IndyCar’s 2027 Power Rankings: Instant Reaction

IndyCar’s 2027 Power Rankings: Instant Reaction

The IndyCar season wrapped up this past week at Laguna Seca. Alex Palou became a five-time series champion, with Kyle Kirkwood finishing second and Christian Lundgaard third. Dennis Hauger ended up rookie of the year. All the pieces are slowly starting to fall into place for the 2027 season. Seats are starting to fill up, and half of the season is confirmed. The 2026 season just came to an end, and with six months until the green flag waves, Fox is already looking ahead to 2027 with a power ranking for the upcoming season. 

The Penske Problem:

Scott McLaughlin shouldn’t have been put on this list, especially in such a high spot, coming in at 5. He had one good weekend, and it’s almost like the rest of the season didn’t happen. He has two poles this season, poles he couldn’t convert to wins. His first pole was at the season opener at St. Petersburg, where he finished P2.

Then again in Milwaukee for race one, where he didn’t even start at the front because of a grid penalty for an engine change. He finished that race P4. This season was just riddled with bad luck for McLaughlin. Hopefully his luck can turn around for 2027. I think it’s too early to put him on a 2027 list based on one good weekend. 

The same goes for his teammate, Josef Newgarden. Did Newgarden have a better season than McLaughlin? Yes. That doesn’t mean he should be on the list. He made the list at the last spot. This season, Josef Newgarden lacked consistency. Fox justified his spot on the list using the sole fact that he was injured for part of the season.

An injured foot still doesn’t mean he should be on the list. Using that logic, where is Alexander Rossi? Rossi is arguably a more consistent driver than Newgarden this season, even ending the season with a podium in Laguna Seca. Consistency that hasn’t been around since before the 2025 Indy 500. A problem that became very evident in the 2026 season. Penske has had one consistent driver all season, David Malukas.  

The Andretti Trio:

All three Andretti drivers are on the list. To be frank, I feel like after this season it’s well deserved. There was something in the water for Andretti this season. It was like something clicked with all three drivers. Maybe it had something to do with the addition of Will Power this season. The team just seemed truly unstoppable after Arlington, with Kyle Kirkwood winning the race, and Will Power ending up on the podium at P3.

It wasn’t just domination on street circuits, old and new, but the team remained strong with all three drivers being in and near the top in ovals and road courses. The team stayed consistent. Overall, the team found themselves on the podium, with three wins across the team. Three wins between two drivers: Kirkwood with two, and Ericsson with one. Power has yet to win with Andretti. Will 2027 be the year Power wins with Andretti?

If there was going to be one driver who would have beaten Palou for the championship, it would have been Kirkwood, who ended up runner-up when the season ended. In the ranking, he was put in at the third spot. He has overall been a strong driver on all types of tracks this season. He should have been in the second spot, above Christian Lundgaard. Lundgaard has yet to have a confirmed seat in 2027, and struggles on the ovals. Kirkwood is one of the best drivers in the series. Let’s see if he can top the 2026 season in 2027. Maybe he’ll come out of 2027 as champion? 

Palou on Top:

A shocker to absolutely no one, the five-time IndyCar champion, Alex Palou, is on top of the early 2027 power rankings. Palou is the most predictable piece in the IndyCar puzzle. Palou has been on top of his game for the past five years with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.  These past couple of seasons have been filled with Palou domination. But as time goes on, the gap between him and the other drivers keeps shrinking. Just look back at last season.

The series needs a big shake-up to knock Palou off the top spot… like a new race car. A new race car is coming in 2028. We have already seen what a new race car can do to a series, like Formula One, which adapted a new type of power unit and lighter cars this 2026 season. Such a big change really changed the landscape in Formula One. In 2025 redbull and McLaren duked it out for the championship. And now in 2026, with the new regulations, Mercedes has been dominating the season.

Who knows what will happen in 2028 when the new car comes and shakes up IndyCar. We still have one more season, but will Palou be able to win his sixth? Will he make it look as easy as he did years before?  The truth is, over in IndyCar, teams are starting to catch up. How long can Palou stay in front before he gets left behind?