1970- 10 Wins for Al Unser

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Photo: Al Unser on his way to his first 500 victory in 1970

Winning10 races remains a possibility for 2025 champion Alex Palou, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since 1970 when Al Unser dominated the season. Here is a look back at that season 55 years ago.

The early races in 1970 gave no indication of how dominant Al Unser would be. He won the opening race at Phoenix, then did not win again until the Indianapolis 500. Unser was winless in June and won just one race in July, at the end of the month at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

The schedule had a large gap, and racing didn’t pick up again until late August. Unser won the first races after the break on August 22nd and 23rd at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and Milwaukee respectively, which put his win streak at three.

Following a ninth-place result in the California 500, Unser won the next five races-DuQuoin, the Hoosier Hundred, Sedalia, Trenton, and Sacramento.

Unser won the pole for the season finale at Phoenix but finished second to Swede Savage. Savage was the ninth different race winner of 1970.

Unser became the second and last driver to win 10 races in a season. A. J. Foyt won 10 of 13 races in 1964. It could be argued that Unser’s achievement was more difficult. Unser won on dirt, pavement, and a road. course. He switched from rear engine pavement cars to front engine dirt cars during the season. On two occasions, a Saturday race was one surface, and the Sunday race was the other. Unser won both races those weekends.

Unser was on the pole for six races, and he won five of those events, losing only the last race of the year from the pole. His worst finish was 18th at Michigan.

Of course, Al Unser ran away with the championship, beating his brother Bobby by more than 2,000 points. Bobby had also won a race in 1970, giving the Unser family 11 wins in 18 races.

Unser the morning after winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1971

For any skeptic who thought 1970 was a fluke, Unser won five of the first six races of 1971, including his second straight Indianapolis500. The 500 would not see another back-to-back winner for thirty years. The 500 would not see another back-to-back winner for thirty years. He went on to win two more 500s in 1978 and 1987.

Power Outage Ends

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There was a race at Portland, but all the talk centers on two things- Team Penske ‘s first win of the season after a 15-race winless streak, and Alex Palou’s fourth series title. before I give my thougths on the race, let’s talk about Power and Palou,

Will Power won for the second straight year at Portland, his first win since that 2024 Portland race. It has been a difficult year for Team Penske as a whole, and today provided some balm for their wounds.

Questions still surround power’s status with the team for 2026 despite Power having the team’s only victory, being the only Penske driver in the top 10, and having the most top five finishes on the team.

Of the three current drivers, based on this year’s results, Power is the one who most deserves to return.

Alex Palou is once again the IndyCar season champion, retaining his title he has held since 2023. Palou finished third today. His closest competitor, Pato O’Ward, had a power issue just after his first pit stop. O’Ward rejoined the race, but was 10 laps down.

Palou remains unflappable, even with his big off track excursion near the end of the race. He joins Ted Horn (1946-48) and Dario Franchitti (2009-2011) as three in a row champions.

Palou is a generational talent. He also won the Indianapolis 500 this year, along with seven other races. He still has a chance to join A. J. Foyt abd Al Unser, Sr. as winners of 10 races in a season.

The Race

Some quick thoughts on the race.

Power took command early when the leaders pitted during the third caution period on lap 16. He held the lead except for pit cycles the rest of the day, building a lead that sometimes grew to more than five seconds.

Christian Lundgaard and Alex Palou made the last stint exciting as the top three cars were together on track. Lapped traffic kept Lundgaard and Palou close to Power.

Three early cautions, the last of which ended on lap19, dulled what had been some good action between yellows. Cars began to get strung out, but there were still some passing in the back.

Great Drives

Graham Rahal finished fourth, led 10 laps, and stayed close to the front after starting 22nd.

Callum Ilott grabbed another sixth place for PREMA, coning from 24th on the grid.

Alexander Rossi earned his first top five with ECR.

Race Control

Christian Rasmussen had no action taken for punting Conor Daly hard into the wall, yet Scott Dixon received a drive through for lightly tapping and spinning Josef Newgarden on lap 85. If Dixon deserved a drive through, what should have been the penalty for Rasmussen? This was Rasmussen’s first incident this season.

After Newgarden’s spin, he sat facing oncoming traffic in turn1 for several seconds, with no yellow. He waited until Power passed him to restart his car. I will grant that Newgarden was off the racing line, but with all the craziness that turn causes, maybe Race Control should err on the side of safety?

That will do it for me today. Thanks for following along this weekend. I will have more on Power and Palou Tuesday. Tomorrow is a long travel day.

Race Day at Portland

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Good morning from Portland International Raceway.

Today’s Schedule: Times Pacific.

