Alex Palou is a three-time IndyCar Series champion, with the last two clinched in stunning back-to-back success. Yet, even as a reigning champ, Palou feels his resume is unfinished without a victory in the Indianapolis 500.

“You cannot be an amazing IndyCar driver without winning the Indy 500, for sure,” Palou told Motorsport.com. “I would say winning it multiple times, it’s really tough just because it doesn’t depend only on you. But winning it one time with the team I have run has to be done. I don’t need to do it next year or the following one; I have a lot of years to do it.” 

While the Spaniard has yet to win a race on an oval, he finished runner-up in the 2021 edition of the Indy 500 after leading the second-most laps (35). He also captured the pole for the 2023 event. In his five career Indy 500 starts, he has led in four of them for a total of 119 laps. 

Despite his strong form in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” Palou takes nothing for granted after witnessing how tough it has been for Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon over the years. A six-time series champion, Dixon’s stout record at the Indy 500 includes ultimate glory in 2008 but it stands as his only victory in 22 starts, which also includes three runner-up finishes, five poles and 677 laps led (most all-time).

Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda crossing the bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the Month of May

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images

“Dixon, it’s wild that he only has one, but that’s how it goes,” Palou said. “And he’s the best IndyCar driver we’ve had in, I would say, almost ever. Yeah, hopefully, I can win it someday. But, yes, I don’t think the job is complete until we win an Indy 500, which would mean that I won on an oval, as well.”

Further regarding his own legacy and what has been achieved in only five seasons in the sport, the 27-year-old Palou doesn’t think about how much higher the ceiling can go.

“I think it’s really tough to win one championship,” Palou said. “It’s tougher to win two. And it’s tougher, tougher to win three. I think it just becomes more difficult every time, even if it seems that we’re halfway to six, we are a long, long way.”

But that is already halfway to Dixon.

“Yeah, but it’s 100% of what I’ve done,” Palou said. “It’s a lot, so I don’t know where is the limit. I’m really pretty sure that with this team and with the work that they put in and what I want to put in, we can keep on winning and fighting for championships. Yes, I want to win eight, but I’m focused on next year. I don’t try and win eight and that’s my goal. 

And staying in to the present moment has Palou not only locked in on becoming the first driver from his home country to win the Indy 500, but also capturing three consecutive championships – a mark that would move him alongside Dario Franchitti’s magical run from 2009-11. 

“I’ll try and win the Indy 500 next year and the championship and tie with Dario and be like, ‘Hey, I’ve done it as well,’” Palou said. “So, that’s the next goal. I’m not thinking about anything else than that just to be able to make fun of Dario; that’s the goal.”

MANCHESTER UNITED will reportedly consider HALVING the budget allocated to their disabled supporters’ association.

Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is in charge of football operations at Old Trafford, set about trying to slash costs immediately after arriving earlier this year.

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He made 250 people redundant ahead of the 2024-25 campaign and axed several members of staff from United’s pre-season tour.

Senior staff had their access to private cars withdrawn, while some workers had their meal plans drastically changed.

In one of Ratcliffe’s most recent cost-cutting methods, legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson was let go from his ambassadorial role.

But the British billionaire could now agree to a hugely controversial move in a bid to lower spending even more.

The Daily Mail claims United could HALVE the budget they allocate to the Manchester United Disabled Supporters Association.

As things stand, MUDSA is given £40,000-a-year by the club.

It feels like the club has lost touch with its soul.

Man Utd insidervia The Mail

Funds go towards a variety of areas including a yearly Christmas party which is attended by the first team squad.

MUDSA also works with the Manchester United Foundation to deliver sporting events for people with mixed abilities.

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Should the Red Devils agree to go ahead with the cuts, it would likely generate a hostile response.

An insider told the Mail: “This is nothing short of a disgrace. The figures they are talking about are a drop in the ocean and the optics would be horrific. It feels like the club has lost touch with its soul.

“The disabled supporters’ club has always been a big part of Manchester United and when you see how much money is being wasted on paying off managers and bringing in players who aren’t good enough, something like this will be very difficult to justify.”

Man Utd have declined to comment.

