Alex Palou has placed his name among the list of all-time greats of IndyCar lore by claiming his third series championship after a wild season finale at Nashville Superspeedway.
The Spaniard prevailed with an 11th-place finish after 206 laps on the 1.33-mile oval on Sunday, which proved enough as his closest rival, Will Power, saw hopes dashed when his seat belt came loose and ultimately led to his No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet fading to 24th, eight laps down.
“Well, at the beginning I had to go for it,” Palou said. “I had to take some chances on the start trying to make up some room. Just starting so far back, we needed to gain.
“Everything was working right. Up to 15th or 16th, something like that, which was already a good step. Then I saw the 12 going into pit lane. At first I was like, ‘Oh, what strategy are they going to pull off?’
“Unfortunately that's not the way obviously you want your biggest competitor to go down on the season finale. At the same time that's what happened to us two weeks ago, so... Yeah, it's racing. It's motorsport. That's what makes this sport so hard.
“After that we were doing our own race. Obviously keeping an eye on the No. 12 car, but just trying to move forward.”
In claiming his second consecutive title, Palou becomes the first to go back-to-back since Dario Franchitti pulled off a three-peat from 2009-11. Additionally, being 27 years, five months and 14 days old, Palou became the second-youngest driver to claim three championships; Sam Hornish Jr. holds the record as the youngest at 27 years, two months and eight days in 2006.
This outing also continues to show the strength of Chip Ganassi Racing, who now have earned 16 titles, including four over the past five seasons.
While Palou is relishing his third title, though, this one stands apart for one significant reason: it is his first as a father.
“They say winning is the best thing in life, which I agree,” Palou said. “They say being a dad is the best thing in life, which I double agree. But when you do both in the same year, it's real super special.
“It's been an amazing year of learning, obviously. Maybe sleeping a little bit less. Not being able to be on the simulator as much as I used to at home, playing video games.
“It's been amazing. I wouldn't change anything that I'm living at the moment. It was the best thing to have her at my first win this year at the Indy road course, to have her today celebrating.”
With that, though, Palou also admitted that he already talked to Franchitti, who remains a key part of CGR in a driver coach role.
“Yeah, he still reminded me that he did it once more,” Palou said. “So, I still have one more year to catch him. Hopefully we can.”
