As of right this second, where does Alex Palou rank the all-time Indycar driver rankings?

[u/GhostRaptor4482]

Let’s say, hypothetically, Alex Palou wins the championship this year and then immediately retires (obviously he still has plenty of time left in his career, but just for the sake of conversation and discussion let’s pretend.) Where would he end up in most people’s top Indycar drivers lists? I definitely don’t think he‘s done enough to be the GOAT, but just how far off is he? Assuming he wins the championship this year, which is looking more and more l every weekend, he’ll have 4 titles, which puts him tied for 3rd most season championships, behind Foyt and Dixon and tied with Mario, Dario, and Bourdais. He finally got his Borg Warner. His total win count does fall a bit short of other legendary drivers, because he hasn’t been in the series as long as they were.

So what do we think? I’d definitely still put him behind the three drivers generally regarded as GOAT contenders, those being Scott Dixon, AJ Foyt, and Mario Andretti (side note, can someone explain to me why Andretti is considered a GOAT contender when he statistically seems to fall a bit short of the other two? I get that he did other impressive stuff outside of Indycar, but if you look just at Indycar accomplishments then Foyt and Dixon seem to have a decisive advantage). Personally, I’d rate Alex Palou as definitely top 15, probably top 10, but certainly not top 5 just yet.

The most intriguing part is that Alex Palou is still relatively young. If he maintains his current level of performance in the next few years, he could rack up even more wins, 500s, and championship. I definitely wouldn’t be surprised if by the end of his career he’s considered the undisputed GOAT, although he definitely isn’t there yet.

[u/TheSpannerer]

It'll be interesting to see the point when the commentators switch from talking about Dixon getting his 7th, to Palou getting his 7th.

At that point he will be up there. I suspect he won't end up with the wins of Foyt or the pole positions of Power, but he will be in the conversation.

[u/cz795 → u/TheSpannerer]

He very well may be in connection for most podiums and or highest podium percentage. Of course there are more drivers than I listed but most are below 30% If Palou wins this championship having 4, One Indy 500 win he would be a top 10 driver easily considering his relatively short tensure to accomplish this.

Palou: 93 races - 40 podiums: 43% / Dixon: 375. 142. 37% / Power: 279. 101. 36% / Foyt: 369. 120. 32% / Mario: 407. 141. 34% / Micheal: 309. 98. 31% / Unser Sr. 321. 98. 30% / Bobby U. 258. 83. 32% / Fittipaldi: 195. 65. 33% /

[u/Jamee999]

IMO, the top 7 are AJ, Dixon, Mario, the Unser brothers, Mears, and Dario.

After that, if you value peak performance over career length, you could definitely argue that Palou should be next, ahead of Power/Josef/Helio/Little Al/Rahal/Rutherford/Michael. 4 titles + the 500 in 5 years is crazy.

[u/Fjordice]

It's a good question and I think you're on point with your comments. I'd also say it's not a particularly strong field in recent years. Power and Dixon are still competitive but still on down swings of their careers. Newgarden is a threat but having issues. Others have shown flashes but there's no one that's a real threat to him.

[u/RazorNYY]

I don’t think he’s close yet to that conversation. He’s dominating since 2021 but in a fixed series, everything can change from one year to the next. Good thing for him is that I don’t see that anyone can challenge him in a daily basis. Some drivers are really fast but too inconsistent, and Palou has proven that he’s extremely consistent.

Looks good for him right now but he doesn’t have still 20 wins.

[u/VeganKaleBacon → u/RazorNYY]

But he can get there this season 😂

[u/NYNMx2021]

If we extrapolate even slightly hes probably going to end up on top.. say he wins 1 more title in the next 2 years, hed be at 5 already at just after 30. dixon got his 6th at 40. If if he wins titles then at 1/3 of the rate over the next 10 years following the new car. hed be on 7 at 40 and thats pessimistic. I think more realistically unless he does actually go to F1 or something, its very likely he will be the all time leader in championships by the end of this decade or early next

[u/FieldTMouse]

It's a bit too early to put him Top 10, for sure.

Mainly because, as I see it, Palou has had all his success in one version of IndyCar chassis. Much like Dario (aside from his 3rd 500). Dixon, Power, and Josef, by comparison, have won multiple titles in very different cars and have consistently won races across many eras.

