Alex Palou easily drove to his third IndyCar championship in four years when challenger Will Power’s seatbelt came loose minutes into the season-deciding finale Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway.

Colton Herta, who earlier this year moved to Nashville, won the Music City Grand Prix for his first career victory on an oval and second win of the season for Andretti Global. Herta topped Pato O’Ward in a wheel-to-wheel battle in the closing laps.

But all attention was on the championship race as Palou, a Spaniard who won his first title in 2021 in his first season driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, won back-to-back IndyCar titles.

The competition for the crown was only between Palou and Power, the two-time champ from Australia who won his last title in 2022 sandwiched between Palou’s run.

Palou took a 33-point lead into Nashville, where the downtown street race had been shifted 35 miles away to the existing concrete oval because of construction on the Titans’ new stadium.

Power’s lap belt came undone on the 14th lap. He had to pit under green so his crew could get him safely buckled back correctly, and Power had dropped five laps off the pace by the time he got back on track.

He ultimately finished 24th in the 27 car field and dropped to fourth in the final standings.

College football: Texas is No. 1 in The Associated Press poll for the first time in 16 years, replacing Georgia after the Bulldogs struggled to remain unbeaten against Kentucky. The Longhorns moved up a spot from No. 2 and received 35 first-place votes. The Bulldogs, who have been No. 1 since the preseason poll, received 23 first-place votes.

NFL: Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa will see a neurologist this week after suffering his fourth diagnosed concussion in five years and his third while in the NFL. Tagovailoa is focused on getting better and gathering information and reportedly isn’t thinking about retiring.