Column: We Have a Theory: Alex Palou Invented Open-Wheel Racing
Disclaimer: No, Alex Palou did not actually invent open-wheel racing. We checked. This column is sarcasm.
That said…
We’re running out of explanations.
On Sunday, Spain won the FIFA World Cup.
On Monday, Spain’s greatest race car driver casually reminded everyone that he apparently owns IndyCar, too.
Palou returned to Victory Lane in Monday’s rain-delayed Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway, collecting his fifth win of the 2026 season after holding off a trio of Team Penske Chevrolets. Josef Newgarden finished second, David Malukas charged from the back of the field to third, and Scott McLaughlin made it three Penske cars in the top four. It didn’t matter. The No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was still the one everyone was chasing.
At this point, we’re prepared to announce that Palou personally invented open-wheel racing sometime around 1997 and has simply been too humble to tell anyone.
Again—that’s a joke.
Mostly.
Because what he’s doing right now is becoming difficult to describe with normal racing terms.
Fast?
Sure.
Smart?
Obviously.
Lucky?
Not even close.
This is sustained excellence.
With Monday’s victory, Palou now has five wins in 12 races this season. Even more absurd, he’s won 13 of the last 29 IndyCar races, a stretch of dominance that feels almost impossible in one of the most competitive series in motorsports.
Think about what happened in Nashville.
Kyle Kirkwood won the pole.
Josef Newgarden entered as the defending winner at Nashville Superspeedway.
Three Team Penske drivers finished in the top four.
Palou still won.
That’s not stealing races.
That’s owning them.
Sports fans have a bad habit of seeing dominance and immediately declaring it’s “bad for the sport.”
No.
Dominance is only bad if nobody responds.
Michael Jordan forced the NBA to evolve.
Jimmie Johnson forced NASCAR to get better.
Max Verstappen has forced Formula One teams to rethink everything.
Alex Palou is doing the same thing in IndyCar.
He’s raising the bar.
The response shouldn’t be, “Can someone stop this guy?”
The response should be, “How do we become good enough to beat him?”
Because that’s what greatness is supposed to do.
It forces everyone else to improve.
The scary part is that Palou rarely looks like he’s driving over his head. There are no desperate divebombs, no miracle saves every weekend, no chaos.
He simply executes races better than everyone else.
Lap after lap.
Pit stop after pit stop.
Strategy after strategy.
If you’re another team, that has to be maddening.
If you’re an IndyCar fan, appreciate it while it’s happening.
One day, years from now, people will talk about the “Alex Palou era” the same way they talk about the great championship runs that defined previous generations.
Until then, we’ll continue pretending he invented open-wheel racing.
Because honestly?
We’re not completely convinced he didn’t.
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