Indycar: Palou seals fourth IndyCar title

O’Ward started from pole and was the only driver still in mathematical contention, 121 points adrift of Palou heading into the weekend. The Chip Ganassi Racing star only needed to leave Portland with a lead of 108 points to secure the title, and that requirement was met just 22 laps into the race when O’Ward’s Arrow McLaren Chevrolet lost power with an electronic issue.

A pit stop to resolve the problem put him nine laps down, and he finished 25th. Palou came home third, locking in an unassailable 151-point advantage with two races still to go.

Palou admitted he was still pushing for the victory in the closing stages, despite the championship being within reach.

“We’re here to win," he said. "That’s why we’re here. We’ve said it many times. When we come here, although we have that big goal of winning the championship, our priority is always to win races and win every single weekend. Even though could have been OK to stay third, we wanted to win.”

The Spaniard was aggressive late in the race, even going off track with four laps to go as he drag-raced Christian Lundgaard. His approach drew no complaints from team boss Chip Ganassi who commented: “It depends on the situation, the driver.

"Like Alex said, we go into this race with that 10 car team, every race, we want to win the race, OK? That’s how we got to this point. We didn’t change anything today. You can’t play God.”

Ganassi admitted, however, that Palou’s determination did give him one nervous moment; he added: “When he was fighting for second or third, I was fine with it. I got to say my heart skipped a beat when he went off there, but other than that I was all for it.”

Palou’s latest title was built on a blistering start to the season, with wins in the first two races setting the tone for a campaign that delivered Ganassi its 17th IndyCar title, equalling Penske’s record. Twelve of Ganassi’s championships have come in the past 17 years, starting with Scott Dixon’s 2008 season — a year Palou’s own performance has often been compared to.

This year Palou won five of the first six races, including his first Indianapolis 500 victory after five previous attempts, and added three more to bring his tally to a series-leading eight wins. He also topped the charts with five poles, 11 top-five finishes in 14 races, 563 laps led and an average finishing position of 1.2.

Only A.J. Foyt, with seven titles, and Dixon, with six, have more championships than Palou. By winning on ovals this season, he silenced critics who questioned his versatility. His dominance comes despite ongoing legal disputes — he is currently facing a $30 million breach-of-contract lawsuit from Arrow McLaren after opting to remain with Ganassi instead of joining them.

Palou now joins Dario Franchitti, Sebastien Bourdais and Ted Horn as the only drivers to win three consecutive IndyCar titles. With two races left, he has a chance to equal the all-time single-season win record of 10, set by Foyt in 1964 and Al Unser in 1970.

That record will stand for at least another week after Will Power took victory in Portland, delivering Penske’s first win of the season in the 15th of 17 rounds.