IndyCar hasn't seen a driver win more than six races in a single season during the modern era, and Alex Palou seems to win literally every single time he gets a new primary sponsor (Segi, NTT, PNC Bank, American Legion, DHL, Ridgeline, HRC, Solo, etc.)
In only race 10 of 17 on the 2025 schedule, something was bound to give. Palou was poised to win race number one with OpenAI as a primary sponsor and notch a record-breaking seventh victory of the year to continue his historic tear.
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course indeed produced a seven-time winner, but it wasn't Palou.
It was Scott Dixon.
Palou made a rare mistake (yet shockingly his second significant error of Sunday's Honda Indy 200), and after leading 75 of the first 85 laps around the 13-turn, 2.258-mile (3.634-kilometer) Lexington, Ohio natural terrain road course, it allowed Dixon to get the lead with five laps remaining.
It was probably the most shocking self-induced blown lead in the closing laps of a race since Graham Rahal at Texas Motor Speedway in 2012, and the fact that it happened to Palou was mind-boggling.
Like he did in 2019 when Felix Rosenqvist was in the No. 10 Honda, Dixon held off a hungry teammate in the closing laps to secure a record-extending Mid-Ohio win. The six-time series champion, who we sometimes forget is still nicknamed "Mr. Mid-Ohio", earned his seventh win at the venue, and he made the 2025 season his 21st consecutive winning season, two records that probably won't be broken.
A win is a win, and we feel pretty good about saying that Dixon winning is no fluke, no matter how it happens. The guy has 59 wins for a reason, and I must admit that I'm kicking myself for listing his retirement as one of my "way-too-early" bold predictions for 2025 last fall. I also said Tom Brady was done in 2014 (and then again in 2018), so some of you were probably laughing already.
That said, the simple reality is that Palou beat himself, and after the first nine races of 2025, yes, Alex Palou is probably the only one capable of beating Alex Palou straight-up.
However, we need to pour cold water on this idea that he has somehow been "exposed".
Let's take a snap back to reality here. He still finished in second place. And after two major (by his standards) off-course excursions, he still finished comfortably ahead of every other driver on his pit strategy.
Dixon made the two-stop strategy work and took advantage of Palou's rare miscues. And for Dixon, it was a long time coming.
He was due. He may not be second in points, but Dixon has been the second-best driver in the field this season from top to bottom. He probably beats Palou and wins in St. Petersburg if not for his radio issue and subsequent pit miscommunication. He was then ahead of Palou at Road America before coming up two laps shy on fuel.
The fact that Dixon, known for winning in more creative ways than IndyCar fans seem to know even exist, finally got it done on an alternate strategy should shock absolutely nobody.
And the fact that that's what it took to beat Palou on a day when he made two mistakes, which was probably his worst output from that standpoint since his rookie season with Dale Coyne Racing, is actually more of a sign of just how much better Palou has been than anybody else in 2025.
Quite frankly, the only fans overreacting are the ones who are unnecessarily (yet understandably) fed up with the "Mr. Perfect" moniker that the Fox Sports team have given him this year.
Third place finisher Christian Lundgaard's post-race quote highlighted that one better than any brazen Twitter rant could, and he wasn't taking a shot at Palou, either.
And let's be honest. Nobody is perfect but Penske, right? (Sorry; I couldn't resist).
We don't even need to mention his 113-point championship lead, which started the day at 93, when talking about just how much of an overreaction this is.
He seems to extend his lead as long as the series doesn't race at a short oval, so that kind of goes without saying after a P2 finish, which a couple dozen other drivers would happily take at this point in the season.
From an all-time standpoint, Dixon might well be the only driver ahead of Palou among active drivers, and Palou is still 28. If Palou wins the championship, he'll have as many titles as Josef Newgarden and Will Power combined (in the last five years alone...), and he finally fit the missing piece of the puzzle with his May Indy 500 win to cement his legacy.
Dixon using an alternate strategy to become the only driver to beat him on a day he made two key errors is not as big of a deal as you're supposed to believe it is.
IndyCar is set to run a doubleheader at Iowa Speedway, where Palou has podium finishes in each of the last two years, this coming weekend. Both the Synk 275 (5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 12) and the Farm to Finish 275 (1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 13) are set to be shown live on Fox. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!