Rasmussen crashes at the start
At the start, polesitter Pato O’Ward was able to hold on to the lead, while the driver starting from fourth place moved up into second. Already in the second corner, things went wrong for the winner of the race in Milwaukee: Christian Rasmussen briefly lost control on the high line and spun into the wall.
After the restart, Palou immediately attacked O’Ward for the lead, which resulted in a lap-long duel with the cars running side by side. In the end, Palou had to give in and settled in behind O’Ward.
Champion escapes with a flat tire
The concrete surface of the Nashville Superspeedway is punishing on the equipment, which became clear after 53 laps for none other than champion Palou: coming out of Turn 2, the Spaniard suffered a flat right-front tire. He dove straight into the pits for an early stop and lost relatively little time. This triggered the first round of pit stops, after which it became clear how little Palou had lost: after the stops he returned to the track in third place, behind O’Ward and Malukas.
This race would not be Malukas’ first victory either: after 82 laps he gave backmarker Louis Foster too little room, made contact in Turn 1 with the Rahal Letterman Lanigan car and spun into the wall. Malukas had to retire early and was examined as a precaution, while Foster received a drive-through penalty for a defensive move prior to the incident.
The restart immediately produced a different picture at the front. While O’Ward initially managed to hold on to the lead, Penske drivers Will Power and Josef Newgarden, along with Colton Herta, charged forward. All of them passed Palou, putting Power into second place behind the leading O’Ward.
Trouble for the leaders
On lap 127, the race took yet another dramatic turn when leader O’Ward suffered a flat tire. Unlike Palou, O’Ward’s problem came in the middle of a corner, sending him hard into the wall.
O’Ward’s crash handed the lead to Power, ahead of Herta, Newgarden and Palou. The new leader did not hold his position for long; during pit stops under caution, he overshot his pit entry and then lost significant ground with a slow stop. Power also illegitimately gained a lap back and was penalized by race control. On top of that, he received a drive-through penalty for hitting his pit crew.
Power was not the only driver with pit lane issues: Herta was released too early by his crew and was penalized by race control, sending him to the back of the field.
The only driver not to pit under caution was Alexander Rossi, who therefore inherited the lead. Shortly after the restart, however, he was overtaken by Newgarden, who grabbed the top spot.
Palou fights back, but Newgarden is quicker
Palou even fell back to sixth place at this stage, but made the strategic choice to pit early for his final stop. While the Ganassi Racing driver set quick lap times on fresh tires, the leaders stayed out on worn rubber. After Newgarden and McLaughlin, then running first and second, made their final pit stops, they rejoined the track behind Palou.
However, McLaughlin and Newgarden had seven-lap fresher tires and quickly attacked Palou for the lead. Within a few laps, McLaughlin passed him, soon followed by Newgarden.
As if the lead position was cursed, McLaughlin didn’t get to enjoy it for long. With 21 laps to go, the 32-year-old ran wide into the marbles and slid into the wall. Miraculously, McLaughlin was able to continue, but he lost the lead to Newgarden. The question was whether his car had sustained damage. This incident brought out another caution.
Just like a week earlier in Milwaukee, several top-ten drivers decided to pit for fresh tires, hoping to fight their way forward. Among them, Rossi, Dixon and Herta were the best-placed drivers to make the gamble.
After the final restart, Newgarden managed to hold on to the lead, while the damaged McLaughlin was immediately overtaken by Palou for second place. In the closing laps, Palou put heavy pressure on the American, but no pass was made. Thus, Newgarden ended a difficult season with a victory.
Louis Foster clinches Rookie of the Year title
Louis Foster was the clear favorite for the Rookie of the Year title, but an early drive-through penalty in the race dropped him far back. Major rival Robert Shwartzman drove a strong race and looked on course for a top-ten finish, which would have earned him enough points to take the Rookie of the Year title.
At the final restart, however, Shwartzman defended so aggressively against Santino Ferrucci that Ferrucci clipped the Prema car. Race control handed Shwartzman a drive-through penalty, dropping him back to 14th place. This turned the Rookie of the Year battle on its head once again, allowing Foster to be crowned Rookie of the Year after all.
Full results of the race on Nashville Superspeedway
PhotographyHonda Racing HPD
