Alex Palou heads to this week’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at Phoenix Raceway on an upward trajectory after convincingly winning last weekend’s season-opening race in St. Petersburg. The four-time series champion is on the rise historically, as well.

The driver of the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda is scheduled to make his 100th series start in Saturday’s Good Ranchers 250 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio, powered by OnlyBulls). With 20 career wins, Palou is already assured of winning at least 20 percent of his first 100 races, something no other active driver has accomplished.

SEE: Phoenix Event Details

Scott Dixon (59), Will Power (45) and Josef Newgarden (32) have more career series victories than Palou, but none of them reached their 100th race with as many trips to victory lane. Power had the most wins at that point with 18. Dixon and Newgarden had seven each.

Palou’s 20th victory earned him a spot on the all-time list alongside Earl Cooper, who earned his last win exactly 100 years ago. Palou has some of the sport’s most legendary drivers in his sights.

  • Two more wins ties him with Tony Bettenhausen and Emerson Fittipaldi
  • Four more wins pulls him alongside Ralph DePalma and Bobby Rahal
  • Five more wins gets him even with Gordon Johncock
  • Seven more wins matches the career of Johnny Rutherford

Alex Palou

Of course, Palou (photo, above) will make his first career start on Phoenix’s historic 1-mile oval, but the same can be said of most of the drivers in the 25-car field since this is the first series race here since 2018. Dixon has made six starts (2003-05, 2016-18). The six-time series champion won the race in ’16 and finished second in ’04.

Newgarden, Power, Alexander Rossi and Graham Rahal are the other drivers with three series starts in the Arizona desert. Power finished third in ’18 and was second in ’17. Newgarden won in ’18, with Rossi third and Dixon fourth. Rahal’s best finish was fifth in ’16.

There were six oval races on last year’s schedule, and Palou won two of them. One-time winners were Pato O’Ward, Kyle Kirkwood, Christian Rasmussen and Newgarden.

This is one of three Saturday races on the 2026 schedule, as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is competing on a rare doubleheader with the NASCAR Cup Series on the same weekend in a “Desert Double.”

The Phoenix action begins with three Friday sessions airing on FS2. The first practice begins at 10 a.m. ET with qualifying for the NTT P1 Award at 2 p.m. and a final practice at 4:30 p.m., including sessions to work in the high line of the oval.

The race distance is 250 miles.