Uncertainty reigned supreme until the checkered flag Sunday in the second race of the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250s doubleheader.

Bedlam began before the green flag waved with championship leader Alex Palou suffering an apparent electrical failure in his No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou stalled on the track and was taken behind the wall for repairs. The USA Network broadcast reported a failure of a 12-volt battery that powers the ignition. With the change, the Honda engine fired, allowing Palou to return to the race 28 laps down.

With attrition from eight cars retiring from the race, Palou gained eight spots and six points by finishing 19th. That provided him a 33-point advantage over second-place Will Power, who finished 10th in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet. Palou led by 43 points entering this race.

“I would say the team overall, nobody ever gives up,” Palou said. “That’s why we’re able to consistently be fighting for championships. We knew we were not fighting for the race win, but we knew we could gather some points that people were just giving up.

“I’m very happy, as well as very sad at the same time. I’m frustrated for the day that we had.”

Palou’s unwavering approach kept him cool riding around the 1.015-mile track in the back. He didn’t know or want the burden of Power’s position but was grateful to find out Power spun out of the top five in Turn 4 on the Lap 131 restart.

“I couldn’t change anything of what was going on,” Palou said. “He was good enough to screw up himself.”

Palou enters the season finale, the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge on Sept. 15 at Nashville Superspeedway, leading the points for the third time in the last four years. Last season, he had already clinched his second career championship. In 2021, Palou led Pato O’Ward by 35 points entering the season finale on the streets of Long Beach and held on to win his first title.

Should Palou claim the championship in two weeks, he’d become the first driver since Dario Franchitti (2010-12) to win back-to-back championships.

Power on Mistake

Two-time series champion Power was in prime position to capitalize on Palou’s early misfortunes. He passed the No. 3 Gallagher Team Penske Chevrolet driven by teammate and eventual race winner Scott McLaughlin on Lap 43 for the top spot and was on his way to flipping the championship entering the Sept. 15 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge.

At one point, Power held a slim two-point advantage in the championship. But Power spun out of the top five on a restart on Lap 131 and ended up finishing 10th in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet.

“Frustrating just knowing what sort of car we had and where we probably could have finished,” Power said. “That’s racing. That sort of thing happens.”

The last time Power was the chaser for the championship entering the season finale was in 2016, trailing teammate Simon Pagenaud by 43 points.

Like that season, Power doesn’t have high hopes of catching Palou in Nashville.

“The story is already written,” Power said. “It just happens.”

Dixon Sets Podium Finishes Record

Scott Dixon climbed 15 positions to finish runner-up in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Sunday. The fifth podium finish of the season was also the 142nd of Dixon’s storied career, breaking a tie with Mario Andretti for the INDYCAR SERIES record.

“It’s always fun to be mentioned alongside Mario,” Dixon said. “Such a fun person. He’s a huge icon of our sport.”

Dixon said the weekend was rewarding because he loves a good challenge, and the 1.015-mile track was daunting on many fronts.

“Qualifying was a mess,” he said after earning the 17th starting position for both races. “Practice, it was full of highs and lows. That kind of sums up Milwaukee. That’s what you have in the race.

“You kind of have these peaks, everything is going well, then you might right run on top of somebody or get high, then they come by and you’re kind of in the crap again. It’s fun. I love it because it is so difficult.”

Dixon turned the fastest lap of the race on Lap 242 with a speed of 155.391 mph.

McLaughlin Emerges as Oval Ruler

McLaughlin boasted he’s a complete NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver following his first oval victory July 13 at Iowa Speedway.

What about after a second oval victory on Sept. 1 at Milwaukee Mile?

“Definitely an INDYCAR driver now,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin is the best oval driver in the series this season. His 556 oval laps led are tops among all drivers. Power is next best with 240. McLaughlin also is the only driver to finish in the top 10 in all six oval races.

“I think winning on an oval, not saying road and street courses isn't satisfying, because I'll never forget my first win,” he said. “It's incredible winning on an oval. A lot of things have to go right. You have to make the right moves at the right time. That's probably why I put Indy above a championship in some ways because it's just incredible how perfect it has to go on an oval.

“It's the backbone of our sport. I thought it was great.”

Odds and Ends

• Three season awards were clinched after today’s race. Chevrolet won the Manufacturers Championship, Linus Lundqvist of Chip Ganassi Racing secured the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year Award, and the No. 12 Team Penske crew sealed the Firestone Pit Stop Performance Award.

• Santino Ferrucci (No. 14 Phoenix Investors Chevrolet) finished fourth in both Milwaukee Mile races this weekend, becoming the only driver to finish in the top five in each event.

• Team Penske's Josef Newgarden crashed in both Milwaukee races, finishing 26th Saturday and 27th Sunday. He had a third-place average finishing position in four oval starts this season entering this weekend, including victories in the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline on Aug. 17 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

• Dixon has finished in the top four in points in 17 of the last 18 seasons. The only exception was when he finished sixth in 2016. He is fifth in the standings, trailing Colton Herta by 19 points entering the Sept. 15 season finale at Nashville Superspeedway. Dixon has won the last three visits by the series to the track (2006-08).

• The 13 lead changes Sunday set a new Milwaukee Mile record for the INDYCAR SERIES. The previous best was 12 in 2001.

• A day after 667 on-track passes, Sunday’s 250-lap race produced 763 passes – a new season high and most on record for the series at Milwaukee Mile. Among those were 56 passes in the top five – also the most on record at Milwaukee Mile. Between the Milwaukee doubleheader and the Aug. 17 race at World Wide Technology, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES had produced 2,106 on track passes in the last three oval races.

• Chevrolet-powered drivers have led 77.8 percent of the oval laps this season, pacing the field on 1,137 of the 1,460 laps across six races.

• Herta (138 laps led) Palou (104 laps led) account for 74. -percent of the 323 laps that Honda-powered drivers have paced in six oval races.

• Next year’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at Milwaukee Mile will take place on Aug. 24, a week earlier. The 2025 season will end on Labor Day weekend (Aug. 31) at Nashville Superspeedway.