Alex Palou – Syndication Server

Palou rides tire strategy to go back-to-back at Thermal

The inaugural Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix saw Pato O’Ward lead the field of 27 drivers for more than 50 of the 65 laps, but his pole position and dominance wasn’t rewarded with victory. It was Alex Palou in the No. 10 car and superb pit strategy …

The inaugural Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix saw Pato O’Ward lead the field of 27 drivers for more than 50 of the 65 laps, but his pole position and dominance wasn’t rewarded with victory.

It was Alex Palou in the No. 10 car and superb pit strategy from his Chip Ganassi Racing team that saw the Spaniard finish the race on new Firestone alternate tires while O’Ward was on new primaries, and after facing an 11s deficit leaving the pits on the final stop, Palou chased O’Ward down, took the lead on the 56th lap, and rocketed away to claim his second consecutive win of the season.

The race was a processional affair until the last pit stop exchange, but O’Ward and teammate Christian Lundgaard, who started first and second, were able to score plenty of points after completing the podium positions.

“We couldn’t be happier for the entire team, including the No. 10 car,” said Palou’s race strategist Barry Wanser, who made the fateful call that propelled his driver to the win. “We saved the sticker (alternates) for the end hoping to go for the win, and it worked for us.”

Alex Palou takes the lead from Pato O’Ward! #INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/WlVGf8TEc1

— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) March 23, 2025

Palou was the first driver home for Honda with the two Chevy-powered drivers in tow. Behind the podium finishers, Andretti Global’s Colton Herta, Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist, and Team Penske’s Will Power—who started 21st — completed the top six.

The hot event in 90-degree weather was run under clear blue skies in front of approximately 5000 fans at the 3.067-mile, 17-turn road course situated in California’s Coachella Valley.

We missed it,” O’Ward said of the strategy call that saw his No. 5 Chevy come up 10.1s short of competing a flag-to-flag result.

“It’s always easy to be smart after the fact,” added Lundgaard.

After the top six, it was a strong day for MSR with Rosenqvist and teammate Marcus Armstrong in seventh, and the same was true for Ed Carpenter Racing which had Alexander Rossi earn eighth and Christian Rasmussen secure 12th. Graham Rahal also improved from 18th to 11th.

Bad days were had by Penske’s Scott McLaughlin who was hit and spun by Devlin DeFrancesco on the final parade lap and then had overheating issues with his energy recovery system, and PREMA Racing’s Callum Ilott, who was involved in an accident that shot his car skyward on the first lap.

Key moment:

Wanser’s decision to save and use new alternates to race to the end, and Palou’s dogged driving, chasing down and battling Lundgaard for second and his precise efforts on the limit to erase a huge deficit to O’Ward and drive away by a big margin.

Race notes:

The McLaren duo of Pato O’Ward and Christian Lundgaard led the field to green and got through Turn 1 without incident, but Marcus Ericsson did run wide moments later and lost a number of positions. Callum Ilott was shunted as well.

On the run to the green flag, Devlin DeFrancesco and Scott McLaughlin made contact which led to both spinning.

Lap 3 and O’Ward has 2.1s over Lundgaard and 2.6s over Alex Palou. Top three drivers are on alternates, with only O’Ward on new tires.

Team Penske’s rough qualifying where Josef Newgarden was the best of the trio in 17th isn’t working to their favor so far in the race; Newgarden’s the top Penske car after five laps in 22nd, Will Power’s 23rd, and McLaughlin’s in 25th.

Lap 5 and Palou’s 2.5s up on his teammate and 4.5s on a fading Palou.

Colton Herta, the first driver on primaries, is fourth, 7.9s arrears.\

Lap 9 and O’Ward’s running away with 5.1s over Lundgaard and 6.0s over Palou. Herta’s 12.1s back on primaries.

Lap 10 and Palou is just 0.2s behind Lundgaard.

Lap 11 and Lundgaard pits to trade alternates for primaries. Felix Rosenqvist follows.

