INDYCAR Power Rankings: Marcus Ericsson Makes Big Jump With Markham Win

Marcus Ericsson earned his first win since 2023, as he captured the victory on the new street course in the Toronto suburb of Markham.

Ericsson’s victory wasn’t a surprise. He had finished sixth in the last two races and entered Markham ninth in the overall series standings.

Here are my power rankings entering this weekend’s event, the Freedom 250 on the streets of Washington, D.C.

Dropped out: None

On the verge: Pato O’Ward, Nolan Siegel, Kyffin Simpson

Rosenqvist dropped out early with a fuel pump issue, resulting in a 24th-place finish at Markham. 

Caution flags didn’t fall the way McLaughlin needed with his strategy and he ultimately finished eighth at Markham. He had qualified third for the event.

VeeKay started sixth and finished seventh at Markham for his fifth top-10 finish in his last nine starts.

Malukas broke a toe link after contact with the wall and wound up a disappointing 17th on a day when he could have gotten back to second in the standings.

Newgarden had a frustrating weekend. He didn’t make it out of the first round of qualifying, he started 20th and got spun during the race. He finished 13th.

Power wrecked in practice Saturday and started at the rear of the field. So to rally and finish third with a combination of speed and strategy was a solid race day.

Kirkwood did not have a good weekend. He never got a clean lap in qualifying, made an engine change and started 22nd. He was moving up the field until an accident with 37 laps left ended his day.

Lundgaard didn’t think he had a great car and started second. He then put together a respectable race to finish sixth, one spot behind teammate Pato O’Ward.

Ericsson earned his big win at Markham for his second podium of the season. But he makes the leap in points because of his consistency. The only drivers to have three consecutive top 10s are Ericsson, McLaughlin and …

Palou made the most out of his day with a fourth-place finish after starting 11th. But even bigger is that he finished ahead of all the drivers challenging him for the title.