It’s been a strange year for IndyCar. Mannequins have fallen onto racetracks, a hybrid system was introduced half way through the season for some reason, and a man whose actual name is Sting Ray Robb did the worm.
That strangeness continued into the final race of the season at the Nashville Superspeedway. Two drivers were in with a real shot of claiming the championship: Chip Ganassi Racing’s Álex Palou, and Team Penske’s Will Power, both of whom were aiming for a third series title. Pretty much everything was in Palou’s favour – there were various ways Power could claim the championship, but pretty much all of them relied on him finishing at least fourth and Palou having a disaster of a race.
That said, everything looked good for a proper title showdown following qualifying: Power managed to put his car in fourth, right inside the margin he needed, and Palou only managed the 15th fastest lap – and was then dropped to 24th by a nine-place penalty for an unapproved engine change.
We were set, then, for a properly thrilling title-deciding race to close out the season. Except we weren’t, because just 12 laps into the 206-lap race, Power was seen slowing and pulling into the pits – not because of damage, or a mechanical issue, but because his seat belt had become unfastened.
While Power probably could have continued, taking any chances with safety, especially on a high-speed oval like Nashville, just isn’t worth the risk.
By the time his pit crew had managed to get it fastened again, Power had lost several laps to the field on this super fast, 1.3-mile oval. When he rejoined the race, his championship was effectively over – even if Palou retired, the chances of Power clawing back enough points to overtake him in the standings were effectively zero.
Indeed, Palou went on to finish 11th, claiming his third championship, while Power could only manage 24th, eight laps down on eventual race winner Colton Herta. In a particularly cruel twist, the finish ended up relegating him to fourth in the overall standings, behind Herta and Scott McLaughlin. It goes to show that totally random circumstances can derail even the best laid plans in motorsport.
