Palou admits CONCERNS over IndyCar run-in scheduling

Two-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou has admitted that this season's run-in doesn't favor him or his team.

Palou sits 49 points ahead of closest rival Will Power coming off the summer Olympic break, but confessed concern that the run-in, with four oval tracks in the final five, may present a problem.

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The Spaniard has never won a race on an oval, and indeed has never raced at two of the remaining tracks – the Milwaukee Mile and the Nashville Superspeedway – in his career, but is looking for his third Series title in four years.

The field behind second-placed Power is tightly bunched up, with Scott Dixon just four points behind and the next three drivers separated by just 30 points.

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Touchdown in Toronto 🇨🇦

I’m a happier person now with some Ketchup chips. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/Z0I1J9HZxM

— Alex Palou Montalbo (@AlexPalou) July 18, 2024

Can Alex Palou win the IndyCar Series title?

Palou told motorsport.com: “There is no doubt it doesn’t favor us. I wouldn’t say that’s made on purpose; it’s more like it doesn’t favor us.

“It was the same way when the season started, it’s not like it changed. Everybody knew we could say that at the beginning, it favored us a little bit because we knew we went to some track that we had really good results and mostly wins in the past.

“Now, we’re going to places the team has not won in the past; I have to say Gateway, Scott won there last year, but we were not super-fast. He did Scott Dixon things; saving fuel, tires, did one stop and then he won. But on pure pace, we were not amazingly good enough to win, so that doesn’t help us.

“We are only having one road course left, which is Portland. We won there last year, so we’re really good there and looking forward to that one. But yeah, I would much prefer if there were only one or two ovals there is a little bit more than that and yeah, it favors them [Team Penske] but it’s okay.

“It’s the game. I think if we can pull this off, it will be pretty amazing.”

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