Disaster struck Alex Palou just as the championship leader was poised for another race in his 2024 campaign in Milwaukee. Before the green flag could even signal the start of the race, Palou’s dreams took a severe hit when his car stalled on the track. Initial reports suggested a hybrid issue, but it was later identified as a problem with the 12-volt battery, eventually forcing him to start nearly 30 laps behind.
Palou, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver, found himself struggling with his car from the very beginning.
“We faced a battery issue before the race started, which was incredibly frustrating,” said race strategist Barry Wanser. As the Spaniard awaited the green flag, the 12-volt battery malfunction threw a wrench in his championship hopes.
Adding to the chaotic start, Josef Newgarden, who began from pole position, was taken out by an incident involving Linus Lundqvist. Frustrated and terse in his post-accident interview, Newgarden expressed his discontent:
Justin Casterline/Getty Images
“Don’t ask me that question,” he retorted when asked about Lundqvist’s involvement by NBC Sports. He added, “I got clobbered on the start. Honestly, it’s not our day. They go yellow and I get run into. Of course, someone didn’t get the message.”
Lundqvist, at the center of the early chaos, was penalized with a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact. Although he managed to continue without significant damage, his misjudgment led to Marcus Armstrong crashing into the inside wall and compounded Newgarden’s destruction.
Will Power, Palou’s closest championship rival trailing by 43 points, led early in the race but faced his own troubles. A mid-race spin placed him a lap down, somewhat offsetting Palou’s misfortune.
Despite these setbacks, Palou strove to claw back positions after re-entering the race on Lap 29 as the 30th car, significantly behind. By Lap 150, he had managed to move up six spots, putting him in 21st place.
As the race unfolded, Palou’s plight seemed an almost insurmountable challenge, yet he continued to push. The issues he faced could have spelled disaster for his championship bid, yet the struggles of others offered a glimmer of hope.
IndyCar 2024 Milwaukee Race 2 Results
- S. McLaughlin (Team Penske) – 1st place
- S. Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) – 2nd place
- C. Herta (Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian) – 3rd place
- S. Ferrucci (A.J. Foyt Enterprises) – 4th place
- M. Ericsson (Andretti Global) – 5th place
- A. Rossi (Arrow McLaren) – 6th place
- R. van Kalmthout (Ed Carpenter Racing) – 7th place
- K. Kirkwood (Andretti Global) – 8th place
- R. Grosjean (Juncos Hollinger Racing) – 9th place
- W. Power (Team Penske) – 10th place
- F. Rosenqvist (Meyer Shank Racing) – 11th place
- C. Lundgaard (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) – 12th place
- K. Simpson (Chip Ganassi Racing) – 13th place
- J. Harvey (Dale Coyne Racing) – 14th place
- K. Legge (Dale Coyne Racing) – 15th place
- C. Rasmussen (Ed Carpenter Racing) – 16th place
- C. Daly (Juncos Hollinger Racing) – 17th place
- R. Robb (A.J. Foyt Enterprises) – 18th place
- A. Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing) – 19th place
- L. Lundqvist (Chip Ganassi Racing) – 20th place
- P. Fittipaldi (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) – 21st place
- D. Malukas (Meyer Shank Racing) – 22nd place
- G. Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) – 23rd place
- P. O’Ward (Arrow McLaren) – 24th place
- N. Siegel (Arrow McLaren) – 25th place
- M. Armstrong (Chip Ganassi Racing) – 26th place
- J. Newgarden (Team Penske) – 27th place