IndyCar Long Beach: Kyle Kirkwood Ends Palou’s Streak

Kyle Kirkwood has broken Alex Palou’s win streak after securing the win at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Kirkwood started the race from Pole after a successful qualifying earlier in the weekend. Palou couldn’t seems to match the pace that Kirkwood put down on the nearly 2 mile street circuit. The feat was not unwarranted. However, Kirkwood has found success in Long Beach before with a win in 2023 that marked his first ever IndyCar victory.

Kirkwood led the most lap in the rest at 46 and recorded the fastest lap of the race on Lap 61. “Hats off to the No. 27 PreFab Honda team today,” said Kirkwood. “We had a really good qualifying, an awesome race and an amazing strategy. Execution all across the board is what won us the race – we controlled the race the whole time. With this being our Coast to Coast weekend with Andretti and TWG Motorsports, it was so cool to finish it off with a win – props to the entire organization, they really deserve this one. Before this weekend, I said that this race is where we turn it around, so we’re super happy with this, but we’re also upset that Palou finished second.

We need to start getting more of these [wins] – that’s the only way to beat him. We’re going to reflect on this one, soak in this win and go straight into Barber, where hopefully, we can do this all over again. This is a good one. It’s been a long time. I had a drought last year of no wins, so this is huge for my morale, huge for the No. 27 crew and huge for Honda. Winning at the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is just amazing.”

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Results

The following article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff

Press Release from INDYCAR…

THERMAL, Calif. (Sunday, March 23, 2025) – Perfect Palou, yet again.

Alex Palou once again made the impossible possible, completing a late dash from a nine-second deficit to pass pole sitter Pato O’Ward and drive away to win The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix on Sunday, staying perfect in two NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season.

Palou earned his 13th career victory in the No. 10 DHL Honda Chip Ganassi Racing car, beating O’Ward’s No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet to the finish by 10.1854 seconds. Christian Lundgaard finished third in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet as the team captured two of the three podium positions for the first time since May 2023.

SEE: Race Results

“What an amazing weekend,” said Palou, who started third. “We had a really fast car since practice, and everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing on the 10 car executed perfectly. We knew it was aggressive to start with the used reds (alternate tires), and we knew that we were looking toward the end of the race with that 10 car, and we did it.”

Two events into the 17-race season, Palou leads second-place O’Ward by 39 points in the championship standings.

“It’s tough seeing this guy beat us all every single event,” Lundgaard said. “We’ve got to find a way to stop him.”

Colton Herta finished fourth in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Global, while Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top five in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing.

Palou rallied from a nine-second deficit with 15 laps remaining in the 65-lap race, the first caution-free NTT INDYCAR SERIES event since October 2020. He selected the more grippy, faster Firestone Firehawk alternate compound tires during his last pit stop at the end of Lap 49. O’Ward made his final stop at the end of Lap 50, taking Firestone Firehawk primary compound tires.

Three-time and two-time reigning series champion Palou passed O’Ward for good on Lap 56, diving under his rival entering Turn 7 on the abrasive 17-turn, 3.067-mile natural terrain road course. Palou’s superior tire grip allowed him to rocket away from the field. His lead blossomed to three seconds on Lap 58, mushrooming to six seconds by Lap 61.

The winning move was set up by the Chip Ganassi Racing team’s decision to take alternate tires on Palou’s last stop. That helped him pass Lundgaard for second place on Lap 50 – one lap after Palou’s final stop – after a spirited joust over multiple corners.

Then Palou set sail for O’Ward and reeled him in with astonishing pace, pulling to within 4.9 seconds by Lap 52 and 1.3 seconds by Lap 53 as O’Ward coped with slower traffic and less grip from his tires.

“We took a gamble; it didn’t work out for us,” O’Ward said. “We had used our new reds (alternate tires) at the start because we didn’t really quite know what the deg (tire degradation) was going to be like. The blacks (primary tires) really kind of took a turn for the negative at the end of the race, and that was it. We didn’t stand a fighting chance.”

Palou became the first driver to win the first two races of the season since CGR teammate Scott Dixon opened 2020 with three consecutive victories en route to his sixth championship. Palou’s titles have come in 2021, 2023 and 2024.