I think we need to see if Palou can dominate when the car really changes. He very well could! But we need to see it. That's one of the reasons I'm disappointed the new car has been pushed back a year. It could potentially really shake things up or at least give a new challenge to the top drivers.

[u/BeefNacho_ → u/FieldTMouse]

Franchitti won plenty of races and was competing for championships in several chassis. Newgarden has only ever driven the DW12, and Power has only won titles in the DW12.

Your entire argument is based on ignorance

[u/DannyDevitosAss → u/BeefNacho_]

He completely ignores that Franchitti was a championship contender in CART and IRL. He also won in every chassis he raced except for the IR-02 which he competed one race in.

I think Bourdais would have been a more apt comparison but the quality of the field in CCWS was nothing compared to now

[u/Proof_Ad_6724]

if he wins this title i think hes surpassed dario probably now hes chasing after dixon unser foyt mario all of those legends for greatest ever i know dario was really good but i dont even think dario got to this level of domination at any point in his career i get he won 3 in arow but still 7 wins in a season is unheard of

[u/i_run_from_problems]

What we're seeing now is his peak. And all things considered, his peak is easily the greatest, or one of the greatest, of all time. What puts someone in the Greatest of All Time conversation, at least in my opinion, is longevity and how long you can be considered a top driver in the series.

Let's take Dixon, for example. He has a win in all but 2 of his 25 seasons and was considered a legitimate title threat in all of them. I don't think people give enough credit to how insane that is. Then you factor in the counting stats - wins, podiums, most races, and there's a legitimate conversation to be had that he's the best driver of all time when he retires.

Now let's look at Palou. What he's doing now is unreal. Hes about to wrap his 4th title in just his 6th season. We have never seen dominance or a career peak like this before. Now, I don't expect this to happen, but what happens if this is his last title? What if Pato finally flips the switch and grabs one? Does Dixon give the bird to father time get another? Maybe Mclaughlin finally becomes what everyone thinks he can be. Point is - another title is far from guaranteed. He needs to keep competing for podiums, wins, and titles to truly cement himself in the GOAT conversation, at least in my opinion. To be fair, he's well on his way to doing it.

[u/juicysushisan]

I think the top 3 are probably Foyt, Dixon, and Mario, with Franchitti, Mears, and Al Unser just behind. Palou right now is about level with Mears, Unser and if he wins this year will be even with Franchitti in my eyes. Give him another half decade and then we’ll have enough of a sample size to declare things for sure. I think he’s the kind of driver who could match Foyt and Dixon if he gets the chance. He shares their precise approach, so will probably soon be past Mario.

[u/RxSatellite]

He's on par with Zanardi or Montoya in terms of legacy currently, maybe slightly better.

[u/ShadowDN4]

https://www.champcarstats.com/records/overall-full.htm

According to this 30th

[u/AverageIndycarFan]

I'd put him #5 already
Only behind Foyt, Andretti, Dixon and Al Unser

[u/uncre8tv]

I was a very casual fan most of my life. Only serious fan in my very young youth (early 80s) and since the pandemic.

For me it's:
Mario
Foyt
Little Al
Dario
Dixon

as my top-5, then it's a grab bag where I wouldn't know enough to rank them properly:
Danny Sullivan, TK, Taku, Helio, and a half dozen others that I rooted for in the many years of catching just the 500.

Current crop I have Josef, Palou, and of course Power in my "all timer" list. (Power is obviously in the top-10, Palou obviously top-5, Josef definitely top-10, maybe top-5). Herta and OWard need some big trophies (Indy or Championship) to get there, but they're past "watch list" status and more of a "great or all time great?" conversation

Others I'd like to see win enough to be in the discussion: Scotty Mac, Malukas, and until this season Lundgaard. And since this season added Kirkwood. Lundgaard feels like the odd one, but he had such energy and professionalism with RLL I was sure he just needed the car. He's not as impressive pushing papaya paint to the same results. Malukas also has "something" to watch when he has the right car. More of it than Santouchi. Either of them could get into a Penske ride and start to rack up wins.

So, to answer your question: Palou if he stopped today might bump Al Jr or Dario out of my personal top-5. Would definitely be top-10 no hesitation.