Alex Palou’s worst finish in more than two years could have done major damage to his quest to win a third NTT IndyCar Series championship. A sequence of errors by the Spaniard turned what could have been a great day after qualifying and running third, but stalling his No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda at the first round of pit stops sent him towards the back of the field. Late in the race, he spun on his own and crashed, which is a rarity for the reigning champion, but it did leave him 23rd at the finish.
The last time things went this bad, it was June of 2022 at Road America — 38 races ago — where he placed 27th after clashing with former teammate Marcus Ericsson, and in a normal race, his lowly finishing position would have been harmful in the drivers’ standings. But thanks to the poor result from Team Penske’s Will Power, who held second entering Iowa with a deficit of 48 points, and left the first race in third after falling to 18th at the checkered flag, Palou’s lead didn’t take much of a hit.
It’s been cut to 36 points by the new second-place driver Pato O’Ward from Arrow McLaren, who won last weekend in Mid-Ohio and was runner-up Saturday night in Iowa. Power’s back to third, but closer to Palou at 43 points down.
“It’s done,” Palou told RACER of putting the bad day to rest. “We lost nine points to P2. The P2 guy (Power) moved and everybody stretched out. It’s only nine points smaller, but it was a terrible day for us. That doesn’t mean that I’m happy and only looking at points, but looking at the positive, the results that we had from the last couple of races gave us the opportunity to do a really terrible day.
“If I had to wait three weeks for the next race, I would have probably tortured myself a little bit more. But I have a race tomorrow, and I’m starting with a great car. So it’s done. I did two terrible mistakes, and it’s best to move on and not make those mistakes again.”
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And where the hybrid racing goods took from Scott Dixon at Mid-Ohio, who fell from third in the standings to fifth and 71 points shy of Palou when his energy recovery system malfunctioned and left him 27th and last, they gave back in Race 1 where Dixon finished fourth, improved to fourth in the championship, and cut the gap to his teammate Palou to 46 points.
The other major shift in the run for the title was with Race 1 victor Scott McLaughlin, who arrived in Iowa a distant eighth in the standings and 105 points shy of Palou.
His dominant win, which added three bonus points on top of the 50 he earned for the win, vaulted McLaughlin to fifth in the standings. He also slashed the margin to the championship leader to 58 points, and with his form and the pole for Race 2, more headway could be made if another podium result is produced.