We have all said once upon a time that it was stupid for them to grant points at Long Beach and Motegi because it was not a full field at either place. So if you throw at thsoe points at those race and just use the 16 combined races here is how the final standings look like.

Here are the final standings in the 16 races that were ran all together.

Drivers Championship

1. Dixon 608 pts
2. Helio -19
3. Kanaan -125
4. Wheldon -148
5. Briscoe -183
6. Marco -257
7. Hunter-Reay -274
8. Danica -279
9. Wilson -280
Servia -280
11. Mutoh -281
12. Miera -298
13. Manning -309
14. Carpenter -316
15. Rice -320
16. Power -330
17. Rahal -337
18. Foyt IV -343
19. Viso -344
20. Bruno -370
21. Mario -376
22. Bernoldi -420
23. Camara -434
24. Roth -455
25. Duno -468
26. Bell -511
27. Dominguez -531
28. J. Andretti -537
29. Scheckter -542
30. Howard -553
31. Perera -570
32. Fisher -573
32. Tracy -576
33. Tagliani -578
34. Hamilton -592
35. Lazier -595
36. Lloyd -598
37. Simmons -598

Team Championship

1. Target 530 Team Equivlency Points
2. Penske -24
3. Andretti/Green -151
4. Rahal -196
5. Panther -220
6. Foyt -226
7. KVR -227
8. NHL -231
9. HVM -266
10. DR -272
11. Vision -285
12. Coyne -296
13. Conquest -320
14. Roth -345

Oval Championship

1. Dixon 444 pts
2. Helio -88
3. Wheldon -97
4. Kanaan -149
5. Marco -184
6. Briscoe -195
7. Patrick -225
8. Mutoh -235
9. Meira -237
Carpenter - 237
11. Hunter-Reay -257
12. Servia -261
13. Rice -265
14. Foyt IV -272
15. Wilson -274
16. Manning -276
17. Power -283
18. Viso -299
19. Moraes -311
20. Rahal -315
21. Bruno -318
22. Camara -332
23. Bernoldi -334
24. Roth -335
25. Duno -340
26. J. Andretti -373
27. Bell -381
28. Scheckter -400
29. Fisher -409
30. Howard -415
31. Perera -418
32. Dominguez -422
33. Tagliani -426

Road Course Champion

1. Helio Castronevez 233 pts
2. Tony Kanaan -45
3. Briscoe -57
4. Dixon -69
5. Wilson -75
6. Hunter-Reay -86
7. Servia -88
8. Rahal -91
9. Manning -102
10. Viso -114
11. Mutoh -115
12. Power -116
13. Wheldon -120
14. Bruno -121
15. Patrick -123
16. Rice -124
17. Meira -130
18. Mario -134
19. Foyt IV -140
20. Andretti -142
21. Carpenter -148
22. Bernoldi -155
23. Camara -171
24. Dominguez -178
25. Roth -189
26. Duno -197
27. Bell -199
28. Tracy -201
29. Howard -207
30. Scheckter -211
31. Perera -221
32. Tagliani -221

So the penalty didn't matter anyway in Detroit.

Looking at the standings this way...

1) Marco ended having a better year than Danica even though it did not seem like it.
2) Congrats to Servia and Wilson for finishing in the top 10
3) Foyt Racing had a pretty good year
4) Vision racing fell off horribly compared to how they started
5) Wow what a great season and it was about time that there is one series.

AutoRacer5 - 07 September 2008 04:46 AM

So the penalty didn't matter anyway in Detroit.

The only thing it would have done was changed the way Scott raced today. Scott might not have fallen back to 10 and would have taken a few more chances if he new he had to finish in the top 4.

Well, if you throw out Long Beach and Montegi, we'd still be wondering when Danica would win her first race? And, did you still count her Montegi points in your totals? Like 50 points off would surely have dropped her out of the top 10, wouldn't it? And, aren't all the cars and drivers available for the Surfer's race?

They did throw out Long Beach, because certain drivers did not get credit for racing there even though they earned points in other ICS races. Management double-talk to better help us understand and appreciate the merits of the 'merger' or was it 'unification', or 'transition', or was it just 'b....s...'!

Why would you count the races where the 'transition' teams did not have the same or adequate equipment?

In other words, IMHO, the final standings for the 2008 Indy racing season are of no importance and have little meaning. The final standings should have an "*" after them. The next few years will be far more significant if all the teams and drivers actually make it back for next season and the years to follow.

You do realize, we are now under the leadership of a visionary, don't you? What was it? Fifteen years to learn the Indianapolis 500 was the premier race in AOWR. Maybe, it would have saved a lot of time and trouble if the INDY 500 stood alone by having an open race allowing the fastest '33' to enter from any series. There are no rules, except that you just have to complete the required 200 laps in under 2 hours to keep ABC happy! Then, winning the Indy 500 would mean something, and what a draw. Dragsters, F1, CART, Funny Cars, ALMS, NASCAR, Monster trucks, and what about those Outlaws! What a concept. Winner take all. See what we missed: a true reality show!