Tag: Alex Palou

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

A Ray(hal) of Hope Dims: Sonsio Grand Prix Quick Thoughts

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A pass for the lead in the first turn of the race by Graham Rahal on Alex Palou gave fans hope of a different outcome today, but it was not to be. Palou passed Rahal with27 laps to go and ran out to a five second victory over Pato O’Ward. Rahal recovered to finish sixth after an issue on his final pit stop,

The race was arguably the most interesting of the year. There were two passes for the lead and a caution period. On lap 70 David Malukas pulled into the grass and parked with wisps of smoke coming from the rear. The caution was the first of the IndyCar series since the first lap of the season 408 laps ago. The fans cheered wildly at the sight of the amber lights.

Did the Tire Rule Help?

The requirement for teams to use two sets of each tire compound out some intrigue into the race. Pato O’Ward said that he liked the rule and wished it had been used earlier.

“I liked the rule, we should use that at Detroit and should have used them at St. Pete and Thermal,” O’Ward said.

Third place finisher Will Power agreed, adding that St. Pete and Thermal would have been “very different races” with this rule.

I think it helped the race a bit. We didn’t see fuel saving, and it was fun guessing which tires would be used when.

Andretti Swings

Kyle Kirkwood turned what had been a difficult Friday into a top 10 finish. The third year driver finished eighth after starting 21st.

Meanwhile, Marcus Ericsson started 20t but dropped out after six laps with a drive train issue. Ericsson has had a string of misfortunes this year and is 16th in the points.

Movin’ on Up

Other big movers were Rinus VeeKay, from 24th to ninth, and Scott Dixon from 16th to fifth.

Today’s race was one of the better ones of this Grand Prix. I believe it was the best race of the season as far as drama and intrigue. This event is beginning to reach a place where it can stand on its own, rather than just the undercard to the Indianapolis 500.

Thanks for following along this weekend. The real fun begins Tuesday.

Results

Qualifying Wrap Up- Same Old Story

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I was okay with Alex Palou winning three of the first four races. I’m not sure if I feel that way about him winning three fourths of the poles too. The Chip Ganassi driver won the top starting spot for tomorrow’s Sonsio Grand Prix in a dramatic qualifying which saw numerous lead changes throughout the last two rounds.

Palou took the pole on his final lap, edging Graham Rahal by four tenths of a second. The Fast 12 was a mix of regular suspects and some new faces. Louis Foster and Kyffin Simpson joined the group.

A Great Day for RLL

Rahal Letterman Lanigan burst fourth in Practice 2, taking the top three spots. Rahal led Louis Foster and Devlin DeFrancesco. Would they back it up in qualifying?
Foster led a lot of Round 2 and was on top for some of the Fast Six. Rahal took the lead in the Fast Six, but Palou’s last lap knocked him off the pole.

Three very happy drivers

The race might be another matter, though. Palou has run away and hid from the field. I hope tomorrow is a bit different.

Early knockout disappointments- Colton Herta just =missed the second round. Scott Dixon was uncompetetive, and Rinus VeeKay, usually quick on the road course, had issues in the morning.

Pato O’Ward was quick in practice, qualified eighth. he complained afterwards of being slow on the straights.

The question for race day is how the special tire rule will work. Does it give Palou more of an advantage or will it allow the racing up front to be more competitive?

That will do it for me for Friday. See you all tomorrow.

Practice 1 Quick Results

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A chilly practice yielded a familiar result with Alex Palou leading the all car roundfield by eight hundredths of a second. What may have been a surprise were the three drivers right behind him- Kyffin Simpson, Santino Ferrucci, and Nolan Siegel. Track temperature was 72 degrees at the green flag.

Will Power was the quickest of the Team Penske cars in 12th. Scott McLaughlin was 19th, and Josef Newgarden finished 21st,

Rinus VeeKay’s car stalled and required a tow in with about seven minutes left in the session. VeeKay did not record a time.

Palou also led Group 1, improving his time by a tenth,. Louis Foster was next, 0.15 seconds behind. VeeKay spun in the grass at turn 12, but kept going and did not stop the session.

Group 2 saw Alexander Rossi lead, but his time was a half second slower than {Palou’s best lap.

IndyCar is back on track at 1:10 pm Easern.

Results

Quick Thoughts- Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix

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Lets’ start with the positives.