Lap 14 and O’Ward’s 8.0s ahead of Palou and 20.4 on Herta.

Lap 15 and Herta’s in to take another set of primaries.

Lap 17 and Palou’s down 8.9s, but pits to remove his used alternated for new primaries. Ericsson’s off track again.

Lap 18 and O’Ward’s in for new primaries.

Lap 19 and Rossi’s in to take alternates.

Lap 21 and McLaughlin’s in the pits with an overheating energy recovery system.

Lap 23 and O’Ward continues to cruise up front with 2.3s over Lundgaard and 11.1s on Palou. Of the top five drivers, only Lundgaard is on alternates. Kyle Kirkwood is in fourth ahead of teammate Herta and Marcus Armstrong in sixth.

Power has been active, passing his way up to 12th.

Lap 28 and there’s nothing of interest happening. O’Ward is 3.8s clear of Lundgaard and 12.1s out on Palou. Kirkwood’s 26.9s back in fourth.

Lap 29 and Power pits from 10th. Kirkwood pits as well.

Lap 31 and Lundgaard pits from second.

The FOX broadcast goes dark. After running a bunch of commercials, FOX switches to the NASCAR Cup race.

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Lap 32—halfway point–and Palou is 10.9 behind O’Ward.

Lap 33 and O’Ward pits.

Lap 34 and Palou leads O’Ward by 23.4s.

Lap 35 and Palou pits from the lead. O’Ward returns to the lead.

Lap 39 and O’Ward has 4.4s on Lundgaard and 8.7s on Palou. Kirkwood is 26.4s behind, Herta’s 28.0s down, and Felix Rosenqvist is sixth, albeit 31.6s shy of the leader.

Lap 40 and Power is ninth and Newgarden is 10th as they are rallying hard to score good finishes.

Lap 42 and the FOX broadcast is back. Wild.

Lap 43 and Palou is challenging Lundgaard for second.

Lap 45 and O’Ward is up 8.3s on Lundgaard and 8.7s on Palou while Kirkwood is 28.9s shy.

Palou’s running out of grip. Big slide and his gap to Lundgaard has doubled.

Lap 48 and Lundgaard pits from second for new primaries.

Rosenqvist also stopped, but was sent with the outside wheel gun in the way; he drove over it but the series did not assess a penalty.

Lap 50 and Palou pits while 10.8s down to Palou to take new alternates. He returns right behind Lundgaard in third.

Lap 50 and O’Ward pits and takes a new set of primaries.

Lap 51 and Palou takes second from Lundgaard after some thrilling back and forth action.

Lap 52 and O’Ward’s lead is 7.6s over Palou. New primaries vs new alternates.

Lap 54 and Palou’s cut the lead to 2.4s.

Lap 56 and the lead is down to 0.4s.

Lap 56 and Palou takes the lead.

Lap 61 and Palou’s got 6.1s on O’Ward and sauntering to a second straight win.

Lap 65—the Palou Show is over.

Palou leads first Thermal practice with Andretti cars hot on his heels

Alex Palou ended Friday’s opening practice for The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix with the fastest lap and all three Andretti Global drivers close behind. Palou turned a 1m40.5486s lap in the No. 10 Honda and had Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood in second …

Alex Palou ended Friday’s opening practice for The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix with the fastest lap and all three Andretti Global drivers close behind.

Palou turned a 1m40.5486s lap in the No. 10 Honda and had Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood in second with the No. 27 Honda (+0.0901s), Marcus Ericsson in the No. 28 Honda in third (+0.1884s), and Colton Herta closing the Honda-powered cluster (+0.2953s) in the No. 26 car.

Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen was next, first of the Chevy-powered drivers, in fifth with the No. 21 car (+0.3242s) and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward completed the top six with the No. 5 Chevy (+0.3606s).

