Alex Palou is on pace to shatter IndyCar records like no driver has ever done

Alex Palou's thoughts on fifth title

"It's been incredible. I just feel like we just started yesterday," Palou said Sunday evening. "It just feels like we started yesterday. We're just getting closer and closer. We're having more fun and more fun each day. It's been an absolute joy of a year. The last two years have been just magical for us."

"I never thought I would be first of all an IndyCar driver. Never thought I could make it. Never thought that I would have the chance to be a professional race car driver. That was my dream. When I had the opportunity to be an IndyCar driver, that was already a huge achievement for me. I was living the dream. I remember also then Chip giving me that chance to drive for a championship-winning team at that moment. They just won in 2020 with Scott. That was mind-blowing. Since then I feel like I've been on this incredible cloud where everything has been so good for me... It's just super fun."

Palou is the first driver to win four straight titles since Sebastien Bourdais from 2004-07. Only Dixon, a six-time champion, and record-holder AJ Foyt, who won seven titles, are currently above him in the IndyCar zeitgeist. 

It's very possible that, even with a new car coming to the IndyCar circuit in 2028 that will level the playing field, Palou could be tied with Foyt at seven championships at the end of his ninth season at age 31. By the end of 2029, it's a real possibility that no one will have ever won more IndyCar titles than Palou. 

In regard to wins, the Spaniard has plenty of rungs to climb. He's "only" 17th all-time on the IndyCar win list at the moment, tied with Gordon Johncock and 42 victories behind Foyt, who holds the record with 67. Given that Palou won six races this year, it's not out of the question that he gets close to or surpasses Foyt in that category, either.

Ganassi isn't likely to let Palou walk in the next decade. Barry Wanser, Palou's strategist and the mastermind of the No. 10 team's continued success, isn't going anywhere anytime soon, either. 

So long as the No. 10 CGR band stays together, Palou will continue to break records and write a legend that will be passed down for generations. 

Quotes provided by IndyCar Media.