Alex Palou secured his place among racing royalty by winning the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, marking his first oval victory in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
“Best milk I’ve ever tasted,” Palou said on the Victory Podium after a hearty swig from the traditional winner’s bottle of milk. “It tastes so good. What an amazing feeling.”
Palou, the three-time series champion, took the lead from Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson on Lap 187 and held on until the race ended under caution due to rookie Nolan Siegel’s crash on the final lap.
“I cannot believe it,” Palou said. “It’s amazing to win. There were some moments that I felt really good in the race, but at the end I didn’t know if I was going to able to pass Marcus or not, but I made it happen. First oval win. What a better place?”
The victory, Palou’s fifth in six races this season, extends his championship lead to 115 points over Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward. More significantly, Palou becomes the first Spaniard to have his name on the Borg-Warner Trophy, securing his legacy as one of the sport’s all-time great champions.
“It’s going to make Alex Palou’s career, it’s going to make his life, and it certainly has made mine,” winning team owner Chip Ganassi said, celebrating his team’s sixth Indy 500 victory and first since Ericsson’s triumph in 2022.
Ericsson finished second for the second time in three years, while David Malukas achieved a career-best third place for A.J. Foyt Enterprises. O’Ward settled for fourth, his fourth top-four finish at the “500” in the last five years, and Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top five for Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian.
The race, which started 43 minutes late due to passing sprinkles, featured a chaotic first half with six of the seven caution periods occurring in the first 108 laps. The attrition eliminated seven cars, including high-profile drivers such as Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, Marco Andretti, and NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, who was attempting to complete the “500” and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
As the race settled into a groove, it became a fierce battle of dueling pit strategies and daring passes in heavy traffic. Palou made his final pit stop on Lap 168, pushing the limits of fuel mileage, while Ericsson pitted on Lap 175, exiting ahead of Palou and Malukas.
Palou, running second behind Ericsson, surprised the sellout crowd of 350,000 by using the draft to dive under the Swede entering Turn 1 on Lap 187, making the decisive pass for the lead.
“We had those lappers ahead of us that were making it difficult,” Ericsson said. “He got a run on me. I didn’t know if he was going to go for it or not. That’s the thing that I’m thinking about constantly now – I should have covered that inside, of course.”
Ericsson stayed close but couldn’t mount a challenge in the final laps. “That was painful,” he said. “To miss out, so close again. Second time second place here, and this is a winner-takes-all kind of place. It’s really painful. We kept fighting. Congrats to Alex and Chip Ganassi Racing.”
