By Austin Lawton, Staff Writer
Droughts and winning streaks continued following the BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday.
Will Power claimed his first win of the season, a year after winning at Portland International Raceway in 2024 and Alex Palou continued his streak of championships, winning the 2025 title , , his fourth overall and third-in-a-row.
Clinching the title became even easier for Palou as his closest competitor, Pato O’Ward, suffered a battery issue on Lap 22 and was not able to recover the No. 5 Arrow Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren to take the title fight past Portland.
“I’m so glad that we got it,” Palou said regarding the championship. “That was one of the two goals that we had this season and I’m happy that we got it this year again, three years in a row. It’s amazing the work that these two people do to put an amazing team together that gives us a chance to win every single weekend and fight for every single championship. It’s been amazing. This year has been even more than magical with the 500, with so many wins. Today we wanted a win, as well. We gave everything that we had on track. It didn’t work.”
Palou becomes the fourth driver in IndyCar history to win three-straight championships, along with Ted Horn, Sebastian Bourdais and Dario Franchitti. Palou also claims his fourth championship, doing so in just 97 starts. The Spaniard is now tied with Mario Andretti, Bourdais and Franchitti for third on the all-time championship list. Palou also has the chance to make history again, vying for 10 wins in a single season, a feat only A.J. Foyt and Al Unser Sr. have accomplished.
Palou also gives car owner Chip Ganassi his 17th IndyCar title, tying him with Team Penske. Ganassi had high praise for his driver after the race:
“I’ve never seen a guy work so quietly and diligently at his craft as this guy,” Ganassi said. “I said in the beginning of the year that we’re just scratching the surface of his talent. I still think he’s got more in his gas tank, his tank, for this season, and he’s got more in his tank for coming seasons. You saw his desire in what he spoke about prior to the Indianapolis 500, going into that race, what the goals were, what the goals were when we left that place. Even though we had the win, he didn’t lose sight of the big picture, for the championship.
I couldn’t be more pleased. I obviously want to thank Alex, everybody that works for us. I want to thank everybody that ever had a hand on any of those other 16 championships. A lot of people aren’t here or aren’t with us anymore. They had fingerprints on these titles. But today we’re celebrating the 17th. Couldn’t be happier.”
With Palou wrapping up the points championship, the race on Sunday belonged to Will Power, who went to IndyCar Victory Lane for the 45th time. Power dominated on Sunday, leading 78 laps and made a three stop strategy work with the help of fast pit stops from the No. 12 Verizon pit crew. Power and his crew chose to start on the red alternate tire, opting to save the black, hard compound stint for the end of the race.
“It was a nice day because I got to push as hard as I could for the whole race, which usually that’s a fuel save,” Power said. “I was glad my engineer picked that strategy. He was going to pit me. Then he said to stay out, to be a leader. I had faith that I’d had a lot of pace. Yeah, it’s a Team Penske-type day, man. When we’re put in the position, we can win. It’s obviously been a rough year on many fronts. Yeah, very nice to get a win.”
Power’s only two challengers on the day, Christian Lundgaard and Palou, started on the blacks and ran the red tire to the end of the race. Power would pit for the black tire on Lap 62 and on Lap 80 would come in for a set of used red tires for the last 30 laps.
Power and Lundgaard would cycle ahead of Palou on Lap 83, as Palou was coming out of pit road, finishing up his final stop. From there, Power defended the charging Lundgaard and Palou, but would pull away with 14 laps to go as his competitors battled.
Power would keep the gap to Lundgaard and Palou to 1.2 seconds for the remainder of the race, while navigating lapped traffic. Palou went off-course on Lap 106, battling closely with Lundgaard. The mistake would not hamper Palou as he took the checkered flag in third and Lundgaard in second.
SEE: BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland Race Results
Power gives Team Penske their first win in a very down year for the team. Albeit late in the season, Power continues a streak dating back to 2000 in which Team Penske wins a race during an IndyCar season. Power’s win comes amidst a multitude of questions about his future with Penske. Power may be unsure about his 2026 plans, but is not doubtful in his ability, at age 44, to be a winner in the NTT IndyCar Series.
“To me it was business as normal honestly,” Power said. “I’ve been in that position so many times in my career. Like I said, I’m driving the best I ever have. Simple as that. I’m not slowing down. I am not slower, I am faster. My toolbox is still big as far as understanding the cars, race craft, all that. Yeah, that’s me. I guess I’m different to some people. I never stop working at it. It’s a passion. I love it. That’s why I’m still winning.”