Palou flashes ‘comfortable’ race-day pace during Indy 500 practice
Alex Palou – Indianapolis 500 Practice – Photo by James Black
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
INDYCAR superstar Alex Palou returned to his comfort zone atop the speed chart at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Monday, another methodical step in the mercurial Spaniard’s bid to win the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.
The three-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion, Palou’s hottest lap of 226.765 mph occupied P1 at the close of a two-hour session around the famed 2.5-mile oval. Mimicking situations the 33-car starting field can expect to experience on Sunday, May 25, drivers lapped in packs of traffic following a weekend of solo, four-lap/10-mile runs during PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying.
“A great day for the No. 10 DHL Honda,” said Palou, who logged 53 laps. “Back to traffic running, and the car felt really good. We ended up P1. It doesn’t mean much, but you always take a P1 in any session at the Speedway.”
Palou will start Sunday’s 200-lap/500-mile classic sixth _ the outside position in the three-car second row. Winner of four of the first five races of the 2025 season, Palou is the runaway point-leader and a bona fide contender to win his first series oval-track race.
“I’m feeling really comfortable,” said Palou, 28, fully-aware that victory in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” will check-off the only empty box on his otherwise brilliant INDYCAR resume. “There’s still a lot of work to do, and I guess for everybody else, as well. It’s not easy to be in traffic and overtake but I’m really comfortable. I’m able to overtake. I’m ready for Carb Day.”
SEE: Practice Results
Palou paced the last on-track session until Friday’s traditional final, two-hour practice of the Month of May _ Miller Lite Carb Day. That session is booked from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (EDT), followed by the annual Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge. Broadcast coverage will be provided by FS1, FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Four-time event champion Helio Castroneves served notice that his one-off bid to win a record fifth Indy 500 is serious by placing second at 226.441 mph in the No. 06 Cliffs Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian. Castroneves, who will start 22nd, joined the exclusive Four-Time Winners Club alongside A.J. Foyt Jr., Al Unser and Rick Mears with MSR in 2021. The popular Brazilian won his first three Indy 500s driving for Team Penske. Helio, now a partner in the Ohio-based MSR organization, completed 52 laps.
Two-time 500 winner Takuma Sato of Japan was third at 226.087 mph after 67 laps in the No. 75 AMADA Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. “I think we got a lot of work done today in a short period because the boys had to change the car after the impound situation this morning so it was a shortened session,” said Sato, who will start second Sunday. “I’m getting happier and our race car is getting better all the time. We’re halfway through it but made another step forward and will make the other step on Carb Day. The team did a great job.”
A native of Tokyo and favorite son of Honda Racing, Sato will be racing in his 16th Indy 500. “Taku” started 10th at IMS last May and finished 14th. Sato drove for RLLR full-time in 2012 and from 2018-2021 and won the Indy 500 with the organization fronted by 1986 Indy 500 champion Bobby Rahal in 2020 after starting on the front row for the first time in third.
Either Sato, 48, or Castroneves, 50, would become the oldest Indy 500 champion with another victory on Sunday. Expanded coverage on FOX Sports, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network will start at 10 a.m. (EDT) Sunday across the country, with the green flag set for approximately 12:45 p.m.
Another driver in a one-off Indy 500 ride is Jack Harvey, a former series regular from Great Britain now working as fulltime pit reporter for FOX Sports. Harvey, who will start 26th, jumped to fourth in race setup at 226.048 mph in the No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Cusick Invest Chevrolet. Harvey’s teammate, 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, completed the top-five at 225.969 mph in the No. 23 DRR Cusick Wedbush Securities Chevrolet. “Captain America” _ the 2012 INDYCAR champion _ completed 56 laps in his one-off Indy 500 entry.
Meanwhile, sensational rookie Robert Shwartzman _ who shocked the open-wheel world by qualifying on-pole in his first-oval race _ placed 26th at 222.561 mph after 76 laps in the No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet. Shwartzman is a 25-year-old native of Tel Aviv, Israel.
