Courtesy Honda
August 30, 2026 — MILWAUKEE, WI
- Alex Palou earns his fifth NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship
- The Chip Ganassi Racing driver now sits third on the all-time list
- 2026 marks Honda’s 22nd drivers’ championship win, 30 years after the manufacturer’s first
Alex Palou earned his fifth NTT INDYCAR SERIES title today at the Milwaukee Mile—all five of which have come with Honda power.
Alex Palou’s championship is the Chip Ganassi Racing driver’s fourth consecutive championship title and fifth in six years, as well as the 22nd Honda-powered drivers’ title in American Open Wheel competition.
Palou’s five titles place him third on the all-time list, with only his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon (six titles), and IndyCar legend AJ Foyt (seven titles) with more.
Palou has scored an impressive eight pole positions this season—including a run of five in a row, and six victories en route to his fourth-consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES title, making the Spaniard only the second driver in IndyCar history to win four titles in a row.
Palou’s six wins have come at St. Petersburg, Barber, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, Detroit, Nashville and Portland.
Palou’s championship is the second championship for Honda this season, after clinching the manufacturers’ championship once we went green at Milwaukee. The 2026 title is Honda’s eighth manufacturers’ championship in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and 12th in American Open Wheel competition. Honda’s previous titles came in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, a four-year consecutive run from 2018 to 2021, and 2025.
Across the entire season, Honda has scored 10 victories, five podium sweeps, and 13 pole positions—with 13 of 15 Honda-powered cars contributing points to the manufacturers’ championship point haul for Honda.
Honda additionally earned their 17th Indianapolis 500 this year, with Felix Rosenqvist emerging victorious in the closest ‘500’ finish in the race’s 110-year history.
Honda is still chasing the rookie of the year title in 2026, with Dennis Hauger leading those standings over his fellow Honda-powered driver Mick Schumacher with one race to go.
Quotes
Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion: “We did it! Five-time champion! What an incredible year—years honestly! I just want to thank everyone at CGR and at Honda for giving me everything I needed to make this possible. They deliver every year, but especially this year. I can’t believe we won five! It’s just incredible.”
Chip Ganassi (Team Owner, Chip Ganassi Racing): “We have great people around Alex, the team, the partners we’ve had. It takes a lot of people to make this stuff happen. I’m fortunate to have great people around us. You know, I’m not even on the #10 car. I’m on the #9 car, so I get to enjoy it from a distance, almost, and seeing those guys set the pace. But it’s one team. We all work together. We’re all trying to win. It’s an open book with us all the time across the board with all the drivers, all the teams, and everyone. And the nice thing is, everybody on the team’s happy when someone on the team does well.”
David Salters (President, Honda Racing Corporation USA): “A massive congratulations to Alex and the whole Chip Ganassi Racing team. Championship number five! Bravo, mate! It is simply pleasure for all of us at Honda Racing to watch in awe and witness greatness. Working as a close team with the brilliant men and women at CGR, superb leadership under Chip, and Alex himself is a career highlight for many of us at HRC. We are very proud and honored to be part of racing history being made.”
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