Indy 500 “best win ever” cements Palou’s legendary IndyCar status

Archie O’Reilly
May 26
11 min read

Updated: May 27

“As an IndyCar driver, if you’ve not won the Indy 500, you’re not going to be 100 percent complete. That’s what we’re working towards. Hopefully we can change it soon. If my career ends in like 20 years and I’ve not won an Indy 500, it’ll be for sure not a successful career.”

Álex Palou has been a man on a mission all month long. He has been all year.

Heading into the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500, he had won four of the first five races of the IndyCar season - second place in the other - and held a 97-point championship lead. It was the best start to an IndyCar season from any driver since A.J. Foyt in 1964.

Palou is a three-time series champion surging to a fourth in five years and third in succession. And this is a driver in only his sixth season in IndyCar.

But he felt incomplete.

The Spaniard could win a record number of championships and that would remain the case if his face was never on the Borg Warner trophy. He was willing to put everything on the line to win a maiden Indy 500. For two weeks, the championship was irrelevant.

Five previous attempts. No avail.

He came closest to Indy 500 success in 2021, agonisingly finishing runner-up as Hélio Castroneves sealed his record-equalling fourth Indy 500. He had the quickest car in 2023 as pole-sitter before being wiped out by Rinus VeeKay in pit lane, still recovering from the rear to fourth.

But at Indy, second place is as good as last.

But in 2025 and in light of his dominance, it just felt as though it was meant to be. So much talk of never having won on an oval but Palou’s belief never wavered. He never doubted himself. He headed into his sixth Indy 500 knowing etching his name firmly into history was at stake. And he thrives more than anyone under that sense of pressure and expectation.

Lap 200. Out of Turn 4. The three finest words Palou has ever heard.

“Yellow, yellow, yellow.”

As he surged to the chequered flag in the lead of the race, Palou’s date with destiny was nigh on determined anyway. There was no chance of a Marcus Ericsson fightback. But a last-gasp caution allowed that release to come a split-second earlier on the homestretch.

Immortality.

Those tearful, jubilant eyes through an open visor were a striking sight. May 25th 2025: a legacy-cementing day for Álex Palou, Indianapolis 500 champion.

He is a champion in every sense of the word too - humble, affable and genuine as a human being. And he is a generational master of his craft on the track; a rare superstar not just in IndyCar, not just in motorsport, but in the wider sporting world.

He knew how much this moment meant. That was never lost on Palou. He secured his name in the pantheon of IndyCar greats - and in record time with his career in the series still so young.

It has become a notable pattern that Palou and his bulletproof No.10 Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) team celebrate every victory like it is their last. That is an intentional mentality as they relish and embrace the historic run that they are in the midst of.

But Indy 500 success was always going to be celebrated that bit differently. It was going to be celebrated in a manner befitting of the generational greatness it signified.

“If that happens, I’ll get crazy,” Palou insisted earlier this month. “Like very crazy. Things are going to fly - flames here, flames there. It’s going to be amazing. I’m not a crazy person… but very, very crazy. Everybody in Indiana will know that I’m an Indy 500 champion.”

Palou was sticking to that word. He noticed fireworks in Victory Lane but had plans to make sure Indiana did, indeed, know he was an Indy 500 winner. Around his litany of obligations, a trip to watch the Indiana Pacers basketball team was planned later that night.

“That’s going to help some people in Indiana to know me,” Palou said. And sure enough, he was presented on court during a timeout, clad with a Pacers jersey, his Indy 500-winner wreath and his treasured - now nearly empty - bottle of milk.

Before all of that though, he certainly went suitably ‘crazy’ upon first emerging from the car.

If his teary eyes did not tell the story, his screaming on the radio certainly showcased the extent of his unbridled jubilation. Then as soon as he had risen from his cockpit and saluted the hundreds of thousands packed into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, selfless as ever, Palou was desperate to make a beeline for his team.

He leapt from his machine, discarded his gloves and sprinted down the frontstretch before a jump and a roar as a flurry of yellow came charging his way.