The long and hot session run under blue skies saw teams complete installation laps, return to the pits, and sit for the next 10 minutes. Once the session got moving, the first red flag appeared as PREMA Racing’s Robert Schwartzman came to a stop with small flames licking out of the back of the No. 83 Chevy. A powertrain issue ended his day on the spot, and towards the end of the first split group session towards the close of the afternoon, another red was needed to clear Devlin DeFrancesco’s No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda.

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DeFrancesco appeared to stall in Turn 1, re-fired his car, but was unable to drive away. The No. 30 machine was eventually lifted and carried away on the back of a tow truck.

With just enough time left on the clock for the first group to go out and turn one more fast lap, Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist, who’d led the group, was pipped at the end by Herta. In the second group, Palou set his mark and it held until the checkered flag.

Tires — the big topic of the event — didn’t get as much attention as expected on Friday as the stop-start nature of the session, along with the paddock-wide effort to sit for long stretches and save tire sets for Saturday and Sunday, meant few drivers turned more than a handful of laps on the primary and alternate compounds.

Fastest times of the day, set in the split groups, were done on alternates, but speeds were not particularly notable after hard rains recently fell and washed all of the rubber from the 3.067-mile, 17-turn road course.

Chip Ganassi Racing unveils Palou’s 2025 IndyCar livery

Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing won the NTT IndyCar Series championship in their first outing with DHL as a primary sponsor of the No. 10 Honda and the trio is back to defend the victory with a livery that’s nearly identical to what was used in …

The roll hoop of the Spaniard’s car has changed from red to yellow, and there are a few more yellow accents around the car, which carries a larger DHL logo on the sidepods. While DHL will be seen most often on the three-time champion’s car, other sponsors to be named at a later date will take over for specific races, which has been customary for the No. 10 car in recent years.

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“Our first season with Chip Ganassi Racing and the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Honda was nothing short of spectacular,” said Mike Parra, DHL’s head of global sponsorships. “We take immense pride in seeing our vibrant colors emblazoned on the car, symbolizing our commitment to delivering with speed and passion around the world. As Alex Palou defends his title, we are excited to inspire our fans, customers, and employees to reach new heights with us in what promises to be another thrilling chapter of our partnership.”

The driver of the No. 10 car is hoping to add something new — a victory at IndyCar’s biggest race — to his list of accomplishments.

“I’m looking forward to the 2025 season with the No. 10 DHL Honda team,” Palou said. “The competition will be tough. We won the last championship with only two wins, so that shows how competitive it is in IndyCar. The goal is to try and repeat that, improve a bit, and try to win the Indianapolis 500.”

‘Encouraged’ Palou leads IndyCar hybrid test at IMS

In the morning, it was Santino Ferrucci atop the 11 drivers running at Friday’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway NTT IndyCar Series test, then it was Josef Newgarden who took the point, and in the end, it was Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou who went to the front after producing a 224.342mph lap in the No. 10 Honda to lead the field at the close of the day-long outing, the first for IndyCar’s new hybrid-spec powertrain at the 2.5-mile oval.

Newgarden was second in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevy (223.973mph), and a surprise in third—Dale Coyne Racing’s Rinus VeeKay, who agreed to test the car 24 hours prior—in the No. 18 Honda (223.383mph).

Graham Rahal was fourth in the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda (222.650mph), Marcus Ericsson was fifth in the No. 28 Andretti Global Honda (222.324mph), and Helio Castroneves was sixth in the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda (222.075mph).

Making his debut for Ed Carpenter Racing, Alexander Rossi was seventh in the No. 20 Chevy (220.504mph), ahead of Ferrucci in the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevy (220.149mph), Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Conor Daly in the No. 78 Chevy (219.997mph), Ryan Hunter-Reay in the No. 23 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevy (219.955mph), and Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard, who was 11th and last in the No. 5 Chevy (219.566mph).

The energy recovery system, which adds 60hp on demand and a hike in weight with a 105-pound increase to the minimum weight of the Dallara DW12 chassis, was introduced at Mid-Ohio in July and made its long-awaited debut at the Speedway on Friday.

