IndyCar Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250 Race 1 result: Power blows title race WIDE OPEN in Wisconsin

Will Power of Penske at the 2024 Indy 500 — Photo: © IMAGO

Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250

IndyCar Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250 Race 1 result: Power blows title race WIDE OPEN in Wisconsin

Will Power kept his championship hopes alive on Saturday

Chris Deeley

Sunday 1 September 2024 02:19 Updated: 02:42

Will Power once again chopped Alex Palou's lead in the IndyCar Series championship on Saturday, heightening the drama with just two races left in the season as Pato O'Ward claimed his third race win of the season.

The #12 Verizon Dallara/Chevrolet driver finished second in the first race of the weekend's double-header, challenging eventual winner Pato O'Ward in the closing laps as he bit 10 points into Palou's championship lead, bringing it down from 54 to 43.

Article continues under video

The Spanish championship leader narrowly avoided a disastrous shunt when Josef Newgarden and Marcus Ericsson collided from second and third at 3/5 distance, taking each other out of contention but just avoiding inadvertently helping to decide the title battle.

A disastrous pit-stop all-but ended Colton Herta's slim championship hopes, leaving pit road without a properly attached wheel nut on his left-front with around 60 laps to go – that wheel flying off as he re-entered the track, and sending him back around to get a fresh wheel. He finished 22nd.