NEWTON, Iowa — The end of Verizon IndyCar Series season is fast approaching, and for some it’s closing in at an uncomfortable rate.

With just seven races remaining on the IndyCar calendar, including this weekend’s Iowa Corn 300, some drivers in the paddock are beginning to hear alarm bells blaring during a season that has not lived up to their standards.

For those who have not produced good results — or enough of them — the pressure is mounting to turn their fortunes around. Now.

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If they don’t, well, for some of the more veteran and historically successful drivers, the consequences are likely limited to damaged pride and an unflattering pockmark on their resumes.

For others, the consequences can be far more severe. Some drivers know they could be driving for their IndyCar careers. Changes in the cockpit are a bleak but inevitable part of the sport. Since 2014, 13 drivers who ran 10 or more races are no longer in the series.

Because of facts like that that, along with the rising tide of pressure that accompanies a championship hunt that includes more than a half-dozen drivers, the paddock and the race track seem to have become just a little bit less friendly than they were in St. Petersburg and a little more … chippy.

“I would say absolutely the tensions tend to get a little bit high,” said Ed Carpenter Racing’s JR Hildebrand. “This is definitely a stretch of the season now where people are needing to produce. Whether it’s the guys running for the championship or teams like us seeking progress and working our way through the championship hunt.”

And with tensions running so high, a few spats and some aggressive driving are unavoidable, Hildebrand explained. Especially after something like the melee at Texas, where a few drivers “unplugged their brains” as Simon Pagenaud eloquently put it.

“You’re driving around the same guys all year, and they begin to have a track record,” Hildebrand continued. “You get a little more acquainted with what some guys tend to be doing. And then you come off a race like Texas where tempers are flaring and the competition is so high that you kind of can’t help but have more and more moments throughout the stretch run of the season where guys are getting a little more heated.”

The frustrations of Texas definitely appeared to have reared up again at Road America, where tempers flared in a weekend filled with “aggressive driving” and “wheel-banging” according to Dale Coyne Racing's injured Sebastien Bourdais, who was watching the race from Florida.

By the end of that long weekend in Wisconsin, Ryan Hunter-Reay was displeased with Charlie Kimball; Tony Kanaan had some choice words for Alexander Rossi; and Conor Daly had this to say about the race’s finish: “(There was) a lot of ridiculous driving at the end. … I got caught with cars that were a lap down that were making silly decisions on the last restarts.”

Bourdais, sidelined by injuries sustained during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, said over-aggressive driving is often a result of two things: The first is the track itself. The grip the cars enjoyed at Texas, for instance, encouraged drivers to take more chances than they might normally, he said. With its long straightaways, Road America invites some of that same risk as well.

But, he added, it’s not uncommon for drivers to start putting pressure on themselves to produce results. That can lead to some unfortunate scenarios and consequently, an irritated paddock.

“People are getting to that point (of the season) like OK, time to get something happening here; Unfortunately, when you’re antsy about trying to make things happen, then you’re more likely to make mistakes or create contact with someone else.”

And that, according to some drivers, has been the case the past couple of race weekends. Graham Rahal said he has definitely noticed an uptick in risk-taking, which he agreed is not uncommon for this part of the season. Rahal admitted that last year he took a few risks at Texas that he normally wouldn't have taken had he already had a win on the docket. Because he didn't, he felt the pressure to make something happen.

It work out well for Rahal, who won the race, but that's not always the case.

“We’re in crunch time for a lot of guys,” Rahal said. “Guys are driving more aggressively. I think at this point in the season guys are a little more nervous, and I think there’s a little more pressure on everybody’s shoulders, so (some drivers) are making moves that they don’t ordinarily make. I thought after Texas, that stuff would calm down, but that doesn't seem to be the case.”

Of course, the short oval at Iowa does not traditionally offer as much opportunity to take risks as Texas or Road America, so that does mean we won’t see as much aggression Sunday night during the Iowa Corn 300?

“I don’t know,” Pagenaud said with a laugh. “I’ll tell you tomorrow night.”

Follow IndyStar Motor Sports Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter and Instagram: @jimayello.