Alex Palou, who leads the IndyCar standings by 59 points, says winning a third championship in four years is not guaranteed.
Alexander Rossi is sure he will have a seat in the series next year. David Malukas clarified that Will Power did not make him cry after a crash last week. All drivers hope IndyCar will adjust the restart zones after Josef Newgarden’s actions led to a late-race crash and raised tensions.
The aftermath of last weekend’s race near St. Louis continued at Portland International Raceway. Even though there are four races left this season, Palou could extend his lead significantly on Sunday.
Palou believes that the five drivers still in contention for the championship have a chance, especially with three oval races remaining.
Portland, a 12-turn, 1.967-mile (3.166 km) road course, is where Palou has won twice in the last three years and is the defending race winner.
Last year, Palou secured his second IndyCar title at Portland, then the second-to-last race of the season. This year’s schedule includes a doubleheader at the Milwaukee Mile and the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway.
Palou has never won on an oval and has no previous racing experience at Milwaukee or Nashville.
“I don’t think you are ever in control,” he said. “Someone can win three in a row and then you are panicking, right? I feel good about Portland this weekend, but it’s not like: ‘Oh, yeah, we’re good. Let’s take this easy.’”