“It was good,” Palou told RACER. “It was a bit different with the hybrid. It was, in some areas, a little bit worse, obviously, just because of the weight. I think it’s a little bit tougher to get very close to the car in front. I’m not saying it’s impossible; like, you can overtake, but you can feel the car is a little bit heavier, and doesn’t love it when you lose some downforce.

“But on the same note, on the hybrid, it actually helps quite a lot. I think it made it quite fun to be in a group and to try and deploy in areas where you could see that they were not deploying, and then suddenly you get a big momentum and you can overtake. It’s testing. You never know if you have new tires and they have too-many-laps tires, and that’s why you feel super strong. So far, I think it was quite good.

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“Actually, it was very fun. On the team side, we just went through some ideas to try and get more speed. We know that we struggled this year with speed, so we were just trying to get a bit more to see if we can fight for the race win next year.”

Drivers used the paddles on their steering wheels to harvest energy with the fast-charging supercapacitor-based ERS on the straights—usually while in a tow—to get the extra 60hp to deploy at the time of their choosing.

“In qualifying, I think it’ll be tricky to know what we should do if we recharge and deploy every lap, or maybe we don’t recharge and just deploy like a little each lap so we don’t lose too much speed,” Palou said. “I think it’ll be interesting and I think everybody’s thinking the same thing; I don’t think anybody knows what to do yet.

“[The race could be] very easy. When you get a draft, if you cannot overtake, you can just recharge a little bit and then hopefully use it on exit. But if you’re leading, it’s very tough to recharge. I would say you can lose one mile an hour on average at the end of the lap if you’re recharging and not deploying. It’ll be tough to be leading and recharging without getting overtaken, which I think will make it interesting. It’ll be actually fun.

“It’s not dangerous like I think some people at the beginning were a bit concerned of — on a superspeedway going at 230mph and recharging a little bit — [no impact on safety at all]. Honestly, it’s not a huge deal. We recharge a lot, then you can feel it, but it’s not crazy. It’s not like lifting the foot out of the throttle.”

IndyCar’s newest three-time champion, polesitter at the 2023 Indy 500, says he didn’t notice the mechanical drag caused by the ERS on the engine’s acceleration down the long straights either.

“Obviously it’s not helping, but as a driver, you don’t really feel that,” Palou added. “It’s also very tough to say, because you don’t know which engine maps everybody’s running. Nobody’s running qualifying maps like we do in May, right? So the speeds were not amazing today. I expect the speeds next year to be a bit lower, just because we’re carrying more weight.

“It won’t be anything that people will notice a lot, or we will notice. We don’t feel slow. It still feels really, really fast, so maybe we lose, I don’t know, 0.5mph average for us, but it’s really small. I was encouraged a lot by the test, to be honest.”

Palou to contest Indianapolis 8-Hour in Lone Star Racing Mercedes

Newly crowned three-time IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou will contest the upcoming Indianapolis 8 Hour Presented by AWS, season finale for the Intercontinental GT Challenge. The Spaniard will team with Fabian Schiller and Luca Stolz in Lone Star Racing’s No. 4 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo for the Oct. 3-5 weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which doubles as the Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS title decider.

Palou’s is one of two Pro entries in Mercedes-AMG’s six-strong contingent at the Brickyard where it won with Craft-Bamboo in 2022. Factory drivers Maro Engel, Mikael Grenier and Jules Gounon share the second works entry run by GruppeM Racing, while the likes of SunEnergy1, Regulator Racing, Triple Eight JMR and RealTime Racing complete the manufacturer’s largely Pro-Am ensemble.

Palou is no stranger to GT3 machinery. Before his meteoric rise in American racing, he raced in Japanese Super GT with Team Goh and McLaren.

“I went to cheer [fellow Spaniard] Dani Juncadella two years ago when he raced in Indianapolis, and I wanted to do the race if there was a chance,” Palou said. “I received this excellent opportunity through AMG with a chance to win the race.

