Will Power wins his second IndyCar championship; Alex Palou won the final victory in the context of the ongoing drama
MONTERY, Calif. – IndyCar’s tense season has come to an end as Team Penske’s superstars take the title and the future of race winners is once again clouded.
Spirit beat Team Penske’s teammates Josef Newgarden 16 more points for the Australian to win a second IndyCar title and a 16th national championship for Roger Penske. He finished third on Sunday at the Laguna Seca Raceway, one place behind Newgarden.
But the victory went to the faraway IndyCar champion Alex Palou, who has been embroiled in a messy legal battle over his 2023 rights negotiations and courtroom. Chip Ganassi Racing says they have chosen next year’s pick over the Spaniard; McLaren Racing says it has Palou under contract.
Palou confirmed in July that he will be a McLaren driver next season, but as he celebrates his only win of the season, with owner Chip Ganassi behind him, Palou has seems much less certain. But he said a solution could be worked out, perhaps as early as Monday.
“Yes, we talk. We talked in Portland. We talked before… I think, Nashville. Talked this morning,” Palou said of the recent, rekindled communication. group with the team owner.
“We’ll see when I know. I wish I could tell you, ‘Hey, I’m working on this,’ but I don’t have an answer yet. Maybe tomorrow.”
It was a blatant confrontation that closed a spectacular season in which IndyCar, even without the pizazz and popularity of a Netflix show, drew the most viewers to its 17-show schedule. racing since 2008.
Its championship had seven drivers in it until the penultimate race, and with five drivers still calculating in Sunday’s hunt at Laguna Seca Raceway, IndyCar had its tightest championship run yet. since 2003 to celebrate.
The battle takes place between Ganassi and Team Penske, the team with three drivers in the hunt for Chevrolet against the six-time champion Scott Dixon and winner Indianapolis 500 Marcus Ericsson in Ganassi entries pushed by Honda.
Power, at the age of 41 and eight years stripped of his only other title, has entered this season with a fresh approach. He said he played a long game, and tried to make sure shots rather than trying to win.
It was Newgarden who took the wins and his five men led IndyCar this season. But he was inconsistent and crashed hard into Iowa while in the lead – an accident that caused a possible concussion and required Newgarden to be taken off the track.
Team Penske made it clear this week that they are not executing a team order and all three of their drivers can race for the title. So it was Power against Newgarden, who started 20 points behind his Australian teammate. Dixon also got 20 points back – and if he hadn’t been penalized for speeding in the Indianapolis 500, could have won a record seventh championship – but this is an internal fight.
Newgarden this week admitted he’s struggled all season with his perfectionism; Power has devalued his new approach.
Newgarden had a disastrous, misdirected qualifier, and it pretty much dictated his season. Power took his 68th pole to break the record for the most in IndyCar.
So Power earned one point for winning the pole and another for leading the first round. He’s got Newgarden now at 22 and it’s going to take power for the Americans to win a third title. He did all he could, including 3 passes in Laguna Seca’s famous twist, but just finishing second was not enough.
“We’re all competitive and we personally want to be winners, but when we win as a team it’s huge for everyone. I’m filled with pride. “, Newgarden said. “But I also feel a little bit more relieved. I’m happy to be resetting this season, refueling and then figuring out how to make it harder for everyone next year.”
While Newgarden had wondered what he would do differently if he could run the race again on Sunday, Power was finally ready to relax. He knows all that there isn’t any other driver doing anything important as long as he finishes third, and so that’s where he stayed for most of the race.
But he never allowed himself to slow down for a moment.
“I didn’t relax at any point. I knew I had to keep digging. I worked hard the whole race,” Power said. “It was high tension the whole race. It was like our whole season. It was a very solid, consistent, error-free day.”
Power has only won once this season at a time when Team Penske scored nine of IndyCar’s 17 wins, and watched from the sidelines as teammates Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin became close friends and developed the YouTube Video Series. Then came the final race month, when many believed McLaughlin had given Newgarden victory at the Gateway but denied Power a similar favor last week in Portland.
He says he’s never felt as if he were the weirdo in Penske, where McLaughlin was fourth in the final standings.
“Two boys, I guess they’re younger, the same age, and like to have fun,” Power said. “I find Scott McLaughlin to be a great guy, easy to get along with and so is Josef. They’re good guys. Competition is tough and I’m looking forward to it. Scott become a legitimate championship contender next year.
“This is the most powerful combination Penske has ever had in terms of steering, speed, ability. A tough team. Tough, tough trio.”
None of the three had anything on Sunday for Palou, who beat Newgarden by 30.381 seconds in a Laguna Seca record.
We did our best, as we always do. It was very difficult to catch Alex. I think he’s unbelievable,” said Newgarden. It was a really difficult year. It’s good in many ways, but it’s also really negative in many other respects. I’m excited for the reset, excited to be back next year and I know we’ve got the team to do the job.
Colton Herta, the 22-year-old California driver being courted by Formula One team AlphaTauri, is the 11th non-existent in his last IndyCar race in a while. Herta has won the last two races at Laguna Seca from pole and there is serious interest from F1 if he can be licensed.
Christian Lundgaardwho raced last year in the formula one ladder system, finished fifth for the Danish driver to win rookie of the year.
