Alex Palou is getting ever closer to his fourth IndyCar championship after a dominant win at Laguna Seca for Chip Ganassi Racing, but he is adamant it wasn’t all easy in California.
The Spaniard began the weekend perfectly with a brilliant lap in the Firestone Fast Six to take pole position ahead of his title rival, Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward.
This effort allowed the championship leader to control the race from the outset, while O’Ward got overtaken by Colton Herta at the start and dropped down to third place.
Palou kept out of trouble and took the chequered flag first while O’Ward battled to fourth place. It was an excellent drive, which now puts the championship within Palou’s grasp with just three races to go, at the end of a chaotic season.
The reigning champion now holds an even more commanding 121-point lead in the standings over his nearest challenger, O’Ward, equivalent to more than two race wins.
Despite the dominant drive over the 95-lap race at the Grand Prix of Monterey, Palou explained that the flurry of late full-course cautions was challenging to manage.
He told FOX Sports after the race: “It was not easy. We had to push. We had to try to be ready for those yellows. We knew that we were not on the best conditions on tyres, especially the 26 [Herta]. I was waiting for him to come back at the end, but luckily, we had enough pace to open a small gap and get the win.”
Palou could make history this year in IndyCar
Palou’s peerless performance at Laguna Seca in California allowed the Chip Ganassi Racing driver to win his eighth race of the season.
With three rounds to go, if he takes a clean sweep and wins all of the remaining events, he would set a new record for the most victories in a single campaign.
This would be a significant milestone for a driver who has already won the Indy 500 this year and is on the verge of clinching his fourth IndyCar championship.
He added: “Honestly, what an amazing job by everybody at CGR, at Honda, DHL for giving us everything we needed to be as fast as we were. It’s been an awesome weekend, awesome year overall. But today was something else. It was super fun to be here. One of my favourite tracks for sure. Couldn’t be happier right now.’
Image credit: Penske Entertainment: Travis Hinkle
