Give Alex Palou credit. He didn’t let up, and he didn’t give in – at least not without a fight.

The driver already assured of his fourth NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship valiantly chased history Sunday, dominating the Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250 in a bid to match A.J. Foyt’s record of 10 wins in a single season, a mark that has stood for more than 60 years.

As the top qualifier, Palou led 199 of the first 234 laps only to lose the lead of the 250-lap race on tire strategy. Palou and two other frontrunners didn’t retreat to pit road for new Firestone Firehawks during a late caution, and it cost them as Christian Rasmussen stormed to the front.

But Palou made Rasmussen earn what he got. Their two cars went side-by-side through Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 235, and they appeared to have contact as they motored onto the front straightaway. Rasmussen’s fresher tires proved to be the difference, and he did the rest to become the series’ first first-time winner since Christian Lundgaard in 2023 at Toronto.

“He always races hard,” Palou said of Ed Carpenter Racing’s spirited driver. “He was going to pass me or go to the fence.”

Palou settled for second place and confirmation that the most wins he can achieve this season is nine. One final opportunity will come next weekend in the season-ending Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by WillScot (2 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network) at Nashville Superspeedway.

“I knew he was fourth, then next corner he was third, then he was second,” Palou said of Rasmussen’s march from the seventh position after the restart on Lap 222. “He was only a second and a half (behind). Then I started pushing 100 percent.

“I wanted to get at least one more second (ahead) or try and extend a little bit more the laps. I couldn't make it. I knew that he was coming and (his getting alongside in Turn 3) caught me by surprise. Obviously, I didn't want him to overtake me. He was very good on the outside in (Turns) 1 and 2, getting great exits. Also, (Turns) 3 and 4.

“Yeah, I couldn't do very much.”

Alex Palou Scott McLaughlin

Palou (photo above, left) can’t be blamed for letting this win get away. He drove brilliantly, knifing through traffic better than anyone else for most of the race. At one point Palou led by nearly 10 seconds, and at the final restart he had a two-car buffer from second-place Scott McLaughlin. The winner of two other oval races this season was going to earn a third, barring a dramatic turn of events.

That turn of events came from the clouds. On Lap 209, Race Control had no choice but to issue a caution for light (and brief) sprinkles. Palou and McLaughlin both agreed with the decision.

“We could see quite a lot of drops,” Palou said. “Maybe … suddenly you spin because they don’t call the yellow, so, yeah. If you feel (the rain), that’s it.”

The short-lived yellow gave everyone the opportunity to pit. Given their place at the front, Palou’s No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda crew decided to stick with the tires they had. Team Penske made the same call for the cars of McLaughlin and third-place Josef Newgarden. All other cars on the lead lap headed to pit road.

Palou supported what he called a “50/50” especially given his position at the time.

“It's really tough (to pit) when you're leading,” he said. “If everybody else stays out, suddenly you pit from first and you go to eighth. There's no way with lap cars in between (us and the new leader) we would end up winning. I would still do the same.

“Obviously, now if you look at the result, you would say, ‘Why you didn't pit?’ I think it was a tough decision.”

For a few laps, the decision of the top three seemed sound. Drivers with new tires found themselves in a ferocious battle, and a crash seemed possible at several corners. Note that none of the drivers except Rasmussen passed Palou and McLaughlin, so it was probably the right decision. Newgarden had to save his No. 2 Snap-on Team Penske Chevrolet amid Turn 2 traffic and faded to seventh.

“I think (new tires) actually only worked for some,” said Palou in a reference to Rasmussen.

It just cost Palou a chance to tie Foyt’s record next Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway.

Palou is still soon to complete one of the most outstanding seasons in INDYCAR SERIES history. Through 16 races, he has eight wins, two second-place finishes (at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Milwaukee Mile), a third-place finish (at Portland International Raceway) and six poles. He staked an early claim to his third consecutive series championship by winning four of the season’s first five races, including his first Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

Only three drivers in the sport’s history have won more races in a season: Foyt, Al Unser (10 in 1970) and Mario Andretti (nine in 1969). If not for David Malukas knocking Palou into the tire barrier in the Detroit street race, the 28-year-old Spaniard would go to Nashville with a chance to complete every lap this season offered. Only six drivers have done that, the most recent being Will Power in 2022.

“I still had the mentality that I could win, that we could stay up front,” Palou said of Sunday’s late turn of events. “But I was wrong.”