INDIANAPOLIS — It’s rare for Alex Palou to make mistakes, a trait that allowed the four-time NTT INDYCAR champion to build a very comfortable margin in the push for a fifth series title.
But two blips in the road the last two weeks have suddenly closed the title race and Palou goes to the Milwaukee Mile with a less comfortable lead than expected in his quest to become the only driver in series history to sit on five championships. A.J. Foyt with seven championships and Scott Dixon with six are ahead of the Spaniard, but should Palou win a fourth consecutive title – and fifth in sixth years – he’d sit alone in the record books ranked third overall with five INDYCAR championships.
Palou went to Washington, D.C., last weekend with a cozy 133-point lead in the standings. But a penalty for hitting equipment on pit lane, followed by a slow pit stop for a loose front left wheel, caused him to finish 20th. Kyle Kirkwood, his closest challenger in the standings, won the race and sliced Palou’s margin for the championship to 91 points with three races remaining.
“You are never, ever comfortable until it is done, right?” Palou said. “I think the good amount of points that we had is great for a day like we had in Washington, D.C., just so we can now focus on Milwaukee and try to win.”
Milwaukee is a doubleheader with races on Saturday and Sunday and two chances for Palou and the No. 10 DHL Honda team for Chip Ganassi Racing to clinch the title even before the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Palou likes the 1.015 mi (1.633 km) oval located at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis and is hoping to lock up the championship with at least one race to spare.
“It’s fun, it’s always fun. Lots of tire deg,” Palou said. “It has different lanes and you are able to pass. Like, whenever we have an oval that we’re able to pass without risking our entire car and our entire race, it’s fun.”
Kyffin Simpson and the No. 8 Sunoco Honda team are seeking to continue to late-season momentum the team has been capitalizing on. Simpson’s fifth place finish in Washington, D.C., last weekend was his career-best seventh top-10 in a single season. He’s hoping Milwaukee will lead to the second podium finish of his career.
And for Dixon and the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda team, Milwaukee gives him two chances to make his way to victory lane. Dixon has yet to score a win in 2026 and is hoping to avoid his first winless season since 2004.
The weekend begins with a 6 p.m. practice Friday on FS1, followed by Saturday qualifying at 11 a.m. on FS1. The first race Saturday is 2:30 p.m. on Fox.
Sunday’s race is at 1 p.m. on Fox.
