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.
MONTEREY, CA (September 6, 2026) – Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing are celebrating their 2026 NTT IndyCar Series Championship following the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Palou started eighth and finished second in Sunday’s race after clinching the title following last week’s 10th place finish in the second race at The Milwaukee Mile.
“One for the thumb,” said Team Owner Chip Ganassi, referring to Palou’s fifth championship ring in an obvious homage to a familiar football refrain around Pittsburgh.
“Incredible,” Palou said. “I owe everything to this team. So proud of this team. It is great to have another championship and ready for the next one.”
Palou’s title is his fourth straight, matching a feat for the team from 1996-1999.
“I’ve been saying it for years now, I cannot still believe the position I am,” said Palou. “The opportunity to start every single year with the chances and the best team around me and best partners to fight for wins and championships.”
Palou finished the season with 6-wins, 8-poles, 7-podiums, 12-Top 5’s, 15-Top 10’s and 631 laps led.
“Last year was magical,” reflected Palou. “I thought it could not be repeated. We did not repeat it, unfortunately, but we were close. We were like really, really close. Obviously last year we were able to win the 500 and the championship. If I didn’t compare it to last year, this year was just insane. Was so fun.”
CGR Team Manager Barry Wanser, who has been with the team for over 25-years, talked about what makes Palou a special talent.
“I just think his ability to constantly learn and take advantage of the resources that we have at Chip Ganassi Racing,” said Wanser, who credited the men and women behind the scenes at CGR. “Alex can’t perform as well as he does without such a great team behind him. The engineering department certainly has knocked it out of the park again with some great cars. Certainly in the pits has been amazing this year. Alex is just impressive. Very awesome.”
Ganassi, whose team ran off four straight title with Jimmy Vasser (1996), the late Alex Zanardi (’97 & ’98) and Juan Montoya (’99), refuses to take credit for the team’s success, which starts with the team mantra, ‘One team, One goal’.
“When I started the team, I wanted to have a team that I would want to drive for,” explained Ganassi. “That’s kind of always the way I looked at it. It takes a lot of people to make this stuff happen. It’s one team. We all work together. We’re all trying to win. It’s open book with us all the time across the board with all the drivers, all the teams.”
Palou’s four titles in a row by a driver match the only other driver to do it, Sebastien Bourdais.
“We’re in the midst of a generational thing here, a generational driver,” said Ganassi. “Four in a row has been done before, but five out of six hasn’t been done before. That’s something that’s kind of unprecedented. We’re in the midst of that right now. It’s not over!”
MONTEREY, CA (September 6, 2026) – Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 DEX Imaging Chevrolet are back in Victory Lane following a dominating performance at the Mission Foods Monterey Grand Prix at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
McLaughlin, who started on the pole position, ended a 2-year win drought leading 87 of 90-laps en route to his 8th-career NTT IndyCar Series victory.
“Really proud to get our first win together on a road course where the last couple years we probably struggled at the most,” said McLaughlin of his new engineer Raul Prados. “What a great way to end the season. We have a lot of hard work to do over the off-season to come back stronger, combat against the 10 (Alex Palou).”
Palou started second in the No. 10 DHL Lightning Bolt Chip Ganassi Racing Honda that paid tribute to CGR Champion and Alum, the late Alex Zanardi, who passed away earlier this year. Palou settled in behind McLaughlin but couldn’t match the pace or tire wear of the No. 3.
“We started on used alternates and we kind of survived, but then we went on an another used alternates,” said Palou, who finished eighth. “We, like, killed ourselves there.”
Despite the eighth place finish Palou, who clinched his fifth Series Championship in six years last week at Milwaukee, says he is as lucky as they come.
“Obviously last year we were able to win the 500 and the championship,” explained Palou. “If I didn’t compare it to last year, this year was just insane.”
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood finished second in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda to clinch second place in the Series Championship.
“We played it a little bit safer than I might have hoped for the last race of the season, but we had to for the championship,” explained Kirkwood. “We made all the decisions based on that. Probably could have had a go at Scottie at the end on the first few laps on reds. The number one goal was to make the tires last. That’s what we did. Came home with a second, which is something to be proud of.”
Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi came home third in the No. 20 Java House ECR Chevrolet. The podium finish ended a drought as well for Rossi and was his first in two years at ECR.
“It’s no secret that this has been a pretty terrible year for myself and the whole ECR team with the litany of issue, some out of our control, some in our control,” said Rossi. “Really ever since the Indy GP, there’s been a huge amount of emphasis and effort behind the scenes to kind of dig out of that hole. This is a great result to kind of reward that effort, just rebuild the confidence in everyone that we’re capable of doing this.”
Despite finishing last in the 25-car field due to the incident with Robb, Hauger hung on to win series Rookie of the Year honors. He finished with 228 points, 15 ahead of Mick Schumacher of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the rookie race.
The 2027 NTT IndyCar Series season opens Sunday, March 7 with the Firestone Grand Prix on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.
MONTEREY, CA (September 5, 2026) – Scott McLaughlin is on the pole position for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey after blasting to a quick lap of 1-minute, 9.1363-seconds in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Chevy in Firestone Fast Six qualifying at the picturesque permanent road course.
“I felt like from the jump this weekend, we’ve come with a philosophy we’ve been working on the last, I don’t know, four months or something like that, basically since our Mid-Ohio test,” explained McLaughlin. “Been feeling better and better. Put it all together today.”
McLaughlin edged Alex Palou, whose lap of 1-minute, 9.1540-seconds in the No. 10 DHL Lightning Bolt Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, was a mere o.o177-seconds off the top spot.
“It’s so tough to put a lap together, especially at this place,” said Palou. “I think it’s so great to see that we’re all so close. I’m sure that Scott feels like he could have got another 10th if he puts like a perfect lap. I feel the same way.”
Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist clocked in third fastest at 1:09.1931 in the No. 60 SiriusXM Nickelback Honda.
“Good qualifying for us,” said Rosenqvist. “We’ve been in the top three in every session, so I think we would have been disappointed if we didn’t end up in the top three. Always tough to get through with all of the sand and traffic. I missed it a bit in the corkscrew, so maybe there was a pole in there. I’m not sure.”
Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi lines up fourth after a fast lap of 1:09:3247 in the No. 20 Java House Chevrolet.
“The No. 20 Java House Chevrolet has been through a lot this season so it’s nice to get a decent qualifying on the books before the year comes to a close,” said Rossi. ““Road courses have been a big struggle for us, really all season. At a test we had a couple of months ago, we really understood something we hadn’t prior to that and have just been building off of it.”
Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard will start fifth and Team Penske’s David Malukas will start sixth as Chevrolet took four of the Fast Six qualifying spots en route to it’s 250-career IndyCar Series pole.
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Kyffin Simpson will start 9th in the No. 8 Sunoco and Scott Dixon will start 17th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda. The race will be the last for Dixon at CGR after 25-years with the team.
Live coverage of the 95-lap race starts at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.
Jesse Love takes charge in NASCAR O’Reilly Chase with win at Phoenix
Kaden Honeycutt expands Chase lead with NASCAR Truck Series win at Phoenix
Dietrich Wins Final 50, Banks $20,000
King Jr. Wins Make-up Feature Thursday At Lernerville
Champions Crowned and First-Time Winners Shine on Championship Night at PPMS
Champions Crowned and First-Time Winners Shine on Championship Night at PPMS
Kaden Honeycutt dominates at Kansas to take over Chase lead
Joey Logano steals a win in an old-school brawl at Bristol
