2025 Year in Review: IndyCar Series

[Editor’s note: This article is from Athlon Sports’ 2025 “Year in Review” magazine, which celebrates the year’s champions and relives the biggest moments from across the world of sports. Order your copy online today, or pick one up at retail racks and newsstands nationwide.]

The roots of IndyCar racing date back to the first Indianapolis 500 on May 30, 1911 — the genesis of what has become the oldest, continuous form of motorsport on Earth.

Since that day when Ray Harroun won the inaugural race, IndyCar’s story has been written by legends — Foyt, Unser, Andretti, Mears, Dixon. In 2025, Alex Palou added his own chapter — and it may go down as one of the most dominant ever.

The Spaniard from Barcelona captured his fourth IndyCar Series championship in five years, completing a rare three-peat in the process. He won eight races in the 17-event season — including the 109th Indianapolis 500 — and became the 30th driver in IndyCar history to win both the 500 and the series title in the same year.

To put Palou’s greatness in perspective, only A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Mario Andretti have won more races in a single IndyCar season. Foyt (1964) and Unser (1970) won 10 apiece; Andretti won nine in 1969. The last driver to reach eight wins was Al Unser Jr. in 1994.

“Winning the Indianapolis 500 alone was super special, but to be able to get the 500 and the IndyCar championship the same year just makes it even more surreal,” Palou said. “It made it easy for me to choose which year of my career was the most fun or the most special.

“It was this one.”

There’s a saying at Chip Ganassi Racing: “Chip Loves Winners.” But what Ganassi really loves are champions — and Palou’s fourth title put his team owner in historic company. With 17 championships, Ganassi now stands alongside Roger Penske for the most IndyCar titles in history.

“I have to tell you, Roger Penske has got his prints on these titles as well,” Ganassi said. “He has set the pace for a lot of the teams here and has obviously brought real sponsors into the sport. He brought professionalism into the sport. He has done a lot for this sport over the years that many people don’t know or don’t realize. He really set the stage for someone like me to come along and be able to do this, without him.”

Ganassi, though, believes Palou’s dominance is only beginning.

“I think he’s got more championships in him,” he said. “I hate to tell everybody else that, but it’s rare you find a guy like him. I never thought I’d find someone who could match Scott Dixon — and now we’re finishing first and third in the championship with Alex and Scott. It’s incredible.”

Foyt remains IndyCar’s all-time championship leader with seven, followed by the 45-year-old Dixon with six. At just 28, Palou sits only three titles behind Foyt — and he’s already rewriting the record book.

Chip Ganassi Racing continues to give Palou one of the best cars on the grid — the striking No. 10 DHL Honda — along with one of the most experienced crews in racing. With no major rule changes for 2026, Palou’s rivals know catching him will be difficult.

“That’s the million-dollar question,” said Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren, who finished second in the championship. “We need to win more races, and our bad days have to be better because Alex Palou’s bad days are sometimes a podium. … We’re going to bring the fight to them harder next year.”

Palou sat atop the standings wire-to-wire. He opened the season with a convincing win in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, then backed it up 19 days later at The Thermal Club in California.

He solidified his three-peat campaign with an extraordinary May — winning at Barber Motorsports Park, the Sonsio Grand Prix on Indianapolis’ road course and the Indianapolis 500 itself. That stretch, five wins in the first six races, effectively ended the championship before summer.

Palou wasn’t done. Three more victories — at Road America on June 22, Iowa Speedway on July 13 (his first short-oval triumph) and Laguna Seca on July 27 brought him within reach of IndyCar’s single-season wins record.

He didn’t catch it, but he didn’t need to validate his status in the sport. By season’s end, Palou had cemented himself as the face of modern IndyCar.

The milestones ahead still motivate him: five Indianapolis 500 victories, perhaps, or surpassing Foyt’s seven titles. But those numbers, he insists, aren’t what drive him.

“What pushes me is waking up every day knowing I can keep improving — myself, the team, the car,” Palou said. “Going into a weekend and trying to beat everybody again. That’s what motivates me.

“These numbers are going to be amazing when I look back in 15 or 20 years and think, ‘Wow, we had an incredible run.’”

Whether it’s breaking Foyt’s record of seven titles, chasing five Indy 500 victories or simply redefining what sustained excellence looks like, one thing feels certain: Alex Palou isn’t done writing history.

And if the last few years are any indication, he’s just getting started.