Like in 2015, the IndyCar Series Championship came down to the wire with multiple drivers in contention. This year that group included IndyCar legends Will Power, Scott Dixon, and Josef Newgarden. Along with 2022 standouts Marcus Ericsson and Scott McLaughlin as well. Power, the 2014 Champion, entered the weekend as the favorite and did nothing to change that on Saturday.
By taking the pole for the season finale, Power became the all-time leader in IndyCar history in that category. Furthermore, issues for Dixon and Newgarden early in qualifying set him up beautifully for the 95-lap race earlier today. This allowed Power to run a rather stress-free race with the points gap he had from Portland. Although last year’s Champion Alex Palou came out victorious at Laguna Seca, Power would ascend to the seat of power in IndyCar, becoming Champion for the second time in his Hall of Fame career.
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Penske Power
Power’s Championship victory marks the 17th for the captain Roger Penske as a car owner on the open wheel side of things. Five of which come since 2014, and Power is responsible for two of those, being this year and in 2014. It’s odd looking back at Power’s early days, where he lost titles at the very end in succession in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Even finally after getting the monkey off his back in 2014, it would be eight years without a Championship for the Australian. Granted, an Indy 500 win isn’t too bad of a consolation prize.
Now Power, who is already high in nearly all all-time IndyCar statistics, becomes the 27th different driver in the history of American Open Wheel racing to have multiple titles. Additionally, this makes him the third active driver in the series with multiple titles, joining Newgarden and Dixon. This also cements himself as one of IndyCar’s all-time greats, regardless of era. 41 wins, 68 poles, an Indianapolis 500 win, and now two Series Championships are as impressive as it gets. Even more impressive than that was winning this specific title hunt. This was as tight as any Championship in years and Power was the most consistent guy down the stretch.
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