A crowded field of contenders for the IndyCar title means it's down to the wire at Laguna Seca.

For five drivers on Sunday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the calculator will be almost as important as tire management on the notoriously slippery circuit.

Team Penske drivers Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin, along with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon and Marcus Ericsson each enter the weekend with a mathematical chance to win the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series championship. It’s the 17th consecutive year that the title is up for grabs in the final race.

Power is in the driver’s seat with 523 points, but it’s a precarious lead. Dixon—the six-time series champion—and Newgarden lurk just 20 points behind. The driver of the Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet must finish on the podium to claim the title, so he cannot afford to sit back and protect his advantage. 

“It’s not enough of a lead to do that; 20 points can go like that,” Power explains with the snap of his fingers. "It's going to be an interesting weekend."

IndyCar awards points on a sliding scale, with 50 due to the race winner, 40 for second, 35 for third, 32 to the fourth place runner and so on. There are four bonus points available: one for the pole, one for leading a lap and two to the driver who leads the most laps.

Dixon, who pedals the PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, took advantage of contact between Power and Pato O’Ward in the waning stages at Portland last weekend to claim third and keep things close. He’s fully aware of how tight the points race is going into the finale. 

“From Will’s perspective, a 20-point gap is an annoying gap,” Dixon observes.

Newgarden and Dixon need Power to struggle. If either takes the checkered flag and up to three bonus points and Power finishes fourth or lower, the title is theirs.

The mathematics get complicated from there. If Newgarden or Dixon come home no higher than third, for example, a championship is possible only if Power drops to 15th or worse.

For Ericsson and his Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, who sits at 484 points—39 back of the leader—there is no real need for numbers.

“I win the race,” he says with a chuckle. “That’s my plan, at least. For us, you can’t look at the other drivers. I’m going to focus on myself.”

McLaughlin, who piloted his XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet to a win last weekend at Portland, enters the weekend with 482 points. Like Ericsson, he would need a win, along with trouble for the other four contenders.

The twists and turns of Laguna Seca are likely to play a role in the race. Rookie Devlin DeFrancesco of Jones Soda Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport says management is critical to a quick car.

“At this place, tire degradation is the main concern,” he points out. “Tires don’t last.”

But low grip and tricky, low-speed corners make for interesting racing.

“You can be having a great lap and you mess up, you can lose a lot of time,” Dixon observes.

Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta won the last two IndyCar events at Laguna Seca.

Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey: Practice rounds Friday and Saturday. Qualifying begins 2:05pm Saturday, Sept. 10. Race takes place at 12:30pm Sunday, Sept. 11. Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 1021 Highway 68, Salinas. 242-8200