IndyCar: Alex Palou won his third title despite a zero-point victory

As a gamer with years of experience under my belt, I’ve seen countless sports narratives unfold, but the consistency shown by Alex Palou is something truly extraordinary. His ability to perform at a high level race after race, regardless of where the wins come from, is nothing short of impressive. It’s like playing a game on easy mode, but with the satisfaction of beating it on hard.

consistency plays a crucial role in Alex Palou’s success, with it being a significant factor in his ability to win several IndyCar championships since joining Chip Ganassi Racing towards the beginning of the 2021 season. His latest victory came on Sunday afternoon at Nashville Superspeedway.

If all his three victories from 2021 had been reclassified as second places (with the second-place winners promoted to first), or if all his five victories from 2023 were changed to second places, he would still have secured the championship.

If all three of his victories in 2024 had instead been runner-up positions, he would still have claimed the title – despite the fact that only two of these wins were included in his final score.

Alex Palou wins title, despite one of his wins being meaningless

Although consistency was one of Palou’s key strengths, he managed to tie for the lead in series wins during the year 2021, and he took the top position among all drivers in the year 2023.

However, contrary to what happened in previous years, the situation was different in 2024 regarding points races. Although no one managed to secure more than three victories, Palou’s first of his three wins took place during the early-season exhibition race at Thermal Club. Notably, he completely dominated this event.

However, surprisingly, in the championship events of 2024, none of the drivers who claimed victory lane did so less frequently than Palou. In fact, every driver who secured a win participated in multiple races, with seven drivers winning overall. Similar to Palou, his teammate Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden from Team Penske, and Colton Herta from Andretti Global each triumphed twice.

In the list of three-time victors, we find Team Penske teammates Scott McLaughlin and Will Power, along with Pato O’Ward from Arrow McLaren.

Even though one of Palou’s wins occurred in a race without points, it didn’t affect the outcome; this victory didn’t determine whether he would win or lose the championship. This underscores the consistent performance the 27-year-old Spanish driver has demonstrated since taking control of the No. 10 Honda in 2021.

In June at Laguna Seca, he overtook Power for the lead in points, and although he didn’t secure another victory in any of the nine races that followed in 2024, he consistently maintained his advantage and ended up winning with an even wider margin than he had three months prior.

Palou seals title at Nashville

In the season finale of Nashville, Power’s seat belt problem caused a drop in the standings for the only other championship contender, moving him from second to fourth place. Herta seized the opportunity, climbing from fourth to second position. For the second consecutive year, McLaughlin ended up in third place, being both the highest-ranking driver from Team Penske and Chevrolet.

In this race, Power found himself trailing Palou by 33 points, but with the start signal, he was the one who could potentially halt Palou from becoming IndyCar’s first back-to-back champion since Dario Franchitti achieved three titles consecutively between 2009 and 2011. Interestingly, Franchitti, who raced for Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, overtook Power in the standings during both the season finales of 2010 and 2011.

However, it’s worth noting that only once since Palou joined Chip Ganassi Racing in April 2021 had Power accumulated more points than Palou in any of the 66 races held, making it quite unlikely for Power to win his third title this year.

The IndyCar racing season for 2025 kicks off at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida on March 2nd. Fox will broadcast live all 17 races throughout the season, as the Sunday finale marked the conclusion of NBC’s coverage period.

2024-09-16 17:32

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