by A Chip Ganassi Racing executive said the team has identified a random battery failure that sidelined IndyCar championship leader Alex Palou during the Sept. 1 race at the Milwaukee Mile.
Barry Wanser, Ganassi’s senior director of IndyCar operations, said the team will use the same system — just with a new battery — in the Sept. 15 season finale at Nashville Superspeedway.
Palou stalled in the pace laps during the second race of the Milwaukee double-header and missed the first 28 laps while the crew got his No. 10 Dallara-Honda back on track. Although it briefly looked like he might lose the title lead to Will Power, Palou rallied to gain eight positions and finish 19th.th-final place. Despite his second worst result of the season, he brings a 33-point lead to Nashville over Power (who turned and finished 10thth in Milwaukee).
Calling the problem “very unexpected,” Wanser said the failure could have happened to any car, but it affected Palou.
IndyCar championship leader Alex Palou stalls in fast laps during chaotic Milwaukee start
He will suffer a major blow in the championship due to an apparent battery problem.
“We obviously have mileage limits that we put on the components that we control,” Wanser, who is Palou’s chief strategist, told reporters Tuesday during an IndyCar video conference. “The battery is well below those mileage limits, and unfortunately the manufacturer has determined that it was an internal failure that was not caused by external reasons.”
Wanser confirmed the issue was not related to the hybrid system introduced mid-season. Scott Dixon, Palou’s teammate at Ganassi, suffered a hybrid-related failure during laps at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Raceway during the hybrid system’s debut on July 7.
Palou can clinch his third IndyCar title in the last four years by finishing ninth or better in Nashville, regardless of Power’s result. Wanser credited the Spaniard’s composure for staying in the race in Milwaukee.
“Alex just does what we ask him to do,” Wanser said. “He often does more than that. He showed his level of professionalism and composure under those circumstances in the Milwaukee race. I told him, ‘Look, we don’t know if we’re going to be able to make the car work or not, but if we can get back in the car, if we can make it work, we’re just going to go out there and put in some laps.’ … We were fortunate to leave the race 27th and finish 19th. A lot of that was due to the team’s persistence, and Honda helped analyze the problem. Alex stayed calm in the car.”
Alex Palou attempts IndyCar title shot with strategist Barry Wanser sidelined for final two races
Team manager Mike O’Gara will take over at Portland and Laguna Seca.
