Colton Herta wins final IndyCar race in Nashville from Pato O’Ward and Josef Newgarden, as Alex Palou is crowned 2024 champion.
Will Power saw his 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship aspirations dashed because of a faulty seat belt early in the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge on Sunday. Two-time series champion Power came to the season finale 33 points behind Alex Palou for the championship lead and rolled off 20 spots ahead of Palou, who started 24th in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Driving at speeds near 200 mph, the lap belt came off Power while driving his No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet. The frightening moment forced Power to pit road on Lap 12 of the 206-lap event, essentially ending his title chances. Power lost five laps during repairs, dropping him to last among the 27 competitors racing at Nashville Superspeedway.
He finished 24th, eight laps down, handing the title to Palou, who became the first repeat champion since Dario Franchitti’s three-year reign from 2009-11. Two of those three championships by Franchitti were at the hands of Power. Power led Franchitti by 12 points entering the 2010 season finale, but a crash on Lap 143 of the final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway left Power 25th. Franchitti finished eighth, taking his second consecutive championship.
A year later, Power led Franchitti again, this time by 11 points. Franchitti finished runner-up at Kentucky Speedway while Power was 19th for his third straight title. In 2012, Power led Ryan Hunter-Reay by 17 points. Power crashed at the season finale at Auto Club Speedway, finishing 24th. Hunter-Reay won his first championship with a fourth-place result.
Power said the seat belt popped off again later in the race, bringing him down pit road for a second unscheduled pit stop. Power left Nashville with a positive outlook on the 2024 season, choosing to look at the broader picture than what was left on the table. Kyle Kirkwood avoided too much trouble following his final practice crash Saturday night.
Hours after Kirkwood scored his first NTT P1 Award of the season, he pounded the Turn 4 SAFER barrier with three minutes remaining in the session. His Andretti Global team thrashed on the No. 27 AutoNation Honda well into the night, getting the car rebuilt around 1 a.m. locally. Kirkwood started Sunday’s race from the top spot and finished fourth after leading a race-high 67 of 206 laps.
Kirkwood caught a break with where the contact occurred on his car Saturday night. The incident didn’t break any aerodynamic parts, with the underwing, front wing and most of the bodywork all escaping carnage. An Andretti Global car in victory lane with Colton Herta on a day another Andretti car started on pole is something Kirkwood said the organization can learn from and take into next season.
Pato O’Ward came 1.8106 seconds short of scoring his second victory in the final three races of the season. O’Ward was victorious Aug. 31 at Milwaukee Mile and finished runner-up Sunday in his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet to Herta. O’Ward finished fifth in the standings after ending up fourth last season.
His best finish was third in 2021. He won three of the 17 races this season beginning with the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding. O’Ward was also victorious in the debut of the hybrid power unit July 7 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Nashville was his third runner-up finish of the season, joining the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and the Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart on July 13 at Iowa Speedway. Chevrolet won the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers Championship for the third straight season. Winning the 2024 Manufacturer Championship marks the ninth time Chevrolet has captured the coveted award since its return to INDYCAR SERIES competition in 2012.
David Hunt is a longtime NTT INDYCAR SERIES spotter. He spots for Colton Herta and Sunday helped to guide the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda to the win. Hunt had a special moment in victory lane at Nashville Superspeedway. His daughter, Emilee, works for Chip Ganassi Racing and was also celebrating a championship with Palou in the same space. The father-daughter combo celebrated a win for dad and championship for daughter.
Result: https://x.com/MsportXtra/status/1835427448814796978
[Note: The story is as per press release]