NTT P1 Award winner O’Ward controlled most of the race from the pole. He led 51 of the first 55 laps, surrendering the top spot only during pit stops.

But O’Ward and 25 other drivers left Southern California empty-handed after another masterpiece of tactics and temerity by Palou and strategist Barry Wanser. In the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on March 2, Palou and Wanser made the quick shift to alternate tires early in the race and then Palou executed flawless, blazing in and out laps surrounding his last pit stop to ensure victory.

The next race is the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, April 13 (4:30 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). A Spanish-language telecast will be available on FOX Deportes.

Pato O’Ward claimed pole position for the Thermal Grand Prix.

Alex Palou led the opening practice Friday for The Thermal Club Grand Prix, turning a top lap of 1 minute, 40.5486 seconds in his No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “A really good start to the weekend for the No. 10 DHL Honda team,” Palou said. “We didn’t get many laps because of some red flags, but the car rolled off really well considering it was very different to last year with different tires and the hybrid unit, and we didn’t test here this year. I’m really happy. There are some things to work on before we head to practice two tomorrow, but I’m looking forward to a nice weekend.”

Day One Practice Results

The following article was not authored by Speed Trap Magazine Staff

From INDYCAR…

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Sunday, March 2, 2025) – One of the big questions for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field entering the 2025 season was how to halt the title march of three-time and two-time defending series champion Alex Palou.

They’re still searching for that answer, even after the first race of the season Sunday on the sunny streets of St. Petersburg.

SEE: Race Results

Palou opened his quest for a third consecutive Astor Challenge Cup as series champion in the best way possible, winning the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding in a master class of strategy, speed and patience. He drove his No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to a 2.8669-second victory over teammate and six-time series champion Scott Dixon, who said afterward that he contested the last 90 laps of the 100-lap race without radio communication in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

“What an amazing job by everybody,” Palou said. “They gave me everything we needed this weekend to win. I told you yesterday we had a really, really fast car.

“Our strategy changed a lot during that first yellow, but I’m so glad we got that No. 10 in Victory Lane. It’s been 138 days since Nashville (2024 season finale), and I’ve been dreaming about this every single night.”

Spaniard Palou, who started eighth, earned his 12th career victory in the series. The Ganassi team secured its first 1-2 finish since July 2023 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden rounded out the podium finishers in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet after Dixon passed him for second on the final lap.

NTT P1 Award winner Scott McLaughlin finished fourth in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet, as Team Penske joined Chip Ganassi Racing with two drivers in the top four. McLaughlin was one of seven drivers out front today, leading a race-high 40 laps.

Florida native and resident Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the top five finishers at his home race in the No. 27 Chili’s Honda fielded by Andretti Global.

Palou took the lead for good on Lap 75 when Felix Rosenqvist made his final pit stop in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing. It was the culmination of a race of split strategies, as drivers who started on the grippier, less durable Firestone Firehawk alternate tires – including Palou, Dixon and Newgarden – jumped into the pits on Lap 3 during the only caution period to shed the alternates for Firestone primary tires.

That proved decisive, yet Palou didn’t just inherit the lead at the race’s three-quarter mark and cruise to Victory Lane. He produced blazing in and out laps surrounding his final pit stop at the end of Lap 72, undercutting his teammate Dixon, who couldn’t discuss strategy with his team and reacted to Palou’s pit move by stopping one lap later after being slowed by thick traffic.

After his final stop, Dixon exited the pits behind a charging Palou.

“We were just kind of flying blind out there,” Dixon said of his radio problems. “Ultimately, I think they were trying to call me in because on that last lap we had before we pitted, there was just so much traffic, and we lost two or three seconds. That’s where the 10 car got us.”

Said Palou: “I think he (Dixon) got trapped in traffic a little bit. That’s why the 10 stand decided to pit a little bit early. We had a really clean out lap, could run fast and just opened a gap from there.”

Palou was 4.502 seconds ahead of Newgarden on Lap 75, but that gap didn’t last. Newgarden sliced that margin to 2.4 seconds by Lap 88 as Palou coped with turbulent air from the car ahead of him, the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet of Sting Ray Robb, who was racing to stay on the lead lap.

