Palou returns to P1 on Day 2 of rain interrupted Indy 500 practice
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
A second day of inclement Midwest weather wasn’t enough to prevent Alex Palou from rising to the top of the speed chart Wednesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The runaway NTT IndyCar Series point-leader, Palou’s hot lap of 227.546 mph paced the rain-interrupted second day of practice for the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Palou cranked out the fastest lap of the week in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda one day after trailing Team Penske’s Will Power and Josef Newgarden around the famed 2.5-mile IMS oval.
SEE: Practice Results
Call it a return to normalcy for the 28-year-old Spaniard. The three-time/reigning series champion, Palou began his Month of May with a dominant victory in Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix on the 2.439-mile/14-turn IMS Road-Course from pole position. Palou, who has won two consecutive championships, has opened the 2025 season with four victories in five races. However, Palou has yet to win an INDYCAR oval-track race _ the only shiny object missing from his otherwise brilliant resume.
That is the rabbit Palou will be chasing in “The Greatest Spectacle In Racing” on Sunday, May 25.
“We did a little bit of (running in) traffic,” said Palou, who leads the championship standings by 97 points _ nearly two races-worth _ over Kyle Kirkwood and his Andretti Global Honda after just five of 17 events. “It’s always tough when people are in different run-plans. A couple of good traffic runs. The car is feeling good. You always want it to feel a little bit better, but so far, so good.
“This is the biggest race, and that’s what we work so much toward. So, we’re going to try and chase that win.”
Palou is the first driver since Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais in 2006 to win four of the season’s first five races. Palou’s early-season report card features straight A’s _four victories (Streets of St. Pete, Thermal Club in California, Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., and the IMS Road-Course) and one second-place finish (Streets of Long Beach).
Palou’s average finish of 1.2 through five events is the best start to a season since INDYCAR icon A.J. Foyt Jr. won the first seven races of the 1964 schedule during the front-engine roadster era. “Super Tex” scored the second of his eventual record-setting four Indy 500s on May 30, 1964 in the No. 1 Sheraton-Thompson Watson/Offy.
With 12 races remaining on the 2025 schedule, it’s not a stretch to imagine Palou threatening the all-time series record for victories in a season _ 10 shared by “Legends of The Brickyard” Foyt in 1964 and Al Unser in 1970.
Practice started 68 minutes late due to heavy morning rain, with further delays of 54 minutes and 15 minutes in the afternoon due to passing sprinkles. The scheduled six-hour practice was reduced to three hours, 43 minutes as PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying this Saturday and Sunday draws closer and puts more pressure on teams to complete their preparation programs.
Power, the 2018 Indy 500 winner, was fastest Tuesday at 227.026 mph and continued his strong week by placing second Wednesday at 225.584 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.
“Yeah, I felt pretty good in traffic,” said Power, a 44-year-old native of Australia and a two-time series champion. “I just sat in a line of, I don’t know, 10 cars or something. Just sat there going about the same speed. It was kind of, yeah, hard to tell, which the race is a completely different story to qualifying. Almost speed doesn’t quite matter. It’s more about handling, which looks like everyone’s car is handling well, too. Everyone is doing long stints. The car is fine. It’s crazy. I think the cool temps help as well.”
Power’s teammate, two-time/reigning Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, was third at 225.545 mph in the No. 2 Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Team Penske Chevrolet after occupying P2 on Tuesday. Newgarden is aiming to become the first driver to win the Indy 500 in three consecutive years.
“It’s a long process,” said Newgarden, another two-time series champion for the juggernaut founded and owned by Roger S. Penske. “You can have the quickest car in the field and that doesn’t mean you’re going to win the race. I think it takes a lot of ingredients, clearly, to win at this place. I think we have a few of them that are starting to show themselves in favorable conditions.
“Right now I think the car is in a really good place. We just have to continue to go through the motions. Qualifying is going to be its own thing. We’re going to find out exactly where everybody else is at as we get to Friday, and hopefully we’ll be in a good spot there.”
Native New Zealander Scott Dixon, the 2008 Indy 500 winner and six-time series champ, was fourth for the second consecutive day in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda _ this time at 225.092 mph. Journeyman Conor Daly interrupted the Chip Ganassi Racing/Team Penske party by placing fifth at 224.931 mph in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet.
Meanwhile, David Malukas led the two-car contingent from Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing in sixth at 224.618 mph after 21 laps-completed.
“Day 2 is a wrap and another very good day for us,” said Malukas, who was 12th Tuesday at 223.176 mph in his No. 4 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet. “We went in a very good direction with the car overnight. Then we even finished the day a bit early. I’m kind of just preparing for some bigger changes going into (Thursday) but extremely happy with the work we’ve managed to do with these short windows from Day 1 and into today with the rain. But it’s easy with the car being unloaded in a good spot.”
Four-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves was eighth overall at 224.389 mph in his one-off bid in the No. 06 Cleveland-Cliffs Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing. The popular Brazilian won the 2021 Indy 500 with MSR to join the exclusive Four-Timers Club featuring Houston native Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears. Castroneves, 50, won his first three Indy 500s with Team Penske.
“Today we continued to improve,” said Castroneves, whose total of 114 laps-completed included a no-two speed of 211.171 mph. “Good progress again today. Keep chipping away some room to improve. But now we gotta think about qualifying.”
All the fastest laps Wednesday were aided by an aerodynamic “tow” from leading cars. But with PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying just three days away, it was noteworthy that Kirkwood was fastest while running alone for the second consecutive day, reaching 222.760 mph during a solo run in the No. 27 Siemens Honda fielded by Andretti Global.
