Alex Palou will roll off 10th for today’s Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway, and when he takes the green flag he’ll officially hit the century mark with 100 career starts in the IndyCar Series.
It has been a remarkable run for the Spaniard since entering North America’s premier open-wheel championship in 2020. Through his first 99 starts, he has racked up 20 wins that includes the 2025 Indianapolis 500, 45 podiums, 58 top fives, 74 top 10s, 12 poles and 1,788 laps led en route to claiming four – including the last three consecutive – IndyCar championships.
A rookie campaign spent with Dale Coyne Racing that featured one podium and two additional top 10s, Palou has been nearly unstoppable since he joined Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) in 2021. In 85 starts with CGR, he holds a 23.5 percent win rate and has placed in the top 10 a staggering 71 times (83.5 percent). Additionally, 20 of his victories have come at 11 different race tracks.
In turn, the 28-year-old Palou’s remarkable résumé has placed him in rarified air with some of the sport’s all-time legends. Over the last 66 years, his 20 wins through 99 starts draws him level with four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears, while his four titles before his 100th start match the early dominance of racing legends A. J. Foyt and Sebastien Bourdais, who won four consecutive titles in Champ Car from 2003-07.
It’s not the only company Palou shares with Bourdais, either. When Palou claimed victory in last weekend’s Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, he became the first driver since Bourdais to win the opening race in back-to-back years, with the Frenchman doing so on the same Florida streets in 2017-18. Further on, Palou’s 12.4948s margin of victory a week ago was also a race record at the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit.
Palou is only one of nine drivers in history to claim at least 20 victories in their first 100 starts. Over that span, Bourdais leads the list with 31 wins, with Foyt second (29), and Mario Andretti third (27). Ralph DePalma’s 26 wins slot him fourth, ahead of Tommy Milton and Earl Cooper, who are both tied in fifth with 21 victories each. For his part, Palou shares a three-way tie with Mears and Tony Bettenhausen for seventh.
Uniquely, though, Palou is the youngest of the group, with Andretti having been the only other driver under the age of 30 (29) to hit the milestone.
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