IndyCar extends a special streak following Laguna Seca

Another season, another IndyCar championship not formally decided heading into the season finale. It’s hard to believe when this last wasn’t the case.

After flipping a 10-point deficit into a 25-point lead over Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward with a win at Portland International Raceway two Sundays ago, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou had a chance to secure his first career IndyCar championship in this past Sunday’s race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Palou finished this race in second place, three positions ahead of O’Ward in fifth, to expand his lead in the championship standings heading into this upcoming Sunday’s season finale on the streets of Long Beach, California.

But it wasn’t enough for him to clinch the title.

As a result, for the 16th consecutive season, the IndyCar championship will be decided in the final race on the calendar, an incredible streak that highlights the consistent parity at the top level of American open-wheel racing.

The last time a champion had been crowned before a season finale was all the way back in 2005, when the late Dan Wheldon secured his title in the penultimate race of the season.

You can even make the case that he secured his title two races early, given the fact that he was mathematically guaranteed to keep his points lead as long as he showed up to one of the season’s final two events.

It’s a mark that, given the competitive nature of the series, many believe Wheldon will continue to hold several years down the road.

Keep in mind, even though double points-paying season finales were used from 2014 to 2019, the points gaps were such that the championships in each of those six seasons still would not have been decided heading into those races had they been regular points-paying events.

There are technically three drivers remaining in this year’s championship fight. O’Ward now trails Palou by 35 points, and there are a maximum of 54 points on the table for each driver in each race (50 for winning, one for taking the pole position, one for leading at least one lap, and two for leading the most laps).

All drivers who compete in a race are guaranteed to score at least five points (25th place finisher and lower score five points), meaning that any given driver can make up 49 points on any given competitor in a single race.

This means that Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden is also technically still in contention, as he trails Palou by 48 points.

With Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon trailing Palou by 72 points, this marks the first time since 2016 that the six-time champion is set to enter a season finale not eligible to win the championship.

Tune in to NBC Sports Network at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, September 26 for the live broadcast of the season-concluding Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach from the streets of Long Beach, California. Start your free trial of FuboTV today if you have not already done so!