At the previous NTT IndyCar Series race weekend in Milwaukee, Alex Palou had some incredibly bad luck with a battery that failed on his car. The Spaniard finished the penultimate race of the 2024 season in 19th place with his points lead dropping to just 33.
Will Power had every chance to capitalize in the second of two races in the doubleheader weekend but a spin on a late restart meant that the two-time champion finished 10th. Instead of leaving Milwaukee with a gap in the teens, the situation is a bit more tricky for Power heading to Nashville Superspeedway.
Let’s also be real, Scott McLaughlin is mathematically able to win the championship, but once Palou’s car rolls off pit road the New Zealander is no longer able to score enough points to win the crown.
While the above graphic details championship-clinching scenarios, let’s take a look back at some of the chaotic final races that have turned championships upside down throughout IndyCar history.
The most insane one in recent memory is 2015 at Sonoma Raceway. Juan Pablo Montoya led Graham Rahal by 34 points and Scott Dixon by 47 points with three other drivers mathematically able to win the championship.
On a restart, Montoya hit Power, spinning the Australian and damaging the Colombian’s front wing. Montoya pitted for a new front wing assembly, dropping him down the order. Montoya finished sixth, a half-second behind Ryan Briscoe, giving both Montoya and Dixon 556 points.
Dixon won the 2015 IndyCar title on a tiebreaker as he won in Sonoma, giving him three wins compared to Montoya’s two.
In 2013, the final race of the season wasn’t the one that blew the championship wide open, but the race weekend prior turned everything upside down. Heading into the doubleheader races in Houston, Helio Castroneves led Dixon by 49 points.
However, the Brazilian’s first IndyCar crown was not to be after what could only be described as the world’s largest cartoon anvil decided to fall onto the Penske racer. Mechanical failures in both races dropped Castroneves 25 points behind Dixon who won the 2013 IndyCar title by finishing fifth at the season-ending race at Auto Club Speedway just ahead of Castroneves.
In 2012, Power led Ryan Hunter-Reay by 17 points heading to the final race of the season at Auto Club. On the 56th lap, Power was underneath Hunter-Reay when he lost control going over a seam on the low side of turn 1. Power hit the wall and, despite a gallant repair effort by Team Penske, lost the championship by three points to the Floridian. Had Hunter-Reay been about two or three car lengths further back from Power, both drivers would have been collected.
The title battle from 2010 was highlighted in a previous Upon Further Review, so we don’t have to highlight it again here.
In 2009, the final two race weekends of the season turned the championship upside down. Ryan Briscoe led the points when the season headed to Japan for the race at Twin Ring Motegi by 25 over Dario Franchitti and 32 over Scott Dixon. Briscoe went onto pit road just before the caution came out for Mike Conway hitting the wall.
Briscoe left the pits and lit the tires up so much that the resulting wheelspin carried Briscoe into making contact with the inside retaining wall with the left front corner of the car. Team Penske made repairs and Briscoe finished 15-laps down in 18th place.
With Dixon winning, he led the points by five over Franchitti and eight over Briscoe as the series went to Homestead for the final race of the season. Nobody predicted a caution-free race around the 1.5-mile oval and it wrecked many strategy predictions.
Dixon pitted from second place with nine laps to go and Briscoe followed him one lap later leaving Franchitti in the race lead. Franchitti had just enough fuel and he won the final race of the season and the 2009 title by 11 points over Dixon and 12 over Briscoe.
But perhaps one of the most gut-wrenching title deciders was in 2007 at Chicagoland Speedway. Franchitti led Dixon by three points heading to the final race of the season. Whoever finished in front of the other would be the champion.
The race came down to a restart with two laps to go, Dixon leading Franchitti. Fuel was tight for the field as they took the white flag for the final lap of the season. Heading into turn 3, Dixon ran out of fuel, coasting across the finish line in second place, the final car on the lead lap and 13 points behind Franchitti.
There’s a lot that can happen at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday. Don’t think that the title is over because Palou’s lead is 33 points. As we saw in Milwaukee, anything can happen.
Christopher DeHarde has covered IndyCar racing and the Road to Indy for various outlets since 2014. In addition to open wheel racing, DeHarde has also covered IMSA and various short track racing events around Indiana. Originally from New Orleans, DeHarde moved to the Indianapolis area in 2017 to further pursue a career as a motorsports writer.