PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Alex Palou holds a 59-point lead in the IndyCar standings, but insists his third championship title in four seasons is no sure thing.
Alexander Rossi remains confident he can compete in the series next year, David Malukas clarified that Will Power did not make him cry after his crash last week, and all drivers hope IndyCar makes changes to the restart zones after Josef Newgarden’s tactics feud caused a late-race crash and heated tempers.
The fallout from last weekend’s race outside St. Louis also spilled over to Portland International Raceway, where Palou, with four races left this season, could give his title rivals a significant lead on Sunday.
The Spaniard was adamant on Friday that the five riders who can mathematically catch him in the standings have a chance, especially with three ovals still to come. Portland is a 12-turn, 3.166km circuit where Palou has won two of the last three years and is the defending champion.
Palou actually secured his second IndyCar title in Portland last year when it was the penultimate race of the season. This year’s schedule includes a doubleheader at the Milwaukee Mile next week and the season finale in September at Nashville Superspeedway.
Palou has never won on an oval track and has no racing experience in Milwaukee or Nashville.
“I don’t think you’re ever in control,” he said. “Someone can win three times in a row and then you panic, right? I feel good, especially being in Portland this weekend, but it’s not like I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re good. Let’s take it easy.'”
Power, who dropped from second to fourth in the standings after a chaotic finish at Gateway last Saturday, said there are too many races left to give Palou the win now.
“I still feel like we’re in it – it’s crazy, but there’s still almost a quarter of the races to go,” said Power. “Four races. A lot can still change.”
However, Power acknowledged that Palou would likely need at least one very bad race – probably a mechanical failure – for the rest of the field to close the gap.
“He’s going to need a DNF in one of these races … but that can happen,” Power said. “You have two bad races and ‘yup, someone is only 10 or 20 points behind you.'”
Bad races are rare for Palou, who finished 23rd in Iowa, his season-best finish. There, he admittedly made two very unusual mistakes. He stalled his Chip Ganassi Racing car and spun out.
The anger of power, the sorrow of the Malukas
After a collision between Power and Malukas late in the race at Gateway, an emotional Malukas appeared to cry as he said in an interview, “And Will Power just came by and yelled at me.”
Malukas said on Friday he was emotional because he felt he had a chance to win before contact with Power caused him to fall and finish 21st. His tears were for a missed opportunity, not something Power had shouted at him.
Power was furious at the way his teammate Newgarden from Team Penske manipulated the subsequent restart. As the leader, Newgarden deliberately waited a long time in the zone to stay one step ahead of his unsuspecting competitors. Due to the late acceleration, Rossi drove into the back of Power and both races were over for them.
As Power drove past Malukas, he admittedly shouted at him through a fence while Malukas was giving interviews. Malukas said Power had calmed down considerably when he saw him later, and Power apologized for taking out his frustration on the younger driver.
“I was more emotional because I think that move there was for the lead,” Malukas said. “I think we would have won. When I look at it now and all the data… I don’t think that would have been possible, but I think I was emotional because that would probably be my first win.”
And although Power gave Newgarden the middle finger as he drove by under caution, the two were fine the next day. Ron Ruzewski, general manager of Penske’s IndyCar team, called Power the next day and asked him if he wanted to go wakeboarding.
Power said that while standing on his dock, he saw a shirtless man approaching in a boat and immediately knew it was his teammate. He said he and Newgarden had a nice day despite the fireworks.
About this reboot
Newgarden said he wouldn’t change anything about waiting so long in the restart zone to move up as the leader and it was entirely in line with IndyCar rules, which drivers described as “vague at best.”
IndyCar held a lengthy drivers’ meeting on Friday to discuss restarts, and at least one attendee asked why Newgarden was not penalized for delaying the start.
Newgarden admitted he was “aggressive” by waiting so long in the zone to get going, but he had no shame in trying to win the race, which he did, earning his second win of the season.
“Sometimes I’m early, sometimes I’m in the middle and sometimes I’m pretty late, and I’ve tried to be as aggressive as possible,” Newgarden said. “I don’t think they need to revise the rules, but they probably need to provide more clarity for everyone.”
Drivers expect the restart zone to be clearly marked next week in Milwaukee, making it clear when the leaders are expected to start.
Rossi needs a ride
It has been more than two months since Arrow McLaren announced that Rossi would not be brought back for a third season in 2025 and although his father, the manager, expected to have Rossi in a new job by the summer break last month, the 32-year-old still does not have a job for next season.
Rossi said Friday he’s confident he’ll land something soon. Malukas recently signed with AJ Foyt Racing, opening up a spot at Meyer Shank Racing, but Rossi said that’s unlikely. That basically leaves only Rahal Letterman Lanigan as the remaining viable option.
Juncos Hollinger Racing now has a spot as it has fired Agustin Canapino, and Prema Racing is expected to run two Indy cars next season. Rossi and his father have spoken to “proxies” for Prema.
“A cake is made of ingredients, right? And you just have to figure out what quality ingredients you need for the cake,” Rossi said. “We could make an announcement in a week, it could be a month, but I’m not worried.”
___
AP Car Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
