With eight wins this season, Alex Palou has been the dominant driver in the IndyCar Series. So it comes as no surprise that the Chip Ganassi Racing driver could clinch the IndyCar title early. This weekend, Palou has his first chance to secure the championship at Portland International Raceway. What does he need to do to crown himself the 2025 IndyCar Series champion?

The points scenarios

The answer is quite simple: he needs to leave Portland with at least a 108-point lead over Pato O’Ward, who is currently second in the championship standings. Each race weekend offers a maximum of 54 points (50 for a win, one for pole position, one for leading a lap during the race and two for leading the most laps). After Portland, two races remain on the calendar — Milwaukee and Nashville — so 2 × 54 = 108 points.

However, a driver earns five points just for starting a race. So if Palou starts the final two races, he automatically collects two times five points, meaning ten points. Therefore, if Palou leaves Portland with a lead between 98 and 108 points, there's still a theoretical chance he might not start the last two races — and thus wouldn’t be the official champion just yet.

The current points standings

With his recent win at Laguna Seca, Palou has extended his lead over O’Ward to 121 points. That means he can afford to give up 13 points to O’Ward in Portland and still become the official champion. He could even give up as many as 23 points and unofficially secure the title.

The odds of Palou having a poor result in Portland, however, are very low. The Spaniard has won five of the six races held on road courses this year — a category that includes Portland. Additionally, Palou has won twice at the Oregon track over the past four years and finished second once.

The current IndyCar standings