Alex Palou’s fifth IndyCar title is delayed

Alex Palou was close to a fifth IndyCar championship, but the title could not be settled as planned after rain disrupted the Milwaukee doubleheader.

The Catalan driver finished fifth in the penultimate race and held a 97-point advantage, with 108 points still available. That made him the virtual champion, but he still needed the suspended race to be completed before the outcome could become official. Palou was seeking his third consecutive title and his fifth championship in six years.

The delay followed a complicated weekend of calculations. IndyCar’s points system allows up to 54 points per race, while weather and television scheduling also shaped the timetable. The Milwaukee race was stopped after 90 of 250 laps. Because more than half the distance had not been completed, no points were awarded.

Palou had entered the oval weekend 91 points ahead of Kyle Kirkwood and 110 ahead of Christian Lundgaard. He started 11th after taking an engine-change penalty, while Kirkwood began 22nd. Palou had earlier missed a chance to clinch in Washington, where he started from pole but crashed into the wall and finished 20th. Kirkwood won that race and cut 42 points from the deficit.

The remaining laps were rescheduled, adding further uncertainty to a championship that had already been reduced to a series of mathematical possibilities. Palou could still secure the title at Laguna Seca on Sept. 6, where he won the previous year.