The allure of the Indianapolis 500 is tantalizing, but if two-time defending IndyCar champion Alex Palou had to choose between a victory in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing in 2025 or a third-straight Astor Cup - giving him an equally rare four titles in five years - the Chip Ganassi Racing driver says he wants the season title joining a class of three (Ted Horn, 1946-48; Sebastien Bourdais, 2004-07; Dario Franchitti, 2009-11) instead of 75.
But it's not an easy choice.
"I want to win the 500 so bad. I know what it is, but I don't think anybody knows exactly how big it is until you win it. At least, that's what I've heard from the drivers, along with what you can see from the outside," Palou told IndyStar when asked the question during IndyCar content days this week. "But winning three IndyCar championships in a row is pretty sweet as well.
"Probably I'd say three championships in a row, and then win the Indy 500 in 2026, - that works, right? I would do that. But if it's only one, and then that's it, I need to retire, I would obviously do the Indy 500. But I'm not going to retire now. I'll get to the three championships and then the Indy 500 in the future."
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Palou well knows - perhaps as much as any driver of the last decade, save Pato O'Ward - just how exceedingly difficult it is to win one 500, having gone three straight years (2021-23) where he either was or should've been in the mix coming down the stretch, but fell short. In only his second start, he led Laps 196, 197 and 198, only to fall victim to a deft pass from eventual winner Helio Castroneves with two to go, a favor he wouldn't be able to return as traffic backed them both up to the checkered flag.
The next year, an ill-timed caution after he'd committed to pit, but before he'd entered pitlane, forced him to pass through three times (once while closed, once for emergency service and again for a penalty) in quick transition, dropping from 1 to 31. In a personal triumph of sorts, Palou fought all the way back up to 9 by the checkered flag. And in 2023, a race he started on pole, the Ganassi driver fell victim to Rinus VeeKay losing control of his ECR car coming out of his pit box, careening into the No. 10 Honda and forcing Palou to wait for a front wing change. Despite all the mid-race chaos, he'd still finish 4.
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His teammate of now five years Scott Dixon, who enters season No. 25 this year, has famously won the 500 just once, despite starting on pole five times and coming tantalizingly close (five finishes of 2 or 3) more times that one person deserves. Others of this generation - Graham Rahal, Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter and others - have made well over a dozen starts, run up at the front late several years, and yet never come away with even one victory in the race.
As he's poured over his approach in and out of the cockpit this offseason, Palou was adamant that one thing he's learned in his title-winning days is holding onto the same approach from the year before is a recipe to get left behind. Marrying that constant evolution across a six-month championship, while also not trying to do too much when it comes to IMS in May, continues to be the Spaniard's challenge as he approaches 2025.
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"I'm not saying we're going to go crazy and change all my stuff, but yeah, I'm trying to change some stuff, both physically and mentally, as well as the way I drive," he said. "Hopefully I can push myself in areas that I've been struggling the past season. We're going to change a little bit, see if it works and then see if we can be upfront, but the competition, we know it's going to be tough.
"Everybody, we all start from zero. You guys are me included, we're not going to care about 2024 once we're in St. Pete. Maybe they'll care in 15, 20 years when I retire, hopefully, but not now. I think now it's all about 2025."
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Alex Palou: Would he rather win a 3rd-straight IndyCar title or Indy 500?