Tag: Alex Palou

Quick Thoughts- Farm to Fresh 275

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It’s Iowa, so Josef Newgarden was inevitable, until he wasn’t. For the second day in a row Team Penske snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. When Newgarden passed Alex Palou for the lead on lap 65, it looked as if he would rule the rest of the day. But two untimely green flag pit stops were for naught as a caution soon followed, miring him deep in the order, He fought back to the lead the first time, but the next time, there were too few laps left for Newgarden to advance.

Alex Palou dominated the Fram to Fresh 276 today in another good race which surpassed expectations heading into the weekend. 229 of the 382 passes were for position. The race saw an on track pass for the lead, and many good battles for positions. When Newgarden fought back t the lead on lap 241, he pushed Palou out of the groove to get by. Palou said there was some contact.

For Palou, today is his seventh win of the season and his first on a short oval. He was on a street course, a superspeedway, a road course, and a short oval. Palou still has a chance to match A. J, Foyt’s 10 wins in 1964.

Race Notes

Team Penske’s day in the sun on Saturday turned to dusk on Sunday. Scott McLaughlin was the victim of a first lap accident and finished last. Will Power retired with an engine issue after 21 laps.

It looked like Newgarden would save the day, but the yellows fell the wrong way, and he ended the day 10th.

Palou’s teammate Scott Dixon was second, and Marcus Armstrong finished third for an all Honda podium. Armstrong’s Meyer Shank Racing team is affiliated with Chip Ganassi Racing.

David Malukas finished fourth after starting third. He had several battles for the lead and stayed up front all day.

Jacob Abel and Rinus VeeKay, Dale Coyne teammates who shared row 13 at the start, finished 11th and 12th. It was Abel’s best drive of the season.

Christian Lundgaard salvaged what had been a dismal weekend by coming home sixth today after starting 22nd.

Final Thoughts

We headed into this weekend at Iowa unsure of what the on track product would like after last year. The racing was great and came close to the classic old Iowa races.

It is a bittersweet feeling with the future of the IndyCar weekend here in doubt. If this should be the end, I am happy that it ended with two great races.

I will elaborate more on this point tomorrow.

Thanks for following along this weekend. My next road trip is to Portland in August, but I will still post about Toronto next weekend and Laguna Seca the following week.

Results

Iowa Qualifying: Poles for Newgarden, Palou

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Team Penske regained a little bit of their luster as Josef Newgarden took pole for this afternoon’s race 1 at Iowa Speedway. Alex Palou nipped Felix Rosenqvist on the last qualifying lap of the day for the pole for race 2.

All was not perfect for Team Penske, however, as Scott McLaughlin crashed on his first qualifying lap. He will start 27th today and tomorrow.

Some drivers not normally in the qualifying conversations had strong runs this afternoon. Conor Daly starts second today and seventh tomorrow. The Foyt drivers, Santino Ferrucci and David Malukas, share row five this afternoon. Malukas rolls off third Sunday.

Felix Rosenqvist held the pole for race 2 until Palou turned the fastest lap of the day on his second lap. Palou’s speed of 184.014 mph was faster than Newgarden’s first lap by 0.015 mph, 0.014 of a second.

Race 1 starts at 4:20 pm Central, FOX coming on air at 4pm (5 pm Eastern.)

Interesting stat- Palou starts fourth today, and Newgarden starts fourth tomorrow.

Results

Race 1

Race 2

Mid Ohio Practice 2 and Qualifying Groups

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Alex Palou led the final practice before qualifying for the Honda Indy 200 in a session full of off track excursions. Palou led a top five of Christian Lundgaard, Louis Foster, Pato O’Ward, and Felix Rosenqvist. The gap between first and fifth was three tenths of a second.

\Marcus Ericsson went off in turn 13 and hit the tire barrier, bringing out a red flag with 21 minutes left in the session. Colton herta went into the sand at turn four but kept going, reentering the track at the entrance to turn 5, r missing an approaching car. Scott McLaughlin also tried out the turn 4 trap and the grass. He nearly stalled, but he kept the car moving and continued on track.