Alex Palou put on a clinic today. He drove a masterful race, aided by great pit strategy, and perfect pit execution. Palou has won three of the first four races and finished second in the fourth. He enters the IMS races with a 61 point lead over Christian Lundgaard.

Lundgaard has suddenly become the leader at Arrow McLaren. His second place today is his third straight podium finish. I would not count him out of standing on the top step of the platform one time before June. Lundgaard is the only driver with a shot at possibly catching Palou.

If Rinus VeeKay isn’t a unanimous pick for Driver of the Day, there just wasn’t a winner today. The Netherlands driver backed up his Fast Six from Saturday with a fourth place finish, one spot higher than where he started the race. He has done well at Barber, but to drive a Dale Coyne Racing machine to such heights is an accomplishment.

VeeKay finished just 0.33 of a second behind third place Scott McLaughlin.

Today’s race saw some of the best racing of the year with some battles in the top 10.

The best news of the weekend- I heard that Barber will be run in April in 2026, where it rightly belongs.

Now for the rest of the day:

FOX showed more improvement during the broadcast, but some key items are still lacking. I don’t know why there is still no pit timer. There were several bad pit stops, which they covered, but how much time was lost? I would like to know. This information will be essential during the Indianapolis 500 in three weeks.

Once again there was no pass for the lead, or even a fight for the top spot. While there were some great battles, it was evident that passing is very difficult. Is the hybrid really holding back the racing that much? I would hate to see a processional 500 like we had in the late 2000s.

All four races in 2025 have had a sameness to them. They have been mostly processional with pit strategies being the one intriguing thing about them. That is great for the hard core fan, but it isn’t going to lure new fans in. Perhaps it’s the lack of yellows, 339 consecutive laps of green flag, which is another thing altogether, or perhaps it is the drag of the hybrid.

Thanks for following along this weekend. Tomorrow I start covering the month of May. It’s hard to believe there is another race in just six days.

Results

Barber Qualifymg Wrap Up

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New blood in the Top 12, but the Gast Six ended with the same old faces at the top.

Louis Foster, Nolan Siegel, Kyffin Simpson, and Marcus Armstrong made it into Round 2, but the Fast Six looked pretty much the same. Scott McLaughlin, Will Power, Colton Herta, and Alex Palou battled for the pole. In the end, Palou won his first pole of the year, edging McLaughlin and Herta. For Power, it was his first trip out of round 1 this season. Siegel earned his first career Fast Six, and Rinus VeeKay gave Dale Coyne a rare appearance in the final round.

FOX improved their qualifying coverage by adding the deltas to sixth and first to the scoring chart. Fans have been clamoring for this all season. It added to the drama, especially in the last two minutes of each session.

Results

Thermal Practice 1 – Some Things Stay the Same

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While the top of the chart didn’t change at the first Thermal practice, the team that ended the day second, third, and fourth showed that testing paid off handsomely.

Alex Palou had the fastest lap in the two-tiered practice session, with Kyle Kirkwood right on his heels. Kirkwood’s Andretti teammates Marcus Ericsson and Colton Herta were third and fourth. Andretti has tested at Thermal earlier this year.

Photo from Penske Entertainment

Kirkwood led the 45 minute segment which was shortened when Robert Shwartzman stopped his burning car on track about halfway through the timed period.

Shwartzman’s fire appeared to be from a fuel leak. The AMR safety team took the car apart on the track, even removing the driver’s seat. He will use the backup car tomorrow. Shwartzman had an issue in St. Pete as well. The rookie has lost a lot of valuable track time in the young season.

The first small group session also had a red flag stoppage when Devlin DeFrancesco got stuck in the sand off course.

David Malukas and Felix Rosenqvist had excursions off track, but they were able to continue.

Notes

As expected, tire strategy will be key on Sunday. The primaries looked really shredded after the few laps run today.

FOX

FOX had a timing and scoring graphics issue as practice began., but it was corrected.

The telemetry dash still blocks the sponsors on the aeroscreen frame, but I did notice that the graphic stayed on for a shorter time, and the sponsors got a bit of time, probably not enough.

The driver pictures looked like paintings instead of the cartoons three weeks ago. It is an improvement, but I wonder if FOX has heard of these things called photographs.

I liked the ghost car graphic comparing Will Power and Rosenqvist on a lap. I hope to see more of that during qualifying.

The best thing on the broadcast was the cutaway going inside the cockpit into the interior of the nose to explain brake bias. It was the best thing I have seen from the broadcast partner. More, please.

Results