LONG BEACH, Calif. – Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing has yet to win the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, but it is the scene of his greatest racing accomplishment.
It was on Sept. 26, 2021 in Long Beach (which was moved to the season finale in a one-off slot because of the pandemic), and Palou was locked in a fierce battle with Pato O’Ward for the season championship.
Palou’s title was really never in doubt. O’Ward crashed on Lap 43, and Palou simply had to stay within range of Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden to win the title.
Colton Herta of Andretti Autosport won the race, Newgarden was second and Palou clinched the championship with a fourth-place finish, one position behind teammate Scott Dixon. Last year, Palou earned his first podium here in his second start.
Ah, the memories of Long Beach that give the driver of the No. 10 Honda at Chip Ganassi Racing a reason to smile.
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“I have a lot of good memories,” Palou told NBC Sports before NTT IndyCar Series practice Friday at Long Beach. “My favorite place, honestly.
“I have really good memories from other places, but getting the championship here was amazing. The atmosphere here is always good. It’s Friday morning, and it’s tough to walk around without getting stopped with all the people that we have.
“It’s one of our best events on the calendar.”
Just two races into the season, Palou is off to a solid start -- ranked fifth in the title standings entering Sunday’s 48th Grand Prix of Long Beach and trailing O’Ward by 22 points.
Palou finished eighth in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 5 and third April 2 in the PPG 375 at Texas Motor Speedway.
“We are happy with the start of the season,” Palou said. “We were quite strong at St. Pete and super strong at Texas. We just started. Obviously, we wanted to win the first two races. There have been better guys than us, but we are super happy.
“We had good options at St. Pete and a podium finish at Texas.
“It feels good.”
It also feels good for Palou to be back in good standing at Chip Ganassi Racing after a self-inflicted contract dispute with the team midway through last season.
On the same day that Chip Ganassi Racing announced the exercising of an option year on its contract with the driver from Spain, Palou revealed that he had signed a contract with McLaren Racing for the 2023 season.
But team owner Chip Ganassi would not release Palou from his contract. The legal dispute went to mediation before an agreement was reached between Ganassi and Palou that the driver would return to the team in 2023.
The saga finally came to a close on Sept. 14, three days after Palou dominated in winning the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
“It was tough,” Palou reflected on the turmoil from last season. “It was tough personally. It was tough for the team and the crew. It was tough and awkward for the media as well. It is good that now everything is clear, and we can focus on racing.
“I’m excited to have a more relaxed year.”
Palou was allowed to test the McLaren Formula One car during the free practice at the U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on Oct. 21, 2022.
“It’s fast, it’s insane,” Palou said after that test. “Obviously, I was lucky to test before the 2021 car, so that already gave me the feeling of an F1 car. But then here, obviously, you have the traffic, you don’t want to impede anybody else. And you have a car that is not yours.
“I was trying to take care of the car, obviously not trying to get in trouble with people that are going to race this weekend. So yeah, this track, I think it’s pretty awesome for an F1 car, especially sector one super-fast. And it was beautiful to drive.”
Palou’s dreams of becoming a Formula One driver remain his dream, but for 2023 he is fully committed to the NTT IndyCar Series with Chip Ganassi Racing and winning another championship.
It may be early, but Palou anticipates at least one-third of the current NTT IndyCar Series starting line is capable of challenging for the championship in 2023.
“It’s still too early, but man, IndyCar, if you go through each team and the drivers and the equipment they have, there are 10 drivers who can easily fight for the championship, and there will be some guys that we don’t expect,” Palou said. “Like my case in 2021 and Scott McLaughlin in 2022. Nobody expected it.
“It’s a tough competition. We need to get as many wins as possible and score as many points as possible each weekend.
“We cannot give up any race weekend.”
The standard bearer when it comes to championships is teammate Scott Dixon, a six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion who shows no signs of slowing down any time soon at 42 (even while being voted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America).
“Oh man, you are telling me,” Palou said. “I have to share the same trailer with him.
“It’s incredible, even when he struggles, he is there, and he makes it work.
“I can tell you he’s not slowing down. That’s not happening anytime soon. I don’t know if that is ever going to happen. He will decide when to stop on his terms.
