- Alex Palou starts from pole position for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500.
- WWT Raceway is one of the few tracks where he has never finished on the podium.
- David Malukas, Kyle Kirkwood and Scott McLaughlin head a strong chasing pack.
Alex Palou has spent much of 2026 making the extraordinary look routine.
Four wins, four consecutive pole positions and a growing championship lead have left the rest of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field searching for answers. Weekend after weekend, the Spaniard has found a way to stay one step ahead.
Yet as the series heads under the lights at World Wide Technology Raceway, there is a sense that this race presents a different kind of examination.
Not because Palou lacks speed. Saturday’s pole-winning performance put that argument to bed.
Instead, it is because WWTR remains one of the very few venues on the calendar where his record looks surprisingly human.
The one venue that refuses to fit the script
Pole position was another reminder of Palou’s remarkable form.
His two-lap average of 174.353mph secured top spot on the provisional grid and continued a run that is rapidly becoming one of the defining stories of the season.
But while Palou has conquered almost every challenge thrown at him this year, World Wide Technology Raceway remains unfinished business.
His best finish at the 1.25-mile oval is fourth. In fact, it is the only circuit on the current INDYCAR schedule where he has raced previously without recording a podium finish.
That statistic stands out because so few weaknesses exist elsewhere in his record.
The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 therefore feels like more than just another opportunity to extend a championship lead. It feels like a chance to erase one of the final question marks surrounding his season.
Of course, starting from pole is one thing. Managing 260 laps in traffic under the lights is something entirely different.
WWTR has a habit of producing races that reward patience as much as outright speed.
Plenty of drivers ready to spoil the party
If Palou’s rivals needed encouragement, they only need to look at the names surrounding him on the grid.
David Malukas lines up alongside the championship leader after another impressive qualifying display. Few drivers are more comfortable on short ovals, and the front-row start gives him a genuine opportunity to dictate the early stages.
Kyle Kirkwood starts third and arrives with perhaps the strongest recent memories of anyone in the field. The Andretti driver won this race a year ago and remains Palou’s closest challenger in the championship standings.
Then there is Scott McLaughlin.
Starting fifth, the Team Penske driver has quietly assembled another strong weekend and possesses the race craft to become a major factor once pit strategy begins to unfold.
Further back, Josef Newgarden starts eighth, which might not sound particularly threatening until you consider his history at the venue.
Five previous victories have made him the undisputed master of WWTR’s unique demands. If cautions fall his way and Team Penske gets the strategy right, few drivers in the field would relish seeing him appear in their mirrors late in the race.
That is why tonight feels more intriguing than the starting order initially suggests.
Palou is deservedly the favourite. The numbers, the form and the championship standings all point in his direction.
Yet this is also one of the few circuits that has consistently resisted becoming another chapter in his success story.
If he wins from pole, it may be the clearest indication yet that the 2026 championship is slipping beyond everybody else’s reach.
If he doesn’t, World Wide Technology Raceway could remind the paddock that even Alex Palou still has a few challenges left to conquer.
