Alex Palou has made it a habit to race without thinking about championship points—unless it’s the season finale and the title is truly on the line, as was the case in Long Beach in 2021 and Nashville last year.
“I think in all the other races it makes no sense. If we change how we call strategies or how I drive just because we’re thinking about points, I think we’ll start slipping backwards,” said the driver of Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 10 car after winning at Iowa Speedway a couple of weeks ago. “Yeah, I think we’re doing the right thing.”
After another dominant win at Laguna Seca on Sunday, Palou extended his lead to 121 points over Pato O’Ward heading into Portland International Raceway on August 10. He can secure his fourth IndyCar title in five years if he finishes the race with at least a 108-point gap over the Arrow McLaren driver.
Asked after scoring his eighth win of the season in Monterey how he plans to approach the next round, Palou made it clear he will stick to his mantra of going for the win—rather than worrying about where O’Ward finishes—despite the Mexican being the only other driver still in mathematical contention for the title.
“Honestly, I think the best way to win the championship is by winning the race in Portland,” Palou said in the post-race press conference.
“If we start looking at others, we might get ourselves into trouble. Instead of playing it safe, we’d probably end up doing the opposite and give them more of a chance to come at us. So I think what we need to do is perform at our best.”
“Obviously, we haven’t spoken with the team yet—we need to see where we start, and that makes a big difference. But I believe the best and safest option is to try to win the race and the championship.”
Portland: a familiar place to seal the deal
Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Photo by: Perry Nelson / Motorsport Images
Palou already knows what it feels like to seal a championship in Portland, having done so two years ago when the Oregon track hosted the penultimate race of the season. The Spaniard led 69 of 110 laps to take the win and the title.
Reflecting on how he celebrated back then—and how he might do it again if he wraps it up this year—Palou said: “I actually had some friends come over from Spain. I’m not a big celebration guy. I like to enjoy it with the team, have fun, and have a great dinner. We had an awesome dinner together. But I remember I had a redeye flight back to Indy for simulator work because we had another race the next weekend.”
“I’m pretty sure it’ll be the same this time. But to get there, we need to win it first. Honestly, I hope we’re in that scenario and have to figure out how to celebrate it in Portland.”
Back in 2023, Palou became the first driver to clinch an IndyCar title with one race to spare since Sébastien Bourdais did so in the 2007 Champ Car season at Surfers Paradise in Australia. With two races remaining after Portland this time, Palou could improve on that feat—but he refuses to see the title as already decided.
“It’s never over until it’s over. I think I proved that at Mid-Ohio [where a rare mistake cost him the win earlier this month], and we’ve seen that in the past as well,” he said.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t trade our points for anybody. I wouldn’t trade our position. I wouldn’t ask for anything more—or anything less. But yeah, it’s not done until it’s done. We still need to win it. We still need to keep our heads down and try to win more races.”
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