Alex Palou is closing in on a knockout blow in the IndyCar championship
In the world of boxing, a referee uses a standing eight count to signal that the fight has reached its limit. We might not be at that exact moment for this NTT IndyCar Series season, but Alex Palou is certainly making it feel that way. After his latest performance at the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by OnlyBulls at Nashville Superspeedway, the Spaniard has effectively delivered a knockout blow to his competition.
When the series heads to the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix at Portland on August 9, Palou will arrive with an 83-point lead over Team Penske’s David Malukas. Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood remains the only other driver within 100 points of the reigning champion, sitting 87 points back. With a maximum of 49 points available to a driver in a single race weekend, Palou is sitting on a two-race cushion with only six rounds left on the calendar. That is a staggering amount of breathing room for such a competitive series.
Palou’s strength isn’t just in his points lead; it is in his relentless consistency. He is currently 29 years old, and he carries a win rate over the last two years of 44.8 percent. His ability to find the front is matched only by his tactical precision. In Nashville, his Chip Ganassi Racing crew timed his pit stop perfectly, bringing him in just three-tenths of a second before the second caution flag locked the pits. He went on to lead the final 97 of 225 laps, asserting his dominance once again.
Looking at the remaining schedule, there is little reason to expect him to slow down. He has two career victories at Portland’s 1.964-mile road course and three wins at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, where the season concludes on September 6. Even the new events in Markham, Ontario, and Washington, D.C., and the doubleheader at Milwaukee Mile—where he took pole last year—don't seem to faze him. He has finished in the top five in 23 of his last 29 races, an incredible 79.3 percent rate that keeps him at the top of the standings.
Should he secure another championship, Palou would tie Sebastien Bourdais for the all-time record and claim his fifth series title in six years. With 24 career race wins now tied with Ted Horn and Bobby Rahal, he is rapidly climbing the history books. As he eyes the next target of 25 wins held by Gordon Johncock, it is clear that Palou isn't just winning races; he is rewriting the standard of excellence in the sport.