Newgarden took advantage and continued to stalk Palou, pulling to within .8186 of a second after Lap 95. Dixon also was gaining ground in third.

But a potential logjam of three cars battling for the checkered flag was scattered when Palou finally lapped Robb in Turn 1 on Lap 96. Newgarden and Dixon squirted past Robb on the same lap, but the traffic-free clean air allowed Palou to pull away immediately.

Palou expanded his gap to 1.1959 seconds after Lap 97 and 1.6938 seconds at the white flag at the end of Lap 99. His lead grew even more during the final trip around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile street circuit as Dixon and Newgarden dueled for second. Dixon got past fellow Indianapolis 500 winner and series champion Newgarden in Turn 10 on the final lap.

“I felt like our car today certainly was capable of winning,” Newgarden said. “Just didn’t quite get there for a couple of reasons. Pit cycles, obviously, we needed to go longer, and we had a shift at the end that we didn’t realize, so we kind of had to give up that second place.”

2024 St. Petersburg winner Pato O’Ward used a mix of strategy and speed to climb from the 23rd starting spot to finish 11th in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. That was the biggest climb from start to finish by any of the 27 drivers in the field.

The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix on Sunday, March 23 at Thermal, California (3 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).

Scott McLaughlin finishing on pole after qualifying this afternoon for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The finish marked his 11th pole position in his IndyCar career. The pole marked Team Penske’s 699th pole position across all motorsports series and the 70th Team Penske pole for McLaughlin across his career with the team. “Huge amount of respect; we have so much trust in each other, and they trusted I could do the job today,” McLaughlin said. “The guys and girls on this team, they’re stars. I had to repay them. I made a little silly mistake there, and I was glad to come back with them. I just wanted to get pole first race of the year. Good vibes. It’s just great vibes – immaculate vibes, we like to say. I’m very excited.”

Multiple high profile drivers failed to advance. Eliminated in the first round were two-time series champion Will Power, who has won the pole nine times in the last 15 years at this race, and defending race winner Pato O’Ward. Power will start 13th in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, while O’Ward will take the green flag from the 23rd starting spot in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

Full Qualifying Results

Kyle Kirkwood finished practice at the top of the timesheets ahead of qualifying for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding. The St. Petersburg Grand prix is a 100 lap race serves as the first street circuit on the lengthy season calendar. Kirkwood who had a best finish 10th last season said, “In the past three years, this is one of the races that I enjoy coming to the most because it is a home state for me, But it’s interesting because I haven’t had good races here. It’s not lack of pace. It’s a multitude of things that cause the bad races here. So, it will be important to get out of this weekend with some points on the board and a good finish.”

Alex Palou after an unfortunate outing at the Daytona Rolex 24 hour race with IMSA looks to defend his back to back titles in IndyCar by starting the year off with a win. First is qualifying where we will get a true metric for where the cars stand in the field.

Results From Practice

This article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff

Press Release from INDYCAR

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024) – In a wild race that featured more twists than a pretzel factory, Scott McLaughlin held off six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon to win the second race of the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s doubleheader Sunday.

New Zealand native McLaughlin earned his series high-tying third victory of the season in the No. 3 Gallagher Team Penske Chevrolet, finishing .4558 of a second ahead of fellow Kiwi Dixon in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Colton Herta placed third in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian.

SEE: Race Results

“That was the most fun race I’ve had in INDYCAR,” McLaughlin said. “It was a blast. We just stuck with it. The car wasn’t quite good at the start, and we just tuned her up, and it was awesome. A lot better in traffic today, which helped a lot.

“Yeah, burn the house down tonight. That was awesome. I’m pumped.”

Santino Ferrucci finished fourth in the No. 14 Phoenix Investors Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, mirroring his result in the first race Saturday. Marcus Ericsson ended up fifth in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda of Andretti Global, his best result since placing fifth July 7 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Defending series champion Alex Palou will carry a 33-point lead over Will Power into the next race, the season-ending Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway on Sept. 15. Palou finished 19th in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, while Power placed 10th in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet in a day of disappointment and lost chances for both.

McLaughlin, who started sixth, passed Colton Herta on Lap 218 to take the lead for good. That decisive dive under Herta in Turn 1 came after a feisty three-lap joust between the two young stars, as McLaughlin took advantage of fresher Firestone Firehawk tires and traffic in front of Herta to erase Herta’s seven-second lead in just 14 laps.

