IndyCar season finale at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville yesterday was quite astonishing, with native Colton Herta securing a first-place oval win at Nashville Superspeedway, his home track. He racked up his ninth career win after starting in ninth position, which propelled him into forward motion to rank second in the final standings for the 2024 season.
Herta was only ever able to complete an oval win one other time at the Indianapolis 500 in 2018, blowing past Pato O’Ward to pull the win. Sunday’s IndyCar season finale was like a repeat of the 2018 race as he fended off O’Ward again, who came in second to pull another huge victory and the second win of the season. The victory was long awaited after several upsets earlier in the season.
However, the IndyCar season finale race wasn’t only eventful for Herta; Alex Palou scored his third championship win in the NTT Series after a dicey start. Palou has had quite an impressive season with a 33-point lead for Chip Ganassi Racing, and Sunday was no exception to that rule.
Herta’s Bold Pass Into Victory Lane
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Herta’s second first-place win at an Oval Track in six years was a moment defined by his innate ability to hold off Sting Ray Robb, fellow teammate, and rival. While faced with this challenge, he made a split-second decision to push himself past the high side of Robb to get into a position to take a low dive. Once low enough, Herta could enter the line-up for a pass.
He explained how he’d been able to maneuver his way through Nashville Superspeedway’s track by pushing off the corners to pass Robb more quickly and take the lead. The bold decision allowed him just enough room to avoid complete contact with Robb’s vehicle. Little did he know the move would keep him from being overtaken by six-time NTT Series Champ Pato O’Ward for the overall win at the IndyCar season finale.
The occasion was momentous, ending the 2024 season and marking the first ever for Colton Herta on his home turf in Nashville after moving to the city from California a little over a year ago. The win was long overdue after ranking 10th in overall standings for the previous two seasons in the NTT Series and a disappointing third-place win in Milwaukee earlier this month.
“We had a pick to play off of,” Herta said of Robb. “The whole race, I was getting all my passing done off of the corners. I was really able to drive middle to exit off the corner and get the power down really nicely.” According to Herta, this was a huge move and one he was confident about debuting at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, 9/15/2024.
It’s about time, he said. I think there have been multiple times where I thought we could have won or should have won, and numerous things happened to stop us from doing that. Luckily, today we got it all right.
We needed a little bit of help … in the form of a little bit of traffic to catch back up to Pato.
Palou Overcomes Early Sunday Upsets
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Colton Herta wasn’t the only one to reach a victory during the IndyCar season finale. Alex Palou also turned up the heat at the IndyCar season finale this Sunday after he wrestled with Will Power early on in the race. Palou qualified in 15th on Saturday with a lap average of 199.532, but because of the poor qualifying run, it seemed unlikely to pull championship placement at Sunday’s race.
He also experienced a hiccup after running with an unqualified engine and was given a ninth-grid penalty at the Indycar season finale. The risky decision put him in 24th position, which gave hope to Will Power and Team Penske after his upset in Milwaukee at the start of the month. Miraculously, the racer who has kept Chip Ganassi Racing a household name in IndyCar was able to pull himself together.
Power encountered issues with seat belt stymies, pushing him back five laps. That’s when Palou took advantage of the opportunity and forced himself into a championship. Sunday’s determination and idle dedication made Palou one of the youngest drivers to earn three championships and back-t0-back titles, pushing out Dario Franchitti, who achieved earlier consecutive championship wins.
We just had to keep on going, Palou said. I’m super proud. It’s been an amazing year, and I’m happy we brought the championship back home.
When I saw (Power) going to pit lane, at first, I was like, ‘Oh, what strategy are they going to do? Palou said.
Alex’s name now has to be included with the best drivers ever, Ganassi said. “He is in with a pretty elite group. He’s in rarefied air.
Final Thoughts
The IndyCar season finale was a toss-up for Colton Herta and Alex Palou, but well deserved considering both experienced woes during the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. Herta found himself fending off rivals Sting Ray Robb and Pato O’Ward. At the same time, Palou overcame an upsetting qualifying run and ninth-grid penalty.
A penalty that placed him 24th in the starting lineup during the Indycar season finale, dousing his hopes of pushing Will Power out of fourth. Still, no one could predict Sunday’s successes based on Palou’s upsets at the Milwaukee Mile and previously unsuccessful seasons for Herta. The two huffed the IndyCar season out with a bang, and they’ll continue to do so in March at the start of the 2025 season.
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