LONG BEACH, Calif. – Alex Palou claimed his first NTT IndyCar Series championship by driving with a clear, calm demeanor, even when he was involved in a first-lap incident in Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
“Oh my God man, what a race. What a year,” Palou said.
At the start of the NTT IndyCar Series season finale, Ed Jones ran into the back of championship contender Pato O’Ward. That turned O’Ward’s No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet around on the course, also damaging his gearbox.
The front wing on Palou’s No. 10 NTT Data Honda was clipped in the incident, but he escaped with no damage.
“Hey, it’s an Indy car,” Palou said afterwards. “You can hit these cars pretty hard without breaking anything.”
O’Ward came in to top off on fuel and change tires, hoping that pit stop strategy would work in his favor. Nineteen laps later, the gearbox in his car failed.
“Gearbox is gone,” O’Ward radioed to his crew in the pits.
That eliminated O’Ward from championship contention. He entered the race 34 points behind Palou.
“It’s not the first time he hit us and it’s not the first time he’s done something stupid this season,” O’Ward said of Jones. “He needs to respect the guys running for the championship more. Don’t be stupid about it.
“We’ve had a great season so far. I’m proud of the team and proud of myself. That’s the way it’s going to be. That is what gets you stronger. I’m looking forward to next year and challenging for the title.”
With O’Ward out of the race, the only other driver that could challenge Palou for the championship was two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden, who started on the pole. Newgarden entered the race 48 points behind Palou.
Newgarden contended for the victory, but Palou ran in the top five for most of the race. In order for Newgarden to win the championship the Team Penske driver had to win the race, score maximum points and Palou had to finish 25th or worse
Instead, Palou spent most of the race within two positions of Newgarden. In the end he finished fourth, which was more than enough for the 24-year-old driver from Spain to claim his first NTT IndyCar Series championship.
“I was not relieved, I was super happy,” Palou said. “Once I knew after that last pit stop, I didn’t need to make another pit stop and my fuel mileage was good. I kept on driving. I kept on hitting the brake marks and once I hit that checkered flag it was a nice feeling.”
He is the First NTT IndyCar Series champion from Spain. His first championship comes in his second IndyCar Series season. He is also the first driver who is less than 25 years old to win the championship since Scott Dixon in 2003 and the seventh youngest IndyCar champion in history.
This is Chip Ganassi Racing’s 14th NTT IndyCar Series championship. He joins 1996 CART champion Jimmy Vasser in 1996, Alex Zanardi in 1997 and ’98, Juan Pablo Montoya in 1999, Scott Dixon in 2003, ’08, ’13, ’15, ’18 and ’20 and Dario Franchitti in 2009, ’10 and ’11.