It appeared Alexander Rossi might have a chance to challenge McLaughlin after the Kiwi took the lead, as Rossi was gaining ground quickly in his No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. But Sting Ray Robb crashed his No. 41 Goodheart Vet/Pray.com Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises in Turn 2 on Lap 228, triggering the last of six caution periods.

All five cars on the lead lap at the time had to decide whether to pit for fresh tires or stay out, and the entire quintet dove to pit road on Lap 230. McLaughlin powered away from the field on the restart on Lap 239, and Dixon passed Rossi for second in Turn 1.

Then Herta and Dixon engaged in a spirited fight for second, racing side by side, inches apart, in Turns 3 and 4. Dixon finally passed Herta for second on Lap 241 and set his sights on McLaughlin, but never got closer than six-tenths of a second. McLaughlin took the checkered by leading his race-high 85th lap.

“I think had it gone a few more laps, it looked like he was starting to burn off his fronts (tires) a little bit,” Dixon said. “But congrats to McLaughlin. Pretty sweet to have a Kiwi 1-2 there.”

McLaughlin’s victory was just one of the thrilling ebbs and flows in the race, which featured a series track record 13 lead changes on the historic 1.015-mile Milwaukee Mile oval.

Perhaps the one lead change that appeared probable early in the race didn’t happen. Palou held on to the championship lead despite one of his most challenging days of the season.

Palou finished 29 laps down after an electrical problem on the pace laps sent his car to the pits and the garage for repairs. Power placed 10th as the last car on the lead lap, losing a chance to gain more ground and perhaps take the championship lead after spinning in Turn 4 on a restart on Lap 131 while running in the top five.

“It was not a great day, but it could have been a lot worse,” Palou said. “It could have been a lot better, obviously. On to Nashville.”

Said Power: “A long shot now. God gave us a chance then, but kind of let it go. That’s the season, man. You just can’t have those mistakes.”

McLaughlin is the only other driver mathematically eligible for the title at Nashville, 50 points behind Palou. But it should come down to a two-driver duel for the Astor Challenge Cup at Nashville between two-time season champions Palou and Power, as McLaughlin will be eliminated if Palou starts the race.

Palou, strategist Barry Wanser and the entire Chip Ganassi Racing crew stayed calm and avoided catastrophe when Palou’s car stopped at the exit of pit lane at the start of the pace laps with an apparent electrical problem. The car returned to the track but then had to return to the paddock for more diagnosis and repairs, and Palou returned to the track at speed on Lap 37, 28 laps down.

“We couldn’t really do anything,” Palou said. “We tried everything to try and not lose many laps.”

Palou was the most notable of a handful drivers struck by mechanical misfortune in this race. Another was Race 1 winner Pato O’Ward, who finished 24th after completing just 87 laps due to a gearbox problem.

The race took an eventful tone right from the start. Besides Palou’s car shockingly sitting silent at the exit of pit lane, NTT P1 Award winner Josef Newgarden was eliminated from the race in a three-car incident on Lap 1. The race start was called off because the rear of the field wasn’t in order, and the No. 8 American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of rookie Linus Lundqvist hit the rear of the No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of teammate Marcus Armstrong, who then pinballed into Newgarden’s No. 2 Snap-on Team Penske Chevrolet, punting it into the inside wall.

After that melee, the race settled into a pattern of nonstop action. There were a season-high 763 on-track passes – a season high and the most on record in an INDYCAR SERIES race at the Milwaukee Mile – and 56 passes in the top five, another track record. Ferrucci once again put on a show with 63 on-track passes, the most of any driver in one race this season.

The following article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff

Press Release from INDYCAR

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024) – Pato O’Ward won the first race of the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s on Saturday, and Will Power tightened his NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship duel with Alex Palou with two races remaining this season.

O’Ward earned his third victory of the season in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, beating the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet of Power to the finish by 1.8215 seconds. O’Ward’s seventh career victory came after three consecutive finishes of 15th or lower since late July, effectively removing him from the title race.

