Alex Palou has six wins through 13 IndyCar races, 558 laps led and a 110-point championship advantage after Portland.
Alex Palou left Portland International Raceway on August 9 with six victories from 13 starts this season and a 110-point championship lead. Those totals put his 2026 campaign among rare modern IndyCar company, with five races still on the schedule.
A 46 percent win rate
Palou has won 46.2 percent of the races contested in 2026. Those victories came at St. Petersburg, Barber Motorsports Park, Long Beach, Detroit, Nashville Superspeedway and Portland.
That variety carries weight in any historical assessment. Three wins came on street circuits and two on permanent road courses, while Nashville delivered an oval victory. Few championship seasons pair that range with six wins before mid-August.
The supporting numbers are emphatic
Palou’s season goes well beyond wins.
The official standings list six poles, 10 top-five finishes and 11 top-10s for Palou. He has led 558 laps. Kyle Kirkwood, second in points, owns one victory and 92 laps led, while third-place David Malukas has spent 189 laps in front.
Palou has led nearly three times as many laps as any competitor. His 510 points leave him 118 ahead of Malukas and 135 clear of Christian Lundgaard.
Ganassi’s champion sets another benchmark
Chip Ganassi Racing has established its IndyCar stature across several generations, from champions including Jimmy Vasser and Alex Zanardi to Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon. Palou’s current streak carries that line into a new era.
Dixon is the closest internal reference. The six-time series champion ranks 12th with 252 points through 13 starts, exactly 258 behind Palou. Dixon has one top-five finish and 78 laps led. Palou has 10 top-fives and 558 laps at the front.
This isn’t a verdict on their careers. It is a clear measure of how decisively Palou has become Ganassi’s current standard.
Greatness across changing formats
Comparing IndyCar eras directly demands care. Season lengths, points systems, schedules and equipment have changed, and the championship’s lineage covers several sanctioning structures.
A fair G. O. A. T. framework begins with titles, victories and longevity before measuring dominance against current competition. Palou’s 2026 numbers thrive in that last category. Six other drivers have won this season, but none sits within 100 points.
His 10 top-five finishes in 13 races equal a 76.9 percent rate. Palou has usually minimized the damage even on weekends without a victory.
Markham offers the next test
Palou’s next race comes August 16 at the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham. A victory would give him seven wins in 14 starts and another street-course result before Washington, D. C., and a Milwaukee doubleheader take the championship into its closing stretch.
