IndyCar
Alex Palou: Chasing Chip Ganassi Racing and INDYCAR History heading into Toronto
TORONTO, ON (July 20, 2025) — Alex Palou and the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda team are looking to make team history when the NTT INDYCAR SERIES takes to the streets for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto.
Palou and the No. 10 team are off to the hottest start to an NTT INDYCAR SERIES season in sixty years! Palou’s victory in last Sunday’s race at Iowa Speedway was the Spainard’s seventh victory in 2025.
Could Palou be putting together the best season ever in INDYCAR and at CGR?
“Certainly we’ve had some great drivers on our team, and he’s right there, at worst, shoulder-to-shoulder with all the rest of them. You’ve got to talk about Franchitti and Montoya and Dixon and all the champions we’ve had, Vasser and Zanardi,” said Chip Ganassi.
That’s no small praise from a team owner that has amassed 16-Championships in 35-years. The team owner who has fielded cars for drivers Arie Luyendyk, Michael Andretti, Bryan Herta, Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kenny Brack, the late Dan Wheldon, Dario Franchitti and Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon.
If you base it on wins in a season leading to a Championship at CGR, that honor would go jointly to Zanardi and Montoya. Zanardi won 7-times in his 1998 Championship season and JPM amassed 7-wins in his 1999 Championship season.
Scott Dixon, who has won six Championships with CGR in the No. 9 Honda, visited the top step on the podium 6-times in his 2008 Championship season.
“Some of us have had years like that where everything just clicks,” said Dixon. “For him and for the 10 car group, it’s firing on all cylinders. You can’t say enough good things about what that whole group is doing. They’re just doing a hell of a job.”
Dario Franchitti won three Championships at CGR winning 5-races in his 2009 title year, three races in his 2010 Championship season and four wins in his 2011 title triumph.
Vasser won 4-times in 1996 leading CGR to their first of four straight titles and Zanardi added three more for seven team wins in ’96.
Palou’s three wins in four races to start 2025 just missed out in tying Dixon’s three-wins-in-a-row to start the Covid-altered 2020 season.
Palou’s best season at Chip Ganassi Racing, until now, was 2023 where he racked up 5-wins en route to his 2nd series title.
Team Manager Barry Wanser, who has worked with guys like Montoya, Franchitti and Dixon says Palou is as talented as anyone who has ever driven for the Ganassi team.
“He’s right up there with the Montoya’s, the Franchitti’s and the Dixon’s,” said Wanser of Palou. “Alex basically brings to us the same thing Dario did to the 10 car. He gave us all the options. So when you look at strategy and options during the race, whether it’s before the race or the tire choice, the starting tire, the setup of the car, and then what he has to do for us in the race to perform against everybody, he gives us all of those options.”
The best seasons ever in IndyCar were AJ Foyt’s 10-win season in 1964, a season where he won 7-races in-a-row and 10-of-13.
Al Unser Sr. matched Foyt’s 10-win total in 1970, winning 10-of-18-races that season.
Palou reached 7 wins this season in 12-races, something Al Unser Jr accomplished in the 1994 season.
Mario Andretti won 9-races in 1969 – including the Indianapolis 500 followed by Foyt’s 7-win campaign in 1974 that Zanardi matched in 1997 and Montoya repeated in 1999. Paul Tracy, Cristiano da Matta and Sebastien Bourdais are other drivers who have scored 7-wins in-a-season.
The eight wins by the Ganassi team in 2025 are two wins shy of the team record of 10-wins in a season, set in 1998 by Zanardi (7) and Jimmy Vasser (3) and duplicated by Dixon (5) and Franchitti (5) in 2009.
Time will tell where Palou matches up against these all-time greats, so instead of complaining and whining on social media after the races Palou wins, sit back, relax and appreciate what you are witnessing, it’s history in the making.
MADISON, IL (June 6, 2026) – Alex Palou and the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing team are continuing to lay down fast laps when it counts with Palou earning the pole position for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway. The pole position is Palou’s fourth straight NTT P1 Pole award.
“It was incredible and so much fun, especially that first lap,” said Palou, who turned a two-lap average speed of 174.353 mph in the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “The #10 Honda Honda had so much speed. The team I have around me is incredible. My car was on rails today; it was incredible.”
