IndyCar: Alex Palou won his third title despite a zero-point victory

Consistency has been one of the primary reasons why Alex Palou has been able to win multiple IndyCar championships since joining Chip Ganassi Racing before the 2021 season, the most recent of which on Sunday afternoon at Nashville Superspeedway.

Had all three of his wins been second place finishes in 2021 (with the runner-up promoted to P1), he still would have won the title. Had all five of his wins been second place finishes in 2023, he still would have won the title.

And had all three of his wins been second place finishes in 2024, he still would have won the title – even though only two of those wins counted toward his championship tally.

Alex Palou wins title, despite one of his wins being meaningless

Despite consistency being his strong suit, Palou still tied for the series lead in victories in 2021, and he led all drivers in 2023.

But that was not the case in 2024 when it came to points races. Though nobody achieved more than three victories, the first of Palou's three wins came in the early-season exhibition race at the Thermal Club, which he dominated.

But in championship events, ironically nobody who found victory lane in 2024 did so on fewer occasions than Palou. All seven drivers who won at all won multiple races. Like Palou, teammate Scott Dixon, Team Penske's Josef Newgarden, and Andretti Global's Colton Herta each won twice.

Three-time winners included Team Penske teammates Scott McLaughlin and Will Power, as well as Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward.

Yet the fact that one of Palou's victories came in a non-points race didn't end up mattering; it wasn't the difference between him winning or losing the title, which again speaks to the level of consistency the 27-year-old Spaniard has brought to the table since taking over behind the wheel of the No. 10 Honda in 2021.

He took the points lead from Power with his June win at Laguna Seca, and despite the fact that he did not win any of the nine races after that in 2024, he never looked back and actually ended up winning with a larger margin than he had three months ago.

Palou seals title at Nashville

Power's seat belt issue in the season finale in Nashville resulted in the only other championship eligible driver dropping from second to fourth place in the standings. Herta's win shot him from fourth to second, and McLaughlin, for the second year in a row, finished in third as the highest-ranking Team Penske and Chevrolet driver.

Power entered the race sitting 33 points behind Palou, and once the green flag flew, he was the only driver who had a chance to prevent Palou from becoming IndyCar's first back-to-back champion since Dario Franchitti won three in a row from 2009 to 2011. Franchitti ironically drove the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda and passed Power in the standings in both the 2010 and 2011 season finales.

But in only one of the 66 races that had been contested since Palou joining Chip Ganassi Racing in April 2021 had Power outscored Palou by that amount, so Power winning a third title himself this year was considered a longshot.

The 2025 IndyCar season is scheduled to begin with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida on Sunday, March 2. Fox is set to provide live coverage of all 17 races on the calendar, as Sunday's season finale marked an end to the current era of NBC's coverage.