Alex Palou on the cusp of clinching fourth IndyCar title, completing 'magical' season

As a kid, Alex Palou looked up to seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher. 

But in the mind of a young Palou, there was no racing hero greater than his father, Ramon — who wasn't a driver, but a mechanic and a teacher for his son. 

"When I was a kid, I thought he was the best driver in the world because he was able to teach me so well," Palou said. 

That teaching paid off. At the age of 28, the Barcelona native is a three-time IndyCar champion, an Indianapolis 500 winner and has the opportunity to clinch his fourth IndyCar title on Sunday at Portland International Raceway should he end up leading Pato O'Ward by 108 points or more at race's end. 

Palou enters Portland with a 121-point lead over O'Ward, but he's not putting the championship fight to rest until it's completely over. 

"Of course, everybody here is saying we've already won," Palou said. "But although we have a lot of points, we still need to win it. If somebody else is mathematically alive, it's still alive, so we don't want anybody to be mathematically alive for the points." 

Palou's eight victories this season are two shy of the record for a single season. With three races left in the 2025 campaign, there's a chance Palou can tie or break the record set by AJ Foyt in 1964 and Al Unser in 1970 — but that's not something that's on Palou's mind as he seeks to clinch his third consecutive championship. 

"I cannot really comprehend everything that's happening, not only this year, but if I look back at ever since I started in IndyCar, my dream was just to be a professional race car driver, and I never thought about records or anything like that," Palou said. "It's not that I'm not conscious about what's going on. It's just that I cannot really believe it, and I'm just riding the wave and enjoying every single second of it and having fun."

Palou may not be able to comprehend his dominance, but it's very real to everyone in the paddock. That's especially true as the circuit turns its attention to Portland, a track he's won at twice and the venue he clinched the championship at in 2023. 

"Every time I've been there, I've just felt really comfortable," Palou said. "I've felt like the car has been responding the way I needed and also the way it flows. It just really matches my style, I guess. It's really narrow, and although it's a road course, it just bites you like a street course. As soon as you go off, unless it's Turn 1, you normally end up in the wall.

"It's one of those tracks that you need to drive it 99%. You cannot drive it 100% all the time because otherwise you go off pretty easily, and I think obviously having good cars there helps."

Should Palou earn his third Portland win and his ninth of the season, he'd assuredly clinch the championship and further bolster a racing resume that already presents him as a legend. 

For the kid that grew up watching Schumacher dominate Formula 1, that's an incredible feeling — as is knowing that, for a new generation of fans, Palou is their Schumacher. 

"Yeah, that's crazy. That sounds crazy. But if I can help a young kid be a bit more motivated to enter motorsport ... That would make my day — not my day. It would make my life."