IndyCar: Alex Palou has already clinched a championship in 2024

As a die-hard IndyCar fan with decades of racing under my belt and a heart full of adrenaline, Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland was nothing short of thrilling! The tension was palpable as Alex Palou, our beloved road and street course champion, defended his title against the formidable Colton Herta and Will Power.

On a Sunday afternoon this year, the BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway marked the tenth and last road or street course race on the 2024 IndyCar calendar. In the upcoming weeks, three consecutive oval races are planned to conclude the season’s 17-race tour.

Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing, currently leading the overall championship, approached Sunday’s 110-lap race on the 12-turn, 1.967-mile (3.166-kilometer) road course in Portland, Oregon with a 34-point advantage in road and street course standings over Colton Herta of Andretti Global, with Will Power of Team Penske trailing by an additional 14 points.

Only an extraordinary performance from one of those two drivers (and a poor performance from Palou) could prevent him from being this year’s champion on road and street courses, as he competes in the No. 10 Honda. Despite Power winning the race by almost 10 seconds, Palou’s second-place finish earned him enough points to secure his third road and street course championship in his fourth season.

In simpler terms, after dominating races at Portland and Road America, Power ended up placing second in the rankings for road and street courses. He was 36 points short of the top spot which was claimed by Toronto’s winner, Herta. Herta, in turn, is six points behind in third place.

One championship decided

In both 2021 and 2023, when the 27-year-old Spanish driver clinched victories in the road and street course championships, he was later recognized as the IndyCar champion as well.

This season, the two-time series champion clinched victories on the racetracks of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in a total of 10 road or street races. Interestingly, they also triumphed at an exhibition race held at The Thermal Club, but it’s important to note that this event didn’t award any points.

In 2024, there are two races remaining on the schedule: one at Milwaukee Mile, last visited in 2015, and another at Nashville Superspeedway, last seen in 2008 and not originally planned for this year. Currently, Palou is ahead of Power by 54 points, with Herta trailing him by only 13 points. Interestingly, Power is one of the few drivers who has raced at both these tracks.

This season has the highest number of oval races (seven) since 2011, and it’s been six years since an entire season ended with an oval race (in 2014). Moreover, there hasn’t been a three-race oval streak since the four-race streak back in 2010.

As a racer myself, I’ve notched up three top-five finishes in the four oval races we’ve had this season, which has me sitting comfortably in fifth place on the leaderboard. However, despite my eleven race victories under my belt, I’m yet to taste that elusive first oval victory triumph.

Power’s only top 15 oval finish this year is a win at Iowa Speedway, where he also finished just ahead of Palou in second, and he sits in eighth. He won at Milwaukee in 2014.

Wrapping up the road and street courses

Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood finished in a quiet fourth place in the road and street course standings, even with no wins in such races this season following a two-win season a year ago.

He ended up slightly before three racers who won on road/street courses this season, with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon placing fifth, Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward coming sixth, and Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin finishing seventh.

In Long Beach and Detroit, victories went to Dixon; meanwhile, O’Ward claimed triumphs in St. Petersburg and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course; and McLaughlin emerged as the winner at Barber Motorsports Park.

Initially leading road and street course standings early in the year, Josef Newgarden from Team Penske lost his season-opening victory on the streets of St. Petersburg 45 days later due to a push-to-pass scandal. Unfortunately, he ended up finishing in 13th place during the recent race, which widened his points deficit behind Palou (191 points) more than his own total points (180).

In simple terms, McLaughlin, who won in Iowa, and Newgarden, victor at Indy 500 and Gateway, are almost neck-and-neck in the oval rankings, with McLaughlin aiming for his initial oval championship and Newgarden eyeing his third overall title and second consecutive one.

This coming Saturday, August 31st, starting at 6:00 p.m. ET, the first race in Milwaukee will air live on Peacock. To catch the action, fans must have a paid subscription, either Peacock Premium or Peacock Premium Plus.

1) Starting at 2:30 PM Eastern Time on Sunday, September 1, the second episode will air live on USA Network. Similarly, the season finale of Nashville is scheduled to be broadcast live on NBC beginning at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on Sunday, September 15.

Although FuboTV won’t broadcast the initial Milwaukee race, sign up for a free FuboTV trial today and catch the last two races of the 2024 IndyCar series without missing them!

2024-08-26 13:32

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