Palou Secures Historic Third Straight IndyCar Championship
PORTLAND, OR – September 3, 2023 – Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) clinched his third consecutive IndyCar Series championship today at the Portland Grand Prix, finishing third despite a race victory by Australian Will Power. The title marks Palou’s fourth championship in just five seasons,solidifying his place among IndyCar’s all-time greats.
Palou joins an exclusive club of multi-year champions, becoming onyl the fourth driver in IndyCar history to win three consecutive crowns, alongside Ted Horn, Sebastien Bourdais, and Dario Franchitti.With four career championships, he now ranks third on the all-time list, trailing only A.J. Foyt (10) and Scott Dixon (6).
“It’s amazing. It’s crazy. I couldn’t be happier right now,” Palou stated after the race.”This has been an amazing season, an amazing five years with CGR.I have no words to describe how grateful I am to everybody at CGR.”
Power took the checkered flag after 110 laps on the 1.964-mile Portland International Raceway road course, followed by Dane Christian Lundgaard in second. While Palou expressed disappointment at not securing the win, he acknowledged the team’s effort. “it was a shame we couldn’t end it with another win but we fought. I gave everything that I had.I tried everything to overtake Lundgaard but I couldn’t make it today.”
The championship was mathematically secured due to Palou’s substantial 151-point lead over Pato O’Ward with only two races remaining. Palou currently holds 626 points.
This season has been exceptionally successful for the 28-year-old Palou, with eight victories including the prestigious Indianapolis 500, as well as wins at St. Petersburg, Thermal, Alabama, Indianapolis Grand Prix, Road America, Iowa, and Laguna Seca. He still has the prospect to tie the single-season IndyCar win record of 10, with races scheduled later this month at Milwaukee and Nashville. The current record is shared by A.J. Foyt (1964) and Al Unser Sr. (1970), with Mario Andretti close behind at nine wins in 1969.
Power’s victory was his 45th career IndyCar win and a welcome result after a challenging season for the team. “It’s a big win for all of the team,” Power said. “We’ve had a rough year. It’s not really as we’ve been off the pace. It has just been unfortunate circumstances. It was a good hard-fought win.”
The race saw a dramatic end to O’Ward’s championship hopes after an electrical failure on lap 21 left him eight laps down and finishing 25th – his worst result of the season. The issue, attributed to a faulty DI box and electrical wiring, effectively eliminated any chance of challenging Palou for the title. Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan explained the failure was due to a connector vibrating loose and short-circuiting the system.