Alex Palou secured his fifth IndyCar Series championship and his fourth in a row at the Milwaukee Mile on August 30, 2026. A tenth-place finish in a rain-disrupted race moved him past Mario Andretti and Dario Franchitti on the all-time list. It also broke Sebastien Bourdais’ record run of four consecutive titles.
A championship earned through the spray
The clinching moment was a quiet one, born from a grinding afternoon. Heavy rain halted the race on lap 90 the previous day. When the field resumed on a damp track, Palou was running deep in the pack.
He had dropped as low as 14th after the restart, wrestling a difficult car, while title rival Kyle Kirkwood faded further back. Palou simply kept moving forward as Pato O’Ward swept to his second win of the day. He clawed back four positions, crossing the line in tenth place to end the title fight.
Five crowns, six seasons, one clear mark
The title re-writes the record book. Bourdais’ streak of four championships stood untouched for nearly two decades. Palou now stands alone on a modern summit, his five titles in six years backed by a dominant campaign that delivered six wins and eight poles from 17 races.
He entered the weekend nicknamed “Quattro” and left as “Cinco.” The result also reshaped Chip Ganassi Racing’s history, as the team collected its 18th championship, nudging past the benchmark long set by Roger Penske.
Focus in the moment
Palou made no grand declarations after the race. “Today was a really bad race for us,” he told reporters. “I’m like ‘just keep focus, keep on, keep on going.’ It was great. Great to have another championship.”
The coronation at Milwaukee, unspectacular and hard-won, was the truest reflection of the era it capped.
