IndyCar News: Power wins race, Palou locks up 4th IndyCar title

Driving for his contract renewal, Will Power held off Christian Lundgaard to win the BITNILE.COM NTT IndyCar race. Alex Palou settled for third place and locked up his 4th title in five years at Portland Raceway.

Power led 78 of 110 laps and dominated in driving to convince Roger Penske to not drop him after this year.

“I think it’s just a big win for the whole team,” Power said. “We’ve had a rough year, and it’s not really because we’ve been off the pace. It’s just been unfortunate circumstances. It was a good, hard-fought win.

“Stoked. I’ve had a great career with Verizon and Penske, so I’ve really, really enjoyed winning for the guys and everyone I’ve worked with for a long time. It’s awesome.”

Palou was battling for the lead with the front two but decided not to do anything stupid, and settled for third in his #10 DHL Honda and took the 2025 IndyCar title.

Pato O’Ward, Palou’s closetest challenger, made it easy for Palou when he lost 9 laps with an engine electrical issue.

Palou clinched his fourth NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship and third straight series title, joining Ted Horn (1946-48), Sebastien Bourdais (2004-07) and Dario Franchitti (2009-11) as the only drivers to achieve a three-peat. Palou’s fourth Astor Challenge Cup in the last five seasons tied him with Mario Andretti, Bourdais and Franchitti for third on the all-time championship list, behind only A.J. Foyt (seven) and Scott Dixon (six).

“It’s unbelievable; it’s crazy,” Palou said. “I couldn’t be happier right now. This has been an amazing season, an amazing five years with CGR. I have no words to describe how grateful I am to everybody at CGR. I cannot wait for more.”

Which is bad news for everyone else.

Graham Rahal had his best finish in a while, coming home 4th in his #15 RLL Honda, 10.6s behind Power

Alexander Rossi rounded out the top-5, 16-seconds behind Power

A race of divergent tire strategies in the first half converged into a spellbinding tussle between Power, Lundgaard and Palou over the last 30 laps after all three drivers made their final pit stops.

Two-time series champion Power and Team Penske opted to use the softer, more grippy but less durable Firestone alternate tires for his first two fuel stints, choosing to try to run away from the 27-car field and hide before needing to run the primary tire – as required by series rules — and a used set of alternate tires to finish the race.

The strategy helped Power build a 20-second lead over Palou by Lap 51. But then Power pitted at the end of Lap 61 for the slower primary tires, and the chase was on for Lundgaard and Palou.

By Lap 74, Lundgaard had closed to within 1.1 seconds of Power. Palou was nine seconds back but fortified with nearly double the amount of Push to Pass overtake time as his two rivals up the track.

Lundgaard made his final stop at the end of Lap 79, taking on a fresh set of Firestone alternate tires. Power stopped for the last time a lap later, with used Firestone alternates fastened to his wheels. Palou made his final stop at the end of Lap 82, taking on fresh Firestone alternate tires like Lundgaard.

Rahal, on an alternate tire strategy, pitted from the lead at the end of Lap 84. That put Power, Lundgaard and Palou in the top three spots.

It was go time. Game on.

By Lap 96, just 0.851 of a second separated the top three as cars on the tail end of the lead lap created speed-sapping turbulence for leader Power. Palou briefly passed Lundgaard for second on Lap 97, but the Dane fought back to regain the spot quickly on the same lap.

On Lap 107, Palou went off course and into the grass surrounding the 12-turn, 1.964-mile circuit while trying again to pass Lundgaard for second and perhaps make a run at Power. That dustup let Power pull away, and he led by 1.8018 seconds after Lap 108 and maintained a gap to the checkered flag.

Power, 44, basked in the joy of returning to victory lane and reminding the NTT INDYCAR SERIES he thinks he’s more than good enough to merit a new contract from Team Penske or another team in the paddock.

“I won three races last year,” Power said. “If you’re a team, if you’re waiting on me to know if I’m good enough, I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

Palou wasn’t the only season title winner today; Honda clinched the INDYCAR SERIES manufacturers’ championship.

Honda’s 12 wins have come on all four primary track types the IndyCar series races on, road courses (Thermal, Barber, Indy GP, Road America, The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, Laguna Seca), street circuits (St. Petersburg, The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, Detroit), short ovals (World Wide Technology Raceway, Iowa Speedway) and speedways—where Honda scored their 16th Indianapolis 500 victory.

While it has been a season largely dominated by Alex Palou, all five of the Honda IndyCar teams—Chip Ganassi Racing, Andretti Global, Meyer Shank Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan and Chip Ganassi Racing—notched points to make the 2025 manufacturers” championship possible for Honda.

This is Honda’s seventh championship in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and 11th in American Open Wheel competition. Honda’s previous titles came in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005 and a four-year consecutive run from 2018 to 2021.

There are two races left in the 2025 season, both on oval tracks. The next race is the Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250 on Sunday, Aug. 24 in Milwaukee, which will be somewhat anticlimatic now that Palou has clinched the title.

Race Results