PORTLAND, Ore. — Team owner Chip Ganassi stopped Alex Palou on Sunday morning at Portland International Raceway and encouraged his driver to use the afternoon’s race to close out the IndyCar championship.
Palou, needing only a top-three finish to lock up the title with a date on the schedule to spare, told the boss he planned to do just that — with a win.
And then he delivered.
Palou is now a two-time IndyCar champion with Chip Ganassi Racing after a dominant run Sunday that gave the 26-year-old Spaniard his series-leading fifth victory of the season. He was fifth in the final standings last year after winning his first title on North America’s premier open-wheel circuit in 2021.
Afterward, Ganassi recalled his earlier conversation with Palou: “He likes to win, he told me that. He told me before the race, I said ‘Let’s go wrap this up today,’ he looked at me and said, ‘I’m going to wrap it up with a win.'” I said ‘OK, great.’ He called his shot today.”