Power Rankings: Two New Faces Crack Top 10 After Mid-Ohio

Editor's Note: Power Rankings is a feature published after every NTT INDYCAR SERIES race in which INDYCAR.com staff writer Eric Smith ranks the top 10 drivers based on recent and season-long performance, statistical trends and the eye test from race weekends.

Pato O'Ward earned his first victory of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season in The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2027 CR-V Hybrid on July 5, vaulting the Mexican star in this week's Power Rankings.

His Arrow McLaren teammate Christian Lundgaard earned the NTT P1 Award and finished second, but he remains behind leader Alex Palou, who recorded his eighth top-five finish in 11 starts this season.

Here are the top 10 drivers entering the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by OnlyBulls on July 19 at Nashville Superspeedway.

↑10. Christian Rasmussen (No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet, Last Rank: NR)

Rasmussen returns to the Power Rankings for the first time since checking in at No. 7 following the March 7 race at Phoenix Raceway. He qualified fifth and finished seventh at Mid-Ohio, his second top-10 finish in the last three races after placing third June 7 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

↓9. Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet, Last Rank: 5)

McLaughlin finished 16th at Mid-Ohio but still has three top-10 finishes in the last five races after recording three in his previous six starts combined. This marks his fifth consecutive appearance in the Power Rankings.

↑8. Rinus VeeKay (No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, Last Rank: NR)

VeeKay matched his season-best finish by placing fourth at Mid-Ohio after qualifying sixth. The result was his third top-six finish in the last five races, as he becomes the 17th different driver to appear in the Power Rankings this season.

↑7. Will Power (No. 26 TWG AI Honda, Last Rank: 10)

Power had just one top-10 finish through the season's first eight races but now has three straight after finishing eighth at World Wide Technology Raceway, third at Road America and sixth at Mid-Ohio.

↑6. Josef Newgarden (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, Last Rank: 7)

Newgarden is one of three drivers with multiple victories this season, joining Palou and Lundgaard, with wins at Phoenix Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway. He sits eighth in the standings after finishing ninth at Mid-Ohio, his third top-10 finish in the last four races despite continuing to recover from left foot injuries suffered in his Indianapolis 500 crash.

↑5. Pato O'Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Last Rank: 9)

O'Ward snapped a 15-race winless streak by earning the 10th victory of his career at Mid-Ohio. He jumps four spots after collecting his first podium result of the season. O'Ward had led just 19 laps through the first 10 races -- nine in the Indianapolis 500 and 10 at Phoenix Raceway -- before pacing 45 laps Sunday.

↓4. David Malukas (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, Last Rank: 3)

Malukas slips one position in Power Rankings after falling from fourth at the start to eighth at the finish at Mid-Ohio. He has finished eighth or better in nine of the last 10 races, including three runner-up finishes, all within the last six events. He dropped from second to fourth in the championship standings over the weekend.

↑3. Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Sam's Club Honda, Last Rank: 4)

Kirkwood rallied from 18th to 10th at Road America and from 10th to third at Mid-Ohio over the last two races. He owns four consecutive top-10 finishes, including two podium results, and climbed to second in the championship standings leaving Mid-Ohio, 56 points behind leader Palou.

↔2. Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Last Rank: 2)

Lundgaard earned the NTT P1 Award and finished second to teammate O'Ward at Mid-Ohio for his second consecutive top-two finish. He has four straight top-10 finishes, including three in the top five. His finishes on permanent road courses this season are second, first, first and second. He’s third in points and trails Palou by 65 entering Nashville.

↔1. Alex Palou (No. 10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, Last Rank: 1)

Palou's streak of five consecutive NTT P1 Awards ended when he qualified eighth, but he rallied to finish fifth for the 65th top-five finish of his INDYCAR SERIES career in just 109 starts. It also marked the first race since Phoenix on March 7 in which he failed to lead a lap. Even so, Palou carries a 56-point championship lead over Kirkwood into Nashville.