INDIANAPOLIS – Scott Dixon’s record-extending 19th straight season with a victory and his 54th career IndyCar win was more than worthy to be the spotlight of Saturday’s Gallagher Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But Alex Palou’s future for 2024 appears to be the focus of attention, while his grip on the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series championship is firmly in his grasp.
Saturday in the IndyCar paddock began with team owner Chip Ganassi sending an extremely barbed comment at McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown (who accused Palou of reneging on a deal), and it ended with Palou increasing his lead in the NTT IndyCar Series championship from 84 points over Josef Newgarden to 101 points over Dixon, who moved into second place with the victory.
Newgarden was involved in a first-lap crash in Turn 7 and stalled the engine of his car, which also had a damaged front wing. He went down one lap, never had a chance to contend and finished a season-worst 25th, three laps down.
Palou started eighth and finished seventh.
Instead of being asked about his tight grip on a possible second title, the first question to the 2021 IndyCar champion was about his future.
“I’m not going to comment on next season,” Palou said.
Palou was then asked about the extremely direct comments that Brown made on Friday night, which included, “I’m extremely disappointed that Alex Palou does not intend to honor his contractual obligation to race with us in IndyCar in 2024 and beyond.” (Team owner Chip Ganassi fired back at Brown in a Saturday statement that noted Palou was under contract and McLaren’s position is inaccurate and wrong.”)
“I will say everything once this season is done,” Palou said on pit lane at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “Right now, we are focusing on winning a championship.”
The maximum points for each IndyCar Series race are 54. There are three races remaining in the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series season, meaning there are 162 points left.
Palou leads Dixon by 101 and Newgarden by 105. The IndyCar Series now heads to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Sunday, Aug. 27, the final oval of the season as Newgarden tries to win his sixth consecutive oval race (dating to last year at Gateway).
But Palou is in a position where he can run out the clock on his competition. He doesn’t have to race to win, just race to finish.
“For the points, obviously it was a good day in the points for us,” Chip Ganassi Racing team manager Barry Wanser told NBC Sports. “Tough race. We needed to go fast all day. We were fast, but not fast enough.
“But we kept the big picture in mind. We increased the points lead. We have three more to go and still need to be strong.”
Strong, and solid. Palou continues to exude strength, confidence, and an unwavering attitude that he will do what is best for his future and for his team.
“Alex is a calm guy,” Wanser said. “He understands everything we are trying to do; everything we need him to do and the big picture. He has already proven to be a champion; we’re just trying to do it again.
“It’s not over. We’re going to continue to race like we have been racing. The goal is to get to Gateway and win. We want to get that $1 million bonus (PeopleReady Force4Good Challenge) and that would be great for The American Legion.”
When Wanser was asked by NBC Sports if he believed Palou would be back with Ganassi’s IndyCar team in 2024, Wanser gave an interesting answer.
“Things are looking good, for sure,” he told NBC Sports. “We’re looking forward to it.”
Meantime, Palou talked about his race and once again was asked if he had a seat with Chip Ganassi Racing next season.
“I will comment after Laguna Seca,” Palou said, referring to the season finale at Monterey, California. “I feel better about the championship than I did when we got here. It’s big, but it’s not enough.
“We want more. We see how many points a win can get you and there are still three races to go in the championship. We will focus on Gateway now.
“We extended. We gained points, but you cannot relax in IndyCar. We are confident, but not relaxed at all.”
NBC Sports asked Palou if he has more to accomplish with Chip Ganassi Racing.
“We want to do more, especially today,” he said. “Seventh is not the result we wanted, but it was good for Chip Ganassi Racing with Scott Dixon winning.
“I don’t have another option. I need to deliver this championship and try to win the championship. We were aggressive and didn’t play it safely. Lap 1 was some contact here and there. I bumped Marcus Armstrong and finished his race and I feel bad. I will talk to him now.”
But how does it feel to be so much in demand?
“I don’t know,” Palou said. “I would prefer a quiet season. But it’s better to be wanted than forgotten. It could be worse, for sure.
“But I will let everyone know after Laguna.”
While Palou continued to be sly as a fox, down pit lane, Team Penske was disappointed as the reality of a chance at a championship is slipping away.
“There isn’t anything to talk about,” Team Penske president (and Newgarden’s race strategist) Tim Cindric told NBC Sports. “We were a lap down from the start and there were no cautions, so you can’t do anything.
“The guy that won the race was involved in it too, so it’s all part of it. All part of one of those days.”
Newgarden had even less to say.
“Man, I don’t have anything to say,” Newgarden told NBC Sports. “Just wrong place, wrong time for us. That’s about it. I’m burning up.
“It is what it is. We’ll just go race hard, always. That’s all you can do.”
Bud Denker is Penske Corp. president and helps run the NTT IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for owner Roger Penske. That also includes oversight of Team Penske.
Denker is disappointed that Newgarden’s title hopes are just about over. But from the IndyCar side, he believes Palou is having a season for the ages.
“Alex has had an amazing season, but I look at what Scott Dixon did today from spinning on the first lap to saving the fuel he did to the end was remarkable,” Denker told NBC Sports. “Graham Rahal and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing had a hell of a weekend, too.
“We’ll see what the championship holds, but boy, from what Alex Palou did at Toronto to Nashville with the cautions required and he has been so consistent. Good for him.”
“For us in the IndyCar Series, we saw a great race today, tight race all the way to the end, people were holding their breath with just a few laps to go and that is what we want.”
As for the championship, Palou’s lead is so big, everyone can go ahead and exhale.