“While I will have to learn the characteristics of the car, Indianapolis is a track that I know very well, and I also have some previous experience racing in the GT3 cars. The obvious difference from IndyCar is that the GT3 cars are closed cockpit. The overall grip will be less than what I am normally used to but at the same time, it’s very tough to be on the limit because of the GT3 cars’ weight. I am really looking forward to having fun and fighting for the win at the Indy 8-Hour. It would be amazing to close out the season on a high with another trophy.”

Wanser adds another title after biggest victory of all

The only thing Barry Wanser failed to do on Sunday afternoon at Nashville Speedway was hold back the tears that were welling in his eyes. He’d just clinched the third NTT IndyCar Series championship in four seasons with Alex Palou and the No. 10 …

The only thing Barry Wanser failed to do on Sunday afternoon at Nashville Speedway was hold back the tears that were welling in his eyes.

He’d just clinched the third NTT IndyCar Series championship in four seasons with Alex Palou and the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda entry he leads. One year ago, when Palou and the No. 10 crew were celebrating their second championship at Portland International Raceway, Wanser was missing. More accurately, he was missing from the event and the joyous revelry because he was at home in Indiana, facing the scariest challenge of his life.

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A few weeks earlier, cancer was found in his mouth and tongue, and with his driver on the cusp of winning a second IndyCar title, Wanser wanted to wait until the IndyCar championship was completed before tending to his own needs. Thankfully, his doctor interceded; Wanser informed the team that his season was over. Battling cancer needed to start immediately, and that meant skipping Portland and the finale at Laguna Seca to perform surgery and commence chemotherapy.

Palou and the No. 10 did their best to keep Wanser in the loop, and to have him there in spirit with his headshot placed on paddles that were placed on each of the Ganassi timing stands. But the excitement wasn’t the same without their car leader. And that’s where the tears and overwhelming emotion on display from Wanser and his teammates in victory lane on Sunday told a tale of brother and sisterhood that goes much deeper than wins and trophies.

Even when he was absent, Wanser remained a huge part of the No. 10 team. Michael L. Levitt/Motorsport Images

Free of cancer, back where he belonged, Wanser stood at the back of the No. 10 Honda, surveyed the packed scene with his crew and driver and colleagues, and his wife Laurie, and was struck by the special nature of what they’d achieved, something that wasn’t guaranteed for the New York native last year when surviving cancer was his sole priority.

“I just I don’t know what to say; I haven’t focused on myself, just the team, but it’s pretty special to be here in person,” Wanser told RACER. “It’s just a pleasure racing with his team and our great people and Alex. It’s awesome. But now I need to let it sink in because a year ago, I had my first surgery.”

Wanser couldn’t speak immediately following the procedure that cut the cancer from his mouth, and while his voice was soon heard, his post-surgery experience was one of intense and often excruciating pain. He wanted to return to work as quickly as possible, but team owner Chip Ganassi and managing director Mike Hull made sure Wanser’s offseason was spent with a slow restoration of health and energy as his lone task to accomplish.

Naturally, his warm and friendly ways were missed at the shop, but Wanser put the extra time to good use and was ready to return to the timing stand for the opening race in March. All of his subsequent cancer screenings have been negative, and while it took a bit longer than he wanted to reclaim all of his strength, Palou and crew chief Ricky Davis and the rest of the No. 10 team had their team manager, race strategist, and friend sitting at his post, directing the effort, and coordinating the program as it marched to its third IndyCar crown in four years.

“This is pretty special,” said Wanser, who’s been part of 15 of Ganassi’s 16 IndyCar titles. “We can’t get through our difficulties in life without support and support from our teams and our racing community, and it means a lot to me.”

Wanser is a hero and role model of humble excellence to many in the paddock. As his wife approached him in victory lane, the sight of his own hero drawing near was enough to make him surrender to those tears. His greatest support system was finally there.

“And my wife Laurie as well,” he said as his voice softened. “She’s my rock.”

