Alex Palou dominated the season-ending race at Laguna Seca but it was Will Power that shined the brightest. Running a smooth race and finishing on the podium, Power secured the title to become a two-time series champion. After breaking the record for the most poles in history yesterday, the Team Penske driver delivered the team’s 17th IndyCar title.
“In the offseason my wife Liz said to me you’re going to beat Mario’s record and win the championship, and it actually gave me confidence that she said I could do that,” Power said. “That’s how much confidence I had in her gut feel. She said those words, and I just can’t believe it came true.”
Power maintained his position inside the top three, despite an ill-handling race car. “I just knew I had to absolutely get the most out of those stints,” Power said. “And not lose any more positions. I had to drive the thing today. It was on the edge, very loose and…man, what a relief. What a relief to get that done.”
The drive of the day went to Power’s teammate, Josef Newgarden. After starting the race from the last row, the No. 2 Chevrolet knifed his way through the field with a barrage of daring moves in the corkscrew. His runner-up finish left him 16 points short of a third title, but Newgarden was proud of his team and their series-high eight victories this season.
“I hate to say it but in a lot of ways this has been a really tough year. Mentally, this has been a taxing season. We have had a lot of highs and lows. I’m ultimately just proud of the team. This is a big day for the team to win the championship. This is an effort by everybody. The ultimate goal is to win a championship at Team Penske. We came back, we fought, we nearly got there.”
Scott Dixon did not have a great day, which was somewhat surprising. The Ganassi driver was never able to get to the front of the field, and their strategy never gave them an opportunity in the race. He ended up in 12th, and finished 3rd in the final standings.
This is the fourth straight year that Newgarden finished 1st or 2nd in the championship, and Dixon has finished inside the top-four in 16 of the last 17 seasons.
Fittingly, both Ganassi and Penske celebrated today. This is the 10th consecutive season that a driver from one of those teams has won the championship. The two organizations have now won 14 of the last 15 titles.
| 2022 Firestone Grand Prix at Laguna Seca – Race Results | |||
| Pos | Driver | Team | Engine |
| 1 | Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 2 | Josef… | ||
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Crash RSS Feed…