Portland brought a battle for the win until the end, and while a winner was awarded, a champion was crowned. Here’s what happened in the Grand Prix of Portland that led to Will Power’s victory and solidified Alex Palou’s fourth IndyCar championship.
Power Prevails in Portland; Alex Palou Claims Fourth Championship
For the second year in a row, Will Power took home the win in Portland, earning his first personal victory and the first win of the season for Team Penske, avoiding its first winless season since 1999, helping him stake his claim for a contract renewal.
Power started third on the grid, led 78 laps, and finished 1.5388 seconds ahead of Christian Lundgaard, while Alex Palou rounded out the podium. That third-place finish for Palou clinched his fourth NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship and third straight series title. He joins Ted Horn, Sebastien Bourdais, and Dario Franchitti as the only drivers to achieve a three-peat.
His four titles have tied him with Mario Andretti, Bourdais, and Franchitti for third on the all-time championship list, behind only A.J. Foyt (seven) and Scott Dixon (six).
Lundgaard continues his strong first season with Arrow McLaren, adding a sixth podium, fifth on a road course.
Strategy Games
The race brought varying strategies, which made things interesting as the top three made their final pit stops. At the end of Lap 79, Lundgaard made his final pit stop, putting on a new set of Firestone alternate tires. Power followed suit, stopping for the last time a lap later, with used Firestone alternates on his car. Palou concluded his stops at the end of Lap 82, also choosing fresh Firestone alternate tires like Lundgaard.
By Lap 96, only .851 seconds divided the top three drivers as they caught up to the slower drivers. Palou and Lundgaard went back and forth a few times in the closing laps, including one where Palou ended in the grass but the Dane quickly each time. This incident allowed Power to extend his lead, and he was ahead by 1.8018 seconds after Lap 108, maintaining that gap until the checkered flag.
Unlucky Pato
Pato O’Ward was the only driver who could’ve stopped Palou’s celebrations in Portland. The Mexican driver needed to close the gap to at least 107 points to delay the inevitable, and he had a good chance by starting the race on pole. But his chances ended on Lap 21 due to an electrical problem in his No. 5 Arrow McLaren that forced a lengthy repair in the pits. O’Ward finished 25th, 10 laps down.
Read More: Pato O’Ward Conquers the Streets of Toronto
Other notable moments
Graham Rahal finished a season-best fourth after an alternate strategy, making his first pitstop on lap 5, while Alexander Rossi rounded out the top five also with a season-best result, making his first stop under a caution on lap 15
Connor Daly and Christian Rasmussen were the cause of that caution. The two were fighting tooth and nail and maybe crossed the line at some point, but race directors saw it differently, as no penalties were given. The pair made contact on Lap 13, both briefly leaving the track, and as they went on, you knew it wasn’t over. On Lap 15, contact resulted in Daly making a high-speed trip into the tires, ending his race.
Read Next: How Alex Palou became 2024 IndyCar Champion
Main Photo: Chris Jones, Penske Entertainment
Recording Date: August 10, 2025
