MILLER: Mid-season IndyCar report cards

The 35th annual mid-season report card is easier than usual because nobody really deserves an A or an F because and it's been a free-for-all with seven different winners in nine starts, seven of the eight full-time teams have at least one podium and the top 10 is separated by 104 points with eight races remaining.

Honda's resurgence coupled with its explosiveness are the big stories, along with parity and the fact Scott Dixon is leading the Verizon IndyCar series but has yet to score a victory.

Of course, as usual, grades are based upon performance, budget, hospitality food and whether or not the driver subscribes to RACER.

GRADE B+

DALE COYNE RACING: Reunited with engineer Craig Hampson, Sebastien Bourdais won the season opener and would certainly have been a factor in the championship before his violent accident at Indy. And Tristan Vautier and James Davison filled in nicely on ovals while Seb heals and F1 refugee Esteban Gutierrez looked pretty promising in his debut with No. 18.

But one of the most impressive drives of the year has come from rookie Ed Jones (pictured, No. 19). He went from last-to-third at the Indy 500, ran sixth at Long Beach, never put a scratch on his car before brushing the wall at Detroit and was headed for another good finish at Texas before getting crashed. He and engineer Mike Cannon have clicked from Day 1 and despite all the carnage this team has endured, Coyne's operation has gone from a Little Guys to Tough Guys.

RAHAL/LETTERMAN/LANIGAN: If not for a flat tire at Indianapolis after charging from 18th to third, the resurging Rahal would likely be in the top three in points (since Indy paid double) instead of sixth. But a sixth at the IMS GP, an impressive double-header sweep in Motown and a fourth at Texas has this one-man band marching toward the front again. The Detroit dominance restored the whole team's confidence and Graham has proven to be a tough out just about everywhere.

TEAM PENSKE: Will Power has led 367 laps (236 more than anyone else), captured three pole positions, won twice and is lurking in fifth spot (only 40 points out of the top spot) after a terrible start (19-14-13) to the season. He's back and he ain't goin away. Josef Newgarden scored his intial win for The Captain, Simon Pagenaud won his first short oval at Phoenix and Helio Castroneves has probably driven the best of the four but has only one podium to show for it because of bad luck and poor strategy. Pagenaud is only 13 points behind Dixon in his quest for back-to-back titles and the team has been out in front for 638 of the 1,208 laps contested.

GRADE B

ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT: I know, I know – this team has only won twice in the past two years but Victory Lane at Indianapolis is an automatic upgrade and Takuma Sato drove the race of his life to score a very popular win. Other than his misstep at Texas while running third, the 40-year-old veteran has been driving better than ever and sits No. 3 in the standings. But Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay need a 24-hour snakebite IV, because they've run so much better than the results show. They both had a great shot at winning Long Beach before being KO'd and they both were as fast as anyone at Indianapolis (Hunter-Reay led 28 laps, Rossi 23) before the former blew up and the latter had a disastrous pit stop. Hunter-Reay got collected in the big one at Texas while Rossi started third and was eliminated in a three-wide game of pinball. But they're both going to win a race before 2017 is over.

Marco Andretti opened 2017 with a refreshed attitude thanks to Bryan Herta calling his races and he was quick right out of the box. But he couldn't repeat his practice speed in qualifying and hasn't been a factor anywhere.

SCHMIDT/PETERSON: A win at Long Beach, third at Detroit and good run at St. Pete should have James Hinchcliffe in the title fight but a couple crashes (neither his fault) and a blown engine have dropped The Mayor to 10th. Teammate Mikhail Aleshin hasn't flashed the form he showed in 2016 but he's still stalking that first win and hasn't forgotten where the throttle pedal is located.

HONDA: After losing 24 of 32 races since 2015, Honda Performance Development went to the bank – signing Chip Ganassi and Sebastien Bourdais – and back to the drawing board to find some horsepower. After winning a second consecutive Indy 500, Honda owns a 5-4 lead over Chevy at the halfway point and has a fighting chance to win its first title since 2013. But all its engine failures remain a concern.

GRADE B-minus

CHEVROLET: Just as we were about to start throwing dirt on the Bow Tie on ovals, it bounces back strong at Texas and you know with Team Penske that GM is going to keep improving these final four months.

GRADE C-plus

CHIP GANASSI RACING: It's certainly a fair argument that Dixon (pictured) doesn't deserve any part of this grade because he's atop the points and he's had two potential victories (Indy and Texas) taken away by other people's mistakes and another (St. Pete) by an unlucky caution flag. But Ganassi is held to a higher standard and, regardless of the circumstances, zero wins in 2017 doesn't cut it. Tony Kanaan (fifth at Indy and second at Texas), Max Chilton (led a race-high 50 laps at Indianapolis) and Charlie Kimball (pole at Texas and 28 laps led) have all had their good moments but consistency seems to be their big problem. Right now the championship is a dogfight but what happens when Dixon (four podiums) starts winning? You know he's going to either win Mid-Ohio or Watkins Glen (or both) and it's only a matter of time before he gets on a roll.

GRADE C

ED CARPENTER RACING: Strong on the ovals and struggling on the road/street circuits would be the best way to describe J.R. Hildebrand's return to a full-time seat. But that's not surprising. His third at Phoenix is the team's lone podium but he was competitive again at Texas before being crashed. Spencer Pigot's results don't do justice to how well he's performed. He stormed from 18th into the top five at St. Pete before being KO'd by a brake fire, charged from 18th to finish eighth at Long Beach and had just fought his way from 17th to fifth at Barber before spinning out. He's probably passed more cars than anyone this season so when he figures out qualifying, look out.

Ed Carpenter damn near won his third pole at Indy and was fairly stout in the race before a backmarker ruined his day. And he charged to the front at Texas only to get caught up in an accident. But they've got to qualify better in road/street races to have a fighting chance.

GRADE D

A.J. FOYT RACING: Changing engines, drivers, personnel and locations figured to be a Texas-size headache and it's been all that. Conor Daly has followed his M.O. and raced much better than he qualifies (headed for a top five at Detroit and Texas before a mechanical and trying to avoid a crash) and he just needs more miles and a little good fortunate. Carlos Munoz and engineer Will Phillips haven't clicked in qualifying and other than a seventh at Long Beach it's been pretty frustrating. So there are eight races remaining to improve this grade, this season and A.J.'s mood.

HONORABLE MENTION:

HARDING RACING: Gabby Chaves and Mike Harding's little team deserve high marks for their fast start in the Verizon IndyCar series. Chaves has been quick, clean and smart – scoring an eighth at Indy and a very racy fifth at Texas – despite no pre-season testing. Engineer Matt Curry and the 2014 Indy Lights' champ have developed a nice chemistry so hopefully they'll be around for the full schedule in 2018.

ALONSO GETS AN A

FERNANDO ALONSO: Never saw an oval before May 3 and never put a wheel wrong all month. He qualified fifth, led 27 laps and looked like a 10-year veteran in traffic on race day. He was as delightful off the track as he was formidable on it and he gets the only A for absolutely acing his first Indy 500.