Winners and losers from IndyCar's Portland 2025 title decider
That meant all eyes were on the championship fight and silly season storylines. Alex Palou was within reach of another title, Pato O'Ward was desperate to keep him from clinching it early and several drivers were fighting to prove their worth in the final road course race of the year.
In the end, some got their wish, while others were left rueing a lost opportunity out west. Here are the winners and losers from the BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland.
Winner: Alex Palou does it again
Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
This time, for the Astor Cup. Palou didn't win Sunday's race, but he claimed another podium finish in third to officially secure the IndyCar title. The Chip Ganassi Racing star is now a four-time champion at just 28 years old. Not too shabby.
Loser: Pato O'Ward's valiant effort comes up empty
Patricio O'ward, Arrow McLaren, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing
Well, he tried.
In need to a herculean effort to even extend the IndyCar championship battle to Milwaukee, O'Ward was second in qualifying and inherited the pole when teammate Christian Lundgaard took a six-place grid penalty for an engine change.
The Mexican led early and tried to keep the pressure on Palou, but a mechanical issue ended any hope late in the race's opening quarter. From there he lost 10 laps and ended up 25th while Palou secured another series championship. Better luck next year.
Winner: Finally, a good day for the Captain
Will Power, Team Penske
It's been a no good, very bad year to be a Team Penske driver. But in what might be his final road course race for the team, Will Power finally handed the group a win in the 2025 IndyCar season.
Despite being on the hot seat, Power's been the most consistent of Penske's star trio this year, giving the organization a lone top-10 driver amid its worst campaign in years. Now he's brought the company its lone win of 2025 and provided a bright point to a dark year - and a rough PR week.
Loser: Penske gets dragged into the ICE
Days before IndyCar ventured to a hot Oregon to wrap up its road course slate, the series found itself dealing with ICE.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted and later deleted an X post depicting an AI-generated Indy car with the No. 5 to promote a new immigrant detention facility in north-central Indiana, referred to as the 'Speedway Slammer.'
Whether purposeful or not, the number tied the post to IndyCar's lone Mexican driver, O'Ward. After calls from Penske Entertainment, the image of the No. 5 was removed when the post was deleted. But the DHS later posted another image of multiple Indy cars in front of a prison (shown above).
That wasn't the only piece of tricky PR for Penske and the DHS, either. A separate video showed ICE agents emerging from a Penske box truck while raiding a parking lot at a Los Angeles-area Home Depot, yielding a statement from Penske Truck Rental vowing to 'reinforce its policy to avoid improper use of its vehicles in the future.'
It was a tough week for the Captain. At least it ended on a high note.
Winners: A grand recovery for Rahal, Ilott
Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
As many noted throughout the race, passing at Portland is a challenge. There's a reason nearly every winner in IndyCar's modern era has come from the front row. So for Graham Rahal and Callum Ilott to avoid incidents and rise from 22nd and 24th, respectively, to top six runs was impressive.
The two used similarity strategies, pitting after the opening caution to get off the primary tire and using reds for pace from there to the finish. Rahal managed to cycle through to fourth using the strategy, with Ilott just 10 seconds back in sixth. That's how you salvage a weekend when qualifying goes awry.
Loser: Conor Daly goes wheel to wheel with Christian Rasmussen
It had a degree of inevitability to it. Daly was battling with Rasmussen on an early restart when Rasmussen went wide and sent the Hoosier off-course.
From there, it seems both drivers saw red. Daly tried a lunge in turn 2 on the next lap, finally got to Rasmussen's outside a couple laps later and was poised to take the spot. Then, contact.
Daly was out of the race from there in 26th - and he wasn't happy about it.
Rasmussen avoided a penalty and went on to finish 12th.
Winner: Christian Lundgaard's consistent weekend
Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
Under different circumstances, this weekend could have been all about Arrow McLaren. Lundgaard entered with a six-place grid penalty after his No. 7 team took its fifth engine of the year, but he qualified it first before the drop with O'Ward inheriting the pole.
Things went south from there for O'Ward, but Lundgaard kept pushing forward on Sunday. The 24-year-old was among the race's most impressive drivers, snatched two early spots on restarts and used strategy to rise to second in the closing laps.
He couldn't pass Power, but Lundgaard kept Palou at bay in the closing stretch to cap off another impressive run in second. Arrow McLaren could have two title contenders in 2026.
Loser: Whoever designed this "The Final Stretch" graphic
This crack-up happened during the off week, but don't think we weren't paying attention. What was meant to be a simple graphic highlighting the final races turned into a running joke when the word 'Final' appeared to spell something different entirely.
IndyCar's social team quickly deleted the post and altered the graphic before reposting, but things on the internet tend to live forever. Font choice matters, y'all.
Winner: An issue-free weekend for Alexander Rossi
Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing
There's not much to say about this result - and that's a good thing. It's been an up-and-down year for Rossi and Ed Carpenter Racing's No. 20 team. Moments of pace have been undone by crashes, pit road issues and a few instances of bad luck.
None of that happened this weekend. Rossi qualified seventh, inherited sixth with Lundgaard's grid penalty and put together a quiet, consistent race to score a season-best finish in fifth. Sometimes, uneventful days are the best days.
Read Also:
Will Power races to nail-biting IndyCar Portland win for Team Penske
Alex Palou is your 2025 IndyCar series champion with podium finish in Portland
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