Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou moved closer to what would be his fourth consecutive NTT IndyCar Series championship and fifth in the past six years with his third victory at Portland International Raceway, where he clinched his second title with a win in 2023 and his fourth title with a podium finish a year ago this very weekend.
The closest driver to Palou in the championship standings is Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood, who hasn't won a race since it was technically still winter. Kirkwood is 110 points behind, and 54 points is the maximum a driver can earn in a single race. Next closest is Team Penske's David Malukas at 118 points behind, and Malukas has never won a race.
There are five races remaining on the 18-race 2026 schedule.
While Palou's 2026 season has largely been characterized as not being as dominant as his 2025 campaign, which saw him win eight out of 17 races, he has now won six out of 13 races this year. His championship-winning margin from a year ago was 196, and that suddenly doesn't seem impossible to attain this year.
Palou has won three out of four street races and placed second in the other so far this year, and the next two races are set to be contested on new street tracks in Markham and Washington, D.C. Then there is the Milwaukee Mile, where he dominated a year ago and would have won if not for a few seconds of light drizzle shaking up the late tire strategy. The short oval is set to host a doubleheader.
And then there is Laguna Seca, where his worst finish in five starts is third. The other four starts have produced three victories, including back-to-back wins in 2024 and 2025.
Alex Palou's Portland win eliminated all but 11 drivers
But mathematically speaking, there are still 11 other drivers who can win this year's IndyCar championship. That number was much higher, 22 to be exact, before Sunday's OnlyBulls Grand Prix of Portland.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Mick Schumacher and Juncos Hollinger Racing's Sting Ray Robb were already eliminated heading into Portland, sitting 325 points and 334 points out of the lead, respectively. Entering Portland, there were 324 points on the table.
But provided nobody misses any races, there were really just 294 points on the table, since the last-place finisher is guaranteed to score at least five points, meaning that the race winner, even with a maximum of 54 points, can only make up 49 points on any other individual driver in any given race.
Dale Coyne Racing teammates Dennis Hauger and Romain Grosjean, along with Ed Carpenter Racing's Christian Rasmussen and A.J. Foyt Enterprises' Caio Collet, were already more than 294 points behind.
Their mathematical eliminations were merely formalized at Portland.
The other seven drivers eliminated at Portland were Chip Ganassi Racing's Kyffin Simpson, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Graham Rahal, Meyer Shank Racing's Marcus Armstrong, Ed Carpenter Racing's Alexander Rossi, A.J. Foyt Enterprises' Santino Ferrucci, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Louis Foster, and Arrow McLaren's Nolan Siegel.
WIth 270 points left on the table, all of them are at least 274 points behind Palou.
If we operate under the assumption that Palou simply competes in all five races remaining on the schedule, there are really just 245 points available, meaning that Andretti Global's Will Power (-254) and Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon (-258) would also be out.
After the next race, there will be just 216 points on the table, 196 if Palou competes in each of the remaining four. With that in mind, Meyer Shank Racing's Felix Rosenqvist (-172), Team Penske's Josef Newgarden (-175), Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin (-189), Andretti Global's Marcus Ericsson (-232), and Juncos Hollinger Racing's Rinus VeeKay (-241) all face elimination in Markham. Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward (-155) could also fall out of that 196-point threshold.
The final five races on the 2026 IndyCar schedule are scheduled to take place within a span of 22 days. The first of those five is the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham, which is set to be shown live on Fox from the streets of Markham, Ontario beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET this coming Sunday, August 16. Start a free trial of FuboTV and catch all five races remaining on this year's calendar!
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