Gapping

Will Power and Colton Herta both complained about cars backing up on track to create a gap in order to get a decent lap in practice. I saw a near collision in turn 4 this morning because a car was creeping along on the racing line. It was so blatant I thought the driver deserved a drive through.

If a car wants to get clear track, which I get, he needs to stay off the racing line until he is up to speed.

Results

Qualifying Groups

Road America Wrap Up- Palou Flies Solo

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The air was hot, the track was hot, and t5he action was hot. Teams played Pit Stop Roulette, but in the end, we saw the same result.

The fuel save master just missed, and the tire master came out on top again. In an entertaining, action packed race at Road America where the winner wasn’t decided until the last three laps. Alex Palou won his sixth race of the year after Scott Dixon fell two laps short on fuel.

Some thoughts:

The chaotic start with eight laps of caution in the first 12 laps led to a wide mix of pit and tire strategies, which in turn led to a lot of on track battles. From my view in turn 5, I’m surprise there were only five caution periods. Drivers were pushing each other to the outside with lots of contact. I have never seen so much dust kicked off at the exit of the turn as I did yesterday.

I had a good view of Sting Ray Robb’s incident. he was fortunate that he scrubbed off some speed on the concrete barrier before he hit the tire wall. It appeared he couldn’t brake. It seems I say this every race, but hats off to the safety design features of this chassis. Robb stopped in a place where the AMR safety stations a truck, but still it seemed as if they were headed to Robb before he came to an abrupt stop.

Great Drives

Santino Ferrucci finished third after starting 18th. Scott Dixon finished ninth from 25th on the grid, and he had a chance to win because of pit strategy. Rinus VeeKay started 22nd and finished 10th, overcoming three penalties.

David Malukas started seventh, went off track on lap 1, and roared back to end the race where he started. Malukas complained of the heat affecting him. While no other driver mentioned it, I’m sure heat was a factor for many.

Penske’s Lost Year

For the last two races, I have thought that Team Penske would begin a comeback to being a factor. At Gateway the trio of Will Power, Scott McLaughlin, and Josef Newgarden qualified first, second, and fifth. None finished the race.

Yesterday the team started fourth, eighth, and 10th. They finished 12th, 14th, and 25th. Josef Newgarden has four results lower than 20th and is 17th in points. McLaughlin and Power are still in the top 10 in points, but ypoun have to wonder for how long?

Even before the organizational shakeup in May, the team seemed not quite up to their usual standards. It is sad to see a team decline as rapidly as they have.

MSR Rising

Felix Rosenqvist finished second as he continues to quietly stay in the top five in points. Rosenqvist is now fourth in the standings, and teammate Marcus Armstrong’s fifth place result has him standing 11th for the year.

MSR has thrived in their relationship with Chip Ganassi Racing.

Foyt Ascending

It ius ironic that A. J. Foyt Racing is doing better tha the team they have atechnical alliance. The association with Team Penske has yielded marked improvement for one of the smallest teams in the paddock.

As not6ed earlier, Santino Ferrucci and David Malukas both had top 10 results yesterday. Ferruci is now ninth in points and Malukas is 12th, a far cry from the years when this team hovered on the brink of missing out on the Leaders ‘Circle.

After seven rather mundane races, IndyCar has produced two very good, exciting races with lots of passing, position battles, and doubts about who would win until near the end of the race. I hope this trend continues when the series goes to Mid-Ohio in a couple of weeks.

