Four days after Gordon Johncock’s 90th birthday, Alex Palou tied the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner in career NTT INDYCAR SERIES race victories with 25.

The two legendary drivers now share 17th place in the sport’s history, but here’s the thing: Palou might soon pull ahead with another victory, and that win would tie Rodger Ward’s career total.

The Spaniard (photo, top) won his sixth race of the season Sunday in the OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland, and that earned him a tie with Mario Andretti and Sebastien Bourdais as drivers with at least six victories in consecutive seasons. Palou still has five more races remaining this season, including arguably his best track (WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, site of the season-ending INDYCAR Grand Prix of Monterey on Sunday, Sept. 6). He has won each of the past two races in Monterey and three of the past four.

At Portland International Raceway, Palou led 60 of the 110 laps from the No. 2 starting position to earn his third career victory in the event. He passed pole sitter Felix Rosenqvist by going a lap longer with his first segment, then drove away from the field. Yes, Rosenqvist made it somewhat interesting with a mid-race tire advantage, and Will Power had the opportunity for a late charge, but don’t kid yourself: Palou wasn’t really threatened.

The victory swelled Palou’s series lead to a staggering 110 points through 13 races. That’s an advantage of more than two races with five to go, but that’s not even the most significant fact in play. Palou’s title drive a year ago was one for the ages, but this year’s lead is larger at this stage. Last year, he led by 99 points heading to the 14th race!

Remember, Palou is well on his way to becoming only the second driver in history to earn four consecutive INDYCAR SERIES titles – Bourdais was the first from 2004-07 – and this would be his fifth title overall. Only A.J. Foyt (seven) and Scott Dixon (six) have more.

Felix Rosenqvist

We could go on and on with Palou superlatives, and they’re all deserving. But let’s shine some light on other performances:

  • Rosenqvist (photo, above) continued his strong season for Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian, scoring his fifth top-eight performance in the past seven races. This was his second pole of the year, the other coming in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. He led his seventh race of the season, this time for 33 laps (second-most).
  • Power continued to make progress in his first year with Andretti Global. Yes, he missed an important call to pit for the final time and is only 11th in the standings, but this third-place finish was his second in the past four races and third of the season.
  • Rinus VeeKay delivered another impressive weekend for Juncos Hollinger Racing. This fourth-place finish was his third in the past five races, and he is solidly in the top 10 of the standings, nine points behind Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson for ninth place. VeeKay has never finished a season higher than 12th in points, and the team’s top-finishing driver in a season was Callum Ilott in 2023 (he was 16th).
  • Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood moved into second place in the standings with a fifth-place finish as Team Penske’s David Malukas finished 12th. They will be separated by eight points heading to this weekend’s Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham, an inaugural street race in Ontario. Five of Kirkwood’s six career series race wins have come on street circuits. Malukas is still seeking his first series victory. They finished 1-2 in the 2021 INDY NXT by Firestone season.

Sunday’s race in the Toronto suburb of Markham (noon ET, FOX, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls) will be contested on a 12-turn, 2.19-mile circuit. It also will be the first of two first-year events, with the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. on Sunday, Aug. 23.