Will the Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske steamroller effect continue into another season of IndyCar racing? We’re about to find out as the American open-wheel championship launches into another run that starts this weekend in Florida, heads west to California and Oregon, weaves throughout the Midwest, and ends its 18-round journey in September on a southern oval in Tennessee.
Using history as our guide, breaking the Ganassi and Penske stranglehold is about as likely as Red Bull and Max Verstappen being beaten to the next Formula One title. Every IndyCar champion since 2013 has hailed from the series’ two titans, and if we wind the clock back to 2008, the combination of Ganassi and Penske have only been beaten once — by Andretti Global in 2012 — in the past 15 years.
For those who’ve felt the exhaustion of Red Bull’s recent F1 domination, spare a thought for IndyCar’s long-suffering fans who dream of a day when the crown is placed on someone other than Chip or Roger.
Dreams aside, as the defending champs with Álex Palou, Ganassi is the favorite to repeat with the mercurial Spaniard. And yes, that’s the same Álex Palou who’s being sued for at least $23 million for allegedly breaching a binding contract to drive for Arrow McLaren in 2024. The same Álex Palou who ignored that imposing threat on his way to winning last year’s IndyCar title — his second championship in a span of three seasons.
The eight-figure lawsuit from McLaren would rattle most drivers, but the 26-year-old hasn’t buckled under the pressure. With Palou’s supreme driving skills and mental fortitude to rely upon, plus his pole-winning run last May at the Indianapolis 500, Ganassi is the team to beat with Palou at the tip of its spear. Palou’s 43-year-old teammate Scott Dixon placed second in last year’s championship.
The six-time title winner is in the twilight of his IndyCar career, and yet, the New Zealander is always a threat to reach victory lane and vie for another championship. For those who root for Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso to humble the younger F1 generation, Dixon is that driver in IndyCar, and he’ll have another 43-year-old in Team Penske’s Will Power joining him in the quest to keep the kids at bay and score another title.
Dixon’s most recent championship was produced in 2020 and…
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