LEBANON, Nashville — Alex Palou needed little effort to clinch his third NTT IndyCar Series championship in four years, taking advantage of a major gaffe by Will Power early in the Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway.
Palou, who entered the 2024 season finale with a sizable 33-point lead, already had won two of the past three titles since joining Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021.
The 27-year-old from Barcelona, Spain, became the first back-to-back champion in IndyCar since Dario Franchitti, who also drove the No. 10 Dallara-Honda for Ganassi while winning three consecutive titles from 2009-11.
After escaping a battery failure at the Milwaukee Mile two weeks ago, Palou started a disappointing 24th (turning the 15th-fastest qualifying lap and taking a nine-position grid penalty) while Power qualified fourth.
But as Colton Herta outdueled Pato O’Ward for his first oval victory, Palou clinched the title a lap down with an 11th place.
“It’s been an amazing year,” Palou told NBC Sports’ Dave Burns.
Power’s hopes for a third championship dissipated on Lap 13 when the lap belt in his No. 12 Dallara-Chevrolet came loose.
The Team Penske driver pitted under green and agonizingly waited for a few minutes as a team member climbed over his aeroscreen and into his cockpit to reattach the belt. When he returned to the track, Power was five laps down and effectively eliminated from contention.
He finished 24th and fell to fourth in the final points standings behind Colton Herta and Scott McLaughlin.
“I’m like, ‘Man, that was weird,’ ” Power said. “It felt kind of loose in the car. Came out of turn two and I’m feeling around, and I felt the end of the belt as it goes in. I thought ‘Man, my belt just fell off, we’re going to have to pit.’
“That’s a very abnormal thing. I just don’t know what went wrong. We’ll have to send it back to the manufacturer. Very strange failure. Disappointing but big congrats to Alex. Tough guy to beat.”
While offering his gracious congratulations to Palou in victory lane, Power also gave the newly crowned champion a briefing of what happened to his belt.
“I was like, ‘Man, it’s crazy that that happened,’ ” Palou said. “Normally it never happens. Same as what happened to me and the battery two weeks ago.
“Obviously it was very dangerous what happened to him. You don’t want to see that. I’m glad that nothing happened, and he was still able to finish the race. I was not celebrating.
“That’s how it goes. When it’s not your day, it is what it is. You cannot do anything. Same goes for when it’s your day. Like me, it was my day. It was not meant to be for him, it was meant to be for me. That’s what happened.”