As Alex Palou made a statement at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday (Sept. 11), entering what looks to be an interesting off-season for the Spaniard, Will Power cruised to a third-place finish and the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series championship.
Power, the 2014 IndyCar champion, became the 27th driver in history to win multiple national open-wheel championships, on a weekend where he took the lead in career IndyCar poles from Mario Andretti with his 68th one.
“Let me tell ya,” Power told NBC Sports post-race. “In the offseason, my wife said to me, ‘I believe you’re going to beat Mario’s record and you’re going to win the championship’. That’s what she said to me, and it actually gave me confidence that I could do it. She said those words, and I can’t believe they came true […] I just knew I had to get the most out of those stints, I had to drive the thing today, it was on the edge. It was very loose… what a relief, huh? To get that done?”
Josef Newgarden, after a valiant rally from 23rd to second in the race, came up 16 points short in his effort to win his fourth IndyCar championship. Scott Dixon finished third in points, 39 back, Scott McLaughlin finished fourth after winning a tie breaker with race winner Palou. While Palou ended up level with McLaughlin on points after coming into the race with no mathematical chance of winning the championship, the New Zealander beat out the Spaniard for fourth in the standings by virtue of having won three races on the year to Palou’s lone victory. Marcus Ericsson finished sixth in points, 54 back, after entering the final race still in the championship race.
There was one incident in the 95-lap race. On lap 38, Callum Ilott stalled out right outside of the pit exit with a blown motor. IndyCar gave the field an extra lap to pit before throwing the caution, as the British driver was stalled in a low-risk area of the racetrack.
Palou had taken the lead in that pit cycle and stayed there through the rest of the race, beating Newgarden by 30 seconds at the line. Palou is currently engaged in a legal battle with team owner Chip Ganassi to get out of his contract to race for McLaren next season, as the 2021 IndyCar champion eyes seat team in an F1 car that the orange papaya team can provide him. It remains unclear what the future holds for him.
“We had some power there and some good fuel mileage, thank you HPD” Palou told NBC Sports, thanking the Honda engine department for his…
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