Alex Palou Tag

By INDYCAR DETROIT – Less than one week ago, Colton Herta’s Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge ended in 23rd place after he struggled following contact with the SAFER Barrier in the first half of the race. What a difference six days makes. Herta earned his first NTT P1 Award of the season by taking the top spot Saturday for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on the streets of Detroit. Herta drove to his 12th career pole with a lap of 1 minute, .5475 of a second in theRead More

By INDYCAR DETROIT – Alex Palou, one of the smoothest drivers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, sure has taken a liking to the rough-and-tumble Streets of Detroit circuit since its debut in 2023. Palou opened his defense of his Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear victory last year by leading the first practice for this year’s event Friday with a top lap of 1 minute, 1.7210 seconds in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. SEE: Practice Results Two-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou will aim for hisRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – For the second year in a row, Josef Newgarden took matters into his own hands in the final lap of the Indianapolis 500, passing Pato O’Ward to secure back-to-back wins in the biggest race of the NTT IndyCar Series. In a race delayed by rain for more than four hours, Newgarden and O’Ward were racing daylight as the laps wound down Sunday, with the two drivers trading the lead over the final seven laps of the race, with fan-favorite O’Ward taking the leadRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – There’s something to be said about experience at Indianapolis. Two of the most veteran drivers in the 33-car field for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 – Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves – put their track knowledge to work during Friday’s Carb Day practice, leading the final two-hour session before the green flag drops on Sunday. Dixon topped the board at 227.206 mph, followed by Castroneves at 226.939 mph. Both drivers will have some work to do on Sunday starting from RowRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Special Contributor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Operating without key personnel after suspensions because of the push-to-pass scandal, there’s one thing Team Penske isn’t lacking at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Speed.  Penske’s three cars posted the top three four-lap speeds Friday in preparation for Saturday qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.  Josef Newgarden averaged 234.063 mph in his mid-afternoon simulated qualifying run, Scott McLaughlin 233.623 and Will Power 233.451.  After one more short practice Saturday morning, qualifying will lock the fastest 30.  The Fast 12 will return Sunday for two roundsRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Special Contributor SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Practice for the Indianapolis 500 was a mix of qualifying simulations, race setups and, of course, rain on Thursday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Pato O’Ward drove his Arrow McLaren Chevrolet to the fastest speed of the day at 228.861 mph, with Wednesday’s fast runner Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske second at 227.316 on the 2.5-mile track. Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing was third at 226.828.  After two days of rain and little track time since practice began Tuesday, teams put inRead More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Alex Palou capped a perfect start to the Month of May by winning the Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday from the pole on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Two-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou drove his No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to a 6.6106-second victory over the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet of fellow two-time series champion Will Power. It was his second consecutive win in this event on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course at IMS, which leads into the Indianapolis 500Read More

By INDYCAR INDIANAPOLIS – Alex Palou started his defense of his 2023 Sonsio Grand Prix victory in the best way possible Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, winning the pole for this year’s race. Two-time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou earned his fourth career NTT P1 Award and his first since the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear last June. His best lap today in the Firestone Fast Six was 1 minute, 9.0004 seconds in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. SEE: Qualifying Results The pole on the 14-turn, 2.439-mileRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Mission accomplished. Since arriving at Barber Motorsports Park for Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix, Scott McLaughlin has been steadfast in his beliefs that the heavy penalties handed down by INDYCAR to Team Penske earlier this week wouldn’t keep his No. 3 team down and they answered their detractors emphatically with a dominating win to kick off the comeback in earnest. Starting the weekend with only five points to his name, McLaughlin went out and put the “Meat Wagon” on the pole andRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Scott McLaughlin is a man on a mission. Coming into the weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, the driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet has nowhere to go but up, with only five points to his name after a disqualification in St. Petersburg and a mechanical issue in Long Beach that has him all the way down at the bottom of the cellar in the point standings in 29th — last among any driver that has started a race in 2024. WithRead More