Alex Palou is him.
He will continue to be him. He took a DNA test, turns out he’s 100 percent Himalayan. He is the Himulation, Him Kardashian, Himbucktu, Himon and Pumba.
Yeah, you get the gist of it by now.
On Sunday (Sept. 15), the NTT IndyCar Series crowned its newest three-time champion who has only completed his fifth season in the discipline.
Yeah, Palou’s that guy and it’s not even close. Meme culture references aside, let’s look at Palou’s rise to the top of the IndyCar world and how it compares to other legends of the sport.
In 2019, the Spaniard tested an Indy car for the first time for Dale Coyne Racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course after the race weekend concluded. That test was just over two weeks after what might still be Palou’s most impressive win in torrential rain in Super Formula at Fuji Speedway.
After spending a year at Dale Coyne Racing learning the North American tracks, Palou moved to Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021 following the departure of Felix Rosenqvist.
In a seat that had seen Tony Kanaan, Ed Jones and Rosenqvist try but fail to recapture the championship-winning magic that Dario Franchitti brought to the No. 10, Palou went out and won in his first race in that car at Barber Motorsports Park.
Will Power finished second, Scott Dixon finished third. Not a bad podium to be on top of.
In the middle of that season, Palou went on a tear, finishing on the podium in five out of six races en route to winning his first IndyCar title. By that year’s end, Palou had three wins, 10 top-five finishes and 12 top 10s. Conveniently, Colton Herta won the race where Palou clinched his 2021 championship, just like what happened in 2024.
The following season got off to a strong start for Palou, but contract shenanigans soon unraveled in a very public fashion. While Power kept top-fiving his way to the 2022 title, Palou finished fifth in points with only one win, six top fives and 13 top 10s.
The 2023 season was when Palou really showed the world that 2022 was a statistical anomaly. In fact, 2023 might be one of the best championship-winning seasons in recent memory as Palou’s worst finish was eighth on just two occasions.
Palou had 13 top fives out of 17 races, including four wins and a runner-up finish in a six-race stretch in the middle of the season that saw the championship battle wrapped up at the penultimate race of the year when Palou won at Portland.
How could Palou follow that up? Well, he had 13 top-five finishes in the first 15 races of the 2024 IndyCar season. The two races without a top-five finish were because of a collision that wasn’t Palou’s fault in Detroit and a spin at Iowa Speedway.
That’s ridiculous. Ludicrous, even. With only two wins, Palou clinched his third IndyCar title of the last four seasons with 112 fewer points than he scored in 2023.
Let’s compare Palou to the other modern-era IndyCar champions with at least three titles. Palou has 11 wins, none of them on ovals. With six titles, Dixon has 58 wins. Sebastien Bourdais and Franchitti each have four titles with Bourdais winning 37 races to Franchitti’s 31.
Rick Mears, Bobby Rahal and Sam Hornish Jr. each have three titles, with Mears winning 29 times, Rahal winning 24 times and Hornish Jr. entering victory lane 19 times.
Of all three-time IndyCar champions in the modern era, Palou has the fewest wins. Consistency has been the key to Palou’s championship successes and it shows. In the 50 contested races during his three championship-winning seasons, Palou has 10 wins (not counting 2022 Laguna Seca, remember), 36 top fives and 42 top-10 finishes.
How do you win championships against that kind of consistency? You don’t. It’s as simple as that.
This is Alex Palou’s era. Buckle up, because there’s still a long way to go unless a top team in Formula 1 comes calling.
Christopher DeHarde has covered IndyCar racing and the Road to Indy for various outlets since 2014. In addition to open wheel racing, DeHarde has also covered IMSA and various short track racing events around Indiana. Originally from New Orleans, DeHarde moved to the Indianapolis area in 2017 to further pursue a career as a motorsports writer.