Alex Palou is accomplishing things legends of U.S. auto racing couldn’t -- or didn’t.

The 29-year-old Spaniard (photo, top) has won one of every four NTT INDYCAR SERIES races over the past six seasons, totaling as many career wins as Gordon Johncock and more than Bobby Rahal, Emerson Fittipaldi and Danny Sullivan – all legends of the sport.

In a month, Palou likely will collect his fifth season championship, an accumulation of hardware that will stand third among the thousands of drivers who have raced open-wheel cars at this level. Only A.J. Foyt (seven) and Scott Dixon (six) have more INDYCAR SERIES titles.

Palou has dominated recent seasons in historic fashion, on the verge of being crowned the sport’s champion for the fourth consecutive year. Only one other driver has ever assembled such a string, and his name wasn’t Foyt, Andretti or Unser. It was Sebastien Bourdais, who accomplished his four-peat in an era (2004-07) largely void of oval tracks.

Today, Palou and his challengers compete on big ovals, short ovals, permanent road courses and temporary street circuits like the seven-turn, 1.7-mile layout that will motor down Pennsylvania Avenue, drive through the National Mall and blow past the U.S. Capitol in the new Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.

Alex Palou

This will be the 15th race of the 18-race INDYCAR SERIES season, and at this point last year Palou (photo, above) had a points lead so staggering it was deemed unimaginable. So much for that. This year, his advantage at this point is even larger, and he is on pace to win eight races in a season in consecutive years. The only other driver to have done that has his most famous race car showcased in the Smithsonian. That’s Mario Andretti.

All of this is not to say success has come easily for Palou. In fact, he is competing in arguably the sport’s most competitive era. Five of the 18 winningest drivers in INDYCAR SERIES history have raced this season, and four of them are competing this weekend.

Scott Dixon

Dixon has 59 career victories, second only to Foyt’s 67. At age 46, the New Zealander (photo, above) is riding a string of 21 consecutive seasons with at least one race win and 23 overall. For half of Dixon’s life, he has been winning races in this series.

Australia’s Will Power is another of INDYCAR’s generational talents, with his career win total standing taller than any of the Unsers and more than Rick Mears and Johnny Rutherford. Those 45 wins rank fourth overall, and at age 45, he’s not done, having finished third in each of the two races this month and three of the past five this summer.

Josef Newgarden

Tennessee’s Josef Newgarden is 10th on the career wins list with 32 and is one of six drivers to have won the Indianapolis 500 in consecutive years. Newgarden (photo, above) has a Greek god physique, and he wrestles a car without power steering as masterfully as rough-and-tough Parnelli Jones.

Ten drivers who have competed this season have earned a likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy, one of the iconic spoils of winning the Indy 500. Seven of those drivers will be on track Sunday in the nation’s capital, and many other past winners of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” are leaders of race teams that will be competing.

The drivers aren’t the only ones in the INDYCAR SERIES paddock with star power. Foyt and Rahal own teams. Legendary talk show host David Letterman shares ownership of a team. McLaren, which won last year’s Formula One championship, has a team.

Another team traces its roots to Michael Andretti, who carved out his place in the sport’s history by winning 42 races, a total that stands fifth in history. Former SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer co-owns Meyer Shank Racing, and his connection to music regularly brings top artists to the track. In May, the team earned its second Indy 500 victory.

The two most successful teams to have competed in this sport are owned by Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi, and they and their teams are still running strong. Team Penske’s career in this series features 248 race wins and 17 season championships, winning the Indy 500 a record 20 times. Those numbers are records for the ages, though with Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing is closing in on its record-setting 18th season title. The team has won 151 races in all, including five at Indy.

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INDYCAR isn’t just the only motorsports series with its entire season airing live on network television this year and next. Television partner FOX also has invested in the series and played a significant role in making this D.C. event happen. The series also has multiyear partnerships with Firestone, Chevrolet and Honda, providing the stability to support a sport that’s been racing since 1909.

But everything feeds back to the superstars behind the wheel -- drivers like Palou, Dixon, Power, Newgarden and the rest of the 25 competing in the series this weekend. They represent a dozen countries, challenging one another like no other sport.

This sport has been described as fast, loud and authentic, and Palou is its current king.