Today’s question: What has gone unnoticed in the last five weeks of nearly non-stop action in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES?

Curt Cavin: Much of the attention, and rightly so, has been on Josef Newgarden winning the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and Alex Palou winning the GMR Grand Prix along with last weekend’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear. Again, deserving on both accounts. But let’s not sleep on what Marcus Ericsson has done. Chip Ganassi’s driver has finished in the top 10 of all seven races this season, has remained first or second in the point standings almost exclusively in 2023 and nearly became the first back-to-back “500” champion since Helio Castroneves in 2002. While Ericsson is 51 points out of the series lead, he is solidly in second place with a lot of time to make up ground. Most of all, he exudes the confidence of a title-winning driver. Yes, Palou is in the driver’s seat as the overall leader, but don’t get caught watching the wrong CGR driver. Ericsson is squarely in the mix for this championship, and he might just win it.

Joey Barnes: Outside of Alex Palou’s ridiculous form, no one has been better since the beginning of May than Alexander Rossi. Despite being in his first year with Arrow McLaren, he has been the benchmark for the team over that timeframe, with no result worse than fifth over the last three races (third, fifth, fifth). That mark is more consistent than Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, with the six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion sporting finishes of sixth, sixth and fourth over the same stretch. Leaving Detroit, Rossi leads the team with the most top-10 finishes, five to four by teammates Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist. Although he trails Palou by 97 points (273-176), Rossi is only 46 points behind Curt’s favored pick of Marcus Ericsson (222-176). Every driver gets hit by a couple of bad finishes, and Rossi might have gotten those out of the way early with his two outside of the top 20. Next up is Road America, a place he scored a dominant 28-plus second victory in 2019 and has two additional podiums. So, getting on a hot streak and rising up the championship standings wouldn’t be a surprise as we head into summer.

Paul Kelly: The standings may not look like it, but Josef Newgarden is in prime position to be the No. 1 challenger to points leader Alex Palou after seven races this season. Newgarden is third in points, 70 behind Palou. But he has at least one victory at five of the next seven tracks on the 2023 schedule since he joined Team Penske in 2017. And Toronto is the only one of those venues where Joe New has just one win during that span. He has two each at Road America and Mid-Ohio, and has won three times at Iowa over the last six seasons. Newgarden is the unquestioned king of the ovals right now in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, with wins in five of the last seven circle-track races on the schedule since the start of the 2022 season. And remember, that number should be 6-for-7 if not for a broken part that robbed him of a sweep of the doubleheader last July at Iowa. With three oval races left this season, Newgarden is in prime position to gain significant ground over Palou and second place Marcus Ericsson. Don’t forget Newgarden has won at World Wide Technology Raceway four times since 2017 – he all but owns the joint. Finding consistency in the remaining six road and street course races probably will determine whether Newgarden will become the first driver since Dario Franchitti in 2010 to win the Indianapolis 500 and INDYCAR SERIES championship in the same season.