Marcus Ericsson returns to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week as a driver to beat not only for the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, which he won last year, but also the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship, a season-long pursuit which he leads. A third-place finish in last weekend’s third race of the season, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, has Ericsson leading the standings heading to the two-day open test on the IMS oval that begins Thursday. It has been quite a calendar year for Ericsson on and off the track. I think that’s what Will (Power) did last year (to win the season title) – he was so consistently up there. “Last year already, we were fighting for the championship and leading the championship for a long time. Leading the championship feels good, but it’s a long way to go.

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