Palou poised for Indianapolis 500 repeat from pole position
Alex Palou earned his second career pole for the Indianapolis 500 during qualifying on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Palou won the NTT P1 Award and a $100,00 bonus with his four-lap average speed of 232.248 mph in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. (Photo courtesy of the NTT IndyCar Series)
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
INDYCAR superstar Alex Palou will chase a second consecutive Indianapolis 500 victory on Sunday from the best seat in the wide world of motorsports at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The mercurial, 29-year-old Spaniard secured his second career pole for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” during Sunday afternoon’s Firestone Fast Six session via a four-lap/10-mile average speed of 232.248 mph. Palou’s trip around the famed 2.5-mile oval required a quick 2-minutes, 35.0066-seconds.
“I have no words,” said Palou, driver of the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “So, that was incredible. It just feels incredible. Great start to the Month of May.”
The NTT P1 Award was accompanied by a $100,000 bonus _ and the right for Palou to lead the traditional field of 33 cars to the “Yard of Bricks” for the flying start of the 200-lap/500-mile Memorial Day classic.
“Did not expect it,” said Palou, the four-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion. “You could see the celebration was really high (after winning P1) because this morning when we woke up, we did not expect this speed.”
SEE: Qualifying Results
Palou, who also won the Indy 500 pole in 2023, earned the 15th NTT P1 Award of his INDYCAR career. The winner of three of the series’ first six races in 2026, Palou is the first reigning 500 winner to claim the pole since native Brazilian Helio Castroneves did so for Team Penske in 2010.
Palou is sharing the three-car front row with No. 2 qualifier Alexander Rossi _ winner of the landmark 100th Indy 500 in 2016 _ and David Malukas of Team Penske’s powerhouse.
Rossi put together his best qualifying performance in 11 Indy 500 starts by averaging 231.990 mph in the No. 20 Java House Chevrolet of Ed Carpenter Racing.
“It was an incredible day for everyone after the disappointment obviously of the wash-out (Saturday), and seeing conditions that we hadn’t seen all month for the first time in qualifying,” Rossi said. “It’s pretty wild, but a huge testament to everyone on the No. 20 crew for staying with it and continuing to evolve and improve after each run.
“A great day. It’s not often that you’re happy with second place, but with some of the challenges that everyone faced, this is a pretty cool one.”
Rossi reiterated that Indiana’s unpredictable spring weather conditions were a huge strategic factor. “You know these conditions were really hard today,” said Rossi, a 34-year-old native of Nevada City, Calif. “It was moving for every run. I mean, on days like this with the wind being as strong as it is, both ends of the track behave differently. With the hybrid there’s different options that you have from a strategic standpoint during the run based on those conditions, and it’s always changing.
“You have to kind of manage that and stay on it of the balance of the car. But, yeah, it’s been an amazing car from a drivability standpoint, a speed standpoint all month. I would say today was our least competitive day from my side, so that’s really encouraging going into next week.
“Obviously, you hope for pole but a front row (spot) is so cool here and something I haven’t accomplished for a really long time. Thrilled with today and how it went and can’t wait to get on track (Monday) and make it better.”
The traditional post-qualifying practice is scheduled for 1-3 p.m. (EDT) today (FS1, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).
Malukas, meanwhile, continued to set the pace for Team Penske by earning his career-best Indy 500 start on the outside of Row 1. Malukas posted an average of 231.877 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Malukas’ previous-best start at IMS was seventh last year for A.J. Foyt Racing, a technical partner with team and series owner Roger S. Penske’s open-wheel juggernaut.
“Yeah, very happy. That was the goal. We wanted to be on this front row,” said Malukas, a 24-year-old native of Chicago. “To be honest, in this race everybody always says, ‘You can get the win from wherever you start.’ Last year we qualified seventh, and I mean, we were fighting for the win very early on throughout the rest of the race, but if feels good.
“This team did a fantastic job at getting the car where it needed to be and making me feel comfortable in it. Yeah, it feels good _ front row.”
