Alex Palou receives "incredible" honor on home soil to cap off historic IndyCar season

Four-time and reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou was honored in Spain, his home country, on the heels of his historic IndyCar run. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver had a record-breaking run in the 2025 season, where he dominated his 26 rivals.

Palou kicked off the season with back-to-back wins that extended to five wins in six races. The last victory of this phase was the sweetest and possibly the highest moment of his racing career, because it came at the prestigious Indianapolis 500. The 28-year-old didn't put one foot wrong and outclassed 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson in the closing stages of the 200-lap race to win the Greatest Spectacle of Racing for the first time in his career, and also became the first Spaniard to win the race.

Alex Palou had a couple of tiny hiccups after that, but neither was entirely his fault. His historic run continued into the second half of the season. Though it wasn't as spectacular as the beginning, he added three more victories to his bag. With 8 wins in 17 races, he entered elite company, matching IndyCar legends, Al Unser Jr and Michael Andretti's 1984 and 1991 seasons, where each driver recorded eight wins.

On Sunday, December 3, Palou received the prestigious AS Sports Award in Spain for his achievements in IndyCar.

"It’s incredible to come home and receive this award," he said via AS. "We’ll try to drink more milk in Indianapolis. Mine has been one of those hard-won careers, like that of all the athletes here."

The comment about drinking more milk referred to a longstanding Indy 500 tradition, where the winner chugs a bottle of milk atop the podium. With four IndyCar championships to his name, Alex Palou also equaled Mario Andretti, Dario Franchitti, and Sebastian Bourdais in the all-time list.

Tennis legend Rafael Nadal, MotoGP champion Marc Marquez, soccer icons Raphaël Varane, Jesús Navas, Fernando Torres, and Raul, and 2016 Rio Olympics badminton champion Carolina Marin were the other athletes honored at the ceremony.

IndyCar legend reveals what makes Alex Palou stand out on the hyper-competitive grid

Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi pose in front of the Borg-Warner Trophy - Source: Getty

Alex Palou has emerged as a unique and special talent in the hyper-competitive world of IndyCar. His dominance in the series, with four championships in five years, especially in 2025, will be one that racing fans will look back on as something unforgettable.

His boss, Chip Ganassi, shared what separates the Spaniard from his rivals, which include active legends of the sport like Will Power, Scott Dixon, and Josef Newgarden.

"I've never seen anyone work with such discretion and diligence in their craft," Ganassi said. "At the beginning of the year, I said we were just beginning to discover his talent. I still think he has a lot more to accomplish in the coming seasons."

Palou is teammates with six-time IndyCar champion Dixon, who is finding it difficult to overpower or even match the 28-year-old on the track. On November 19, Palou unveiled the sterling silver likeness of his face on the prestigious Borg-Warner Trophy. His victory at the 109th Indy 500 gave Chip Ganassi Racing its seventh win at the premier IndyCar race and immortalized his name in the sport's history.