“Between that statement I put out, I don’t talk about those things,” Ganassi said. “I needed to stand up for my guys on our team that have worked so hard. If you talk about the 10 car team of guys – Barry Wanser, Julian Robertson, Ricky Davis and company – those guys never stopped one time giving him 110 percent. In terms of screwing the car together, giving him race strategy and a car to win races, they never gave up one iota.
“Alex knew he had my support long before that statement came out.”
With the relationship repaired, Palou’s second IndyCar Series championship was impressive. He led the series with five victories and finished among the top eight in all 17 races.
“I’m a bit sad the season is over,” Palou said. “Every time we are on track, we’ve been top 10. I know that is going to end at some point and it’s tough to maintain, but it’s going to be a great year.”
Palou isn’t finished making it a year to remember.
“It’s been an amazing year in the IndyCar Series, but we have some exciting things with my wife (Esther),” he revealed. “We are expecting a baby at the end of November. It will be a busy offseason. We won’t be able to rest a lot, but we will remember the year as one of the best ever.”
Palou knows exactly what to do behind the wheel of a race car, but as he approaches fatherhood, he admits a certain degree of trepidation.
“I have no idea yet, I’m just asking a lot of questions and getting as many tips as possible from family and friends,” he said. “I don’t think you can be prepared for that. It’s easy to prepare for a race. You look at data and videos, talk to the engineers and go through your plan. But being a dad, I don’t know where to start.
“I am nervous. I don’t have to worry about the season, and my biggest priority is getting ready for the baby. That is why I started panicking this morning.
“We’ve been trying to get as much sleep as possible. The good thing is it will be during the offseason, and I will have several months to get prepared for the races,” Palou noted. “We’ve had several top drivers do that like Scott Dixon and Will Power and Josef Newgarden and they still do really well on the track, so we will learn how to deal with it.”
Palou is one of IndyCar’s smoothest, calmest and best drivers. He was focused on where he wanted to be and he remembered several key people who helped him live his dream, including Team GOH and his agent, Roger Yasakawa.
“They gave me the opportunity to race in Japan back in 2019 in Super GT and Super Formula,” Palou recalled. “It was a great year. I was fulfilling one of my dreams of being a professional race driver. I was like, ‘This is great. I love it. But please guys, can you get me to the United States where I think I will be happier and it’s a championship I love to watch,’ and they did.
“It was both of them. It was Team GOH. It was Roger. He had raced here and knew how everything was and he was able to get me a ride with Dale Coyne Racing and that is how we started.”
The season Palou spent with Dale Coyne Racing in 2020 helped him adapt to the high-speed Indy car.
“At Dale Coyne, it’s a group of racers,” Palou said. “They might not have the level of investment that big teams have, but they do a tremendous job with the level they have of infrastructure and investment. I learned a lot. The group of engineers was amazing. We had two engineers from Dale Coyne Racing from that year at Chip Ganassi Racing. The level of people is excellent, and it goes for mechanics.
“I learned how to drive on ovals, how to race on ovals and learned about IndyCar and how to save a little bit of fuel. But it was another story when I met Scott Dixon.”
Dixon has been the platinum standard in IndyCar with six championships and 56 victories, including the 2008 Indianapolis 500. In 18 of his 21 seasons, Dixon has finished fourth or better in the series championship.
Dixon joined Chip Ganassi Racing in 2002 and the team owner built a team around the New Zealand racer.
Could he do the same with the driver from Spain?
“That is going to be up to him, really,” Ganassi said. “I’m game for that if he is.
“As far as building a team around him, pretty good so far — three seasons, two championships.”
This story appeared in the Oct 11, 2023 edition of the SPEED SPORT Insider.
