Palou clinches fourth title as Power takes victory

Alex Palou has secured the 2025 IndyCar title with two races to spare, as Will Power took Team Penske’s first win of the season in Portland.

Having dominated in IndyCar this season, the title-decider was effectively handed to Palou after Pato O’Ward, who had started on pole, slowed and had to make an unscheduled pitstop when a wire connected to his #5 Chevrolet’s DI box malfunctioned on lap 22.

The Mexican lost 10 laps getting the necessary repairs which effectively ended the title fight. He finished the race in 25th.

Given Palou’s charge to the title was never in doubt, it freed up the newly-crowned four-time IndyCar champion to focus on the victory fight, but was unable to overcome a Power surge.

With his current contract expiring and rumours of an exit from Team Penske, veteran Power provided a reminder of his talent as he charged into the lead in the middle stages of the race and kept both Christian Lundgaard and Palou at bay over the event’s second half to claim the win.

It was the Australian’s first win of the year and the only victory for Team Penske in what’s been a tumultuous 2025 campaign.

But the triumph didn’t come easy. Power cycled through to the lead through the early pit sequences, but had Lundgaard in heavy pursuit over the final 40 laps, while Palou closed up a 20-second gap from third.

The trio also had to navigate lapped traffic along the way, and much of it worked to Power’s detriment, until the final car he lapped – David Malukas, who has been rumoured as his replacement over the summer – allowed him by and briefly held up Lundgaard and Palou, instigating a battle between the pair that sent Palou off-track with four laps remaining.

Lundgaard held off Palou to take second, as the Chip Ganassi driver recorded his 11th podium in 15 races to clinch his fourth IndyCar title.

“It’s unbelievable,” an elated Palou said after the race. “It’s crazy. 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, especially Chip [Ganassi, co-owner], our partners and all our fans.”

Further back Graham Rahal used an alternative strategy to rise from 22nd to fourth for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, with Ed Carpenter’s Alexander Rossi wrapping up the top five.

Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

The Portland race started with high drama, as just two laps in Santino Ferrucci lost control of his #14 AJ Foyt Chevrolet at the exit of the final corner and slammed into the inside wall just past the pit entry. Six laps later another caution came out after the lap 8 restart due to debris from a double spin for Louis Foster and Rinus VeeKay.

The early action came to a crescendo when Christian Rasmussen and Conor Daly went to war on-track.

Rasmussen first shoved Daly off-course on lap 13, with Daly pressuring the Dane with a Turn 2 lunge on the following lap, but avoided contact until he’d got alongside Rasmussen going into Turn 9 on lap 15, where the pair made contact and Daly was sent into the tyre barrier.

Just two oval races remain to round out the 2025 IndyCar season, starting with the Milwaukee Mile on 24 August.

IndyCar Portland – Race results