Alex Palou grabbed many deserved headlines during the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, as he won eight of 17 races to claim his third consecutive and fourth overall Astor Challenge Cup as series champion since 2021 with Chip Ganassi Racing.
Palou clinched the title with two races remaining, only the second time since 2008 the championship was sealed early. Palou also pulled off the feat in 2023 when he won the crown with one race left.
The Spaniard, 28, became the youngest four-time champion in INDYCAR SERIES history. He also is the fourth driver in series history to win at least three consecutive titles, joining Ted Horn (1946-48), Sebastien Bourdais (2004-07) and Dario Franchitti (2009-11).
This was the 17th INDYCAR SERIES championship for Chip Ganassi Racing, tying Team Penske for the series lead. But CGR started competition in 1990, while Team Penske began INDYCAR SERIES competition in 1968.
But beneath Palou’s dominance, there was plenty of deep, thrilling competition throughout the field. This periodic feature at INDYCAR.com will dig deeper into the numbers to paint a more detailed picture of an outstanding season in 2025.
Today’s first installment will start with a look at races and starters.
RACES
- Seven different drivers won races for the third consecutive season: Alex Palou (St. Petersburg, Thermal, Barber, Indianapolis road course, Indianapolis, Road America, Iowa-2, Laguna Seca), Kyle Kirkwood (Long Beach, Detroit, World Wide Technology Raceway), Pato O’Ward (Iowa-1, Toronto), Scott Dixon (Mid-Ohio), Will Power (Portland), Christian Rasmussen (Milwaukee), Josef Newgarden (Nashville).
- Sixteen different drivers finished on the podium (photo, above), the most in a decade. Those drivers represented eight of the 11 full-time teams on the grid.
STARTERS
- There were 27 starters at each race, matching the records set in 2023 and 2024.
- PREMA Racing (video, above) joined the grid, increasing the NTT INDYCAR SERIES total to 11 full-time teams. PREMA is the fourth team to join the series full time, joining Meyer Shank Racing in 2020, and McLaren Racing (majority shareholder with Schmidt Peterson Racing) and Juncos Hollinger Racing, both in 2021.
- Scott Dixon (photo, above, with Mario Andretti) set the INDYCAR SERIES record with 419 career starts. He broke Mario Andretti’s record with his 408th career start in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in May.