Palou secures third IndyCar title

Alex Palou has won the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series championship. Settled at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway, the 27-year-old from Spain joins an exclusive group of those who’ve won three or more IndyCar titles, led by …

Alex Palou has won the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series championship.

Settled at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway, the 27-year-old from Spain joins an exclusive group of those who’ve won three or more IndyCar titles, led by A.J. Foyt with seven, Scott Dixon with six, Mario Andretti, Sebastien Bourdais and Dario Franchitti with four, and now Palou who has three along with Jimmy Bryan, Ted Horn, Rick Mears, Louis Meyer, Al Unser and Bobby Rahal.

Palou’s name has also been added to a truly exclusive group of drivers to secure three titles in four years with Bourdais (2004-07), Bryan (1954, 1956-57), Foyt (1960-61, 1963-64), Franchitti (2009-11), and Mears (1979, 1981-82).

Palou’s Astor Cups span 2021, 2023, and 2024, and with teammate Dixon’s championship in 2020, his Ganassi team has claimed four titles in five seasons. Palou’s newest crown is the 16th for Ganassi since the team’s formation.

The championship battle between Palou and Team Penske’s Will Power was turned on its head on lap 12 when Power reported his lap belt had come undone. He pitted and lost five laps as his No. 12 Chevy pit crew fought to re-attach the main harness that holds drivers into the car. Palou improved from his 24th-place starting spot and was competitive throughout the day on his way to becoming IndyCar’s newest champion with an 11th-place finish.

“Unfortunately that’s not the way obviously you want your biggest competitor to go down on the season finale,” Palou said. “At the same time that’s what happened to us two weeks ago [ED: In Milwaukee, when Palou’s car suffered a battery problem], so… Yeah, it’s racing. It’s motorsport. That’s what makes this sport so hard.

“I love this sport. I love to have the opportunity to be in a position to win races and championships. I’m not setting a goal of trying to win four or five or anything like that. I think it’s surreal to have won three IndyCar championships. Never thought in my best dreams that I would be in this position.”

Palou leads Ganassi 1-2 in Nashville practice

The effects of Hurricane Francine were nowhere to be found Saturday morning at Nashville Superspeedway as a blend of clouds and blue sky and warm temperatures met the field of 27 NTT IndyCar Series drivers for a 90-minute practice session. …

Championship leader Alex Palou was fastest at 23.9565 seconds/199.862mph in the No. 10 Honda and was shadowed by teammate Scott Dixon at 199.847mph in the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Andretti Global’s Colton Herta made it three Hondas in the top three with the No. 26 entry at 199.686mph, and he had Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward behind him in fourth at 199.180mph in the No. 5 Honda. Fifth went to Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood in the No. 27 Honda at 199.031mph and the top six was completed by Team Penske’s Will Power with a 198.942mph in the No. 12 Chevy.

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Two key factors evolved during the session as a significant bump in Turn 4 that caught out a number of Indy NXT driver earlier in the morning also tripped up Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel, who spun and crashed 10 minutes into the action. Damage done to the SAFER barrier with the No. 6 Chevy’s gearbox meant speedway worked needed quite some time to weld a plate over the hole that was punched in the wall.

Siegel was unhurt, but his car was in a poor state afterwards; an engine change was also required, which will cost the rookie nine spots after qualifying.

Teams also spent time — less than anticipated — learning the characteristics of Firestone’s new alternate tires. Most of the session was spent on Firestone’s primaries.

UP NEXT: Qualifying, 2:15pm ET

RESULTS

Palou, McLaughlin, Rossi, Siegel get grid penalties for Nashville

Another set of grid penalties have been announced for the final NTT IndyCar Series round of the season, and they affect two of the three championship contenders. IndyCar has assessed a nine-position starting grid penalty for the No. 10 Chip Ganassi …

Another set of grid penalties have been announced for the final NTT IndyCar Series round of the season, and they affect two of the three championship contenders.