Felix Rosenqvist qualified fourth at 231.375 mph in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian. It’s the second-best 500 start in Rosenqvist’s INDYCAR career, but the Swede couldn’t hide his disappointment after leading the opening round of qualifying (232.599 mph) and the Fast 12 round (232.065 mph) and entering the Firestone Fast Six as pole favorite.
“There was quite a big gap from run two to run three,” said Rosenqvist, a 34-year-old native of Varnamo, Sweden. “It just didn’t seem like there was that much in it. It just didn’t go as fast. It’s a shame. It’s kind of déjà vu for me. I’ve had this three times now when I’ve gone into the last round and had to finish it off. It’s kind of like a curse. But it is what it is. We’ll just focus on the race.”
Santino Ferrucci qualified fifth at 230.846 mph in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet fielded by Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing.
“Really solid day for the entire Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet crew,” said Ferrucci, a 27-year-old resident of Dallas. “I don’t think anybody woke up this morning thinking we’d be running in the Fast Six. We just kept our heads down and played a smart day, and yeah, thrilled with the end result. I mean, it’s going to be an incredible start for us. It’ll be my third second row start here at the Speedway, and we know we’ve almost won it from that area before, so we’ll try and do it again this year.”
Ferrucci is the lead fulltime driver at Foyt Racing, founded and owned by 91-year-old open-wheel legend A.J. Foyt Jr. of Houston _ first four-time winner of the Indy 500.
“I have to thank the entire team and Chevrolet, again for bringing in that extra engine on Friday night, and getting this thing wound-up,” said Ferrucci, whose sponsor is committed to helping veterans exit America’s homeless population. “Went to the enlistment ceremony this morning with our military, and seeing many veterans, it was very cool. Excited to have all of our veterans out here next weekend. Happy that we’re going to give them a good starting spot, too.”
Two-time Indy 500 runnerup Pato O’Ward completed the Firestone Fast Six at 230.442 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. O’Ward, who qualified for his seventh Indy 500, finished third in last May’s race.
“We’re going to be rolling off sixth for the big show, so a great starting position to put ourselves into an opportunity for the Sunday that really matters,” said O’Ward, a 27-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “Good job to the team, and we’re going to be working hard to pepper in the race car to give it everything that we’ve got.”
Six different teams are represented in the first two rows of the 11-row starting grid.
The list of former Indy 500 winners qualifying outside the Top 12 was led by two-time champion Takuma Sato of Japan at 230.995 mph in the No. 75 Amada Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
“I’m extremely disappointed with the result,” said “Taku,” a 49-year-old native of Tokyo. “The entire team and crew worked so hard to prepare and I’m really happy with that part. It showed the potential and good speed. But today, as a whole team, we made a mistake choosing a package that we thought was good for this (weather) condition, and the car was very draggy and couldn’t pull the speed. Now we need to focus on Monday’s practice to make a strong car for the race.”
Sato, who is making a one-off start at IMS, competed for RLLR fulltime in 2012 and from 2018-2021. Takuma won the Indy 500 with the organization founded by 1986 Indy champion Bobby Rahal in 2020.
Four-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves will start 15th after his run of 230.811 mph in the No. 06 Cleveland Cliffs Honda of Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian. The popular Brazilian, who turned 51 on Tuesday, is making a one-off bid to become the race’s first five-time champion. Recall that “Spiderman” won his first three Indy 500s with Team Penske and his record-tying fourth with MSR in 2021.
Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 Indy 500 champion from Kumla, Sweden, secured the No. 18 grid spot after averaging 230.667 mph in the No. 28 Phoenix Investors Honda fielded by Andretti Global.
Australian Will Power, the 2018 Indy 500 champ, qualified 20th at 230.279 mph in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda, also fielded by Andretti Global.
“Captain America” Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 2014 Indy 500 champion, will start 23rd after averaging 230.202 mph in the Prize Picks Arrow McLaren. “We were obviously lacking in air and speed but, man, that thing was on the nose. It was free,” said Hunter-Reay, a 45-year-old resident of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “Everything you have to do in qualifying, we did. We’re missing a bit of that extra speed that comes with it. So, I’ve always said that the race car is what really matters and that’s more of my wheelhouse.
