Alex Palou has driven superbly during the IndyCar season and comfortably leads the championship with four races to go.
The Spaniard has taken two victories for Chip Ganassi Racing this year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and at Laguna Seca, as well as the $1 Million Challenge at The Thermal Club.
Palou has also won two of the last three championships and the 2023 title at a canter, winning the crown at Portland before the season’s final round.
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver has performed admirably on road and street circuits but has yet to take victory on an oval.
Alex Palou feels he has the capability to take victory on an oval
Palou has suffered inconsistencies on ovals this season after driving to fifth place at the 108th Running of the Indy 500 before crashing in the first race of the weekend at Iowa Speedway.
Ovals are a particular discipline of motorsport that is hugely popular in North America but less prevalent in Europe, where the Chip Ganassi Racing driver began racing.
Team Penske have been dominant on ovals this season, winning all four races on that type of circuit this season.
The most recent oval race at World Wide Technology Raceway saw Josef Newgarden take victory. However, the race was marred by controversy due to the chaotic restart in the closing stages.
Palou told NBC Sports that he is confident in his ability to win on an oval despite never standing on the podium’s top step on that type of circuit.
He said: “I feel so, but so far it’s been only good for a second. I think we need to keep up the work, keep on pushing, keep on knocking on that door. I think we made progress, so hopefully you can make even more progress next week at Milwaukee, but we’ll talk about that.”
Alex Palou sees Portland as a good chance to score a sizeable amount of points
The BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland is the final event on a road course of the season before three races on ovals at Milwaukee and Nashville.
Portland has been a strong venue for Palou, and he has taken victory twice at the circuit in 2021, and last season, he went on to win the championship both times.
The 27-year-old expects Portland to be an excellent opportunity to score points and is fully focused on this weekend ahead of the three ovals to end the year.
He said: “It’s a great opportunity. It’s sad that it’s the last road course, but having three ovals at the end gives me an opportunity to win, finally, one of the oval races. That’s what we’re aiming for. We’re obviously 100% focused on Portland now.”