PORTLAND, Ore. — Alex Palou secured his fourth NTT IndyCar Series championship in the past five years and the 17th for team owner Chip Ganassi Sunday at Portland Int’l Raceway.
Palou and Ganassi are proud of the accomplishment, but are already looking for more victories and championships.
Palou finished third on Sunday and has won eight races this season.
“It’s the best. The way I’ve been feeling this year, incredible,” Palou said. “Like every single weekend it’s been getting better and better. Like, we’ve won so many races. We won the 500. The feeling you get after winning that race, an explosion of amazing feelings. People keep reminding you about that every single day when you wake up, which makes it feel even more special.
“Today to win my fourth IndyCar championship, and to bring one more to Chip Ganassi Racing, to be able to clinch it early, it feels amazing.”
Ganassi remains impressed with Palou’s work ethic and success.
“I’ve never seen a guy work so quietly and diligently at his craft as this guy,” Ganassi said. “I said in the beginning of the year that we’re just scratching the surface of his talent. I still think he’s got more in his gas tank, his tank, for this season, and he’s got more in his tank for coming seasons.
“You saw his desire in what he spoke about prior to the Indianapolis 500, going into that race, what the goals were, what the goals were when we left that place. Even though we had the win, he didn’t lose sight of the big picture, for the championship.
I couldn’t be more pleased.
“I obviously want to thank Alex, everybody that works for us,” Ganassi added. “I want to thank everybody that ever had a hand on any of those other 16 championships. A lot of people aren’t here or aren’t with us anymore. They had fingerprints on these titles.
But today we’re celebrating the 17th. Couldn’t be happier.”
Ganassi, who knows a thing or two about having successful drivers, is happy to have Palou on his team.
“Well, obviously it means everything. I mean, it’s what we strive to do,” Ganassi said. “When you have a group of people like we do, and you plug in the right driver at the right time with the right engine, the right tires, the right chassis, the right engineering, this is the result of that.
“It means an awful lot to me. It means an awful lot to a lot of people in Indianapolis at our headquarters. It means a lot to my family and to Alex’s family I’m sure, and 150 other families that rest on our shoulders week in and week out.”
For Palou’s part, he’s hoping to win more races during final two events of the season.
“Yeah, we have two more to try and win,” Palou said. “Still hopefully we can get 10. Honestly, super happy. I still cannot believe that I’m a four-time IndyCar champion. I’m going to enjoy every single second of it.”