IndyCar has assessed a nine-position starting grid penalty for the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of championship leader Alex Palou, the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet of Scott McLaughlin — who is third in points with a mathematical shot at the title — and the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevy of Alexander Rossi for Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway. All three entries made unapproved engine changes following the Sunday, Sept. 1 race at the Milwaukee Mile.

In addition to the these three entries, IndyCar added a fourth penalty for the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevy of Nolan Siegel, who required a new engine following a crash during practice.

The teams were in violation of:

Rule 16.1.2.3.2. A fifth (5^th) Engine is eligible to earn Engine Manufacturer points if a Full Season Entrant has completed the Full Season Entrant Engine Mileage with its first four (4) Engines. Otherwise, a fifth (5^th) or more Engine does not earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Unapproved Engine change-out.

According to Rule 16.1.6.1.2., the penalty is a six-position starting grid penalty on road and street course events and nine positions at oval events and are served at the series’ next race.

ED: This article was updated to reflect an additional penalty following practice.

Palou vs Power at Nashville, by the numbers

The end to an exhausting NTT IndyCar Series season is days away and before it’s over, two generational talents will settle the drivers’ championship where one will become a three-time king of IndyCar. For championship leader Alex Palou, his …

For championship leader Alex Palou, his formidable lead of 54 points over Will Power entering the Milwaukee doubleheader was trimmed to 33 points prior to Sunday’s 206-lap Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Speedway. With a maximum of 54 points available to any driver, Power can overtake Palou, but it won’t be easy.

IndyCar’s point structure awards 50 for a win, one for pole, one for leading a lap and two for leading the most laps, and barring a weird scenario where a disqualification takes place and the runner-up is given the win, it’s almost impossible to claim an IndyCar victory without leading at least one lap — the last — to then come away with 51 points.

Since we can’t predict who will win the point for pole and who will lead the most laps, we’ll set those three points aside and work with 51 while looking at what Palou and Power need to do to become IndyCar’s newest three-timer.

The points scenarios for Palou, who could reach the lofty territory of winning his third title in four seasons, aren’t complicated. If the Chip Ganassi Racing driver finishes ahead of Power, no matter where they are in the field, the title obvious goes to the Spaniard.

If Power wins (51 points), Palou has the luxury of needing to place 11th (where he’d lose 32 of his 33 points and win by one point) or better to defeat the Team Penske driver.

If Power isn’t on pole and runs second all day and finishes second (40 points), Palou needs to finish 22nd (where he’d lose 32 of his 33 points and win by one point) or better to earn the Astor Cup.

If Power finishes third (35 points), he can’t beat Palou, who will earn five points once he crosses the starting line on the opening lap and bring his tally from 33 to 38 points.

For Power, it’s win, a second, or bust. If that sounds like a tall task, it is, but we’re also dealing with someone driving for the best oval team in IndyCar, one of the few drivers in the field with experience at the 1.33-mile Nashville Speedway, and a person who’s thrived in medium- to large-size ovals.

Take Power’s wins at Fontana, Texas, Pocono and at the Indianapolis 500, plus all of his trips to victory lane Milwaukee, Gateway, and Iowa, and the driver of the No. 12 Chevy is the perfect candidate to face the long odds of beating Palou to the championship.

Palou has yet to win on an oval, but that doesn’t mean he’s easy prey for the Australian. When things go normally for the driver of the No. 10 Honda on ovals, he’s somewhere on or near the podium, which serves as Palou’s super power and could act as Power’s kryptonite.

At Milwaukee, Penske drivers held an advantage over Ganassi’s drivers, and yet, Power’s run to second in Race 1 was shadowed by Palou, who finished fifth. The last thing Power needs is for Palou to sit a few cars back and cruise home in Nashville, but that’s what tends to happen.

And then we have Milwaukee Race 2 where the rarest occurrence for Palou — poor reliability struck on the parade laps — and he had his second-worst finish of the year, a 19th, which should have handed the championship lead to Power. But Power spun, gave up the advantage and finished 10th.