What we know about the ‘new’ Old Trafford

MANCHESTER UNITED plan to build a new stadium rather than redevelop Old Trafford.

The decision was made after a number of fact-finding missions to other stadiums including the Bernabeu and Nou Camp.

The cost of the project is expected to be a staggering £2billion.

A capacity of 100,000 is expected.

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It is felt that a club of United’s standing should have a new state-of-the-art facility.

The new stadium will be built on land adjacent to the Red Devils’ current home.

United are looking to not only build a stadium but regenerate the area of Trafford where the ground will stand.

There had been plans to KEEP Old Trafford rather than demolish it, and use it as a scaled down second venue.

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However, it’s looking increasing likely that it will in fact be entirely demolished.

The club consulted with 30,000 fans about what to do and believe there is roughly a 50-50 split on staying or moving.

The club have appointed the architects Foster + Partners to come up with a “masterplan”. The company were behind Wembley Stadium.

Old Trafford has been United’s home since 1910.

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The target is for completion by 2030.

NEW YORK – Karine Silva has a theory about her fight Saturday, provided the outcome is the one she’s expecting.

Once Silva (18-4 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has her hand raised against fellow Brazilian Viviane Araujo (12-6 MMA, 6-5 UFC), she surmises, she’ll be installed as the proverbial next big thing in the women’s flyweight division. And that, she thinks, will leave the UFC no choice but to give her a title shot.

And part of that is because she said she has a hard time getting anyone else to take a fight with her.

“Obviously my focus is on Saturday, but I’ve looked at (the title picture) and the biggest difficulty, even though we’re not thinking that far ahead, is getting girls to accept fights,” Silva said. “That’s one of the difficulties we have: Who’s going to take the fight against me?”

Saturday, that is Araujo, who has dropped three of her past four fights. The women meet on the pay-per-view main card Saturday at UFC 309 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+) at Madison Square Garden in New York.

And though Araujo may not have the same kind of stellar recent run as Silva, who comes in with nine straight wins, all by stoppage, the 30-year-old Silva said there’s no overlooking her.

“She’s a tough fighter, obviously – No. 9 in the ranking does her justice for everything that she’s done. But it’s my turn now. I think I’ve built a lot throughout camp, and on Saturday it’s my turn to grab that victory.”

Check out Silva’s full interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

They are led by a Euro 2016 hero, have a Giggs in their starting line-up, and boast a goalscorer who is exciting many at Manchester United.

While Wales’ new era continues under Craig Bellamy, the country’s next generation is making a significant step in Scotland this week.

Containing some names that are already familiar to many and some that could yet prove to be household ones of the future, Wales Under-19s have begun their latest European qualifiers.

Managed by 109-cap defender Chris Gunter, their campaign started with a win against the hosts in Stirling.

They clearly impressed former Scotland midfielder Nigel Quashie – whose son, Arsenal’s Brayden Clarke, played at centre-back in the 1-0 win.

“This Wales squad showed signs that this group of players are only going to better,” he posted on X , externalof a team, many of whom – including Clarke – reached the Under-17s Euros finals last summer.

Clarke is not the only former professional’s offspring in the side; Zach Giggs had a hand setting up Wales’ only goal as he donned the same dragon worn 64 times by his father, Manchester United great Ryan.

But, as Wales look ahead to games against France (Saturday, 16 November) and Liechtenstein (Tuesday, 19 November) seeking to progress to the elite round qualifiers in spring and then possibly the first major finals at this age grade, they are not the only youngsters that Welsh football bosses are hoping could be senior stars in the not too distant future.

If Raducanu is picked against Germany as expected, she will be tasked with putting her team ahead in the three-match tie before Katie Boulter plays in the second singles match.

It has been a winning formula. Raducanu and Boulter won three of their four singles matches as GB beat France in April’s qualifier.

Boulter, ranked 24th in the world, is the nation’s leading player, with Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and doubles specialist Olivia Nicholls completing the team in Spain.

Raducanu, though, has not played since 21 September when she retired from her Korea Open quarter-final against Daria Kasatkina, but on Thursday she insisted she was ready.

“I’m in a place where I feel good and confident to give it my all if I’m to be on the match court,” said Raducanu, who is “in discussions” about bringing Naomi Osaka’s former fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura into her team.

