Alex Palou Clinches IndyCar Title, Colton Herta Wins in Nashville

Will Power entered Sunday’s (Sept. 15) Music City Grand Prix trying to chase down Alex Palou for an IndyCar title.  

Those hopes came undone for Power early in the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway.

Palou collected his third series title, and second consecutive, after Power’s lap belt came undone 12 circuits into the race. The issue forced Power him into the pits for multiple laps and enabling Palou to seal his third IndyCar title.

All that drama came in a race in which Colton Herta got past Pato O’Ward on a pass with less than 10 laps to go for the emotional win, his first oval triumph in the NTT IndyCar Series. O’Ward finished second in front of Josef Newgarden, Kyle Kirkwood and Scott McLaughlin.

With the title fight resolved, focus turned to who’d take the checkered flag at a track new to most drivers in the field. That newness didn’t appear to throw many drivers off early, as the first caution did not come until the 56th lap, when Felix Rosenqvist careened into the outside wall thanks to a blown right front tire.  

Newgarden took advantage, coming off pit road with the lead in front of Herta. The two paced the field in front of David Malukas prior to the next caution on lap 90, when Katherine Legge got up into the debris coming off of turn 4. Her car spun into the infield for the race’s second yellow flag.  

Newgarden held the advantage with Malukas coming off the grid behind him, but both restarted behind Alexander Rossi who opted not to pit as the race restarted with 13 cars on the lead lap.  

Rossi, who started 26th, made the strategy call stick for the moment, leading past the race’s halfway mark until pitting on lap 125 and cycling the lead back to Newgarden. The track’s upper groove struck again on lap 136 when gravel above the preferred racing line caused Marcus Ericsson to get into the outside wall of the frontstretch. It brought out the yellow flag again, prior to Newgarden maintaining the lead coming out of the pits in front of Malukas. 

O’Ward then took his turn in the strategy game, opting not to pit and restarting from the lead while stretching out his pit window. Malukas seized the second spot as the field went green, while Newgarden was shuffled to fourth with less than 60 laps to go.

O’Ward’s time at the lead ended with less than 50 laps remaining with his pit stop, putting the race lead in the hands of Herta nearly seven seconds in front of Malukas. Herta sent it…