After another offseason of more than six months, the NTT IndyCar Series is scheduled to get back into action this Sunday with the traditional season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.
Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou is set to enter the series' first 18-race season since 2014 as a four-time champion and three-time reigning champion.
He became the first driver to win three straight championships since Dario Franchitti won three in a row, also in the No. 10 Honda, from 2009 to 2011, and he is seeking the first four-peat since Sebastien Bourdais' run from 2004 to 2007 in Champ Car.
Palou led the championship standings for the entire 2025 season, beginning with his first victory on the 14-turn, 1.8-mile (2.897-kilometer) temporary street circuit that's set to host the series this weekend.
By winning the Indy 500, he became the first driver to win the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" in a championship-winning season during which he was never lower than first in the standings since Johnny Rutherford in 1980.
He hasn't not led the championship standings since before the race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday, June 23, 2024, when Team Penske's Will Power, who has since moved to Andretti Global, set atop the points table. Power is also still the most recent champion not named Palou, having won his second championship in 2022.
Entering this Sunday's 100-lap season opener, Palou will have led the championship for 616 straight days.
Alex Palou favored in St. Petersburg, but not by much
That kind of streak is simply not supposed to happen in a series known for its spec cars and praised for its parity across the paddock.
Bourdais led for 639 days from his victory on the streets of Toronto on Sunday, July 10, 2005 until he crashed out of the season opener at the Las Vegas Street Circuit on Sunday, April 8, 2007, but again, that was in Champ Car.
In the modern IndyCar series, dating all the way back to the inception of the Indy Racing League, Palou's streak is the longest, by far. Sam Hornish Jr. held the previous record of 434, having led the championship from his season-opening victory at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, March 18, 2001, up until the day before his 25th place in the Indy 500 on Sunday, May 26, 2002.
The bad news for everybody not named Palou is the fact that Palou is the favorite to win this weekend at DraftKings Sportsbook. The good news is that he is listed at +300, meaning that he is only being given around a 25% chance to win. So while he is the favorite, the field still has a better shot, on paper, of beating him than he has of beating them.
Palou's history in St. Petersburg has been a bit of mixed bag, starting with his rookie season with Dale Coyne Racing and Team Goh when he finished 13th.
He finished 17th there in 2021 after opening up the season with a victory at Barber Motorsports Park, a result that led to questions at the time regarding whether or not his season-opening victory was a one-hit wonder. He obviously proved that wrong by winning the 2021 title, and he opened up the 2022 season with a runner-up finish at the Florida venue.
He placed eighth in 2023, which ended up being the worst finish of second championship-winning season, and he placed sixth before being promoted to fourth in 2024, as a result of the first of two major Team Penske cheating scandals.
All things considered, his 7.5 average finish in six starts at the track is certainly not his best, but it's an average that a lot of drivers would certainly love to have, especially considering that mark is 3.75 ever since Palou was crowned champion for the first time.
Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood, who has earned four of his five career victories in street course races, is given the best chance to beat Palou at +450, followed by 2019 and 2020 (and original 2024) St. Petersburg winner Josef Newgarden at +600. 2022 winner Scott McLaughlin is tied with actual 2024 winner Pato O'Ward of Arrow McLaren at +650.
Palou won eight of 17 races in 2025, including six of 11 on non-ovals. His St. Petersburg win was his only win in four street circuit races, and it is his only street circuit victory since he won in Detroit in June 2023; he's 1-for-10 since, but with six finishes of between second and fourth place sprinkled in.
Full IndyCar odds for the St. Petersburg season opener can be found here and are always subject to change.
Fox is set to provide live coverage of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg from the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, March 1. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season opener!