Don't etch Alex Palou's name on the INDYCAR title trophy just yet
Thanks to his three victories, Palou has a 60-point lead on Christian Lundgaard in the standings. The maximum a driver can earn in a race is 54 points.
Drivers 10th and back are more than two races behind Palou That includes Josef Newgarden, who is already 118 points in arrears.
With 13 races left in the season, Palou is well on his way to a fourth championship. But don't just hand him the trophy just yet.
"I learned that when I was racing Supercars ... you've just got to be there," said Scott McLaughlin, who is fifth in the standings, 91 points behind Palou. "It is all swings and roundabouts.
"We'll be strong at places he won't. Just got to capitalize."
Drivers will have to hope that Palou's inability to win on an oval continues. Six of the final 13 races are on ovals, starting with the Indianapolis 500 later this month. Other oval races are Gateway, the back-to-back races at Iowa, Milwaukee and the season finale at Nashville.
But the drivers will likely need Palou to have more than just a non-winning day. They'll need him to have bad days, too.
He enters this weekend's race at the Indianapolis Grand Prix as the defending winner of the event. He'll do the same later this year at Laguna Seca. He has also won at four of the other remaining road courses on the schedule: Detroit, Road America, Mid-Ohio and Portland. The only non-oval he hasn't won at that's left on the schedule is Toronto.
McLaughlin gave Palou and his race strategist Barry Wanser all the props for the start of the season.
"Alex is one of the best racecar drivers I've ever come across," McLaughlin said. "He's the whole deal. That doesn't mean we can't beat him. ... Everyone has a bad race at some point.
"You've got to try and keep knocking on the door."
Maybe INDYCAR's new rules for road and street courses, where drivers must use two sets of the primary hard tires and two sets of the alternate soft tires (the previous rule was one set apiece) during a race, could eliminate some of Palou's advantage. He's seemed to capitalize on that strategy this year. Or maybe, with additional pit stops, it will create more comers and goers in the field.
But then again, there's no reason to think Palou won't adapt.
The biggest challenge will be the ovals. Palou has three podium finishes in a combined 20 starts on the ovals remaining on the schedule.
"Everybody knows I've never won on an oval," Palou said. "I plan on changing that this year so you can write a great story."
Actually, not winning on an oval could make the stories greater if there is a battle for the championship.
After Lundgaard (60 points behind Palou) are Kyle Kirkwood (-69), Pato O'Ward (-88), McLaughlin (-91), Felix Rosenqvist (-91), Scott Dixon (-92), Colton Herta (-97), Will Power (-103) and Alexander Rossi (-114).
Can any of them make a run?
Lundgaard seems to just keep getting better and better as he thrives in his new Arrow McLaren ride. Kirkwood must avoid having mediocre weekends like the one he had at Barber Motorsports Park last week. O'Ward, who has had a series of disappointments at Indianapolis, could ride the wave of momentum if he can capitalize this year. And McLaughlin has looked like the top Penske driver as far as consistent performance in both qualifying and the race — except for an awful showing at Thermal.
Palou, though, is the only one who can have a bad day while still knowing that he can control the battle for the championship. The others can't afford another one, and that's a lot to ask over a 13-race stretch.
"I never start a season or go to a race thinking about the championship," Palou said. "Never. My goal and what I enjoy doing is working for that race weekend.
"For me, the next race weekend is the most important one. That's all I think about."
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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