If Palou can take the green flag and get those five points, the remaining 205 laps become an anxiety-filled affair as concerns for more reliability issues, engine malfunctions, pit stop issues, stalls, and risks of spins and contact will rule the afternoon or racing for both drivers. One needs to soar to earn the crown, the other needs to be good, but not great, and how might the racing gods intervene?

After the pre-race primer begins at 3pm ET on NBC, the drama plays out starting at 3:30.

Before we look at the Leaders Circle competition, let’s quickly divert to another factor that has impacted the championship.

Looking to the start of the season and the disqualifications that set St. Petersburg polesitter and race winner Josef Newgarden and third-place teammate Scott McLaughlin back, Newgarden earned 54 points for his complete domination of the event, which were voided when the push-to-pass cheating penalties was levied. McLaughlin lost his 35 points as well.

For Newgarden, returning the 54 points he surrendered would make no difference in his ability to vie for the championship at Nashville; his deficit today of 160 points to Palou would be reduced to 106 which, with that 54-point maximum at every event, still eliminates him from the championship fight by a wide margin.

His season full of great-or-terrible results — independent of the push-to-pass points forfeiture — took him out of contention a while ago, and where McLaughlin has risen into title contention, Newgarden has been stuck fluctuating between seventh and ninth in the standings since winning the Indianapolis 500. He’s eighth at the moment.

Scott McLaughlin’s consistency has been nearly a match for Palou’s, but his St. Petersburg DQ has him still needing a miracle to pull off a championship. Brett Farmer/Motorsport Images

By contrast, McLaughlin would be second in the championship if the scandal didn’t happen and his points from St. Pete were returned. He’s 50 points shy of Palou, and while he’d need a miracle to win the championship, if those 35 points were added back to his tally, he’d be a close second to the leader in the drivers’ standings and need just 16 points to overtake the Ganassi driver at Nashville. Without the DQ, McLaughlin would be vying for his first IndyCar title, which speaks to his amazing consistency since joining the series as a full-timer in 2021.

He was Penske’s top driver in last year’s championship after placing third behind Palou and Ganassi’s Scott Dixon, and he’s third again, 17 points shy of Power. Depending on how Power’s fortunes fall, McLaughlin — a force on ovals as well — could climb to second in the final standings.

Only one Penske driver has a semi-realistic chance of demoting Palou, so it would be a surprise if McLaughlin and Newgarden aren’t running in his draft, but if Power has any issues in the race, the New Zealander is poised to secure his best championship finish if he has a competitive run.

With the Rookie of the Year championship over and done and decided in Linus Lundqvist’s favor, the Leaders Circle scrum to place inside the top 22 in the entrants’ championship and receive one of the 22 $1 million contracts will reach its end in Tennessee.

On the bubble in 22nd, it’s the No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevy of Sting Ray Robb (175 points). But those in front of the No. 41 are by no means in clear water. The No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda with Pietro Fittipaldi sits in 21st, but he’s only two points ahead the No. 41 (177 points) and needs to beat Robb.

The No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda driven by David Malukas is safer in 20th (187 points), but an early issue could wreak havoc for the team in the Leaders Circle. The cluster of the Nos. 66, 30 and 41 and their efforts to remain on the good side of the line is the first theme to follow.

The second story centers on the No. 41 and the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy driven by Christian Rasmussen, who had the car on the bubble entering Milwaukee 2 and lost it by one point (174). With the razor-thin separation between the Foyt and Carpenter entries, those 206 laps on Sunday will have a Robb vs Rasmussen watch in motion.

Last again among Leaders Circle contenders in 24th is the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing Honda (160 points), and with 14 points to gain, Katherine Legge would need to have an excellent day while those in front of the No. 51 falter. Coyne’s No. 18 Honda sits 25th and last (137 points) and has no hope of claiming the last contract.

Palou vs Power, with McLaughlin the longest of long shots. Robb and Foyt vs Rasmussen and Carpenter, along with Robb and Rasmussen vs everybody in their vicinity. Let’s go.