SEE: Race Results

“We had a really tough weekend last week in Portland, and this is a great way to bounce back,” O’Ward said. “We have another opportunity tomorrow. The car was fantastic. It was getting a little gnarly there at the end, but glad I could bring it home for the boys. They were fantastic on pit stops. Strategy was amazing.”

Live coverage of the second 250-lap doubleheader race on the 1.015-mile oval starts at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday on USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Palou will seal his third championship in four years if he wins and leads the most laps. Otherwise, the title race will go to the season-ending Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, Sept. 15 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Conor Daly finished third Saturday in a stirring drive in the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, his best race since a career-best result of second in June 2016 at Detroit. Daly thrilled the crowd with 51 on-track passes, the most of any driver in a race this season, using every available racing line on the track.

Santino Ferrucci placed fourth in the No. 14 Phoenix Investors Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, with championship leader Alex Palou rounding out the top five in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou’s lead to second place Power, which was 54 points entering this race, was trimmed to 43 points.

The top five finishers in Saturday’s race each were from different teams, just the second time that has occurred this season. The other time came at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding in March, also won by O’Ward.

This was a race of varied pit strategies and plenty of action on the lead lap and in lapped traffic as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned to the historic oval for the first time since 2015. There were a season-high 667 on-track passes and 326 passes for position – the most on record at the Milwaukee Mile.

Various “undercut” and “overcut” ploys were tested by teams during early stops in hopes that perhaps either fresh Firestone Firehawk tires, racing in less traffic or an opportune caution could deliver a win.

Instead, O’Ward won on pace after starting sixth in the 27-car field. He took the lead for good under caution on Lap 195 when Power made his final pit stop. O’Ward’s last stop came on Lap 186, handing the lead to Power.

Two laps later, the last of three caution periods was triggered when the front left wheel dislodged from Colton Herta’s No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian when it wasn’t tightened during his pit stop on Lap 185.

Power and a group of three other leading cars had to make their last stop under that caution, and O’Ward cycled to the front, where he would stay. O’Ward led a race-high 133 laps.

After his final stop under that caution, Power cycled into third place behind O’Ward and Ferrucci. Power eventually passed Ferrucci for second, with Daly passing Ferrucci for third on Lap 224.

A thicket of lapped traffic slowed O’Ward, and Power pounced to within .3 of a second on Lap 236. But Power never was able to make a passing attempt for the lead, and O’Ward threaded a needle in 150-mph traffic to pull away from Power over the closing laps.

“It was getting wiggly,” O’Ward said of his car’s handling under pressure from Power. “It was reminding me a little bit of like qualifying, just getting a bit on the nose (loose handling). The car was changing a lot from the start of the race to the end of the race.”

Said Power, who won last Sunday at Portland International Raceway: “The car was all over the place with adjustments as you go through the run. I’m stoked to get on the podium. One more (place) was what we needed, but Pato was super good and strong, and he got through that traffic really well. Alex was super consistent, so it’s hard to drop that points gap, but we’re doing everything we need to at the moment. We’ll keep digging.”

The metronomic Palou rebounded from the 12th starting position for his 13th top-five finish in 15 races this season. He was in trouble early, mired in mid-pack, and just missed a two-car accident on Lap 147 that eliminated Indianapolis 500 winners Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet and Marcus Ericsson in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda of Andretti Global from the race.

But as he seemingly does with the consistency of sunrise and sunset, Palou found a way to drive into the top five despite falling a lap down in seventh when the final caution flew during his out lap after his final stop. Palou and a handful of other drivers got the wave-around during that final caution, returning him to the lead lap.

“A little bit unlucky with that yellow,” Palou said. “We were a bit aggressive to try and get the lead. Not the luckiest of days, but a top five. The car was amazing.

“Looking forward to tomorrow. I’m happy that we got a good solid day. Hopefully we can be a step above everybody tomorrow.”

The following article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff

Press Release From INDYCAR…

PORTLAND, Ore. (Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024) – Will Power and Team Penske made their point Sunday by winning the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland: The race for the Astor Challenge Cup is far from over.

Power earned his series-leading third victory of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet and gained ground on championship leader Alex Palou with three races remaining. He drove to a 9.8267-second victory over the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Palou on the 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course at Portland International Raceway.

