Ranking a season’s worth of NTT INDYCAR SERIES races based on significance and entertainment can be a challenge at year’s end. But here’s some advice: Remember this one.

Sunday’s BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland presented by askROI had everything a good race should have. There was conflict amid scintillating competition, heartbreak of the highest level, historical relevance and, finally, a feel-good outcome. Most of all, it ended safely.

Begin with the big picture: Alex Palou clinched the season championship, his third in succession and fourth in five years. Each of those notations carry weight. The Spaniard is now one of four drivers to have won the title three years in a row, and he joined a group of six drivers with four or more season championships. Only A.J. Foyt (with seven) and Scott Dixon (six) have accumulated more of the latter.

Palou entered the weekend with a 121-point lead and while Pato O’Ward was still mathematically in the hunt for this Astor Challenge Cup, it was almost certainly going to Palou eventually. O’Ward did his part to keep it interesting for a little while longer, posting the second-fastest lap in qualifying and starting on the pole when Arrow McLaren teammate Christian Lundgaard was pushed back six grid positions due to an unapproved engine change.

O’Ward got a clean run through the oft-troublesome first turn and led the initial 15 laps. But on Lap 21, his title hopes evaporated when his car slowed with an electrical problem. The No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet coasted to pit road and was eight laps off the pace by the time the problem was resolved. It was game over.

To Palou’s credit, he didn’t coast home. The championship might have been in his grasp, but he wanted more, and he drove as such. In a race low on cautions, Palou kept charging. In the second half of the race, he erased a nearly 20-second deficit to the leader, climbing to the back of Lundgaard’s second-place car with 10 laps to go. It was captivating action, particularly as Palou twice pulled alongside Lundgaard in a bid to win his ninth race of the season.

Eventually, Palou ran out of track space and then time. Again trying to overhaul Lundgaard, Palou ran wide in Turn 5, a trespass into the dust that caused team owner Chip Ganassi to hold his breath. From there, Palou salvaged what he could, which was third place in a race stocked with 242 passes, 200 of which were for position.

Ultimately, the driver Palou was trying to catch was Will Power, who scooted away to a 1.5388-second victory as Lundgaard and Palou battled in the late going. By now, the season story of the two-time series champion and his team is well-documented.

Power and Team Penske were 0-for-the-season, on path for the organization’s first winless year in this series since 1999. Power also appears to be in limbo for his future, without a contract for 2026 despite being the winningest driver in team history – 42 of his 45 victories have come with Roger Penske. Anyone with a pulse had to be happy for Power on this day, and he surely enjoyed that moment with five laps to go when he lapped David Malukas, the driver rumored as a possible replacement for him in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.

The day’s other spice came courtesy of Christian Rasmussen and Conor Daly. They got into a tussle on Lap 15, a heated exchange that ended with Daly sliding off track in Turn 11 and slamming the tire barrier with the car’s left side. The impact was ferocious, and the red mist won’t soon dissipate. Daly’s next podcast is a must-listen.

Power and Palou aren’t the only drivers who deserve kudos. Lundgaard scored his second consecutive second-place finish and sixth podium result of the season. He has proven to be a terrific hire by Arrow McLaren, and it won’t be a surprise if he finishes third in the standings, one spot behind O’Ward.

Also worth highlighting: Graham Rahal and Alexander Rossi finishing in the top five for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing, respectively. Both drivers (and their teams) needed a race like this. In finishing sixth for the second consecutive race, Callum Ilott now has three straight top-10 finishes for PREMA Racing. He had none in the season’s first 12 races.

So, feel compassion for O’Ward, be entertained by this race’s competitiveness, and celebrate Power and Palou. This was a good watch and a show worth remembering.