MONTEREY, Calif. — IndyCar's intense 2022 season came to a nail-biting end in which Team Penske's superstars duked it out for the championship and the future of the race winner became cloudy once again.
Will Power beat fellow Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden by 16 points as the 41-year-old Australian won his second IndyCar title and the 16th national championship for car owner Roger Penske. Power finished third in Sunday's finale at Laguna Seca Raceway, a spot behind a crestfallen Newgarden, the Nashville driver who was seeking a third IndyCar crown.
But the win went to 2021 series champion Alex Palou, who has been entangled in a messy legal battle in negotiations and a courtroom over his 2023 rights. Chip Ganassi Racing has said it picked up next year's option on the 25-year-old Spaniard; McLaren Racing has said it has Palou under contract.
Palou insisted in July he'd be a McLaren driver next season. As he celebrated his only win of the season, with team owner Chip Ganassi behind him, Palou sounded far less certain Sunday — but he did indicate a resolution could be coming, perhaps as soon as Monday.
"We'll see when I know," Palou said. "I wish I could tell you guys, 'Hey, I'm doing this,' but I don't have an answer yet. Maybe tomorrow."
It was a blatant about face that closed a spectacular season in which IndyCar drew the most viewers to its 17-race schedule since 2008. Its championship battle had seven drivers in it until the penultimate race, and with five still mathematically in the hunt Sunday, IndyCar had its tightest title fight since 2003 to celebrate.
It came down to Ganassi versus Penske, which had its three drivers in the hunt for Chevrolet against six-time champ Scott Dixon and Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson in Honda-pushed Ganassi entries.
Power, who settled for solid finishes rather than pushing for wins this year, started in pole position Sunday. Newgarden's five wins led IndyCar this season, but he was inconsistent and crashed hard at Iowa while leading, and the cost of that was clear in the end after he entered Sunday's race second in the standings, alongside Dixon and 20 points behind Power, who earned one bonus point each for winning the pole and leading the first lap.
Newgarden expressed pride in Penske's team success but was already looking forward to the chance to "reset, recharge, and then figure out a way to just hit everybody harder next year."
Power knew all along nothing any other driver did Sunday mattered so long as he finished third on the track, and so that's where he stayed the bulk of the race.
"I did not relax at any point. I knew I had to keep digging. I went hard the whole race," Power said. "It was high stress the whole race. It was very like our whole season. It was a very solid, consistent, no-mistake day."
NASCAR: Wallace beats boss
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Bubba Wallace was so comfortable cruising around Kansas Speedway during Sunday's NASCAR race, he told his team over the radio in the closing laps that he didn't want to know who was chasing him or how far back they might be.
He probably would have smiled knowing it was his boss.
Denny Hamlin managed to trim Wallace's lead down the stretch, but the co-owner with Michael Jordan of the 23XI Racing No. 45 Toyota ultimately ran out of time. Wallace took the checkered flag for the second Cup Series victory of his career, and in the process he made it back-to-back weeks that a driver who was not among the 16 playoff qualifiers won a postseason race.
"I knew Denny was going to be strong," Wallace said after climbing out of his car and throwing a little shade at his many detractors. "It's cool to beat the boss, but man, we were just lights out. Once we got to the lead, it was a lot of fun."
Wallace got around playoff contender Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports for the lead with 67 laps to go, then built a two-second cushion over a parade of drivers in the title hunt, each trying to earn the win that would ensure his spot in the next round when the playoff field is cut to 12 after Saturday night's race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Hamlin wound up at the front of it, finishing second to climb into third in the playoff standings.
"I was driving as hard as I could," said Hamlin, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing and had no qualms about possibly passing Wallace for the win. "Nothing will ever come free when you're driving for me. If you think I'm going to let you win, you better find another team."
Wallace, who became the 18th driver to reach victory lane this season, also won during last year's playoffs at Talladega Superspeedway, when he was likewise out of the title picture. This win came a week after Erik Jones, who also missed out on the postseason, won a chaotic Southern 500 in the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway.
JGR's Christopher Bell finished third and Bowman was fourth with playoff outsider Martin Truex Jr. of JGR in fifth. William Byron, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney and Daniel Suarez — all firmly in the playoff hunt — rounded out the top 10.
Bell was the only driver to clinch a spot in the next round on points. The other 11 are up for grabs heading to Bristol.
Verstappen close to title
MONZA, Italy — Max Verstappen again made light work of starting down the grid as he won the Italian Grand Prix, leaving the Red Bull driver within touching distance of a second straight Formula One season championship.
Verstappen now has a 116-point lead over Charles Leclerc, who finished second Sunday after another questionable strategy decision from Ferrari on its home track. Six races remain in the season, with the final stretch starting Oct. 2 at the Singapore Grand Prix.
The 2021 title came down to the end of the season finale and a controversial battle between Verstappen and seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton. But this championship fight seems well in hand for the 24-year-old Dutch driver, who could clinch as soon as the next race.
Sunday's win was Verstappen's 11th this season — one more than last year — and his fifth straight, and it was another step in his dominant campaign as he was finally able to set foot on the iconic Monza podium. His previous best finish in the Italian GP was fifth in 2018.
Verstappen started seventh as one of several drivers hit by grid penalties, but he made his way up to third by the first corner of the second lap. He picked off George Russell in a Mercedes at the start of the fifth lap, then took the lead on the 12th lap when Leclerc pitted to change tires while the virtual safety car was in effect.
Rusell wound up third, ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. and Hamilton.