Alex Palou continued his astounding charge to rewrite
racing’s record books, clinching his fourth NTT INDYCAR SERIES
championship. It serves as a historic milestone in what already ranks as
one of the greatest INDYCAR seasons in history in the “Fastest Racing on
Earth.”
With a
third-place finish driving the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda in the
Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway in Oregon, Palou
scored enough points to secure an insurmountable points gap of 151 with two
races remaining.
With eight
victories this season, the No. 10 team is only two wins away from tying
INDYCAR’s all-time single season wins record of 10, a mark that hasn’t been
reached in 55 years. Palou has an opportunity to do so with two races remaining
at the Milwaukee Mile and Nashville Superspeedway ovals later this month.
At 28 years and
131 days old, Palou is the youngest driver to win four championships in
INDYCAR history. Sebastien Bourdais (28 and 235 days old) and A.J. Foyt (29
and 254 days old) are the only other drivers to win four championships in
their 20s.
Palou has joined
teammate Scott Dixon, driver of the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda, and Dario
Franchitti (three with CGR) as the only Chip Ganassi Racing drivers to win
four or more championships, accounting for half of all drivers to ever
achieve the feat.
Palou joins
Franchitti and Ted Horn (1946-48) as the only drivers to win three
consecutive INDYCAR titles. He trails only Bourdais for the most
consecutive titles in history (four).
UP NEXT: Palou and the
No. 10 team will continue to chase the all-time wins record at the
Milwaukee Mile in Wisconsin. Coverage of the Snap-On Milwaukee Mile 250
begins at 2:00 PM ET / 1:00 PM CT, Sunday, Aug. 24, live on FOX.
CHAMPIONSHIP FACTS:
- Team
Strengthens its Place in History: Chip
Ganassi Racing’s 17th INDYCAR championship ties it with Team Penske
for most INDYCAR titles of all time, achieving all since its founding
in 1990. CGR has the most INDYCAR championships of any team since it
entered the sport – eight more than the next best team.
- Since American open-wheel racing
unification in 2008, Chip Ganassi Racing has 12 championships.
- Chip Ganassi Racing’s INDYCAR team has
won more championships since 1990 (17) than any other major American
sports organization, including all NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL teams, and
all NASCAR Cup Series teams.
- Crew
Celebrates Feat: On the No. 10 DHL Honda
team, Barry Wanser clinched his 16th championship with Chip Ganassi
Racing. Ricky Davis, crew chief, clinched his seventh championship as
a crew chief, and his 17th with the team. Many on the No. 10 crew have
been part of all three consecutive championships.
- Three-Peat
Complete: It is Palou’s third consecutive
INDYCAR SERIES championship, and his fourth in the last five years. He
and Dario Franchitti are the last two drivers to achieve this feat.
Franchitti also did so while driving the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda (2009-11).
- The
Greatest Run in INDYCAR History?:
With an average championship finish of 1.8 since 2021, Palou has had
the third-best five-year run in INDYCAR history, trailing only Foyt
(1960-64: 1.2) and Bourdais (2003-07: 1.6), the latter during his time
in the Champ Car World Series. Palou has done so in one of the most
equal eras in INDYCAR history, delivering an unthinkable run of
success.
- Continuing
to Deliver Excellence: The championship marks
DHL’s second INDYCAR championship with Chip Ganassi Racing. It is an
undefeated record for the global logistics company, which joined the
team in December 2023. In that time, DHL was a primary or associate
partner for 10 Palou race victories, including this year’s
Indianapolis 500 win and 13 total Chip Ganassi Racing wins.
- The
Quest for a “Perfect 10”: Palou and the No. 10
team’s eight wins through 15 races in 2025 leaves them just two short
of the all-time mark of 10, set by A.J. Foyt (1964) and Al Unser
(1970).
Quote board:
- Alex Palou,
Driver, No. 10 DHL Honda: “Amazing. I'm so glad that
we got it. That was one of the two goals that we had this season and I'm
happy that we got it this year again, three years in a row. It's amazing
the work that [Chip and Mike] do to put an amazing team together that
gives us a chance to win every single weekend and fight for every single
championship. It's been amazing. This year has been even more than magical
with the 500, with so many wins. Today we wanted a win, as well. We gave
everything that we had on track. It didn't work. We have two more to try
and win. Still hopefully we can get 10 with the No. 10 DHL Honda team.
Honestly, super happy. I still cannot believe that I'm a four-time INDYCAR
champion. I'm going to enjoy every single second of it.”
- Chip
Ganassi, Owner, Chip Ganassi Racing: “I've
never seen a guy work so quietly and diligently at his craft as this guy.
I said in the beginning of the year that we're just scratching the surface
of his talent. I still think he's got more in his gas tank, his tank, for
this season, and he's got more in his tank for coming seasons. You saw his
desire in what he spoke about prior to the Indianapolis 500, going into
that race, what the goals were, what the goals were when we left that
place. Even though we had the win, he didn't lose sight of the big
picture, for the championship. I couldn't be more pleased. I obviously
want to thank Alex, everybody that works for us. I want to thank everybody
that ever had a hand on any of those other 16 championships. A lot of
people aren't here or aren't with us anymore. They had fingerprints on
these titles. But today we're celebrating the 17th. Couldn't be happier.”
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