Scott Dixon’s teammate Alex Palou thanked the Kiwi for being willing to help him transition into the Chip Ganassi team this year, despite the pair locked in a tense title fight.
In his sophomore IndyCar season, Palou has been super impressive and currently leads the championship with six races to go.
The Spaniard looks every bit like a young Dixon. He is fast, calculated, and consistent.
The two have the best and second-best finishing averages across the field this year, with the double-points Indy 500 the only reason why Dixon is third in the standings and not second.
Dixon has needed a teammate like Palou for some time now.
Previously, he was often tasked to single-handedly lead Chip Ganassi’s title charge.
With Palou by his side, Dixon has been open to sharing his veteran advice with the youngster.
That is despite both likely going to enter the final round head-to-head in the fight for the championship trophy.
“[Dixon] is the best at practices, he’s the best at qualifying and he’s really good on the races,” Palou said.
“I am trying to learn as much as possible from him.
“The good thing is that Scott, he’s always answering.
“If I have any doubt on what’s the best way to save some fuel at Mid-Ohio, he’s going to say, ‘hey, this is how I do it, this is what I’m going to do on the race’.
“He’s been a really good help for me this year.”
Earlier this year, Dixon anticipated an exciting season-long fight with Palou.
“It’s great to see somebody that’s easy to work with,” Dixon said
“He is extremely willing and wanting to learn, asks a lot of questions, sends a lot of text messages to try and do a better job.
“It’s definitely going to be a hell of a fight.”
Chip Ganassi driver coach and another ex-teammate to Dixon Dario Franchitti says he has also noticed the open partnership between the two drivers this year.
“Scott has been [in IndyCar] a long time, won everything and got so much experience in everything that he does, including how he runs practice sessions.
“One thing Alex does is he comes into the truck and says, ‘Scott, come here. How do you do that?’
“He’s dead straight up. He’s not trying to get information by stealth, he just asks him.”
Fifty-six points separate Palou and Dixon in the standings, with McLaren’s Pato O’Ward also between the two.
The IndyCar championship heads to Nashville on August 8 for its next round.