“I’ve been training in the last three weeks on it, properly building up and last week I was throwing myself around the court. It’s feeling good.

“I’m happy to be in this position especially because it did take longer than we think. I feel really fit.”

Raducanu has played just 33 matches this year after returning from the wrist and ankle surgeries which ruled her out of most of last season.

There have been moments of encouragement on her climb back into the world’s top 60, but plenty of patience has also been required.

As she recovered from the foot problem, Raducanu used the time away from the match court to “detach”.

She spent quality time with her grandma who lives in China, brushed up her skills on the piano and read a stack of books.

The mind is rested. But will the body be sharp?

“Sharpness is something which comes with matches and although I haven’t played in a while, it will be good to find out,” said Raducanu, who lamented not playing enough matches before her painful US Open first-round exit in August.

“On the practice court and practice points, I feel sharp and pretty good.

“I don’t feel too far behind even though the second half of the season I have been a lot lighter on tournaments.”

If Jon Jones plans to fight again after facing Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, he only has one option and that’s a showdown with interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.

That’s according to UFC CEO Dana White, who responded to Jones’ comments leading up to his fight on Saturday where he’s repeatedly shut down a potential fight against Aspinall and instead favored a matchup with UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Jones even went as far as saying Aspinall is “such an assh*le that I don’t want to do business with him.”

“He’s not fighting Pereira,” White told Jim Rome when asked about Jones’ plans for the future. “[Pereira] was a middleweight that moved up to light heavyweight. He’s also a kickboxer who has done very, very well in MMA. His wrestling isn’t even near the level of Jon Jones and Jon Jones is way bigger than him.

“If Jon Jones wants to fight again after Saturday night, he will fight Tom Aspinall.”

That’s great news for Aspinall, who is currently in New York to play the backup for the fight between Jones and Miocic on Saturday,

Aspinall claimed the interim heavyweight title almost exactly one year ago after Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle that forced him to delay the fight against Miocic. In the meantime, Aspinall defended his interim belt with a stunning first-round knockout over Curtis Blaydes back in July.

Since then, Aspinall has repeatedly called for the fight against Jones while stating that he’s facing Miocic for the “most disputed title” in the UFC.

Everything Aspinall said has only caused Jones to dig in his heels that much more whenever he addresses the potential fight but White says that’s the only matchup he’s willing to make.

“Jon’s weird in how he deals with this type of stuff,” White said. “Like he’ll show up for a fight like this, he’ll be prepared mentally, physically, and everything else and then when the fight’s over, he sort of goes and disappears and he wants to challenge himself again and Tom Aspinall is there. He’s doing the whole ‘he doesn’t deserve it’ … but Jon when was 23 years old and he became the youngest champion ever, somebody gave him the opportunity for greatness. I think Jon will eventually come back and face Tom Aspinall.

“But if he decides Saturday night that’s it, it’s over, it’s his right to make that decision. What this guy has accomplished, nobody else has even come close to accomplishing and he’s the greatest of all time. So we’ll see.”

White is rather adamant when addressing Jones either taking the Aspinall fight or calling it a career but he refuses to believe that the reigning UFC heavyweight champion is actually ducking anybody.

That narrative has plagued Jones in the days leading up to his fight against Miocic but White promises that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“For anybody to say he’s ducking anybody, Jon Jones is like 37, 38 years old, he’s fought everybody,” White said. “He’s fought all the best in the world, in their prime, been doing it since he was 23 years old. He doesn’t duck. And he’s undefeated, he’s never lost a fight, which is unbelievable in like 16 years.”

For all the ways Jones has refused to even acknowledge Aspinall as a potential opponent, White won’t close the door on that fight actually happening down the road.

If Jones wins on Saturday, White expects him to take some time off before deciding whether or not he wants to compete again. Assuming Jones wants to return for another fight, White is confident he’ll take on Aspinall.

“That is classic Jon Jones right there. Classic Jon Jones,” White said. “Jon will do what he does on Saturday, if he wins, he’ll disappear for a while and then that competitive spirit will start bubbling up again and then money will talk. If he doesn’t decide to retire, he absolutely, positively fights Aspinall.