“We lost drive in the gearbox (Saturday). You know, it’s just been some stuff that has sidelined us that kept us from track time. Honestly right there, not as true as anybody else out there. It’s just it won’t go. So, it’s how it goes sometimes.”
Two-time Indy 500 champion Josef Newgarden will start deep in the pack after averaging 230.165 mph in the No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet. “That’s what she’s got,” said Newgarden, a 35-year-old native of Nashville, Tenn. “That’s what she’ll turn. We’re in the show right, there is no bumping, so we’re in the show, which is great. We’ll go to work on our race car. Shell is going to do a great job for us. Team Chevy is doing a great job. Excited to get back to race trim.”
Katherine Legge, the only woman entered in this year’s race, placed 27th after averaging 229.456 mph in the No. 11 e.l.f. Cosmetics Chevrolet entered by HMD Motorsports with A.J. Foyt Enterprises.
“That’s just testament to the quality of this team and the heart that they have,” said Legge, a 45-year-old native of Guildford, England. “It’s not where we wanted to be. We wanted the chance of the Top 12 qualifying and I thought we maybe had it, but in hindsight, there were some things that we could definitely need to go faster. I feel like I was brave enough out there to keep it flat for the most part. And at least we can breathe now, you know, like it’s done.
“We’ve got some teething problems that I’m hoping to have sorted out by the race. And I think that if we can tidy up all the little bits, then we’ll be in with a good show.”
Series rookie Mick Schumacher qualified for his second oval-track race and first Indy 500 in 28th after averaging 229.450 mph in the No. 47 ENVE Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
“Wish we would have been a little faster,” said Schumacher, a 27-year-old resident of Gland, Switzerland, and son of seven-time Formula One World Driving Champion Michael Schumacher of Germany. “I’m not quite sure where the speed went from this morning (in practice). I think this morning looked pretty good, so we’ve got to understand that.
“The car felt good (in qualifying), but maybe it’s not the best thing that the car feels good. Maybe you want it to be a bit edgy. But overall, we’ve just got to get after it, understand it and hopefully have a good car for the race. I was just saying to everybody here how privileged I am to be able to work with such a great crew and such great team. Everybody on the No. 47 car, and everyone on the whole Rahal Letterman Lanigan team did an amazing job so far. It’s been a great experience so far, and I’m just very excited to go into the race now.”
Rain washed out PPG Armed Forces Qualifying on Saturday, creating a pressure-packed format of one qualifying attempt per driver per round under sunny skies and air temperatures that climbed into the mid-80s Sunday. All 33 drivers participated in the first round, with the 12 fastest advancing to the Top 12 second round, which whittled the pole contenders to the Firestone Fast Six.
Palou was at a disadvantage in the first round due to his wife, Esther, picking the 31st position in the qualifying order during the blind draw Friday evening. His attempt took place 2-hours, 19-minutes after teammate and 2008 Indy 500 champion Scott Dixon _ whose 6-year-old son, Kit, drew the first starting position _ made his attempt in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
A six-time series champion from New Zealand, “Dixie”, 45 and the longest-tenured driver at CGR, will start 11th after qualifying at 230.347 mph.
Air and track temperatures were around 5 and 10 degrees higher, respectively, for Palou’s run, and he barely earned a transfer into the Top 12 after ending up 11th in the first round with a four-lap average of 231.155 mph. But Palou climbed to second in the Top 12 at 231.665 mph behind Rosenqvist as his Chip Ganassi Racing crew tuned the bright yellow No. 10 car for the peak heat of the day.
“I have to say being on the 31st _ thanks to my wife, by the way for drawing that number _ I think being there allowed us to work on those conditions,” Palou said. “It’s not easy to do everything the way this team is executing.”
The 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for Sunday, May 24 (10 a.m. EDT, FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).
IMS’ massive grandstands have been sold-out for Race Day. Fans can visit IMS.com and check IMS social media feeds for updates on all ticketing-related information on remaining Race Weekend experiences.
