IndyCar News: Ganassi team celebrates 16th IndyCar title with Palou

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou has gone back-to-back as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion as non-American drivers have won the most IndyCar titles in the last 25 years.

The No. 10 DHL Honda team scored a 11th place finish on Sunday in the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway, clinching Chip Ganassi Racing’s 16th INDYCAR SERIES championship and Palou’s third championship in the last four seasons. It is Chip Ganassi Racing’s 23rd championship across all competitions.

Palou is the first driver to win back-to-back INDYCAR championships since Dario Franchitti won the 2009-11 INDYCAR titles, also driving the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou joins a club of 13 drivers to win at least three INDYCAR titles. It is DHL’s first championship since joining Chip Ganassi Racing as a partner in December. Palou is the second youngest three-time champion in IndyCar History at 27 years and five months old, just behind Sam Hornish Jr.’s record of 27 years and two months old.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s 16th INDYCAR championship puts it one behind Team Penske for most INDYCAR titles of all time. The team has done so despite a 23-year head start by Team Penske. CGR has the most INDYCAR championships of any team since it entered the sport in 1990 – seven more than the next best team and nearly half of all INDYCAR championships awarded since 1990.

Since American open-wheel unification in 2008, Chip Ganassi Racing has 11 championships, nearly 75% of the championships in that time.

On the No. 10 DHL crew, Barry Wanser, team strategist, won his 15th championship with Chip Ganassi Racing and his sixth with the No. 10 car. Ricky Davis, crew chief, won his 16th championship with CGR and his sixth as a crew chief.

It is the second consecutive year Palou has won the INDYCAR SERIES championship. Last season, Palou clinched the championship by winning the Grand Prix of Portland in Oregon before heading to Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA, for the final round of the 2023 season.

Palou and the No. 10 crew had to work together to clinch the 2024 championship, working quickly and efficiently to fix the car when an electrical issue struck during the pace laps at Milwaukee on Sept. 1. At Nashville, the team drove up from a 24th place starting position to an 11th place finish to secure the title.

“I have to thank everybody working on the No. 10 car, everybody at CGR back at the shop, and all of my teammates, DHL, American Legion, PNC Bank, Root Insurance and all of our partners,” said an elated Palou. “I’m super proud about it. It’s been an amazing year and I’m happy we’ve got the championship back home.”

“The guy (Palou) never broke a sweat. It’s unbelievable the way he drives,” said a happy team owner Chip Ganassi. The way he came into our team a few years ago down in Alabama — he won his first race out, and it’s been smooth sailing since… The No. 10 team likes winning, that certainly helps.”

More Talented Foreign Drivers Dominate ‘American’ IndyCar Series