It has been a strange start to the IndyCar season, with controversy making most of the headlines at the moment.
Team Penske was found to have installed an illegal software system that gave their drivers a boost coming out of the pit.
Today's IndyCar Sonsio Grand Prix Top 4 Favorites
1. Colton Herta101 points
2.
Team Penske was found to have installed an illegal software system that gave their drivers a boost coming out of the pit. 4 team members have been suspended in the wake of an investigation, while Josef Newgarden, Scott Mclaughlin, and Will Power have either been docked points or stripped of victories, which was the case for Newgarden. The suspension will be in effect this weekend at the Sonsio Grand Prix, as well as at the upcoming Indianapolis 500. Penske has accepted the suspension, but they also claim that it was an unintentional oversight to install the banned software. Will it have an impact on this race? Let’s take a look at some of the drivers who might be in the hunt this weekend.
Herta may just be 24 years of age, but he is already making his mark on the IndyCar circuit. After a solid start to life at this level, Herta appeared to stall over the last 2 seasons, finishing 10th overall in both. He looks as though he is back in top form in 2024, though, as he sits atop the driver standings after 3 races, although he did get some help from Team Penske, which we will get to in a moment. Herta started the season with back-to-back podium finishes before slipping to 8th in Alabama in the last race. He won this race in 2022, so he could be back on the podium again this weekend.
While teammates Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin had results stripped from them as part of the Penske controversy, Power was given a 10-point deduction. That looms large at the moment, as he would be sitting at the top of the driver standings were it not for that deduction. Still, he is just a point back of Herta and very much in this thing in the early going. He has yet to win this season, but he does have a pair of 2nd place finished through the opening 3 races. Back in 2017 and 2018, Power won this race twice in a row, and while he hasn’t won it since, recent form suggests he could be in the mix here.
Winning the IndyCar championship in 2 of the last 3 seasons means that Palou comes into 2024 as the prohibitive favorite to win it all again. Palou is once again in the hunt, as he is just 3 points out of the top spot. He has not won an official race this season, but he did take the win at the $1 Million Thermal Challenge, although there were no points up for grabs in that one. It would not be a surprise to see him break his goose egg this weekend, though, as he did win this race last season.
Dixon is one of the older guys on the Indy circuit right now, but he is not letting that slow him down, which is no real surprise when you consider that he is also arguably one of the best this sport has ever seen. Dixon has had a couple of off weeks through the opening 3 races, but he also has a win, which he picked up in Long Beach. With that in mind, he always has to be considered when you make your bets this weekend. This race has not been particularly kind to him, but never rule Dixon out.
When: Saturday, May 11 at 3:00pm ET Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway TV / Streaming: NBC, Peacock Practice 1: Friday, May 10, 9:30 am – 10:45 am ET Practice 2: Friday, May 10, 1:10 pm – 2:10 pm ET Qualifications: Friday, May 10, 4:20 pm – 5:50 pm ET Warmup: Saturday, May 11, 3:00 pm ET – 6:00 pm ET
The 2023 season in IndyCar is rolling on, with 7 races now in the books and a familiar face sitting atop the driver standings. While Alex Palou has the top spot, there is certainly no time to think about relaxing, as the races are coming thick and fast and the lead at the top is still tight enough to not be safe. This weekend, the action shifts to Road America in Wisconsin for the Sonsio Grand Prix. Palou’s lead is big enough that we will not see a change at the top after this weekend, but we may well see things tighten up, depending on how things play out, so let’s look at some of the drivers who might be in the hunt on Sunday so you can bet against the IndyCar odds.
IndyCar Betting Analysis and Prediction for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America | IndyCar Lines by MyBookie
When: Sunday, June 18 at 1:30 pm ET Where: Road America TV / Streaming: USA
Alex Palou
This has been a fantastic season for Palou to this point, as he already has a pair of wins, including last weekend, and had not been worse than 8th in every race this season. He has been particularly hot of late, winning 2 of the last 3 races and finishing 4th in the Indianapolis 500. All of that has helped him to get to 273 points, which means that he is roughly halfway to the point total he had when he won the World Championship in 2021. Palou is very much showing that championship-winning form this season, but his time at Road America last season was not pleasant, so can he improve on his 27th place finish in this race in 2022.
Marcus Ericsson
Last year, Ericsson saw his season get off to a fast start, leading up to a huge win in the Indianapolis 500. It all fell apart after that win, though, with Ericsson losing form as the season progressed, which ended with him finishing 6th overall. He has had a very similar start to the 2023 season, winning the opening race of the year, but failing to get another checkered flag since. He did have a 2nd place finish at the Indy 500 this year, but other than that, recent results have not been great. Ericsson did finish 2nd in this race last season, so look out.
Josef Newgarden
One race does not a season make, so as big as it was for Newgarden to win the Indianapolis 500, that is not going to be enough to carry him to another championship. The win in Indy was his 2nd of the season, but the problem for Newgarden is that he has been a little inconsistent this season. He followed up his huge win with a 10th place finish last weekend, losing ground to Palou in the process and is now sitting 70 points off the pace. He has won this race twice in the last 5 years, so he could be a very good bet this weekend.
Scott Dixon
Dixon’s season is following a very similar path to what we saw from him in 2022, as he is still awaiting his first win of the year. Last season, it was the 10th race of the year before he picked up his first win. We are 6 races into the 2023 season and Dixon has been on the podium just once thus far. He has had a couple of top 5 finishes on this track over the past few years, so that might be the way to wager Dixon this weekend.