It was fitting that, accompanying his father, Palou’s ‘racing dad’ Barry Wanser, his beloved strategist, was the first over the pit wall to greet his driver. Legendary six-time champion teammate Scott Dixon, 2008 Indy 500 winner, was quickly there with a beaming grin too.

Up and down the group jumped in celebratory unison, with Palou sharing hugs aplenty with those he credits endlessly for his success and making him “look good” on the track. Becoming increasingly breathless, rapturous celebrations continued as Palou once again greeted the crowd, climbing atop the SAFER barrier by the Yard of Bricks.

It is often joked that Palou barely breaks a sweat but he was quickly desperately demanding a drink, such was the intensity of his celebration after a gruelling 500 miles of racing. It was a nice palette-preparer for the sweetness of the milk that was to follow.

Amid the pandemonium, there was a quip from one team member: “Now you’re a real IndyCar driver.”

Behind Palou was the notion that his career would be unsuccessful without an Indy 500 win. He no longer needs to contemplate that reality. It will never again be his reality.

“We checked that box and we need another one now,” Palou said. “It’s amazing. It’s amazing to win this race. This race means so much for me, for my family, for the IndyCar community, our fans and motorsports in general. To be an Indy 500 champion, it’s amazing.”

The celebrations continued long after being raised into Victory Circle for a second burst of uncontainable delight. In fact, almost two hours had passed by the time Palou emerged in the media centre to recount a memorable start to life as an Indy 500 winner.

He embraced the Victory Lap around the track and kissed the bricks alongside his wife and daughter, as well as mingling with a number of compatriots who had made the trip to support their countryman.

“There were a lot of Spanish flags here, which I did never see,” Palou observed.

“I was celebrating with the amazing fans that we had today. They were incredible. There were so many people that stuck around for that Victory Lap celebration. Then just with the team, my family… I have a tonne of family here today so it’s an amazing day.”

Palou also became the first Spanish winner of the famed race by taking victory on Sunday.

“But honestly if I was the 50th Spanish driver to win it,” Palou said, “I would be as happy as I am now and as proud as I am now.”

All along, Palou knew winning the Indy 500 would be the dream two-for-one opportunity to break his run of never having won on an oval. It certainly was not down to his calibre that he had never taken an oval victory before but he was keen to quell the chatter.

“It just makes it extra special,” Palou said. “I would have been as happy as I am right now, but to say that I’ve only won one oval race and it’s been at the Speedway, that [being the first win] always going to be like that.”

Palou executed the race in his trademark fashion too. It could hardly have been more befitting of his patient, precise and punishing approach.

As always at Indy, it was a race which ebbed and flowed through a number of peaks and troughs for every driver across 200 laps. But Palou always kept himself firmly in the game, as so often, lurking in the shadows and not panicking if he was not leading.

There was a measure to Palou’s initial approach, playing the percentage game to avoid catastrophe amid some frenetic, several-wide restarts. But that was hiked up and balanced with a calculated aggression as the race progressed.

After his final pit stop, Palou was in a worse fuel position than David Malukas and particularly Ericsson, who stopped the latest of the lead trio, came out in the lead and was able to push flat-out to the finish.

“I was expecting another yellow for sure,” Palou admitted. “So I was close to telling my team: ‘Just let me go with the fuel. Don’t even worry because there’s going to be another yellow.’ I’m glad that I listened to them.”

For once, it had actually felt like Palou might have been on the back foot. But how foolish anybody was to believe that.

Palou did not mind the fuel deficit. A composed “no problem” on the radio and on he went. He did not shirk the challenge. He does not shirk any challenge.

Once again, he worked his magic, trusting the team’s judgement and calculations and executing on track. The No.10 squad is the true epitome of the team game required to succeed in motorsport, and even with the fuel deficit, their exceptional communication and conviction on all fronts paid off.

Palou seized on a gap and, with 14 laps remaining, caught Ericsson off-guard and dispatched the 2022 Indy 500 winner into Turn 1. Palou knew the value of track position in a race where passing appeared tough. Timing was everything - and nobody has better judgement than Palou.

“We were not in the best position on strategy,” he said. “We had the worst tyres and less fuel than Marcus and a little bit less than Malukas. I knew that it was going to be tough at the end because, with less grip on the tyres and with some traffic, I was just not going to have any chance to overtake him.

