IndyCar Portland: Palou clinches fourth title as Power takes victory

The Mexican lost 10 laps getting the necessary repairs which effectively ended the title fight. He finished the race in 25th.

Given Palou’s charge to the title was never in doubt, it freed up the newly-crowned four-time IndyCar champion to focus on the victory fight, but was unable to overcome a Power surge.

With his current contract expiring and rumours of an exit from Team Penske, veteran Power provided a reminder of his talent as he charged into the lead in the middle stages of the race and kept both Christian Lundgaard and Palou at bay over the event’s second half to claim the win.

It was the Australian’s first win of the year and the only victory for Team Penske in what’s been a tumultuous 2025 campaign.

But the triumph didn’t come easy. Power cycled through to the lead through the early pit sequences, but had Lundgaard in heavy pursuit over the final 40 laps, while Palou closed up a 20-second gap from third.

The trio also had to navigate lapped traffic along the way, and much of it worked to Power’s detriment, until the final car he lapped - David Malukas, who has been rumoured as his replacement over the summer - allowed him by and briefly held up Lundgaard and Palou, instigating a battle between the pair that sent Palou off-track with four laps remaining.

Lundgaard held off Palou to take second, as the Chip Ganassi driver recorded his 11th podium in 15 races to clinch his fourth IndyCar title.

“It’s unbelievable,” an elated Palou said after the race. “It’s crazy. I couldn’t be happier right now. This has been an amazing season, an amazing five years with CGR.

“I have no words to describe how grateful I am to everybody at CGR, especially Chip [Ganassi, co-owner], our partners and all our fans.”

Further back Graham Rahal used an alternative strategy to rise from 22nd to fourth for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, with Ed Carpenter’s Alexander Rossi wrapping up the top five.

The Portland race started with high drama, as just two laps in Santino Ferrucci lost control of his #14 AJ Foyt Chevrolet at the exit of the final corner and slammed into the inside wall just past the pit entry. Six laps later another caution came out after the lap 8 restart due to debris from a double spin for Louis Foster and Rinus VeeKay.

The early action came to a crescendo when Christian Rasmussen and Conor Daly went to war on-track.

Rasmussen first shoved Daly off-course on lap 13, with Daly pressuring the Dane with a Turn 2 lunge on the following lap, but avoided contact until he’d got alongside Rasmussen going into Turn 9 on lap 15, where the pair made contact and Daly was sent into the tyre barrier.

Just two oval races remain to round out the 2025 IndyCar season, starting with the Milwaukee Mile on 24 August.

IndyCar Portland - Race results

Main Information Additional Data Additional Data Driver Info

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Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Driver	#		Laps	Time	Interval	Mph	Pits	Points	Retirement
1	W. Power Team Penske	12		110	2:01'06.0311		107.038	3	53
2	C. Lundgaard Arrow McLaren	7		110	+1.5388 2:01'07.5699	1.5388	107.016	3	41
3	A. Palou Chip Ganassi Racing	10		110	+2.4485 2:01'08.4796	0.9097	107.002	3	36
4	G. Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	15		110	+10.5791 2:01'16.6102	8.1306	106.883	4	33
5	A. Rossi Ed Carpenter Racing	20		110	+16.1754 2:01'22.2065	5.5963	106.801	3	30
6	C. Ilott Prema Racing	90		110	+17.7497 2:01'23.7808	1.5743	106.778	4	28
7	S. McLaughlin Team Penske	3		110	+26.9355 2:01'32.9666	9.1858	106.643	3	26
8	M. Armstrong Meyer Shank Racing	66		110	+28.1733 2:01'34.2044	1.2378	106.625	3	24
9	F. Rosenqvist Meyer Shank Racing	60		110	+30.1013 2:01'36.1324	1.9280	106.597	3	22
10	C. Herta Andretti Global	26		110	+37.6096 2:01'43.6407	7.5083	106.487	3	20
11	S. Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing	9		110	+38.4024 2:01'44.4335	0.7928	106.476	3	19
12	C. Rasmussen Ed Carpenter Racing	21		110	+39.5430 2:01'45.5741	1.1406	106.459	3	18
13	L. Foster Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	45		110	+52.0779 2:01'58.1090	12.5349	106.277	5	17
14	R. Robb Sting Juncos Hollinger Racing	77		110	+53.0369 2:01'59.0680	0.9590	106.263	5	16
15	R. Shwartzman Prema Racing	83		110	+54.5093 2:02'00.5404	1.4724	106.241	4	15
16	N. Siegel Arrow McLaren	6		110	+57.1126 2:02'03.1437	2.6033	106.204	3	14
17	R. van Kalmthout Dale Coyne Racing	18		110	+58.3276 2:02'04.3587	1.2150	106.186	4	13
18	D. DeFrancesco Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	30		110	+1'00.1623 2:02'06.1934	1.8347	106.159	3	12
19	D. Malukas A.J. Foyt Enterprises	4		109	+1 Lap 2:01'12.1307	1 Lap	105.976	4	11
20	K. Kirkwood Andretti Global	27		109	+1 Lap 2:01'13.3364	1.2057	105.959	3	10
21	K. Simpson Chip Ganassi Racing	8		109	+1 Lap 2:01'13.8758	0.5394	105.951	3	9
22	M. Ericsson Andretti Global	28		109	+1 Lap 2:01'14.4042	0.5284	105.943	3	8
23	J. Abel Dale Coyne Racing	51		109	+1 Lap 2:01'26.4883	12.0841	105.767	4	7
24	J. Newgarden Team Penske	2		109	+1 Lap 2:01'47.0650	20.5767	105.470	3	7
25	P. O'Ward Arrow McLaren	5		100	+10 Laps 2:01'25.5139	9 Laps	97.047	5	6
26	C. Daly Juncos Hollinger Racing	76		13	+97 Laps 17'18.7169	87 Laps	88.489	1	5	Accident
27	S. Ferrucci A.J. Foyt Enterprises	14		1	108 laps					Accident
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