The drama of an expected thrilling championship final was sapped early in Sunday’s race at Nashville Superspeedway when Will Power’s seat belt came loose, forcing a pit stop that lasted five laps.
Still, the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge delivered a compelling close to a memorable NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. There was much to highlight in the race that featured 653 on-track passes and an impressive turnout in the face of unpredictable weather.
Palou and Ganassi, Again
Titles are getting to be old hat for Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou, who won for the second straight year and the third time in four years. Honestly, it’s not a stretch to imagine the Spaniard riding four championships in a row given the legal distractions he faced in 2022. He capped that difficult season by driving away from the field at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
What’s most impressive is his elite consistency. No, Palou didn’t have to do much Sunday once Power fell so far behind, but over the past two seasons – 34 races – he has 26 top-five finishes, including seven wins. That means in three out of every four races, Palou scores at least 30 points. He has won the past two championships by a combined 109 points, which is equal to two full races. Since joining CGR in 2021, he has top-three finishes in 30 of his 67 races (44.7 percent).
Give Chip Ganassi’s organization considerable credit in the title. It now has 16 series titles, one shy of the record held by Team Penske. But whereas the latter has been fielding these types of cars since 1968, CGR was created in 1990 and has won championships in 16 of the past 28 seasons with six different drivers. The past three champions for the team – Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Palou – each have won three or more titles for Ganassi.
It's Herta, Finally, On Oval
Colton Herta has been waiting for a first victory moment like this on an oval track. The win to cap the season couldn’t have been sweeter, especially as it allowed him to claim a career-best second place in the final standings at the track near his Nashville home.
Herta has nine career series wins, but this one likely gives him a ton of confidence heading into next season. He and Andretti Global teammate Kyle Kirkwood combined to lead 91 of the 206 laps and both finished in the top four. Kirkwood, who won the NTT P1 Award, could have finished even higher if not for an ill-timed first caution that came just after he had pitted from the lead.
The oval win was the first for Michael Andretti’s organization since 2018 at Pocono Raceway. If this is a sign of what’s to come as Herta and Kirkwood move into their formative driving years, look out.
Preview of Battles To Come
Perhaps it was fitting that Herta raced Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward for the win as the two young stars have been longtime rivals. We could see a lot more of this in the years to come.
O’Ward didn’t have the consistency he desired this season, but he was one of three drivers to win three races – Power and Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin were the others -- and he finished second in oval races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway.
It’s noteworthy that O’Ward scored more points than Dixon and Josef Newgarden this season.
Newgarden Still Oval Master
Don’t be misled by the fact Newgarden is riding a three-race winless streak on oval tracks. He remains the driver opponents most need to beat in left-turn-only races.
Newgarden qualified on the front row for both races at the Milwaukee Mile before being collected in a pair of accidents. The first, with Marcus Ericsson, was a 50-50 call, but the second was clearly not Newgarden’s fault (he was hit from behind at the start). Sunday, he finished third.
Still, Newgarden has won 10 of the past 18 oval races and will aim for an unprecedented three in a row when the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is held Sunday, May 25.
Others Finishing Season Strong
While Palou will be the only driver not dwelling on regrets of the season, there are several drivers who surely can’t wait for next season to begin. One, obviously, is Herta. Another is Kirkwood.
McLaughlin won three races and has finished third in the standings each of the past two seasons and fourth in 2022. McLaughlin’s fifth-place finish in Sunday’s race helped him finish with an average result of 3.7 in the seven oval races this year, and he won two, at Iowa Speedway and the Milwaukee Mile.
AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci finished sixth in the last race of the year, giving him a team-record 11 top-10 finishes. Ferrucci also finished ninth in the standings, the Foyt team’s first top-10 result since Airton Dare in 2002. Next year, Ferrucci will partner with David Malukas, who finished ninth in this race.