“Today, we did two-hours of free practice putting myself in different positions in the grid, how it feels and how the car behaves, for my understanding,” said Shwartzman, who is of Russian-Israeli descent. “Overall, quite happy. We need to obviously work a little bit on getting the car a bit stronger.
“I was in a group with Alex (Palou) and Pato (O’Ward), and me and Pato seemed to be quite similar, but Alex was a tiny bit stronger feeling-wise. So, we need to see what was different and try to get a bit more grip. But overall, it’s a cool thing that you have this separation of qualifying as one race and the actual race and battle as a different one.”
Shwartzman is the first rookie to earn P1 for the Indy 500 since Italian-born Teo Fabi wheeled the No. 33 Skoal Bandit March/Cosworth to Rookie of the Year honors in the race’s 67th edition in 1983. Shwartzman is just the third rookie to win the pole on-track as well as the sixth first-year starter to lead the field to its flying start.
Shwartzman’s “impossible dream” became reality when he laid down a blazing, four-lap/10-mile average speed of 232.790 mph late Sunday afternoon. PREMA Racing _ which joined the INDYCAR ranks this season after years of success in European competition _ became the first team to claim the 500 pole in its first attempt since Mayer Motor Racing placed 1983 race-winner Tom “The Gas Man” Sneva P1 in 1984.
Team Penske’s Will Power and Josef Newgarden _ both dropped from Row 4 to Row 11 Monday morning by INDYCAR officials over a technical rule infraction _ rallied into the top-10 on the chart. Power, the 2018 Indy 500 champion, was seventh at 225.631 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. The 44-year-old Australian, who is in his final contract season with the Penske juggernaut, will start 33rd and last on Sunday.
Following Monday’s ruling, Newgarden’s bid for a record third-consecutive Indy 500 victory will be launched from the 32nd spot. Newgarden’s best lap Monday of 225.597 mph was eighth overall after 87 laps.
The Penske pair was involved in a weird circumstance just before the start of Sunday’s Top 12 Qualifying session. Newgarden’s No. 2 Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Team Penske Chevrolet and Power’s No. 12 Chevy were pulled from making their respective one attempts after being cited with a violation of INDYCAR Rule 14.7.8.16 _ specifically, an unapproved body fit on the rear attenuator of each Dallara chassis.
At the end of qualifying Sunday afternoon, the Penske entries of Scott McLaughlin, Newgarden and Power occupied Row 4 _ positions 10, 11 and 12 _ in the traditional 33-car grid.
Newgarden, like Power, is a two-time series champion for 88-year-old team founder/owner Roger S. Penske, whose Penske Entertainment Corp. also owns the series and IMS but has not been immune from rules violations.
Additionally, INDYCAR suspended the team strategists for the Nos. 2 and 12 for the remainder of the Indianapolis 500; both cars forfeited Indy 500 qualification points and each entry was fined $100,000. Cars Nos. 2 and 12 also forfeited their original pit positions and will select pit boxes after the remainder of the field has an opportunity to adjust.
Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, placed 11th at 225.056 mph after 82 laps in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Larson qualified 21st at 231.326 mph on Sunday for his second Indy 500 after earning Rookie of the Year honors last May. Larson is again attempting to complete “The Double” of competing in the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., on Sunday. Larson, who drives the No. 5 Chevrolet fielded by Hendrick Motorsports in Cup, continues to add to his open-wheel notebook.
“I feel like when we’re out there, everybody kind of looks pretty similar,” Larson said. “We tried to get a bit racy at times to learn a few things for the race, but things are so different in practice. I feel like there’s more of an accordion (effect) and all of that opens passing, when in the race it’s more difficult to pass. The balance feels a bit different than last year, but it’s fun and seems more challenging.”
Larson acknowledged his mid-pack grid spot definitely will present an early-race challenge. “I think if you just normal kind of race-stuff _ execute good restarts and pit stops and things _ you can work your way forward without having to work too hard,” Larson said. “Hopefully myself and our team can do a good job on Sunday and just chip away at it.”
Two-time Indy 500 runnerup Pato O’Ward completed 54 laps and placed 12th at 224.933 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. O’Ward has finished second in this event twice since 2022, including last May to Newgarden following a dramatic, last-lap pass for the lead.
