Alex Palou<\/a>, driver of the No. 10 car for Chip Ganassi Racing, won eight of the 17 INDYCAR events last season. Tyler Reddick<\/a>, driver of the No. 45 car for Michal Jordan-owned 23XI Racing, has won four of the first six NASCAR Cup events this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n With Reddick\u2019s 23XI Racing having won (OK, settled with the terms in its favor) a lawsuit against NASCAR last December, some want to believe that they are now getting a pass in the inspection bay. Especially considering he didn\u2019t win a race last year.<\/p>\n Tyler Reddick has won four of the first six NASCAR Cup races this season.\u00a0 <\/p>\n [INSIDE THE GARAGE: Just How Bad do Drivers Want to Beat Former Teammates?<\/a>]<\/p>\n But this was a team that was close to winning and now with the burden of the lawsuit off the team, it certainly can focus more on performance. And if NASCAR wanted to help the winning teams in the lawsuit, then Front Row Motorsports \u2014 which also was part of the lawsuit \u2014 should have gotten some love, too (they haven\u2019t).<\/p>\n Even 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin<\/a> mentioned the theories on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast.<\/p>\n “NASCAR\u2019s giving 23XI all the wins and the fast cars right now,” he said.<\/p>\n His co-host mentioned the lawsuit.<\/p>\n “That’s how you know you’re doing things right is when those wild conspiracies come out,” Hamlin said. “It’s like, \u2018Oh man, that’s fantastic.\u2019 Because you\u2019ve got them concentrating on everything except for what actually matters.”<\/p>\n It\u2019s not like the opponents are saying 23XI are getting any favors. RFK driver Brad Keselowski<\/a> said they have found the mix of horsepower and downforce that has made them fast.<\/p>\n Now you never totally know if the team is able to do something that has so far gotten by inspectors. But that would be true of any winner of any race. And it\u2019s likely NASCAR will be looking closely at what the team is doing each week. And the more a team’s car is torn down as the winner, the more likely NASCAR should find something if it is amiss.<\/p>\n It isn\u2019t just NASCAR that deals with this chatter. Will Power<\/a>, driver of the No. 26 car for Andretti Global, was needling Palou on not having an in-car camera for road and street courses as they shared the stage as the second-place and third-place finishers at the INDYCAR Arlington race.<\/p>\n Palou said: “Obviously we’re trying to hide stuff.”<\/p>\n He then said if he got an in-car camera: “I’ll start hiding some other stuff then.”<\/p>\n In a virtual news conference Tuesday, Power said he wasn\u2019t indicating that Palou was hiding something.<\/p>\n “I just wanted to see Alex Palou driving on a street or road course,” Power said. “There hasn’t been an on-board on his car on a street or road course. [On an] oval, Indy 500, he had one, but you can’t really tell anything.”<\/p>\n Power said he just wanted to see what Palou was doing.<\/p>\n “I just want to see the man in action, the man that’s setting the pace, the guy that’s the quickest guy,” Power said. “I want to look at his driving. I admire it. It was more about that. I want to see what he does.<\/p>\n “I don’t think he’s hiding. I was only joking. I think INDYCAR should want to see it.”<\/p>\n No matter Power’s intent, Palou was quick in the news conference to address the elephant in the room as he knows what people might think because of his dominance. As somebody who has spent time in both garages\/paddocks, I will say that there were fewer whispers about Palou’s dominance and what the team was doing versus what would likely be said in a NASCAR garage if a driver won half the races of a season.<\/p>\n INDYCAR is getting a new car in 2028 and that potentially will be a great equalizer. NASCAR regularly changes some rules, which also keeps drivers or teams who land on something (legal or hidden enough to skirt the rules) from keeping their advantage.<\/p>\n Alex Palou is the three-time defending INDYCAR champion. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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