Results

Indianapolis 500 Purse Reaches New Pinnacle 

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L INDIANAPOLIS (Monday, May 26, 2025) – The Indianapolis 500 purse record was broken for the fourth year in a row for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, with first-time winner Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing earning $3.8 million from a total purse of $20,283,000.This is the largest purse in the century-plus history of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on the heels of four consecutive record-breaking years.
This year’s average payout for NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers was $596,500, which also exceeds last year’s average of $543,000.In 2024, the Indianapolis 500 purse was $18,456,000, and the year’s winner payout was $4.3 million, which included a $440,000 roll-over bonus from BorgWarner for earning back-to-back wins. In 2023, the Indianapolis 500 purse was $17,021,500, and the winner earned $3.7 million. In 2022, the Indianapolis 500 purse was $16,000,200, and the winner earned $3.1 million.
Prior to 2022, the largest Indianapolis 500 purse was $14.4 million for the 2008 Indianapolis 500.
“The Indianapolis 500 is the greatest race in the world, and winning this race makes history in more ways than one,” INDYCAR and IMS president J. Douglas Boles said. “The Month of May featured a grandstand sellout crowd and intense on-track action. Alex Palou adds Indianapolis 500 winner to his long list of growing achievements and takes home the largest purse in Indianapolis 500 history. There’s no better way to end an epic month.”
Pole-winner Robert Shwartzman of PREMA Racing earned Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors for his performance during the Month of May. Shwartzman earned a $50,000 bonus for being named Rookie of the Year, adding to a total take-home prize of $327,300.
The Indianapolis 500 purse consists of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NTT INDYCAR SERIES awards, plus other designated and special awards. Purse awards are presented annually at the Victory Celebration, held this year at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis Monday night.
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented on Sunday, June 1 on the streets of Downtown Detroit. The race will be broadcast live on FOX and the INDYCAR Radio Network at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Final Thoughts on the 109th Indianapolis 500

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There is just no getting around it. Yesterday’s Indianapolis 500 was a strange two part race. Part 1 saw 45% of the laps run under caution. Part 2 was caution free until the second half of the last lap.

There was little passing for the lead, but the number of pit strategies scrambled the top of the field. but kept the leaders in traffic all day. Traffic played a part in the end of the race.

Teammates Devlin DeFrancesco and Louis Foster were having arguably the best battle on the track- for 14th place. Unfortunately, they were right in front of the race leaders. Yes, they have a right to stay on the lead lap, but with 10 laps to go in the race, and knowing they would get a wave around if the yellow came out, why not make them step out of the leaders’ way? It could have been a terrific three car finish between Palou, Ericsson, and Malukas.

Sometimes the 500 just produces a race that is not great. Part of it may have been the weather, but I think the hybrid and its extra weight hampered what had been a great show the last few years.

How much does it hurt to lose Indy?

I don’t know who snapped this shot, but Marcus Ericsson was despondent after the race. He told the media it was “pretty painful,” and that it would keep him up for several nights.

Ericsson went a little wide going into turn 1, and Palou was able to slip by him.

I appreciate Alex Palou drinking the milk, then triumphantly raising the bottle in tribute instead of pouring it over his head. I always thought the winner pouring the milk over his head was ridiculous. I hope Palou has started a trend to end that practice. Now if he just hadn’t kissed the bricks…

I thought yesterday’s singing of the National Anthem was the worst I have heard at the 500 since Steven Tyler sang in 2001. Natalie Grant’s version reinforced my belief that at every sporting event, the venue should just paly an instrumental recording of the anthem by the US Army Band.

The helicopters that followed the field around on the pace and parade laps were distracting and annoying. The field for the Indianapolis 500 lined up in11 rows of three in perfect formation coming to the green flag is one of the most beautiful sights in all of sports. It doesn’t need a so called “enhancement” or any additive feature at all. It stands on its own.

Rookie of the Year?

While all the rookies finished 15th or lower, Robert Shwartzman winning the pole is the thing that will get him the award. Nolan Siegel was likely in line for it until his crash on the final lap.

A Strange Race; Another Palou Win

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I saw two races today. The 110 lap race was caution filled and filled with chaos in the pits. The second one was an intriguing chess game in which several drivershad a chance to win.

Alex Palou won the 109th Indianapolis 500, taking the lead from Marcus Ericsson with 14 laps to go.

“Pretty painful,” Ericsson said.

