Palou Breaks Through at the Brickyard

For years, Alex Palou’s résumé was already teetering on historic. A three-time NTT IndyCar Series champion by age 27, he’d conquered every type of racetrack but one. Ovals, and more specifically, Indianapolis, remained unfinished business. Now, there are no more asterisks. Only accolades.

On Sunday, in front of a crowd of more than 300,000, Palou completed the final chapter of his long-building transformation — from generational talent to legend-in-the-making — by winning the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

He did it not as a surprise but as the favorite. Not in chaos but with clarity. And not by sheer dominance, but by timing one move better than anyone else on the grid.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to pass Marcus or not,” Palou said afterward. “But I made it happen. First oval win. What better place?”

The answer, of course, is there is none. Indianapolis stands alone.

It was a moment more than two decades in the making. Palou first raced go-karts as a boy growing up outside Barcelona, often waking before dawn so his father Ramon could drive him to tracks across Spain and France. The family didn’t come from racing money, and Palou had to make each opportunity count — first in Europe’s feeder series, then in Japan’s Super Formula, before breaking through in the United States with Chip Ganassi Racing.

That relentless climb gave Palou the edge needed Sunday, when precision and poise mattered most. His win makes him the 75th different winner of the “500,” but the first from Spain. At 28, he becomes just the second driver under 30 to win the race in the last decade, joining Alexander Rossi in 2016. And he joins Dario Franchitti as only the second driver to win the race driving car No. 10 — a number that now carries an even deeper legacy within Ganassi’s stable.

The Ganassi team now owns six Indianapolis 500 wins, second only to Team Penske’s 20. From Juan Pablo Montoya to Scott Dixon, Franchitti to Ericsson, the team’s record at the Speedway spans generations of talent. But none may be quite like Palou, whose path to victory was paved not with flash but with ruthless consistency and sharp intelligence.

The move that defined the race came on Lap 187. With Marcus Ericsson leading and navigating traffic, Palou used a draft and timing to dive low into Turn 1, slipping past the 2022 winner before Ericsson could close the door. It was the 22nd and final lead change in a race filled with attrition, strategy swings and fuel drama.

Palou led only 14 laps, but as always, the only one that truly matters is the last.

This was his sixth attempt at Indianapolis. For perspective, it took Dixon five tries, and Franchitti nine. Palou’s championship credentials were never in doubt — but it’s this race that elevates careers into something more enduring. It’s not just a feather in the cap; it’s the capstone.

In the moments after crossing the yard of bricks under caution, Palou brought his car to a stop just beyond the start-finish line. Then he climbed out, sprinted toward the grandstands, and jumped onto the outside wall, throwing his arms in the air before a sea of fans. A few minutes later, with milk dripping from his grinning face, he took a slow, deliberate sip.

“Best milk I’ve ever tasted,” he said. “It tastes so good.”

And it likely won’t be his last.

“He’s clearly one of the greats,” Chip Ganassi said. “This win? It’s going to make his life.”

The numbers back that up. Palou is now the fifth driver in history to win five of the season’s first six races. His lead in the championship is 115 points. And with his first career oval victory now secured, there’s no longer any corner of the IndyCar calendar where he hasn’t won.

But what the stats can’t fully capture is what this means — not just for Palou’s standing in the sport, but for the direction of IndyCar’s future. In a race where five drivers led for the first time, where a rookie started from pole, and where veterans like Dixon, Newgarden, and Andretti were eliminated from contention early, it was Palou who stood tallest. This wasn’t just a race win. It was a torchbearer moment.

Palou is no longer the next big thing. He’s the present — and the presence — that everyone else must now chase.