IndyCar: 5 way-too-early bold predictions for the 2025 season
By Asher Fair
Alex Palou three-peats
This isn't a bold prediction because it's Alex Palou; it's bold because a three-peat has only happened three times in American open-wheel racing history. Ted Horn won three titles in a row from 1946 to 1948, Sebastien Bourdais won four in a row from 2004 to 2007, and Dario Franchitti won three in a row from 2009 to 2011.
A Palou three-peat would give him four titles in five years, and at the age of 28, he would be able to say that only A.J. Foyt and Scott Dixon have won more titles.
Considering the fact that his three titles have come in four years as Dixon's teammate and he was the only driver between Dixon and a record-tying seventh championship in 2023, he might very well have already entered the "GOAT" chat with his back-to-back titles.
Though his 2024 margin of victory was a lot smaller than his 2023 margin of victory and he won just two races compared to five (and he actually would have lost out to Scott McLaughlin on a tiebreaker had it not been for Team Penske's push-to-pass scandal), that discrepancy just goes to show how much of an advantage he has at the moment.
The 2025 schedule could also play to his strengths even further. He dominated at Thermal Club, which is now set to host a points race as opposed to an exhibition race, and this race is set to replace one of the two races at the Milwaukee Mile, where he lost significant ground in the standings late in the 2024 season (albeit through no fault of his own).
Chip Ganassi Racing's reduction from five to three cars and new technical alliance with a resurgent Meyer Shank Racing team also shouldn't hurt.