on an oval, there isn't a lot of correlation between the loads last week and this week. "It sucks," driver Colton Herta said. "I don't like to think about it for sure, and it makes me annoyed. But as far as what were the problems there, and are they going to come into this weekend? "There's almost zero percent chance. Such a different race, such different setup." Herta said they will figure out why they had the issue and no other organizations did in the coming weeks as they need to focus on the upcoming races here at Toronto and next week at Laguna Seca. "It's something that we're definitely not taking lightly. And it's important for the team to do that, just because for my peace of mind, too, inside the car, for blowing tires ... because there's a chance that you have a big one at some point," Herta said. "But at the end of the day, it's part of it. This is the first for us at Andretti, so I think we're learning this together for the first time." Herta is the defending winner of the Toronto race. "It's a track that poses a lot of different challenges," Herta said. "It's a street circuit. So no room for error, and the concrete walls are not good friends. So any little mistake turns into quite a big one here very fast. "It's a good mix of high-speed, low-speed corners. The pit stops are always difficult on this curvy pit lane that we have." Adjusting Goals? Bouncing back will be vital for Andretti driver Kyle Kirkwood, who has won two of the street-course races this year. Kirkwood went from 113 points behind series leader Alex Palou to 180 points behind after the Iowa doubleheader. With just five races left, Kirkwood doesn't think he has a reasonable shot at the title. "That seems unattainable from this point," Kirkwood said. "As long as it's mathematically possible to beat him, we're going to keep trying to get wins. At the same time, we put ourselves in a pretty big hole. "We're just going to go out and try and get some wins here, show that we are a championship-capable winning team, which I believe we are." So now is it win or don't care considering the championship is out of reach? "Winning races does win championships," said Kirkwood, whose three wins rank only behind Palou's seven this season. "Palou is proving that this season. That is the No. 1 focus. "Of course, it would be nice to claw back some and give ourselves an opportunity to be in the second position because in a lot of cases, getting a second this year is like getting a win in the championship." Home-Country Pressure And, finally, since the race is in Canada, that means it will be special for the one Canadian-born driver in the field. Devlin DeFrancesco believes his first Toronto Grand Prix was in 2013. "I feel very relaxed," DeFrancesco said. "I'm excited to be home. I like this track." He said he doesn't know how many friends and family are coming but he has a suite and has let someone else handle all the requests. "There's a tidal wave of support this weekend," DeFrancesco said. "Toronto is one of the biggest turnouts for fans. It's a hugely popular event. ... It'd be amazing to be able to go back somewhere like Edmonton [too] or somewhere like that." Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. recommended Item 1 of 1 Get more from the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

Sports.com and Lottery.com Head to Toronto as Callum Ilott and Louis Foster Prepare for Final Street Battle of 2025
Sports.com and Lottery.com Head to Toronto as Callum Ilott and Louis Foster Prepare for Final Street Battle of 2025

Yahoo

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  • Yahoo

Sports.com and Lottery.com Head to Toronto as Callum Ilott and Louis Foster Prepare for Final Street Battle of 2025

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