INDYCAR Officiating handed out post-qualifying technical inspection penalties to the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet entered by A.J. Foyt Racing and driven by rookie Caio Collet of Brazil and the No. 24 DRR INVST Chevrolet fielded by Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and driven by Jack Harvey of Great Britain.
During post-qualifying inspection of car Nos. 4 and 24, INDYCAR Officiating discovered modifications to the Dallara-supplied Energy Management System (EMS) covers and cover-to-A-arm mounting points with unapproved hardware. According to the INDYCAR rulebook, EMS covers must be used as supplied.
A.J. Foyt Racing and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing were deemed in violation of:
_ Rule 14.12.1.1. EMS must be used as supplied by Dallara and approved by INDYCAR.
_ Rule 14.12.1.6. EMS covers may only be attached with the supplied hardware and Helicopter Tape.
Both cars (Nos. 4 and 24) have had their qualifying results disallowed and have been re-ordered to the rear of the field in order of entrant points.
Collet, a 24-year-old native of Brazil, had qualified 10th at 230.539 mph, while Harvey averaged 229.207 mph to place a disappointing 24th. “That’s the worst four-lap average we have had all week,” said Harvey, a 33-year-old native of Bassingham, England, whose fulltime series job is as pit reporter for FOX Sports. “I’m really confused about the lack of speed on that run. I’m very disappointed because we expected a much faster speed. We have to work on our car for race day now.”
Additionally, Car No. 4 had its three Indy 500 qualification points disallowed. Subsequently, car No. 9 (Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing) and No. 76 (Rinus VeeKay of Juncos Hollinger Racing) will be awarded 10th and 11th place Indy 500 qualification points. Car No. 75 _ the Amada Honda driven by two-time Indy 500 champ Takuma Sato of Japan and fielded by Rahal Letterman Laninga Racing _ is ineligible for qualification points as it did not participate in Top 12 qualifying.
Car Nos. 4 and 24 also will forfeit their pit positions and will select their pit boxes after the remainder of the field has an opportunity to adjust accordingly.
Members may contest the imposition of the penalties detailed in the review and appeal procedures of the NTT IndyCar Series rulebook.
NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 237; 2, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 210; 3, David Malukas, Team Penske, 185; 4, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 182; 5, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 162; 6, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 148; 7, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 148; 8, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 141; 9, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 141; 10, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 123;
11, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 116; 12, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 112; 13, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 110; 14, Will Power, Andretti Global, 107; 15, Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing, 100; 16, Rinus VeeKay, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 94; 17, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 93; 18, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 90; 19, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 86; 20, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 76;
21, Caio Collet, A.J. Foyt Racing, 70; 22, Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing, 69; 23, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 65; 24, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 55; 25, Mick Schumacher, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 54.
FOX SPORTS’ 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST SCHEDULE/(RACE WINNER)
Note _ All times Eastern
Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Saturday, March 7 _ Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Ariz., (Josef Newgarden, Team Penske)
Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)
Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Sunday, April 19 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course, (Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren)
Sunday, May 24 _ 110th Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval, 10 a.m.
Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Detroit, 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., 9 p.m.
Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., 2 p.m.
Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., TBA
Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, 4 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 16 _ Streets of Markham, Canada, Noon
Sunday, Aug. 23 _ Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., TBA
Saturday, Aug. 29 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 1, West Allis, Wis., 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 2, West Allis, Wis., 1 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 6 _ WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., 2:30 p.m.
Note _ Dates and times subject to change.
2026 INDYCAR NXT BY FIRESTONE SCHEDULE/(RACE-WINNER)
Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)
Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Max Taylor, Andretti Global)
Saturday, March 28 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)
Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Alessandro de Tullio, A.J. Foyt Racing)
Friday, May 8 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 1 (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)
Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 2 (Tymek Kucharczyk, HMD Motorsports)
Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Detroit
Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill.
Saturday, June 20 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 1
Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 2
Saturday, July 4 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 1
Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 2
Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn.
Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway
Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis.
Saturday, Sept. 5 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 1
Sunday, Sept. 6 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 2
