The new year is right around the corner (just 78 days until St. Petersburg!), and there’s a lot to look forward to in regards to next season. An earlier start date and later end date to the season, the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, and the first Grand Prix of Boston, to name a few. It’s also a good time to reflect on this year as well. And being Single Seater, we’re going to take a look at the top statistics and numbers from the season.
0: What better number to start with than the points separating first and second place in the championship. Scott Dixon and Juan Pablo Montoya were tied in the points standings after a thrilling season finale in Sonoma. Montoya placed 6th in the race and Dixon won it (giving him the extra win to beat Montoya in the tiebreaker). Let’s hope next year’s championship is just as competitive as this one was.
80: The number of lead changes at Fontana this year. The heavily criticized event by both drivers and fans featured the most lead changes of any IndyCar or CART race there in history. Graham Rahal ended up winning the three hour epic.
5.8: This next number comes courtesy of our own statistic, R+/-. Ryan Briscoe held the highest R+/- score of any driver this season. He qualified pretty poorly in the eight races he started but was a contender for a handful of race wins. In fact, he finished higher in the championship than four drivers who completed more races than him, too — Stefano Colletti raced in 16 races to Briscoe’s 8 and was still two points shy of him in the points standings.
345: Josef Newgarden led 15.5 percent of the 2,232 laps run this year, the most of any driver. The bulk of these laps came at Milwaukee and Iowa where he led over 100 laps each. He was only able to muster seventh place in the points though. Three DNFs and two more 20+ place finishes kept Newgarden from competing for the championship later into the season. Newgarden prevailed as one of the most promising young drivers this season and will surely shine again in 2016.
$3,526,100: The winnings Montoya will take home, according to Racing Reference, simply from race performances alone. This is the most of any driver, largely due to Montoya’s Indianapolis 500 win which netted him $2.5 million. Must be nice.
Here’s to a great 2015 season and an even better 2016!
Photo courtesy of IndyCar.
by: Drew B., Founder
The Single Seater 
I wouldn't call Fontana “Heavily criticized”, Polarizing is more fitting. For every driver and fan that hated it, there was one who thought it was greatest race they'd ever seen.
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Thanks for the comment. I think you're right, polarizing does describe the situation better. Comments from people like Robin Miller definitely show that too.
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