The 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season came to a close Sunday with Scott Dixon hoisting the championship title. Dixon earned his fifth title, putting him in elite company alongside A.J. Foyt. The championship race came down to the season finale.
The four drivers who entered Sonoma Raceway with a chance to win the championship were the ones who stayed within reach from St. Petersburg. Josef Newgarden showed that he was going to be a threat to go back-to-back early in the season before experiencing a slump after his victory at Barber.
The slump that Will Power was facing during the first four races of the season ended in Indianapolis. Power went on to sweep both races in the month of May to put him in the conversation of winning the championship.
The Championship runner-up kicked off his season with three straight podium finishes. During the entire season, Alexander Rossi finished outside the top 10 only three times ,which ultimately gave him the best chance of defeating Dixon.
Ryan Hunter-Reay snapped a 42-race winless streak in Detroit and was able to tally another victory in the season finale at Sonoma. After missing the Indianapolis 500, James Hinchcliffe took the twin-checkers at Iowa Speedway for the second time of his career, his sixth career victory. Takuma Sato returned to victory lane at Portland, his first victory since his Indianapolis 500 triumph in 2017.
Final 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series Standings
- Scott Dixon -678 points
- Alexander Rossi – 621 points
- Will Power – 582 points
- Ryan Hunter-Reay – 566 points
- Josef Newgarden – 560 points
- Simon Pagenaud – 492 points
- Sébastien Bourdais – 425 points
- Graham Rahal – 392 points
- Marco Andretti – 392 points
- James Hinchcliffe – 391 points
- Robert Wickens – 391 points
- Takuma Sato – 351 points
- Ed Jones – 343 points
- Spencer Pigot -325 points
- Zach Veach – 313 points
- Tony Kanaan – 312 points
- Charlie Kimball – 287 points
- Matheus Leist – 253 points
- Max Chilton – 223 points
- Gabby Chaves – 187 points
- Ed Carpenter – 187 points
- Jordan King – 175 points
- Zachary Claman De Melo – 122 points
- Jack Harvey – 103 points
- Carlos Munoz – 95 points
- Pietro Fittipaldi – 91 points
- Santino Ferrucci – 66 points
- Rene Binder – 61 points
- Conor Daly – 58 points
- Kyle Kaiser – 45 points
- Patricio O’Ward – 44 points
- Helio Castroneves – 40 points
- JR Hildebrand – 38 points
- Stefan Wilson – 31 points
- Oriol Servia – 27 points
- Alfonso Celis Jr. – 23 points
- Colton Herta – 20 points
- Danica Patrick – 13 points
- Jay Howard – 12 points
- Sage Karam – 10 points
- James Davison – 10 points
Verizon P1 Championship Award
Josef Newgarden and Will Power tied for the number of poles this season at four, but Newgarden made the most of his pole victories by tallying 151 points. Power was chasing his second straight and fourth Championship Award since 2013. It is the fifth time a Team Penske driver has taken the award.
- Josef Newgarden – 4 poles – 151 points
- Will Power – 4 poles – 137 points
- Alexander Rossi – 3 poles – 130 points
- Ryan Hunter-Reay – 1 pole – 104 points
- Ed Carpenter – 1 pole – 92 points
- Marco Andretti – 1 pole – 34 points
- Sébastien Bourdais – 1 pole – 19 points
- Robert Wickens – 1 pole – 16 points
Tag Heuer “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” Award
Graham Rahal advanced the most positions from his starting spot in 2018, netting him the Tag Heuer “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” Award. It is the second time Rahal has earned the award and first time since 2015. 2018 IndyCar Champion Scott Dixon finished third in the standings.
- Graham Rahal – 91 points
- Charlie Kimball – 89 points
- Scott Dixon – 72 points
- Tony Kanaan – 60 points
- Spencer Pigot – 60 points
- Takuma Sato – 54 points
- Zach Veach – 54 points
- Marco Andretti – 52 points
- Sébastien Bourdais – 49 points
- Ed Jones – 49 points
- Alexander Rossi – 49 points
- Matheus Leist – 46 points
- Max Chilton – 42 points
- Simon Pagenaud – 39 points
- James Hinchcliffe – 37 points
- Ryan Hunter-Reay – 36 points
- Gabby Chaves – 36 points
- Robert Wickens – 31 points
- Zachary Claman De Melo – 27 points
- Jordan King – 26 points
- Josef Newgarden – 21 points
- Jack Harvey – 20 points
- Carlos Munoz – 20 points
- Conor Daly – 19 points
- Pietro Fittipaldi – 17 points
- Ed Carpenter – 16 points
- JR Hildebrand – 16 points
- Rene Binder – 14 points
- Kyle Kaiser – 13 points
- Will Power – 10 points
- Santino Ferrucci – 9 points
- Oriol Servia – 9 points
- Stefan Wilson – 8 points
- Alfonso Celis Jr. – 7 points
- Jay Howard – 4 points
- Helio Castroneves – 4 points
Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award
Robert Wickens put on an impressive performance before his season-ending accident at Pocono Raceway. Wickens’ performance put him in position to clinch Rookie of the Year before the season came to an end. Zach Veach made a run for it late in the season but came up short finishing second.
- Robert Wickens – 391 points
- Zach Veach – 313 points
- Matheus Leist – 253 points
- Jordan King – 175 points
- Zachary Claman De Melo – 122 points
- Jack Harvey – 103 points
- Pietro Fittipaldi – 91 points
- Santino Ferrucci – 66 points
- Rene Binder – 61 points
- Kyle Kaiser – 45 points
- Stefan Wilson – 31 points
- Alfonso Celis Jr. – 23 points
About the author
His favorite tracks on the circuit include Barber Motorsports Park, Iowa Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, and Bristol Motor Speedway.
During the season, Christian also spends time as a photographer with multiple other outlets shooting Monster Energy AMA Supercross, Minor League & Major League Baseball, and NCAA Football.
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It is time for the heredity drivers to step away. 8th & 9th in points spell their end of competitive racing and only their names keep them in a seat.