Driver Ratings for 2023 Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America

Crash INDYCAR journalist Chad Smith goes through the field to hand out driver ratings for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America.
Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport at Road America
Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport at Road America

Alex Palou: 10

Palou is on fire right now, winning three of the last four races, and holding a 74-point lead in the championship.

Josef Newgarden: 9

Road America is a place where Newgarden has been dominant, and he nearly earned another win today.

Pato O'Ward: 9

Considering the contact at the start of the race and being penalized for blocking, a podium finish was a brilliant result for the young driver.

Scott Dixon: 9

Dixon did it again, with a phenomenal drive going from 23rd to earn a 4th place finish.

Colton Herta: 7

After dominating most of the race, a 5th place finish feels like a real gut punch for Herta, who is on a 21-race winless streak.

Marcus Ericsson: 7

Just an okay day for Ericsson, who was bumped off track multiple times today.

Christian Lundgaard: 7

A much-needed result for RLL Racing, who has really been struggling this season.

Scott McLaughlin: 7

After gaining ground early in the race, McLaughlin hit a plataue to finish 8th.

Kyle Kirkwood: 8

He spun on the opening lap, was penalized, but rebounded once again for a top-ten finish.

Alexander Rossi: 6

Rossi led all three practice sessions this weekend, but didn't execute in qualifying and was getting the short end of the stick in wheel-to-wheel battles in the race.

Alexander Rossi
Alexander Rossi

Graham Rahal: 7

It was a quiet day for Rahal, but his best race day since the season-opener at St Petersburg.

Rinus VeeKay: 5

Yet another underwhelming performance for VeeKay, who nearly caused a serious incident on pit lane and spun Felix Rosenqvist on track, but was surprisingly not given a penalty.

Will Power: 7

Considering how his first two days went this weekend, today's race was relatively mild for the Team Penske driver.

Simon Pagenaud: 6

A 14th place finish is a positive thing for Meyer Shank Racing, which speaks volumes about how their season has gone.

Helio Castroneves: 6

See above.

Santino Ferrucci: 5

A great qualifying effort was flushed down the drain when he was shoved off course midway through the race.

Ryan Hunter-Reay: 5

The veteran's debut in the No. 20 car went about as expected, as the Ed Carpenter Racing team continues to struggle as a whole.

Callum Ilott: 5

Many expected Ilott to perform much better this weekend, given his prowess on this type of circuit.

Agustin Canapino: 5

Not a bad day for the rookie, although he did have himself a big moment midway through the race in the final turn.

Felix Rosenqvist: 4

One of the worst days of the season for Felix, who was getting blocked, shoved off course, and just couldn't ever get back to the front of the field.

Benjamin Pedersen: 4

His outstanding qualifying drive was ruined when he was the victim of a pack of cars trying to go through Turn 6, where cars on the outside simply don't stand a chance.

Sting Ray Robb: 3

No surprises here. About what we have come to expect from the rookie driver.

Devlin DeFrancesco: 5

He was running near the top-ten for most of the race, but fell behind on the final pit stop sequence.

Marcus Armstrong: 7

Although it was his worst result of the season, the rookie led laps and was contending in the first half of the race, mixing it up with Herta and Newgarden. A late off relegated him to such a poor finish, but his performance behind the wheel was another masterpiece.

Romain Grosjean: 1

Grosjean spent more time in the grass than he did on the pavement today.

Romain Grosjean, Will Power
Romain Grosjean, Will Power

Jack Harvey: 2

Another poor performance for Harvey, which should surprise no one.

David Malukas: 5

His strong Saturday took a hit when his car lost power midway through today's race.

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