Palou locked up the title with one weekend remaining in the 17-race schedule, marking the first time in IndyCar the championship has been settled before the finale since the late Dan Wheldon won in 2005
The Spaniard hasn’t had a single mechanical problem, has completed all but two laps this season and hasn’t finished lower than eighth through 15 races
The victory was the 55th of Dixon’s career, and it came in his record-extending 320th consecutive start
Ganassi took Palou to court last summer because Palou, the 2021 IndyCar champion, said he was declining Ganassi’s team-owner option on his contract and instead moving to McLaren
The management firm that negotiated Palou’s contract with McLaren last year expressed its own disappointment in Palou’s latest change of mind
Palou executed perfect strategy with a fast car to beat Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon by a wide margin
The 32-year-old from Nashville is the first American to win Indy since Alexander Rossi in 2016
After his shock announcement that he will be leaving the category next year, he may be turning his attention full time to other series, with particular focus on the Indy 500