“We only have one more practice on Carb Day, and we’ve got our game plan for the little issues we had here and there today,” said O’Ward, a native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “We’re going to see what we can make sure we get right to be prepared for the race.”
Native New Zealander Scott Dixon, the 2008 Indy 500 winner and six-time series champion, ranked 13th after completing only six laps with a top speed of 224.927 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Dallas resident Santino Ferrucci led the two-car entries of Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing in 14th overall at 224.909 mph in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet. “A solid day on Monday,” Ferrucci said after completing 78 laps. “It’s really the first time we got to drive the race car. It felt great. We made a ton of changes and a ton of progress. I’m feeling really good. I think we’re really competitive, with a couple of things to fine-tune on Friday and then we’re ready to go.”
David Malukas, Ferrucci’s Foyt Racing teammate, placed 15th at 224.500 mph after 76 laps in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet.
“Monday is in the books for us, and another really good day,” Malukas said. “We tried a completely different flip setup from what we’ve been doing for all of the race-running stuff, and we learned a lot with the car in another direction. In the two hours we went completely end-to-end and I think that was the best session we’ve had this month when it comes to learning a lot with the car. We have a lot of data to look over, but we have a lot of days to do that. I feel confident going into the 500 later this week.”
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin ranked 31st after running 65 laps with a top speed of 221.561 mph in a backup No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet. McLaughlin did not participate Sunday in the Top 12 after the 31-year-old native of New Zealand was involved in a grinding, single-car accident in practice. McLaughlin, last year’s Indy 500 pole-winner, was uninjured but the car sustained extensive damage.
A review of McLaughlin’s wreckage by series stewards, which included INDYCAR impounding the No. 3 attenuator, determined the car was in fact using a legal and unmodified attenuator. Therefore, car No. 3 _ latest iteration of the famed Pennzoil “Yellow Submarine” _ will start in the 10th spot, final position of those who had qualified to participate in the Top 12.
The two-hour practice took place under partly cloudy skies and air temperatures in the mid-70s. Christian Rasmussen of Ed Carpenter Racing was involved in the only incident, 12 minutes into the session. Rasmussen, of Denmark, made light contact with the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2. His No. 21 ECR Splenda Chevrolet then wobbled and spun into the grass on the backstretch and made secondary contact with the inside wall. The car sustained minor damage; Rasmussen was uninjured.
“Same thing as the other day,” said Rasmussen, watching a video replay. “I just touched the wall there and it started crabbing and it just touched the wall. We went out with that same setup that we were running the other day when we spun, but we blamed it on being because of the old tires. Now, we were on new tires, so maybe something about that setup doesn’t really work.
“I’m just bummed for the guys. We’re into Race Week now, and it’s not where we want to be. There are always things you can do differently, but we’re trying to prepare for Race Week and to try to run as close to the cars in front of us as we can. Because it’s so hard to pass you’ve got to try and do something. We have to look at what we have and re-evaluate.”
The cavernous grandstands at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be filled for the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday. All reserved seats _ including those in the grandstands and suites _ officially are sold-out.
“As promised, the very best fans in sports have delivered in fitting fashion for the stars of the NTT IndyCar Series, and every last reserved seat ticket has been sold,” INDYCAR and IMS president J. Douglas Boles said Tuesday morning. “Approximately 350,000 people will experience the ultimate spectacle that is the Indy 500 in person as everyone turns their focus to the ‘Racing Capital of the World’ on Sunday.”
Fans wishing to join the massive and historic crowd still have the following options:
_ Race Day General Admission tickets in the IMS infield are available via IMS.com, by calling 317-492-6700 or by visiting the IMS Ticket Office.
_ Limited reserved seat tickets are available on the IMS Official Resale Marketplace through Wednesday, May 21, at 11:59 p.m. (EDT). The Resale Marketplace closes to allow sufficient time for transfer and delivery of these tickets to purchasers on the secondary market.
Tickets remain available for Friday’s Miller Lite Carb Day and Legends Day presented by Firestone. Coors Light Snake Pit wristbands also remain available for purchase in conjunction with an Indy 500 General Admission ticket.
