Practice 1 took place at 12:00 PM ET on September 11.[1] Only one pre-qualifying practice session was held. Álex Palou set the fastest time, after spinning out of track halfway through the session, though no damage was suffered. Meyer Shank Racing drivers Hélio Castroneves and Jack Harvey set the second and third fastest time respectively.[6]
^1 - Romain Grosjean initially finished seventh in Group 1, but had two of his fastest times deleted due to a penalty for interference, dropping him down to eleventh.[10]
^3 - Takuma Sato was given a grid penalty due to an unscheduled engine change, following engine problems at Practice 1.[12]
^4 - Ryan Hunter-Reay was handed a grid penalty due to an unscheduled engine change, after experiencing engine issues that led him to be unable to set a time in qualifying.[12]
Final Practice
Final Practice took place at 6:15 PM ET on September 11.[1] This session was held after the qualifying sessions. The session ended with no major incidents. Scott Dixon set the fastest time, with Josef Newgarden in second and Ed Jones in third.[8]
The race started on 3:00 PM ET on September 12.[1] The start of the race was marked with a chaotic dash into Turn 1, which caused several drivers to make contact. As a result, James Hinchcliffe had to retire from the race, and the first caution of the day was brought out, with Pato O'Ward taking the lead in lap 1. The race resumed in lap 10 and O'Ward led for 29 laps, until he entered the pits. Graham Rahal inherited the lead from O'Ward. The race lead was subsequently held by numerous drivers as the race continued, until it fell again to Rahal on lap 44.
On lap 52, as Rahal led the race, Dalton Kellett and IndyCar debutant Callum Ilott each went off-track, in Turn 1 and Turn 7 respectively, due to mechanical issues, which brought out the second caution of the race. The race resumed after 5 laps of caution. The race lead continued to cycle through several drivers, as Will Power and Simon Pagenaud made contact in Turn 7, which brought out the race's third caution in lap 86. In this lap, Álex Palou took the lead of the race, where he would stay until the end of the race. Another caution was brought out in lap 90 for two laps as Sébastien Bourdais and Oliver Askew made contact in Turn 2, which resulted in the latter retiring from the race.
Palou finished first, clinching his third win of the season and therefore retaking the championship lead from O'Ward, who finished 14th. Alexander Rossi and Scott Dixon finished second and third respectively, rounding up an all-Honda podium.
^"Qualifications - Results"(PDF). IndyCar Series. September 11, 2021. Archived(PDF) from the original on September 11, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
^"Final Practice - Results"(PDF). IndyCar Series. September 11, 2021. Archived(PDF) from the original on September 11, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
^ ab"Race - Results - Final"(PDF). IndyCar Series. September 12, 2021. Archived(PDF) from the original on September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
^ ab"Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
^"Points - Indycar Engine"(PDF). motorsports.nbcsports.com. September 12, 2021. Archived(PDF) from the original on September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
