A plethora of drivers and cars were sent to the rear of the field early on in Sunday’s IndyCar race after avoiding chaos in turn 1.
However, for some drivers, the penalty ended up paying big dividends. No bigger than that of Alex Palou, who shifted his strategy in the race, and took home the win with some big points to go with it.
“I cannot believe it,” Palou said on NBC. “We made it. The guys made it. They just gave me the numbers and we followed it. It was amazing.”
The field got the race started off with an accident that turned the race sour for the trio of Romain Grosjean, James Hinchcliffe, and Helio Castroneves.
Here is the overhead view of that first turn in Portland. #IndyCar#PortlandGP
Pato O'Ward expected to be the leader now.
🎥 @IndyCaronNBCpic.twitter.com/EdgRJkxUBC
— Always Race Day (@AlwaysRaceDay) September 12, 2021
After the situation played out, IndyCar chose to send a number of drivers, including Palou, to the back of the field.
“I need to see what was that in turn 1,” Palou said on the broadcast. “I don’t know what IndyCar was thinking. You avoid an accident and they put you in the back.”
The penalties also extended to Palou’s teammate and points competitor, Scott Dixon.
“The call on race control to put us all in the back was definitely interesting, but lo and behold it worked out for us,” Dixon said after the race. “Yeah just a weird start to the day, but thankful it ended up paying out for us.”
Each driver wrapped up their day on the podium following the incident. Both of which used the caution to save fuel and stretch their races to being a 2-pit stop day rather than use a 3-stop strategy.
The race looked like it might go to Graham Rahal instead, too.
He was running on three stops, but a caution in the midst of the middle portion of the race made it difficult for the veteran to make his return to victory lane.
Instead, it was Palou going for the trophy while his biggest competitor in the standings in Pato O’Ward came home in 14th, giving the lead back to Palou with just two races left in the 2021 season.
“I don’t care that much about points at the moment,” Palou said on NBC. “I just think the race we did today was amazing. Not me, but the guys with the strategy, the pit stops, with everything. With all the bad luck we still won and I’m glad about that.”
Palou will go into the last races with a 25-point lead on O’Ward, 34 points ahead of Josef Newgarden, and a massive 49-point lead on six-time champion Scott Dixon.
The series will race each of the final races of the season on the next two Sunday’s going to Laguna Seca and Long Beach to settle the 2021 affairs.
Next Sunday, IndyCar will take to the track at Laguna Seca at 2:00 p.m. CT with NBC broadcasting the race.
IndyCar Results
Portland
1. Alex Palou
2. Alexander Rossi
3. Scott Dixon
4. Jack Harvey
5. Josef Newgarden
6. Felix Rosenqvist
7. Marcus Ericsson
8. Colton Herta
9. Scott McLaughlin
10. Graham Rahal
11. Ed Jones
12. Takuma Sato
13. Will Power
14. Pato O’Ward
15. Ryan Hunter-Reay
16. Conor Daly
17. Rinus VeeKay
18. Sebastien Bourdais
19. Max Chilton
20. Jimmie Johnson
21. Simon Pagenaud
22. Romain Grosjean
23. Helio Castroneves
24. Oliver Askew
25. Callum Ilott
26. Dalton Kellett
27. James Hinchcliffe
