Pato O'Ward untuk memimpin bidang IndyCar ke Green, Alex Palou Eyes Title dari Fifth
Bob Pockrass
FOX Motorsports Insider
PORTLAND, Ore. — Alex Palou joked that he went “looking for mushrooms” during the final qualifying session Saturday at Portland International Raceway.
Hey, the way he has cruised through the season, he deserved some time to go off the grid.
Palou didn’t make that off-course excursion on purpose and will start fifth Sunday, as he attempts to clinch the 2025 INDYCAR title with two races remaining. The driver he is battling, Pato O’Ward, will start from the pole.
Alex Palou will start from fifth at Portland.
But O’Ward didn’t technically win the pole Saturday. His Arrow McLaren teammate, Christian Lundgaard, won the pole with the fastest time in the final round of qualifying but has a six-spot grid penalty for an engine change earlier in the Portland weekend.
That means O’Ward doesn’t get the one bonus point for the pole and remains 121 points behind Palou in the standings. If Palou leaves Portland with a 108-point lead, he clinches the title. If he leads by 98 points, all he has to do is start the final two races at Milwaukee and Nashville to capture his fourth (and third consecutive) championship.
“The guy’s pretty much won it already,” said O’Ward, not trying to worry about what he views as the inevitable. “I know they’re making a big deal out of this. … He has got to have the worst luck he’s ever had in his career, just like the best luck he’s had in his career this year in order for us to keep this alive.”
Palou has won two of the last four races on the 1.964-mile road course, located just north of downtown Portland, where temperatures are expected to be in the low-90s for the race. It will be about 10 degrees warmer than Friday and Saturday.
“Nobody knows what the track and the tires are going to do,” Palou said. “Not yet. … [The track] akan berubah besok.
“Mulai hari ini, ya, kurasa kita punya mobil yang bagus. Aku tidak sabar.”
Pengemudi balap chip Ganassi tampaknya memiliki mobil yang mampu memenangkan tiang sampai keluar jalur dan memiliki hidung mobilnya menabrak penghalang ban. Mobil itu tidak memiliki kerusakan yang signifikan.
“Aku senang kita memiliki kecepatan,” kata Palou. “Jelas tidak senang karena aku pergi mencari jamur di sana … Aku berusaha sedikit terlalu keras dan baru saja kehilangan mobil.”
O'Ward juga senang dengan penampilannya di trek di mana ia berjuang setahun yang lalu. Dia baik tetapi tidak hebat dalam dua praktik sebelum kualifikasi.
Pato O'Ward akan memimpin lapangan dalam perlombaan IndyCar di Portland.
“Dalam praktiknya, saya tidak merasa sangat percaya diri hanya karena saya benar-benar berjuang dengan mobil,” kata O'Ward. “Aku berjuang untuk mendapatkan pangkuan bersama.”
Meskipun akan menyenangkan untuk memotong poin dari keunggulan Palou dengan mendapatkan poin bonus untuk memenangkan tiang, O'Ward tidak memiliki niat buruk terhadap rekan satu timnya mengalahkannya untuk posisi teratas.
“Saya sangat bersemangat untuk melihat kedua mobil [No.] 1, 2, “kata O'Ward.” Aku baru saja melewatkannya di sana [the final round] Sedikit. “
Bob Pockrass mencakup NASCAR dan IndyCar untuk Fox Sports. Dia telah menghabiskan beberapa dekade meliputi olahraga motor, termasuk lebih dari 30 Daytona 500-an, dengan tugas di ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene Magazine dan Jurnal Berita (Daytona Beach). Ikuti dia di Twitter @Bobpockrass.
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