Palou Gets First Oval, Indy 500 Win
(Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment)
By Dennis Krause
Alex Palou is a three-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion. Yet, the question of when would he win an oval race or the Indianapolis 500 continued to follow him.
Now, it’s a question Palou won’t have to answer anymore as the driver of the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda is the 2025 Indy 500 champion.
“It means that we checked that box and we need another one now.
“It's amazing. It's amazing to win this race. This race means so much for me, for my family, for the INDYCAR community, our fans, and I would say motorsports in general. To be an Indy 500 champion, it's amazing.”
(Photo by Paul Hurley/Penske Entertainment)
With a move that surprised leader Marcus Ericsson, Palou dove inside the 2022 Indy winner to lead the final 14-laps of the 109th running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and claim his first oval and Indy 500 win.
“Well, we were not in the best position on strategy. We had the worst tires and less fuel than Marcus and a little bit less than (David) Malukas.
“I knew that it was going to be tough at the end just because with less grip on the tires and with some traffic, I was just not going to have any chance to overtake him. I saw that I had a small gap, and I wanted to take it. It was a bit too early to go for it, but I thought it was my best strategy to try and go with the traffic and try and get the win.
“When I was behind him, I was just saving fuel. We didn't have enough fuel to go for it, so those first five, six laps or maybe a bit more that I was behind him, I was just trying to save some fuel so we could go hard at the end trying to stay in the lead.
“I knew that was getting towards, like, late to pass him for the amount of laps that I had on the tires, but yeah, glad we made it work.”
(Photo by Amber Pietz/Penske Entertainment)
Running at the tail end of the lead lap, the cars of Louis Foster and Devlin DeFrancesco were just ahead of Ericsson and Palou as the laps began to wind down. It ultimately was Ericsson’s undoing.
“I had those cars ahead, and I was struggling a little bit in the dirty air,” said the driver of the No. 28 Allegra Andretti Global Honda. “Alex got kind of a run on me, but I thought he wasn't going to go for it. And that's the thing that's going to keep me up at night for a while, that moment and what I did and didn't do.
“To look back at that -- like I said, that's going to keep me up at night for a while.
“When they came out,” Ericsson continued, “I had sort of a half chance to get by one of them, and that would have put a buffer between me and Alex. And when he overtakes me, he kind of had a run, but not a super run, and I sort of opened the door.
“Just those things that you play it in your head a million times already after the finish line what you could have done differently there.
“It was tough with those lap cars to play it, but I had the best seat in the house there to lead the last 15 laps, and I -- yeah. Again, I need to look at it again, but yeah, it's pretty painful.”
Palou’s pass on Ericsson was reminiscent of the 2021 500 when Helio Castroneves read the traffic ahead of Palou and used it to his advantage, passing Palou to go on to his record-tying fourth win.
“Yeah, absolutely. I knew that because of how the strategies were shaking up at the end that we were going to have traffic. So traffic, even though you were P2, you were actually P5 or P4. So you had to take that into account.
"So I was just trying my best to try and read it and get on top of it. I think I got lucky, as well, on timing. I got the opportunity to pass Marcus already towards the end of my tire life because after that, I was struggling a lot, especially the last six or seven laps.
“For sure, yeah. Helio was an amazing teacher. It was an expensive class, honestly. Yes. I would have liked to still win 2021.”
(Photo by Karl Zemlin/Penske Entertainment)
It was the fifth win in six races this season for the Spaniard, who joins Indy legends A.J. Foyt and Al Unser as the only drivers to start a season by winning five of the first six races.
“It's incredible. Honestly, I think I get a lot of credit because you see that I'm the only one driving the car. But there's a huge team behind that is making me look very good on track. We have fast cars every single weekend, and that's really tough to do here in INDYCAR, especially nowadays.
“I was just taking the chances that we've had so far this season. Whenever we've had the chance to win, we've been able to execute. And that's taking into account not only the setup, but the strategies, the pit stops that they did today as well.
“It's incredible. And I know that this is not normal. But I'm glad that it didn't end today and that we got the wave until the 500 at least.
“Yeah, it's amazing to hear that stuff,” Palou admitted. “I never thought that I would have my name -- that somebody would say my name around those names. They are not, like, legends of INDYCAR, they are legends of motorsport worldwide.
“I don't think that we're with them yet. They have a lot more work done than us. But it's for sure very encouraging to hear my name around them.”
Even though he’s is only in his sixth season in the INDYCAR SERIES, team owner Chip Ganassi thinks Palou has established himself as one of the best to ever drive for the team.
“I'll tell you, that kid is a good driver. He's off to -- I think he's off to a good start. We're going to have a good season,” said Ganassi in a huge understatement.
“I think he's one of the greats. It’s that simple. Certainly we've had some great drivers on our team, and he's right there, at worst, shoulder to shoulder with all the rest of them. You've got to talk about (Dario) Franchitti and (Juan Pablo) Montoya and (Scott) Dixon and all the champions we've had, (Jimmy) Vasser and (Alex) Zanardi, and it just adds to it, Ericsson won here with us. It's just a great thing. He's clearly in that group now, clearly.
“This is a big, big thing,” said Ganassi. “The Indianapolis 500 is a big damn race. He will always be known now as an Indianapolis 500 winner Alex Palou. It's that simple.
“Like he said last week, if he was to go through his whole career and not win here at Indianapolis, it wouldn't be a complete career. I don't want to say his career is complete now; he's got a lot in him yet. He's just an incredible driver. What can you say. Look at the last five, six races we've had. It's just incredible. He's on a roll.”
(Photo by John Granda/Penske Entertainment)
Comparing Indy 500 wins to season championships is always difficult. They’re not the same. For Palou, who’s finally checked the oval race and Indy 500 boxes, it’s no different
"It's tough to compare,” said Palou. “It's tough to compare. Where I rank emotionally, I would say the best I've ever been and the best I've ever felt, and I'm comparing, like, all days of my entire life.
“Where does this rank compared to championships and stuff? I think it's tough. It's very tough to compare. But I'm glad that I got one. It just feels amazing.
“I think the support from the media that we have here, the amount of time that we spend, what it means for all my mechanics and my team and seeing all the fans, it just makes it super special. Like there's nothing like this.”
If you’ve got to get your first oval win somewhere, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the place to do it.
“Absolutely,” agreed Palou. “This is the best place ever, best win ever.”
Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.