Sports fans are lucky to live in the current era where superstars are at every corner.

LeBron James, Tom Brady and Lionel Messi are among the athletes that can be considered the best in their respective sports that have suited up in recent times. 

There is one name though, that not a lot of people may know who is dominating on the track in the IndyCar Series. 

That is Alex Palou. 

Now, some may argue that motorsports does not equate to an athlete — I beg to differ — but that is not the topic today. 

What Palou has done in IndyCar is truly incredible. He has 24 wins in 110 starts in his career, including the 2025 Indianapolis 500.  

On top of that he has 66 top-5 finishes and 83 top 10’s. The Spaniard finishes in the top 10 more than 75 percent of the time. 

Win No. 24 came Monday afternoon at a rain-delayed race at Nashville Superspeedway where he held off a trio of Penske Racing cars, including oval specialist and hometown favorite Josef Newgarden.  

Now 24 wins only puts him tied for 18th all-time in IndyCar, and in fact he has 35 fewer wins than his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon, so what is the difference?  

Palou is 17 years younger than Dixon and already has four IndyCar championships in the past five seasons. Dixon has six titles total.  

Dixon’s six titles are one behind the all-time record set by AJ Foyt, whose career spanned from the 1950’s until 1992. 

Dixon earned the nickname The Iceman through his career due to his calm-under-pressure attitude. Palou may just take that to the next level; on the track he is cold-blooded. 

Despite his talents behind the wheel, when he talks about his success Palou always puts the team first. 

“It’s been an amazing season for us, for everybody at CGR and the No. 10 car that worked on this rocket ship. I just had the pleasure to drive it,” Palou said after winning his fourth championship in August 2025, at the same track he triumphed on Monday. 

Monday’s victory for Palou helped him extend his points lead out to 83 points with six races left of the calendar. Winning a race nets you 50 points. 

At this point you start to put Palou’s name up next to the all-time racing greats like Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson — all drivers who, like Foyt, were able to claim seven championships in their respective series. 

As IndyCar heads to Portland, Ore. on Sunday, Aug. 10, many fans hope that this week will be different. But, like LeBron, Brady and Messi, the world needs to enjoy what Palou can to do on the track, because you may never see anything like it again. 

Reporter Jon Allen can be reached at 406-758-4426 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.