Alex Palou clinched his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship with a composed drive to fourth place Sunday in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, a race won by Colton Herta.
Palou became the first Spaniard to win an INDYCAR SERIES championship and is Chip Ganassi Racing’s second consecutive title winner and 14th INDYCAR SERIES champion overall. This is his first season with the powerhouse team in the No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, joining CGR after his rookie season in 2020, when he finished 16th in the standings.
In the most definitive sign of the youth movement this season in the series, Palou, 24, is the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion younger than 25 since current teammate Scott Dixon in 2003. Palou is the seventh-youngest champion in INDYCAR SERIES history.
Herta, who led all three practice sessions this weekend, beat Josef Newgarden to the checkered flag by .5883 of a second in his No. 26 Gainbridge Honda to finish the season with two consecutive victories and three overall in 2021. Herta rebounded from starting 14th after hitting the wall in NTT P1 Award qualifying. He swept both races in his native California this season and won for the first time at his home race in Long Beach, which he attended since childhood to watch his father and current strategist, Bryan Herta, race in the INDYCAR SERIES.
Scott McLaughlin clinched the Rookie of the Year award after finishing 11th in the No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, becoming the first Team Penske driver to earn this honor. New Zealand native McLaughlin joined Penske’s INDYCAR SERIES team after winning three consecutive Australian Supercars titles for the organization.
“I’m really proud of everyone with the PPG Chevy,” McLaughlin said. “The car’s been awesome, and I finally got it to my liking the last six or seven races. I’m really excited for next year. This year was a foundation year, all about building, and I feel like I’ve done that.”
Six-time series champion Scott Dixon finished third today in the No. 9 PNC Bank Grow Up Great Honda, 1.3368 seconds ahead of champion teammate Palou. 2016 series champion Simon Pagenaud rounded out the top five in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES point standings: Palou 549, Newgarden 511, O’Ward 487, Dixon 481, Herta 455, Ericsson 435, Rahal 389, Pagenaud 383, Power 357, Rossi 332
Race results – order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
1/ (14) Colton Herta, Honda, 85, Running
2/ (1) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 85, Running
3/ (2) Scott Dixon, Honda, 85, Running
4/ (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 85, Running
5/ (4) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 85, Running
6/ (15) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 85, Running
7/ (25) Jack Harvey, Honda, 85, Running
8/ (22) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 85, Running
9/ (16) Takuma Sato, Honda, 85, Running
10/ (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 85, Running
11/ (13) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 85, Running
12/ (9) Ed Jones, Honda, 85, Running
13/ (5) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 85, Running
14/ (7) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 85, Running
15/ (23) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 85, Running
16/ (19) Graham Rahal, Honda, 85, Running
17/ (27) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 85, Running
18/ (20) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, 85, Running
19/ (26) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 85, Running
20/ (3) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 85, Running
21/ (21) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 84, Running
22/ (28) Oliver Askew, Honda, 83, Running
23/ (11) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 83, Running
24/ (6) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 75, Contact
25/ (24) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 48, Mechanical
26/ (18) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 47, Mechanical
27/ (8) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 43, Contact
28/ (17) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 25, Contact
Comments