SEE: Race Results

Two-time series champion Power, who started second, earned the 44th win of his Hall of Fame career on the heels of disappointing consecutive finishes of 12th in July at Toronto and 18th last weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway.

“Very rewarding,” Power said. “I came here determined, so did the whole team. We wanted to get qualifying right and then execute in the race. It’s not a last-ditch effort, but really if Palou finished ahead of us today, it was going to be very difficult.

“We’re going to keep fighting ahead here. A couple of bad races before this, but let’s see if we can get a championship.”

Josef Newgarden completed the podium by finishing third in the No. 2 TireRack.com Team Penske Chevrolet, with Colton Herta fourth in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian. Marcus Armstrong rounded out the top five in the No. 11 American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Two-time and defending series champion Palou leads Power by 54 points – the maximum number a driver can earn in one race. Herta slipped from second to third, 67 points behind Palou, after finishing fourth in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian.

The three remaining races are all on ovals – the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s doubleheader Aug. 31-Sept. 1 at the Milwaukee Mile and the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sept. 15 at Nashville Superspeedway. The INDYCAR SERIES hasn’t raced at the Milwaukee Mile since 2015 or Nashville Superspeedway since 2008.

Power has 10 career victories on ovals, including in 2014 at Milwaukee and last month at Iowa Speedway; Palou has none among his 11 career wins.

“We’ve been very, very good on ovals – very solid,” Power said. “Obviously, they’re two ovals that we haven’t raced at in a long time, so it’s anyone’s game. I hope we get it right. We’ll do our best and take the fight to Alex.”

Power wasted no time taking the fight to Palou at the drop of the green flag. He passed NTT P1 Award winner Santino Ferrucci entering Turn 1 on the first lap and was out front and in control for the rest of the 110-lap race except for pit stops. Power led a race-high 101 laps.

Palou passed Ferrucci for second on Lap 8 and, like Power, stayed in that spot for most of the remainder of the race except for pit stops. Ferrucci, who earned AJ Foyt Racing’s emotional first pole since 2014, finished eighth in the No. 14 Phoenix Investors Chevrolet.

Two-time and defending series champion Palou’s best chance to pass Power came on Lap 26 when Pietro Fittipaldi exited the pits in the No. 30 Localiza Rent a Car Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing directly in front of Power after serving a drive-through penalty. That slowed Power and allowed Palou to pull right up to Power’s gearbox in Turn 7, but Power parried the move and kept the lead.

Quick work by the Team Penske pit crew on Power’s first stop all but sealed the win, especially since there were no caution periods after a first-lap fracas involving Kyle Kirkwood, Scott Dixon and Fittipaldi. Power’s first stop, at the end of Lap 32, lasted 6.9 seconds. Palou made his first stop one lap later, but it took 9.2 seconds.

From there, Palou slipped back as varying tire strategies unfolded over the final two pit stops. Power started on the Firestone Firehawk primary tires and was able to use the quicker Firestone alternate red-sidewall tires in all three pit stops. Palou aggressively used a set of alternate tires in NTT P1 Award qualifying Saturday and was forced to the less-grippy primary tires for his final stint, ensuring Power’s cruise to victory.

“Maybe we were a bit wrong with the strategy there,” Palou said. “Went too aggressive in qualifying yesterday and really didn’t have any good used alternates. It was tough work there on primaries having to catch Will, but the 12 deserved it today. They were very, very fast. Happy with the P2 today.”

The top eight drivers in the standings are still mathematically eligible to win the Astor Challenge Cup as season champion, but it’s looking more and more like a three-driver race for the title between Palou, Power and Herta.

The drive for a seventh title by Dixon probably was derailed when he crashed the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda into the guardrail on Lap 1 after contact from Fittipaldi. Dixon was forced into the dirt earlier in the lap amid tight traffic by the No. 27 AutoNation Honda of Andretti Global’s Kirkwood, and Dixon was hip-checked by Fittipaldi’s car shortly after returning to the racing surface.

Dixon finished last in the 28-car field – his lowest finish since being taken out in a crash and placing 32nd in the 2017 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. He is fifth in points, 101 behind Palou.

The first race of the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s doubleheader is at 6 p.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 31, with live coverage on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network. The second race is at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 1, with USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network providing live coverage.