David Malukas starts second in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet after a two-lap average of 173.244 mph. Malukas could only look on in disbelief as Palou knocked him off the pole.
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood starts third in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda following a two-lap average of 173.206 mph.
“ It was a good run for us,” said Kirkwood, the 2025 WWWT Raceway winner. “P3 is a really good starting spot and we can definitely do some great things from there. Last year we won from 10th, so it’s nice to be able to be at the front.”
2026 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Felix Rosenqvist starts fourth in the No. 60 SiriusXM Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin will start 5th in the No. 3 Dex Imaging Chevrolet.
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon starts 7th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda and CGR’s Kyffin Simpson will start 14th in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda.
Television coverage of Sunday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 begins at 8 PM CT / 9 PM ET on Fox. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).
DETROIT, MI (May 31, 2026) – Alex Palou is back in victory lane after winning Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, his fourth win of 2026 and 12th win in his past 25-races.
“It was a tough one,” said Palou. “The team did an incredible job one again with the strategy. Pit stops were incredible. The number 10 Honda Honda looked really good and I think every time it has been on track it’s had a win.”
Palou and the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda fought off Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood on two late-race restarts as Palou was on the harder Firestone Primary tire and Kirkwood was on the softer Firestone alternate tire.
“It was very tough with the temperature on the tires,” explained Palou. “On the restarts I couldn’t really be at the level of Kirkwood, Power and some of the guys who were able to get a little more tire temp than I Wass able to.”
“The Sam’s Club Honda was really fast,” said Kirkwood, who is second to Palou in the Championship. “We took a little bit of a gamble on tires there being the only guy on reds (alternate) at the end. It nearly paid off. It was so, so, close. They’re a great team and he’s a great driver.”
Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Graham Rahal finished third in the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda, tying Rahal’s best finish of the year.
“We had a lot of pace when we needed it,” explained Rahal. “We go lucky a little bit with the yellow.”
IndyCar
Alex Palou wins Detroit IndyCar Pole; Scott Dixon earns 4th starting spot; Honda sweeps front row
DETROIT, MI (May 30, 2026) – Alex Palou is starting on the pole position for the third consecutive NTT IndyCar Series Race, winning the number 1 starting spot for Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear.
Palou’s fast lap of 1-minute, 1.9017-seconds (95.668 mph) in the No. 10 Honda Racing Corporation Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was 0.005542-seconds ahead Will Power, who will start second in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda of Andretti Global. This is Power’s best starting position since switching to Andretti in the offseason.
“I’m super happy that we got the pole position,” said Palou. “The Fast Six was very exciting, especially with only getting one lap. The tires were not up to temperature, but this #10 Honda Honda car was on rails.”
“It was really nice to get into the Fast Six,” said Power, IndyCar’s all-time pole winner. “It’s my second time in the one lap shootout this year. It’s very difficult to beat Alex, so heading into the race I think we just have to put our heads down and see what we can do. The Honda is very good and I’ve been really enjoying running with Honda power all year.”
The front row Honda sweep on Chevrolet’s doorstep may bode well for the manufacturer as Honda has won every race at Detroit since the series switched to the downtown street circuit beginning in 2023.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin spoiled the Honda party, locking down the third starting spot with a lap of 1:02.4559 in the No. 3 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet.
Six-time series Champion Scott Dixon qualified a season-best fourth at 1:02.6085 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda to give Chip Ganassi Racing two of the top 4 starting spots.
“I was just a little too aggressive going for it,” said Dixon. “The No. 9 PNC Bank Honda has speed and it’s good to be starting up front.”
Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard will line up fifth after a fast lap of 1:02.7870 in the No. 7 Chevrolet, despite losing an engine in the morning practice.
Kyle Kirkwood continued the Firestone Fast Six Honda party qualifying sixth in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda despite locking his tires up at one point and two power slides during his quick lap.
David Malukas will start last in the field after bringing out a red flag during his qualifying run. Malukas smacked the wall in turn 7 causing heavy damage to the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet.
Sunday starts with a 30-minute morning warmup at 9:30 a.m. followed by the 100-lap race at 12:30 p.m. on Fox and the IndyCar Radio Network.
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