Alex Palou tops qualifying for the Freedom 250 in Washington, his 7th IndyCar pole of the season

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Palou is closing in on a fifth IndyCar championship — he could even clinch it this weekend in the nation's capital.

So far he's shown no signs of slowing down.

Palou won his seventh pole of the season Saturday, topping qualifying for Sunday's Freedom 250 Grand Prix. The 29-year-old from Barcelona leads the standings by 133 points with four races remaining. If that lead reaches 163 at the end of Sunday's race, he'd clinch the series title.

“I’m really thinking about the race more than the championship,” he said. “Obviously getting both at the same time would be incredible.”

Kyle Kirkwood had the fastest qualifying lap of 56.7729 seconds, but that was in the first round. Once qualifying was cut down to the final group of six, Palou’s time of 56.8993 beat Kirkwood by over a half-second.

Already with titles in 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025, Palou has been dominant this year as well. He has six victories — nobody else has more than two. Nobody else has more than two poles, either.

If there's any consolation for the rest of the field, only two of Palou's half-dozen victories this season have come from the pole — and Sunday's 147-lap, 250-mile race offers plenty of time for drivers to make up ground.

“It’s going to be chaotic. It’s a street course. It’s new. It’s 250 miles. There’s huge bumps. Huge, huge. It’s going to be tough. It’s going to be chaos,” Palou said. “People seem to love it. It seems like the more chaos we have, people just love it.

“We’re going to bring some more chaos. Hopefully I’m not involved. Hopefully I can make it a bit boring.”

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Race car diver Alex Palou, drives during a qualifying race prior to Sunday's Freedom 250 Grand Prix auto race in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Race car diver Alex Palou celebrates after a qualifying race giving him the poll position, prior to Sunday's Freedom 250 Grand Prix auto race in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Race car diver Alex Palou after a qualifying race prior to Sunday's Freedom 250 Grand Prix auto race in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

PHOENIX (AP) — JJ Bleday of the Cincinnati Reds hit for the cycle Saturday night in his first four at-bats against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Cincinnati left fielder doubled in the first inning, tripled in the third and singled in the fourth. He homered to right on the first pitch from Arizona’s Zack Littell in the sixth inning, giving the Reds an 8-2 lead.

It was the eighth cycle in franchise history dating to 1890. Bleday is the first Cincinnati player to hit for a cycle since Elly De La Cruz on June 23, 2023, against Atlanta.

There were three previous cycles in the majors this year — Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs, the Phillies’ Bryce Harper and the most recent one, by Tristan Peters of the White Sox on July 10.

The home run was Bleday’s 21st of the season, topping his previous career high of 20 with the Athletics in 2024.

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Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz, center right, hugs JJ Bleday, after Bleday hit for the cycle during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Cincinnati Reds' JJ Bleday, is all smiles after hitting a home run to complete hitting for the cycle during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)