There may be dominant, after which there’s historic.
is quickly pushing his profession into the latter class.
The reigning and four-time IndyCar Sequence champion added yet one more milestone to his legendary resume on Saturday, capturing the pole place for Sunday’s XPEL Grand Prix at Highway America.
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Driving the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) Honda, the 29-year-old Spaniard clocked a blistering flying lap of 1m, 43.6615s across the scenic 4.014-mile, 14-turn pure terrain street course.
The feat marks Palou’s 18th profession pole and his sixth of the 2026 season. Extra remarkably, it’s his fifth consecutive pole place—a qualifying streak that hasn’t been achieved in IndyCar since fellow CGR legend Alex Zanardi, who took the final 4 poles on the finish of the 1996 season and opened with two consecutive to start out 1997. Danny Sullivan was the final driver to assert 5 straight inside a season, doing so 38 years in the past in 1988.
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Regardless of making historical past look routine from the skin, Palou admitted that securing the highest spot on the grid was a rollercoaster of a day.
“Yeah, it was so powerful,” Palou mentioned after qualifying. “Q1 [group running] I felt nice. Q2 [Round of 12] I struggled a ton. Yesterday I felt nice, however this morning I struggled, as nicely. I knew it was going to be very powerful to piece it collectively. My lap, it felt good. There’s at all times room to enhance… It is at all times stunning. It is at all times so enjoyable and so powerful to get it proper. I believe the whole lot is so tight that, yeah, nonetheless surprises.”
Palou has already matched final yr’s pole tally, which ended up being a historic marketing campaign with eight wins and 13 podiums in 17 races. He presently sits atop the standings because the factors chief as soon as once more, courtesy of 4 wins and a further runner-up by the opening 9 rounds.
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Does Palou imagine he’s within the midst of a greater run of kind than 2025?
“By way of pace, perhaps. By way of execution, no,” Palou admitted. “I believe final yr we have been capable of execute nearly completely.”
Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
Whereas the qualifying speeds are breaking information, Palou refuses to let complacency set in. He famous that whereas he’s turning into a extra full driver, and stays relentless at maximizing his skills.
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“I am bettering in locations I used to be not pretty much as good final yr,” Palou mentioned. “On the opposite aspect, I really feel like generally I do errors I might not have finished final yr. It is the great factor and unhealthy factor about sports activities: you can not calm down each single second; it is advisable to carry on engaged on the whole lot, in any other case all people goes to catch up.”
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