The Milwaukee Mile — Alex Palou has trouble even thinking about winning a record eight INDYCAR titles.
“It’s crazy. It’s 100 percent more than what I had this morning,” Palou told me Sunday night after winning his fifth championship. “It’s quite a lot.”
At 29 years old, Palou is the youngest to achieve five titles. Only two other people have ever done it — A.J. Foyt (seven) and Scott Dixon (six).
Alex Palou clinched his fifth title at Milwaukee on Sunday. (Getty Images)
Dixon, a Chip Ganassi Racing teammate of Palou’s, believes Palou could match him and potentially win more. Palou has won his five titles over the last six years, including his fourth consecutive crown this season.
“He’s damn close already so I think with the roll that he’s been on, it’s been an epic roll and one that’s been a standout if you look at history just in general with what they’ve done in the past four years, is crazy,” Dixon told me Saturday.
“The [competition for] championships haven’t really been championships. Kudos to them. Congrats to him and everybody on that team.”
Pato O’Ward, who swept the weekend races at The Milwaukee Mile and sits fourth in the standings, joked that he would give Dixon — who is moving to Arrow McLaren and will be a teammate of O’Ward starting next year — a goat.
And Palou? Even though they’re not teammates, he’d give him a baby goat.
But in a couple of years, O’Ward knows Palou might deserve a goat that matches Dixon.
“The guy lives rent free in everyone’s head in the paddock,” O’Ward said in his post-race news conference. “He’s raised that bar, him and Ganassi. That [No.] 10 car has been unbelievable.
“Must be nice. One day we’ll get there.”
Pato O’Ward (center) said he hopes that he can get to Palou’s level one day. (Getty Images)
But when? Some say the new car in 2028 will be the opportunity for the field to catch Palou, who has won 14 races in the last two seasons.
Palou, one of a couple of drivers who has tested the car, chuckles when he hears that.
“The good thing is that I feel it fits my driving style even better than the current one, so it’ll be fun,” Palou said.
That’s the competitor in Palou speaking, not a driver who thinks about winning eight titles.
The Spaniard’s eyes aren’t on that goal. His focus remains on the one race left in the 2026 season, a trip to Laguna Seca next weekend.
“It’s very tough to realize while you’re doing it and while you think that there’s still more to go,” Palou said. “I feel it’s going to be super cool when I retire and I look back and be like, ‘Hey, you won X amount of championships and you accomplished all this stuff.’
“It’s going to be super cool. But now, it’s super cool to win this one and to try and go to Laguna and win at Laguna.”
Dixon indicated that is the way most champions approach making history with championships.
“For him, it’s the same for me, you focus on the weekend and if the championships come, that’s fantastic,” Dixon said. “But if we’re looking at what he’s achieved, it’s crazy.”
Scott Dixon is in awe at Alex Palou’s success. (Getty Images)
Their boss, Chip Ganassi, wouldn’t bet against Palou to reach eight.
“You’d be crazy not to believe that,” Ganassi said during the championship news conference. “I wouldn’t want to bet against that, I know that. I don’t know what the odds are in Vegas of that, but I wouldn’t want to bet against it.
“It’s possible, it can happen. It can absolutely happen.”
Palou, for now, will just look to improve. He marvels at the fact that he has a career-high seven poles this year, including at some places where he hasn’t had the speed in previous years. But he actually hasn’t won from the pole all that often — only twice.
“I know, it’s been terrible,” Palou said about the races where he won the pole. “I stopped doing that [winning poles]. … There were five poles that we didn’t make it into wins.”
And what about eight titles and breaking the record?
“Is it possible? For sure … 100 percent,” Palou said. “I feel like this team and the way I feel, I still have so much to learn that it’s doable. But there’s so much we need to accomplish to get to eight.
“I’ll work for that for sure. But I’ll work to get six first.”
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Pato O’Ward won the weekend, but Alex Palou won another title.
