Alex Palou number 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Honda during a pit stop in the 2026 IndyCar season

Alex Palou Chases IndyCar History: 2026 Title Run

July 25, 2026

Alex Palou Is Chasing IndyCar History: The 2026 Title Run and the Fight Behind Him

Welcome to the Happy Hour Racing IndyCar Feature. IndyCar is between races right now, so instead of a race preview we are stepping back to look at the storylines carrying the season into its final stretch. The next green flag flies at the Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday, August 9.

The Short Version

Alex Palou is running away with the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series title. He has five wins, an 83-point lead, and six races left to close it out. If he does, he wins his fourth straight championship, something only one driver in the history of American open-wheel racing has ever done. The real drama now is behind him, where three teams are fighting over second place. Here are the storylines to carry into Portland on August 9.

The Chase for a Record Only One Driver Owns

Palou already has three straight IndyCar titles. A fourth in a row would tie Sebastien Bourdais, who won four straight Champ Car championships from 2004 to 2007. Bourdais is still the only driver in top-level American open-wheel history to pull that off. Palou is 83 points clear with six races to go, so the math is firmly on his side.

His latest win told the whole story of his season. At Nashville, rain pushed the race to Monday. Palou started fourth, took the lead just past halfway, and held off Josef Newgarden by 0.8731 seconds. He led 97 of the 225 laps. It was his first career win on a Monday and his fifth of the year. He has now been ranked No. 1 in the series power rankings for nine straight races and in 41 of the 44 editions since that ranking began in 2024. When a driver is this steady for this long, points leads stop shrinking and start snowballing.

The Real Race Is for Second

Behind Palou, the standings are a knife fight. David Malukas sits second on 374 points, and how he got there sums up the grit in this class. He crashed in practice at Nashville on Saturday and was briefly hospitalized. He started from the rear on Monday, drove all the way to a third-place podium, and jumped up to second in the championship. That is the kind of weekend that wins respect in the garage.

Kyle Kirkwood is right on Malukas at 370 points. Kirkwood grabbed the pole at Nashville, his fourth career P1 award, and has now finished in the top 10 in five straight races. Christian Lundgaard is fourth on 353 after a quieter run at Nashville, and Pato O'Ward is fifth on 336. Newgarden, a two-time series champion, sits sixth but has real speed, with wins at Phoenix and Gateway this year and that runner-up at Nashville. Team Penske keeps showing up front with Newgarden, Malukas, and Scott McLaughlin, but nobody has been able to string enough together to make Palou sweat.

The four storylines shaping the run to the 2026 IndyCar title. Points are through the Nashville race. (Graphic: Happy Hour Racing)

Dixon's Last Ride With Ganassi

The other big story of 2026 is a goodbye. Scott Dixon, the six-time IndyCar champion, is in his final season with Chip Ganassi Racing. His run with the team goes back to 2002, which makes it a 25-year partnership. Ganassi confirmed Dixon will leave after 2026 once he turned down a new multiyear offer.

Dixon is not retiring. He and Felix Rosenqvist, the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner, signed multiyear deals to join Arrow McLaren for 2027. They line up next to Pato O'Ward in a three-car team and take the seats currently held by Christian Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel. So every time Dixon rolls out this year, you are watching one of the greatest drivers the sport has ever seen close the book on the only real home he has known. That is worth savoring over these last six races.

Scott Dixon number 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Honda on track at Mid-Ohio — Scott Dixon's No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Honda. The six-time champion is racing out a 25-year run with the team before joining Arrow McLaren in 2027. (Photo: YellowstoneTrinity, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

What to Watch in the Final Six

The stretch run starts at the Grand Prix of Portland on August 9. From there IndyCar runs a mix of road courses, a street race, and an oval to close the year, and that variety is the last real hope for anyone chasing Palou. He is strong everywhere, but an 83-point lead means his rivals need him to have a bad day, not just an average one.

So the things to watch are simple. Can Malukas, Kirkwood, or Lundgaard win races and force Palou into damage control. Can Penske finally convert its raw speed into a run of wins. And when does Palou lock the title up, because with a lead this size, the math could end the fight with a couple of races to spare. Keep an eye on the gap after Portland. If it holds near 80 points, this one is all but over.

The Bottom Line

Palou is one clean stretch away from a fourth straight championship and a place next to Bourdais in the record book. The title fight may be lopsided, but the fight for second is wide open, and Dixon's long goodbye gives every remaining race a bit of weight. Six races left. Watch how it ends.