The Nashville Superspeedway was the scene for the 2024 IndyCar Series Championship. The 17th and final race of the season would crown a three-time champion. Coming into Sunday, Alex Palou and Will Power were both anxious about their pending championship bout.
The series returns to the Nashville Superspeedway after a 16-year hiatus, last racing at the 1.330-mile circuit in 2008. The last time IndyCar raced at the Nashville Superspeedway, Scott Dixon three-peated from 2006-08.
Until Alex Palou took the green flag, Scott McLaughlin was mathematically alive. Palou would start the race in 24th, while his championship adversary, Will Power, started inside the top 10. With 206 laps and 447 miles of racing to end the season, only one would be crowed champion.
Palou Clinches Third Title in Four Years With Impressive Performance at Nashville
Palou rolled off the grid in 24th and would have his work cut out for him. At the drop of the green flag, the points gap was only seven points. Palou started the race dicing his way through the field, utilizing multiple lanes to pass his competitors. With every car he passed, his gap to Power widened. Power losing positions from the start also made the gap even greater.
Palou’s rival, however, would quickly bow out. Before green flag pit stops started, Will Power would suffer an incredibly unlucky break which would end Power’s title hopes. All Palou needed to do was keep his nose clean and finish the race and the title was his. Palou would cross the line 11th but that was more than enough to clinch the title.
Palou’s remarkable consistency and unflappability in the face of disaster has been documented previously, but they prevail again as Palou clinches back-to-back titles. He becomes the second-youngest driver to win three titles, behind only Sam Hornish, Jr. in that regard. Owner of the team, Chip Ganassi, cliched their 16th world title, only one behind Team Penske’s IndyCar leading 17 titles.
Needless to say, Palou’s trophy case will continue to get bigger as there seems to be no stopping the momentum the young driver has not only built but sustained.
Will Power’s Poor Luck Costs Him a Chance to Race for His Third Championship
There is a saying, “Without bad luck, you’d have no luck at all.” This phrase can perfectly describe Will Power’s weekend in Nashville. Riding a wave of momentum into the series finale after cutting large gaps out of Palou’s championship lead, Power was ready to race for his third career title. Fate, as it were, would have other plans for Power.
The start of the race was worst case scenario for Power who lost multiple positions in the opening laps. This coupled with Palou’s hard charging through the field meant the pressure was on for Power if he wanted a shot at the title. His title hopes would come undone (like his lap belt) on lap 12. After getting the belt fixed, Power was five laps down and running dead last. From that point on, it was Palou’s title to lose.
Power finishes the season fourth in the championship, getting passed by Colton Herta and Penske teammate, Scott McLaughlin. The disappointment was evident on Power’s face post-race but he still congratulated Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing. The fourth-place finish in the season standings was Power’s 13th time finishing in the top five at season’s end. Power seemed determined to use the disappointment from this season as motivation to come back stronger next year. Only time will tell if the motivation can push him to finish next season at the top of the standings.
Colton Herta Gets First Oval Win, Finishes Second in Championship Standings
Often in races that decide a champion, the racer winner is overlooked. Eventual race winner Colton Herta may have been born in California, but he calls Nashville his home. Taking residence in the Volunteer State, Herta came into the weekend fourth in the standings and had no pressure on his shoulders coming into this race.
Starting the race in ninth, Herta was a man on a mission, quickly making it into the top five. He would continue his forward momentum propelling him into the top three by lap 55. After playing the strategy perfectly, he would find himself behind Pato O’Ward in the closing laps. O’Ward was looking for his series-leading fourth win on the season while Herta was looking for his second. After O’Ward caught a lap car which forced him up the track, Herta would pounce, going underneath O’Ward to take the lead with only five laps to go. Herta took the lead and would gap O’Ward quickly as the laps counted down. Herta would take the checkered flag and win his second race of the year.
This win marked Herta’s ninth win of his career and his first win on an oval. Herta would also ride this strong performance into the runner-up position in the season standings, 31 points behind Palou. This second place finish sets a career high standings finish for the 24 year old but Herta will not be satified until he is on the top step of the podium at the end of the year.
Storylines from this season revisited
- Scott Dixon cannot inch any closer to career wins or titles record. After winning a thrilling fuel-mileage race in Detroit, Dixon only found the podium two more times the rest of the season. This would kick off a string of bad luck as the season went on. Looking off the pace at Road America and finishing 21st, mechanical issues at Mid-Ohio, and a crash at Portland all prevented Dixon from competing for more wins. Dixon will be back next year so he will have 17 more opportunities to catch AJ Foyt and his 67 career wins.
- Santino Ferrucci may ruffle his competitors feathers but that didn’t stop AJ Foyt Enterprises from signing him to an extension. It may be hard to find a driver on the grid that incites a reaction in the paddock as Ferrucci does. This didn’t stop Ferrucci from having a career year. With a career-best ninth in the season standings, and fourth place finish at both Milwaukee races this was a season to remember for Ferrucci. After this successful season, Ferrucci would earn an extension with AJ Foyt Enterprises.
-  Kyle Kirkwood loses momentum at the end of the season, finishes seventh on the season. Earlier in the season where Kirkwood looked like a dark horse candidate to make a run at the title. After a 16th-place finish at Iowa and a 22nd-place finish at Gateway (both due to crashes) he plummeted down the standings. Kirkwood would finish the season with 13 top 10 finishes, tied for most in the series along with champion Alex Palou and runner-up Colton Herta. Starting on the pole for Sunday’s race in Nashville, he was able to muster a fourth-place finish in the championship finale.
