Motorsport TechnologyAlex Palou underlined his superiority in the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series with another masterful victory at Portland, his sixth win of a dominant season.
Palou, who also won in St. Petersburg, Barber Motorsports Park, Long Beach, Detroit and Nashville, led home pole sitter Felix Rosenqvist and Andretti’s Will Power.
Rinus Veekay was an excellent fourth for Juncos Hollinger Racing ahead of Kyle Kirkwood, Marcus Ericsson and the Penskes of Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden.
Christian Lundgaard and Kyffin Simpson rounded out the top ten.
“Everybody at CGR and Honda did an incredible job,” Palou is quoted on IndyCar.com. “I had an absolute rocket ship today. It was very, very nice to drive every single lap.
“Chip puts the best guys around me, but then also everybody is just executing. That car is a rocket ship, and I’m just lucky enough to drive it.”
No sweat to be seen 👊 pic.twitter.com/sI3Cp8sEEs
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) August 9, 2026
For race winner Palou, victory marked the 25th of his career and ultimately came down to race strategy and best use of tyres – the Spaniard staying out a lap longer than his rivals and nailing his overcut to emerge ahead.
“The overcut was just so powerful,” confirmed Rosenqvist. “I also struggled a little bit on my launch (exiting the pit box). That’s basically what did it. He got ahead of us.”
Palou’s final stop on lap 56 to switch from alternate to worn primary tyres proved a gamble that more than paid off.
“I was a little bit worried there when we put those alternates on,” added Palou. “They were so good. We didn’t expect them to be so good. I was like, ‘Man, if someone is going keep them for the end, we might have a battle.’”
It all means that Palou extends his championship lead to 110 points over Kirkwood, with Malukas sitting just eight points behind the Andretti driver with only five races remaining.
Next up on the NTT IndyCar calendar is the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham on Sunday, August 16.
Another win and the championship lead grows 👀 pic.twitter.com/2Q9kXrOKWt
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) August 10, 2026
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