Dallara IR-28 oval test puts IndyCar's chassis cycle in focus as Palou wins fourth straight title

The operational calendar at Chip Ganassi Racing carries a concrete next date: Alex Palou is set to shakedown the Dallara IR-28 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval on Thursday, weeks after securing his fourth consecutive NTT IndyCar Series championship. Palou tested the IR-28, the series' first new chassis in well over a decade, at Indianapolis in August and told OutKick the session ran with "almost zero issues." The car's in-race debut is targeted for 2028, with more than a year of further development ahead for both engine manufacturers, Honda and Chevrolet.

Four straight, and the numbers behind it

Four consecutive championships places Palou alongside Sébastien Bourdais as the only drivers in series history to accomplish that run. Bourdais did it in the mid-2000s, before the Indy Racing League and the Champ Car World Series merged into the current series. Palou's latest title is his fifth in six years. The 29-year-old from Spain pilots the No. 10 Honda for CGR, a team he says counts crew members in his car who have been present for all 18 of the organization's championships.

The setup and what shifts in 2027

Scott Dixon, Palou's longtime teammate, leaves CGR for Arrow McLaren in 2027 after 25 years with the team. The replacement in the No. 9 had not been named as of writing, and Palou would likely be the most experienced driver on the roster alongside Kyffin Simpson in the No. 8. Palou has noted that CGR does not run a lead-driver structure. He pointed to his first season alongside Dixon and NASCAR great Jimmie Johnson as evidence: despite their records, he had equal input on car preparation from the start.

The series itself came off a high-profile event. Palou described the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C. as "a 12 out of 10 as an event in general" and a sign of the series' capacity when it executes at full stretch.

On the chassis side, Palou's read from August is that the IR-28 would outpace the current field today. That's a projection from a driver with a direct stake in the program, and the car still has a full development year ahead before its 2028 race debut. He added that he would prefer to race it next year rather than wait, which is not how the schedule reads.

What to watch

Thursday's oval shakedown at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the next hard data point on the IR-28 timeline. The identity of the No. 9 driver at CGR is the open roster question for 2027.