The first week of June might seem a little early, but no matter how you measure it, the Verizon IndyCar Series has reached the halfway point.
Eight races out of 16 have been run, and Team Penske's Simon Pagenaud holds a commanding 80-point lead over four-time series champion Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing.
Excluding bonus points (for poles, laps led and Indianapolis 500 qualifying), there were 450 points available from the season opener at St. Petersburg to Race 2 of the Detroit doubleheader, and Pagenaud racked up an impressive tally of 357 thanks to three wins and three second places out of eight starts. Over the past 20 years, only two Indy car drivers have gotten their seasons off to such a blazing start: Dan Wheldon, who won four of the first five IndyCar Series races in 2005 and cruised on to the title, and Alex Zanardi, who was in the midst of a four-race winning streak at the midpoint of his domination of the CART-sanctioned championship in 1998.
Of course, history has shown that Dixon can never be counted out of a championship chase, and by his normal standards, sitting second in the standings halfway through the season puts the late-season charger in a better position than he has often been.
Still, it's clearly Pagenaud's championship to lose, and the record of 671 points scored under the current system by Will Power in 2014 could be smashed if Pagenaud puts together a decent second half to his campaign.
Here's how the first half of the 2016 season shaped up for the leading IndyCar Series contenders, with grades.
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1. Simon Pagenaud (357 points)
Pagenaud started the season with a pair of second-place finishes and followed that up with three straight wins at Long Beach, Barber and the Indianapolis road course. The Indy 500 was not kind to the Frenchman (or the Penske team as a whole, for that matter), but Pagenaud bounced back and was in contention to win both Detroit races. Now that he has fully integrated into the Penske system and the team's fourth car is running smoothly, there is no weakness in Pagenaud's game.
Grade: A
2. Scott Dixon (277 points)
A notorious slow starter in the championship, Dixon won at Phoenix, entered the month of May second in the standings and has maintained that position. But the gap to Pagenaud continues to grow; he trailed by 48 points after four races, lost another 9 points at Indianapolis and had a poor weekend at Detroit, where Pagenaud outscored him by 23. History has shown that Dixon is capable of overcoming an 80-point deficit, but it's going to take a lot of help from the driver ahead of him.
Grade: A-
3. Helio Castroneves (271 points)
Even at age 41, Castroneves is still one of the quickest drivers in the IndyCar Series and he is bound to break through for a win at some point this year. He's one of several drivers pinning their hopes on the double-points finale at Sonoma Raceway.
Grade: B+
4. Josef Newgarden (259 points)
Newgarden hasn't done anything to dispel the notion that he is the next great American Indy car driver. He hasn't posted a win yet in 2016, but consistently runs near the front and he had the third-best points haul from the month at Indianapolis, trailing only 1-2 finishers Alex Rossi and Carlos Munoz.
Grade: A-
5. Alexander Rossi (242 points)
Fifth in the standings flatters Rossi and is largely down to the series-leading 144 points he scored at Indianapolis, including a nice, round 100 points for winning the 500. The ex- (and perhaps future) F1 driver has rarely run in the top 10 otherwise.
Grade: B
6. Carlos Munoz (242 points)
Like Rossi, Munoz owes his high ranking in the points to a big month of May that netted him 133 points. Neither of them looks likely to challenge Andretti Autosport team leader Ryan Hunter-Reay anytime soon.
Grade: B-
7. Will Power (240 points)
Power started the season in a 40-point hole to Pagenaud after missing the opener due to a severe sinus infection that created concussion-like symptoms. He has had his normal share of bad fortune but broke through for his first win in more than a year in the second race at Detroit.
Grade: B+
8. Tony Kanaan (240 points)
Another Brazilian in the 40-plus club, Kanaan has been steady but not spectacular in 2016. Eighth place in the standings is reflective of his usual pace, though he is always still a factor on ovals.
Grade: B
9. Juan Pablo Montoya (233 points)
Montoya racked up 50 points for winning the St. Pete opener, but it has often been a hard slog since then, the nadir coming in the Indianapolis 500 where he finished 33rd and last. Tipped as a championship contender, Montoya needs to turn his season around in a hurry.
Grade: C
10. Charlie Kimball (227 points)
Kimball was one of seven drivers to score more than 100 points in May at Indianapolis, mainly thanks to a top-5 finish in the 500. Generally good for a couple of podiums every year.
Grade: B
11. James Hinchcliffe (226 points)
The Indy 500 pole and a podium on the IMS road course helped Hinchcliffe notch 110 points in May. But the Detroit weekend was an unmitigated disaster for the Canadian as he managed only 21 points from the two races. Better times are surely ahead.
Grade: B+
12. Graham Rahal (225 points)
Rahal is one of eight race- or championship-winning drivers clustered within 30 points between seventh and 14th in the standings, demonstrating the high level of competition in the IndyCar Series these days. He narrowly missed out on winning at Barber after a great battle with Pagenaud, but hasn't gotten the breaks that came his way in 2015.
Grade: B
13. Ryan Hunter-Reay (224 points)
Boosted by improvements to Honda's engine and aero kit, RHR has generally been more competitive this year than last. He suffered heartbreak at the Indy 500, where it looked like he had the car to beat before he was swept into a pit lane accident. Will surely be strong at Iowa and Pocono.
Grade: B-
14. Sebastien Bourdais (210 points)
A rough winter for KVSH Racing resulted in a slow start to 2016. Showed all of his skill and flair winning Race 1 at Detroit but results have otherwise been spotty.
Grade: B-
15. Conor Daly (177 points)
Performing solidly in his first full-time season and doing all the right things. Rewarded with a podium finish in Detroit Race 1 that made him the top point-scorer of the doubleheader weekend.
Grade: B+
16. Marco Andretti (166 points)
It's just not happening for the third-generation star this year. Andretti's season got off to a bad start, things didn't get better at Indianapolis, and they bottomed out at Detroit, where only Hinchcliffe scored fewer points. Hoping for a turnaround at Iowa, site of one of his two career race wins.
Grade: D+