Palou heaps praises upon his favorite facility after Laguna win

Josef Newgarden has Iowa Speedway where he’s won seven times and enters every event on the bullring oval as the pre-race favorite. Alex Palou has WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca where he’s won three times from five starts and has an average finishing position of 1.6.

He didn’t lead on debut at Laguna, but managed to finish second, and on his return in 2022, he started a trend that speaks to his ownership of the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course as the Chip Ganassi Racing driver and the No. 10 Honda have led 250 of 380 laps.

So, what is it about Laguna Seca that connects so well with the 28-year-old’s driving style? Why has the track become his version of Newgarden’s Iowa?

“I don't know, honestly. I have no idea,” he said with a smile. “I love it so much, every single lap. Even the in-laps, the out-laps, I love every single lap I do around here with any car. I normally tend to love other tracks that we go to, but this is the most fun I have.“

"There's been different track conditions, as we know, like in 2021 and '22 I think we had the old pavement, and it was completely... Although it was the same track, it was a completely different technique that you needed.

“With the high grip that we had after the repave (in ’23) was another one. Today was a different one as well. It was changing a lot. The lines that you had to do were a little bit different in some areas, like [Turns] 2, 3, 11 a little bit.”

The Spaniard wasn’t much held in decoding the secrets behind his unrivaled skills at Laguna Seca, but we might have an answer that predated his first appearance.

“Probably the amount of laps I did on the simulator here when I was a kid helps,” he admitted. “It was my favorite track when I was a kid. I think it's one of the most iconic, if not the most iconic, road course that we have.”