YOUWANTHOT? TAKEALEXPALOU’S TEMPERATURE

2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou is one pit road incident from effectively being undefeated since May.

By

Barnes/INDYCAR.com

He went undefeated in June, taking the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America on June 18 and the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on June -- from the pole, no less – and he would have had a terrific chance to win the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge had Rinus VeeKay not spun into him on pit road on Lap 94.

That he fought back from being 28th following an extra pit stop to finish fourth might just be what helps him win a second season title.

Palou also won the GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and earned the pole for the “500.” He is riding a streak of seven consecutive top-five finishes and has built a lead of 74 points – more than a full race -- through the season’s first eight events.

“We got the win at the GMR, got the pole at Indy, got the pole here and the win (in Detroit),” Palou said. “Obviously, we’re (on) a roll.”

Next on the schedule is the Honda Indy 200 on July 2 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where Palou finished second last year and third in 2021. In other words, Palou might not cool for a while, and by then it might be too late for the competition.

“The next couple of races are really good for us,” he said. “We’ll try and keep it going.”

Interestingly, Palou doesn’t think his season got off to a good start, and he bases that on an eighth-place finish in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding. Yet even with that factored in, his average starting position (3.5) and average finishing position (3.5) are less than half of what he posted in his title-winning season and significantly better than the INDYCAR SERIES champions over the past decade have finished.

Perhaps Palou’s dominance shouldn’t come as a surprise based on how he finished last season. Remember that crushing blow he delivered at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca? He led more than 70 percent of the laps that day and finished more than 30 seconds ahead of the field. He’s been strong ever since.

“I’ve had fast cars every weekend,” Palou said. “Yeah, couldn’t ask for more now.”

Palou will take a 74-point lead over Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson into Mid-Ohio, and that advantage is the largest of Palou’s career. In his championship-winning season, Palou never led by more than 42 points and finished 38 points ahead of Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden.

Obviously, there are miles still to travel this season in pursuit of the Astor Challenge Cup, but to borrow a phrase from Yankees great Yogi Berra, it could be getting late early.

Palou isn’t ready to talk championship just yet, but it will be increasingly difficult to avoid the subject if his hot streak continues.

“Honestly, there’s a lot of races to go,” he said. “We got the lead (three) races ago, now suddenly we have this amazing lead.

“On the same way that we go up, there’s somebody that can go up, as well, and we can go down. That’s INDYCAR. That’s the high level of competition that we have there. There’s a lot."

“I think in 15 weeks we can have 10 race weekends. It’s going to be tough to keep the energy up for everybody. But having that lead, it’s going to help us. Hopefully we can keep it going and getting bigger.”

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