PORTLAND, Ore. — Alex Palou leads the NTT IndyCar Series championship with three races to go for the third time in his career.
Palou also led with three races to go in both 2023 and 2024 when he won the series title. Palou has led the point standings since the start of the season.
There are two drivers still mathematically eligible for the championship: Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward. If O’Ward trails Palou by 108 points or more following Sunday’s race, Palou will clinch the series title. Palou leads by 121 points entering this event.
• Since the IndyCar race at Portland International Raceway, the winning driver has won the championship in the same season 12 times: Bobby Rahal (1987), Danny Sullivan (1988), Emerson Fittipaldi (1989), Michael Andretti (1991), Al Unser Jr. (1994), Alex Zanardi (1998), Gil de Ferran (2000), Cristiano da Matta (2002), Sebastien Bourdais (2004, 2007) and Alex Palou (2021, 2023).
• Honda is on the verge of wrapping up the Manufacturers Championship after winning 12 of the first 14 events. Honda needs to maintain its 224-point advantage this weekend to clinch its seventh manufacturers’ title and first since 2021.
• The 121 points separating Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward are the largest margin with three races remaining since 2008. During that span, the average lead with three races remaining is 39.1 points.
Key championship point statistic: Since 2008, the driver who has led the championship with three races to go has won the championship 11 times – Scott Dixon in 2008, 2018 and 2020, Dario Franchitti in 2011, Will Power in 2014 and 2022, Simon Pagenaud in 2016, Josef Newgarden in 2017 and 2019 and Alex Palou in 2023 and 2024.
• Team Penske has won eight times at Portland International Raceway, tied with Newman/Haas Racing for most at the track.
Penske’s winning drivers are Danny Sullivan (1988), Emerson Fittipaldi (1993), Al Unser Jr. (1994, 1995), Gil de Ferran (2000), Will Power (2019, 2025) and Scott McLaughlin (2022). Chip Ganassi Racing has four wins at Portland with Alex Zanardi in 1996 and 1998 and Alex Palou in 2021 and 2023.
• Twenty-four drivers entered in the event have competed in past IndyCar races at Portland International Raceway. Scott Dixon and Will Power each have eight starts, most among the entered drivers. Fourteen entered drivers have led laps at the track (Power 169, Scott McLaughlin 109, Alex Palou 101, Graham Rahal 59, Colton Herta 40, Alexander Rossi 32, Dixon 30, Pato O’Ward 28, Josef Newgarden 9, Felix Rosenqvist 6, David Malukas 2, Marcus Armstrong 1, Marcus Ericsson 1 and Christian Lundgaard 1).
-Graham Rahal scored the first win of his professional racing career at Portland, winning the Star Mazda (now USF Pro 2000 championship) race in 2005.
-Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 354th consecutive start, extending his INDYCAR SERIES record streak…Graham Rahal will attempt to make his 254th consecutive start, the third-longest streak in IndyCar history…Josef Newgarden will attempt to make his 217th consecutive start, the sixth-longest streak in history.