10:06 am- Indy NXT Race 35 laps or 55 minutes FS1

11:30 am Driver Introductions

12:22 am Green flag- Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland 110 laps FOX

Weather- 85 degrees at green flag, climbing to 92 degrees by the end of the race. Track temperature should be around 117 degrees at the start of the race and climb.

Only seven drivers will start on the alternate tires, including the first three starters. All team Penske cars are starting on alternates, and Andretti starts two of their drivers, Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson, on the red tires.

My initial pick of Christian Lundgaard still seems pretty solid despite his grid penalty, but I am going to hedge a bit and make Felix Rosenqvist my co choice to win.

Crowning a Champion?

Alex Palou’s chances of clinching the series championship depend on where Pato O’Ward finishes. O’Ward can get a maximum of 53 points today. Plaou needs to end the day with a lead of 108 points. If O’Ward gets max points, Palou needs to finish second. Pato needs to outscore Palou by 14 points to keep the title alive for two more weeks.

Milwaukee Under Water

Heavy rains in Milwaukee have flooded Wisconsin State Fair Park, home of the Milwaukee Mile where IndyCar will race in two weeks. The park is closed today.

I hope everyone in Milwaukee stays safe, and the waters recede safely.

I will be back after the race.

Lundgaard Pole Caps Wild Fast Six

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IndyCar photo

In one of the more entertaining Fast Six sessions of the season, Christian Lundgaard snatched the pole from Will Power late, but a penalty will drop him to seventh on the starting grid. Without the penalty the front row would have been a McLaren lockout as Lundgaard’s teammate, Pato O’Ward, finished second and will inherit the pole for tomorrow’s race. O’Ward missed out on a point that would have helped in his pursuit of Alex Palou for the series championship.

Christian Lundgaard and Pato O’Ward. This will not be the last time we see this front row.

Arrow McLaren has struggled in the past in qualifying, but 2025 has seen marked improvement.

Power led for most of the Fast Six as he and teammate Josef Newgarden both made the second round. Newgarden qualified ninth, but has a six place grid penalty.

Points leader Alex Palou was making a charge for the top spot when he spun and tapped tire barrier, relegating him to sixth place

Notes

The second row will feature Will Power and David Malukas. Irony?

After all penalties are served, Lundgaard will start seventh, Newgarden 15th, Kyffin Simpson will start 18th, and Santino Ferrucci will lineup 21st.

It was a disappointing day for the Andretti team, with only Marcus Ericsson reaching the second round. Colton Herta will move up to 12th in the official lineup.

Results

The final warmup session before Sunday’s race will be this afternoon at 4:30 Pacific on FS1.

Herta Leads Practice; Newgarden Loses Engine; Qualifying Groups

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Colton Herta had the fastest lap in this morning’s practice session ahead of qualifying for the Bitnile Grand Prix of Portland. Josef Newgarden lost an engine during practice and will receive a six place grid penalty. With qualifying just 90 minutes after practice, the team is scrambling to replace his powerplant.

New engine waiting installation.

Results

Times continue to be tight with only 0.27 seconds between forst and tenth. Any small mistake in qualifying could cost a driver several spots.

Qualifying Groups

Portland Qualifying Day-A Busy Morning

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Today’s Schedule- Times Pacific

9 am -IndyCar Practice 2 FS1

11:35 IndyCar Qualifying FS1

1:30 pm Indy NXT Practice 2 FS 1

4:30 pm IndyCar Final Practice FS 1

5:30 pm Indy NXT Qualifications FS 2

Today’s program also includes four races on The Road to Indy. There are two races for USF Juniors, the first at 2:30 pm and the second at 6:30 pm.

USF Pro 2000 races at 10;20 ad, and USF 2000 gets the green flag at 3:25 pm.

Christian Lundgaard said the week off helped his team.

“It’s been really nice for everybody to have a nice little weekend off. Regroup, recharge. We all needed that week off,” he said.

“If we can execute this weekend and carry this momentum, then we can have a good end to the season.”

Seven teams placed cars in the top ten in Friday’s practice, and they were separated by just three tenths of a second.

Temperatures today are expected to climb to 87 degrees, but the morning practice will run in 64 degree weather. For qualifying, the temperature should be in the low 70s. Final practice will run in conditions similar to green flag conditions tomorrow at around 85 degrees.

Notes

It was hard to gauge attendance yesterday, but it seemed about average for Friday at Portland.

I hope we see merchandise for this Felix Rosenqvist livery soon. I would be grateful.

I will be back after practice with results and qualifying groups.

If you are coming to the track, remember to hydrate and wear sunscreen.