“It’s amazing to have him here, but it’s a pain to share a team with him because he always makes it super hard.
“Honestly, we learn so much from him. He is pushing the team and all his teammates.”
A win in Sunday’s 48th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach could help solidify Palou’s early season charge at a championship. But racing on the tight 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street course over 85 laps (167.28 miles) is a tremendous challenge.
“It’s tough, but it is a race that opens up a lot of different strategies, but it’s a race that rewards pure speed,” Palou explained. “That’s racing, but at this race, if you are fast, you can pull away and go.
“If you are fast and starting behind like Colton Herta in 2021, he started 14th and won, you can do it without crazy strategy.
“It’s important to start up front but have a good car that we can push every lap.
“It takes a lot of confidence. On the street courses, you have to have a lot of confidence with your car and getting to the edge without clipping the walls. It’s tough, man, it’s a tough course.
“We have to push every single lap.”
RACE WEEK! 😎
— Alex Palou Montalbo (@AlexPalou) April 11, 2023
Just realized it’s gonna be my 50th start in IndyCar. I have a brilliant idea to celebrate it in Long Beach this weekend! 😏@IndyCar #LongBeachGP pic.twitter.com/iUP0okN5Tv
Because speed is rewarded at Long Beach, that makes Saturday’s qualifications that culminate with the Firestone Fast Six one of the more important qualification sessions of the season.
“It’s very important,” Palou said. “For me, when you start up front on a street course, you get away from the crazy strategies and overtakes that go crazy from behind. Hopefully, we can start up front. We started P7 at St. Pete and P7 at Texas, so hopefully we get into the Fast Six on Saturday.”
Although passing can be tight, Palou believes Turns 1, 5 and 10 are the best places to make passes in the race. He also enjoys “The Fountain” turn because it has become an iconic part of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
“The fountain, when you drive, it’s amazing to be around,” Palou said. “That is what makes this place so special.”
The most special aspect of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, however, is its long history and tradition.
It is the longest-running major street race in North America and has become the second-biggest race on the IndyCar schedule behind only the Indianapolis 500.
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach began in 1975 as a Formula 5000 race. Brian Redman of Great Britain was the winner.
It became the United States Grand Prix Formula One race in 1976 with Clay Regazzoni of Switzerland the winner. It reached iconic status in 1977 when Mario Andretti of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, gave the United States a victory on its home soil.
John Watson of Great Britain was the last driver to win the Formula One race at Long Beach in 1983. It joined the CART schedule in 1984, and Mario Andretti was the winner, starting a streak of four consecutive years that a driver named Andretti was the winner.
Mario won in 1984, ’85 and ’87. His son Michael won in 1986.
Al Unser Jr. of Albuquerque, New Mexico became “King of the Beach” when he won four consecutive Long Beach Grands Prix from 1988-91. He holds the record with six wins in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, including back-to-back victories in 1994-95.
Will Power won the Champ Car Series finale in the 2008 Grand Prix of Long Beach as that series went out of business to allow its teams to merge into the former Indy Racing League that became today’s NTT IndyCar Series.
The race traditionally has been held in mid-April, but the COVID-19 pandemic moved Long Beach to the 2021 season finale and the location of Palou’s IndyCar championship celebration.
Palou is proud to have a special part of the history of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, even though he still is trying to win the famed and fabled event for the first time.
“It’s amazing,” Palou said. “I saw some videos from F1 laps here and it’s just amazing what they were able to do going uphill and having even faster corners with those cars that were heavier with no power steering. It’s insane.
“I’m happy to be part of it.”
When it comes to international acclaim, Palou has some competition in Spain.
Last week, fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm Rodriguez of Barrika won golf’s most famous tournament, The Masters at August National.
He became the fourth driver from Spain to win The Masters, joining Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia. He also joined Ballesteros and Olazabal as the only Spaniards to have won multiple majors in golf.
“He has done an incredible job,” Palou said of Rahm. “Even before that, he was already up there and doing amazing.
“Super happy to get another Spaniard doing really well.
“Honestly, The Masters is The Masters.”
And so far, Palou has become a “Master of Motorsports” winning the 2021 IndyCar Series Championship at one of the most iconic events in racing.