It is Palou’s first win on an oval, and Palou’s fifth win six IndyCar series races in 2025. He now leads Pato O’Ward by 118 points, more than two races of maximum points.

Pit Chaos

Pit Lane played a role in the outcome as several contenders had incidents which ended either their day or their chances to win. Rinus VeeKay slid into the pit wall after entering the pits. the contact knocked him out of the race.

Takuma Sato, who looked to be in control of the race, overshot his marks, and the crew had and the time lost took him out of the running.He finished 11th.

Robert Shwartzman made contact with his pit crew as stopped too close to the wall. One crew member was taken by ambulance to the infield care center with severe foot pain.

Ryan Hunter-Reay was leading the race and appeared to be in position to battle for the win.. His car stalled on his final stop and the team couldn’t restart it. Hunter-Reay placed 24th.

Tough Day for Former Winners

Other than Marcus Ericsson’s second place finish, former 500 winners had a difficult time. Helio Castroneves finished 13th and was the only other past winner on the lead lap at the end.

Two time defending champion Josef Newgarden had climbed as high as fifth from his 32nd starting spot only to have the fuel pump fail. he finished 25th.

Will Power started 33rd and quietly rose to 19th at the end.

Alexander Rossi led 14 laps but retired after a brake fire.

Scott Dixon suffered a brake fire on the parade lap and spent the entire day three laps down.

What Might Have Been

Conor Daly looked like he would become the first Indiana born winner of the 500 since Wilbur Shaw in 1940. A worn tire caused him to pit early and he finished 10th. Still. it was one of Daly’s best 500 drives

David Malukas was in the fight but settled for third place. It was his first podium since a second place at Gateway in 2022.

In Summary

The race got off to a disjointed start with Scott McLaughlin hitting the outside pit wall on the parade lap, and Marco Andretti’s crash in turn 1 just after the green flag. 18 laps of caution in the first 29 laps was not a great start. A back to back set of yellows on laps 82 and 92 kept the first half of the race crawling. After the caution which ended on lap 108, the race was green until Nolan Siegel’s crash on lap 200.

The second half of the race was fascinating, and the winner was in doubt until inside the last 20 laps.

I will post my thoughts on the race tomorrow. I have a few, not just on the race, but on the ceremonies as well. Thanks for following along this weekend and all through May.

Qualifying Line Complete; Herta Crash

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All cars in the qualifying line have completed their runs, and 29 cars have posted times. Conr Daly’s car failed post qualifying tech inspection and his time has been deleted. Helio Castroneves and Josef Newgarden pulled their cars from the line and no longer have a guaranteed chance to qualify.

Marcus Armstrong’s car is still being rebuilt. He has been cleared to drive. Colton Herta endured a very frightening crash going into turn 1 on his first qualification lap. The car spun, hit the wall and flipped over, then slid along the wall to the exit of turn 2, about a quarter of a mile. Herta was treated and released at the infield care center. (Ed. note- I’m tired of writing this sentence today.)

Alex Palou currently leads with a 233.04 mph average, followed by Scott McLaughlin and Pato O’Ward. Kyle Kirkwood had a very disappointing run and is currently 15th.

Qualifying is about to resume with Newgarden and Castroneves.

The current standings

Indianapolis 500 Day 2

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Wednesday practice started late and had two rain interruptions. Cars got on track an hour later than scheduled. Rain halted action 3 pm, and lightning in the area kept things from resuming until 3:45. Sprinkles stopped action after 30 minutes, but it was a brief stop.

Will Power led most of the afternoon with teammate Josef Newgarden second. Alex Palou jumped to the top of the pylon with the fastest lap of the two days, 227.546 mph, just after practice resumed.

Ferrucci Concern?

Santino Ferrucci turned just six laps yesterday and has run only 26 laps today. He lost an engine last weekend during the Grand Prix.

His teammate David Malukas is sixth. I wonder what is going on with the 14.

Bubble Watch

One of the two PREMA cars is likely to miss the race, but I am adding Ferrucci and Jacob Abel for now. I will update this list tomorrow and Friday.

Results