Two-time Indy 500 champion Takuma Sato was 15th at 223.583 mph after running 87 laps in the No. 75 AMADA Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. “I was able to get a taste of this year’s hybrid today,” said Sato, the 48-year-old native of Tokyo who competed full-time for RLLR in 2012 and 2018-2021 and won the Indy 500 with in 2020. “Let’s put it this way _ I did a whole stint with a full-fuel run and it was positive.”
Sato started 10th in his 15th Indy 500 last May, and sixth with the team fronted by 1986 Indy 500 champion Bobby Rahal. “Taku” finished 14th in last year’s race. “It’s not easy to come in to the Indy 500 as one race of the year,” Sato said. “It’s always difficult regardless, but to squeeze out 99.9 percent is always challenging and I’m happy to be here. To get out of the car over 11 months, close to 12, jump in the car and go 230 mph, you feel the speed for sure. We will keep pushing.”
Arrow McLaren ace Pato O’Ward was 20th overall at 223.101 mph after completing 88 laps in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. O’Ward is looking to improve on his runnerup finish to Newgarden last May, as well as his second-place result to Palou Saturday in the Sonsio Grand Prix.
“Good to be out turning laps, but we’re not quite where we want to be yet,” said O’Ward, a native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio. “We have some work to do, and we’ll see what (Thursday) brings.”
At the far end of the chart, Dallas resident Santino Ferrucci placed 33rd overall with a top speed of 220.566 mph after only 26 laps in the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet fielded by A.J. Foyt Racing. All 34 drivers attempting to earn one of the traditional 33 spots in the starting field turned a total of 2,555 laps/6,387.5 miles despite the shortened session.
On-track activity was scheduled to resume at 10 a.m. (EDT) Thursday with a refresher test for 2013 Indy 500 winner and Arrow McLaren Team Principal Tony Kanaan, who is readying to be a standby driver for Kyle Larson on Race Day.
Larson is again attempting to complete “The Double” of racing in the Indy 500 and the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 25. Kanaan will step-in for Larson if weather delays the start in Indianapolis _ as was the case last May _ and Larson must leave for Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., for his full-time drive in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
“I’m glad we were able to get some race runs today compared to (Tuesday),” said Larson, who was 13th overall after logging 107 laps in the No. 17 hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. “That’s really what I wanted to focus on mainly today. We were able to try running in the front of the pack and the middle and get an idea for the balance, especially with the cars we were running around.”
Larson, who was named 2024 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year after starting fifth and finishing 18th, completed 24 laps Tuesday with a top speed of 221.207 mph.
The track will be open for practice for all cars from noon-6 p.m., with broadcast coverage from noon-4 p.m. on FS2; 4-6 p.m. on FS1 and the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio Network.
Coverage of the 109th Indianapolis 500 will begin at 10 a.m. (EDT) on FOX Sports, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
A.J. Foyt Racing announced Thursday that Clarience Technologies has signed as primary marketing partner of the No. 4 Chevrolet to be driven by David Malukas in the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Clarience Technologies is a global leader of visibility, safety and digital technologies for transportation. “We are thrilled to have Clarience Technologies as our primary marketing partner on the No. 4 Chevy for the Indy 500,” said Larry Foyt, president of the organization based in Waller, Texas. “The car looks absolutely beautiful and it’s great to have them onboard for the world’s most historic race.”
Based in Southfield, Mich., Clarience Technologies has been an associate marketing partner of Foyt Racing this season with their logo placed on the engine cover. For the Indy 500, the No. 4 livery has been redesigned featuring Clarience Technologies branding with a blue-and-white color scheme. Clarience Technologies also will be primary marketing partner on the No. 4 for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, which will be held the week after the Indy 500 on a downtown Motown street-course.
“Clarience Technologies is proud to sponsor A.J. Foyt Racing at the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 as well as the 2025 Detroit Grand Prix,” said Brian Kupchella, CEO, Clarience Technologies. “We share a passion for the sport. We’re looking forward to cheering the team on at two of the biggest races.”
NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 248; 2, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 151; 3, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 150; 4, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 148; 5, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 137; 6, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 134; 7, Will Power, Team Penske, 128; 8, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 125; 9, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 104; 10, Rinus VeeKay, Dale Coyne Racing, 100;
11, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 98; 12, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 96; 13, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 92; 14, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 91; 15, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 73; 16, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 70; 17, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 66; 18, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 65; 19, David Malukas, A.J. Foyt Racing, 63; 20, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 62;
21, Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 58; 22, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 56; 23, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 49; 24, Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing, 47; 25, Devlin DeFrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 44; 26, Callum Ilott, Prema Racing, 32; 27, Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne Racing, 28.
FOX SPORTS’ 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST COVERAGE SCHEDULE
Sunday, March 2 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Sunday, March 23 _The Thermal Club, Thermal, Calif. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Sunday, April 13 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif. (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)
Sunday, May 4 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Saturday, May 10 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Sunday, May 25 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval (FOX, 10 a.m.)
Sunday, June 1 _ Streets of Detroit (FOX, 12:30 p.m.)
Sunday, June 15 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill. (FOX, 3 p.m.)
Sunday, June 22 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis. (FOX, 3:30 p.m.)
Sunday, July 6 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington (FOX, 2 p.m.)
Saturday, July 12 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 1 (FOX, 5 p.m.)
Sunday, July 13 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 2 (FOX, 2 p.m.)
Sunday, July 20 _ Streets of Toronto, Canada (FOX, 2 p.m.)
Sunday, July 27 _ WeatherTech Raceway, Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif. (FOX, 3 p.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 10 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway (FOX, 3 p.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 24 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis. (FOX, 2 p.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 31 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn. (2:30 p.m.)
NOTE _ All times Eastern. Dates and times subject to change.