“I saw that I had a small gap and I wanted to take it. It was a bit too early to go for it but I thought it was my best strategy to try and go with the traffic and try and get the win.”

With the traffic of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing teammates Devlin DeFrancesco and Louis Foster ahead at the tail-end of the lead lap, it was déjà vu for Palou.

In 2021, it was traffic towing Castroneves along that allowed the Brazilian to oust Palou in the closing laps of the Indy 500. But this time, while his tyres still allowed the pass to be possible, Palou knew he had to get himself in the box seat.

Lessons learned from one of Indy’s finest four years ago was integral to Palou’s success.

“I knew that because of how the strategies were shaking up at the end that we were going to have traffic,” Palou said. “I was trying my best to try and read it and get on top of it. I think I got lucky on timing.

“I got the opportunity to pass Marcus already towards the end of my tyre life because, after that, I was struggling a lot, especially the last six or seven laps. I don’t know if he thought he was safe or if he was not thinking that traffic was playing a big role.

“I was able to get advantage off the traffic cars to help me tow up very good and not consume too much fuel. And thanks to Hélio, I was able to read the traffic good.

“I’m here because of 2021 for sure. Hélio was an amazing teacher. It was an expensive class. I would have liked to still win 2021. But glad that the 2021 class paid off.”

By the final five laps, Palou had masterfully saved enough fuel that he could push flat to the finish. He battled tyre fall-off and, regardless of the caution for a last-lap crash for Nolan Siegel, a wiggle for Ericsson off Turn 3 meant Palou had a clean run to the Yard of Bricks.

“My car was very capable but I didn’t really have the best balance, especially towards the end of the tyre life,” Palou explained. “I would say from lap 20 onwards, I was struggling very much to follow very closely. That’s why I tried to overtake Marcus as quick as they told me that the fuel was more or less okay to go to the end.”

Even if he did not have the quickest car in the field, Palou once again had field-topping execution. The emphatic celebrations ensued… only one thing missing.

Palou did not, as has become popularised, pour the milk over his head in Victory Circle. But actually, it was probably a shrewd move. He was able to savour the taste too.

“There’s been a lot of people that had told me not to do that,” Palou recalled. “And then I was like: ‘Maybe I get too excited and I do it.’ I was close but then I thought: ‘Oh man, I’m going to be with the milk all over me for like the next five, six hours.’

“I have to tell you, it was the best milk I’ve ever had. It was super sweet.”

In the context of Palou’s year as a whole, this is a further extension to a historic campaign. After a mere six of the 17 rounds, he could sit out two races and still lead the way, such is his 115-point advantage over Pato O’Ward in second.

It is also only the fourth time in history a driver has won five of the first six races in a season after Foyt in 1964 and 1979 and Al Unser Sr. in 1971.

“I’ll tell you, that kid is a good driver,” team owner Chip Ganassi understated jokingly. “I think he’s off to a good start. We’re going to have a good season.”

Palou himself is taking time to appreciate what he and his team are in the process of achieving.

“It’s incredible,” he said. “I get a lot of credit because you see that I’m the only one driving the car. But there’s a huge team behind that is making me look very good on track. We have fast cars every single weekend and that’s really tough to do here in IndyCar.

“Whenever we’ve had the chance to win, we’ve been able to execute. And that’s taking into account not only the setup but the strategies, the pit stops that they did [for the Indy 500] as well.

“I’ve been telling you guys that I know that this is not normal. I’m glad that it didn’t end today and that we got the wave until the 500 at least.”

Through contractual disputes and the associated off-track drama, it has not always been a smooth relationship between Palou and CGR. But there was always an unbreakable bond deep down.

Any ill-feeling is vanished long into the past.

“He’s one of the greats,” Ganassi said. “It’s that simple. Certainly we’ve had some great drivers on our team and he’s right there, at worst, shoulder to shoulder with all the rest of them.

“[IndyCar] should embrace a champion like that. The guy is a great guy and he’s a great champion and a great ambassador to the sport.”

Sealing Indy 500 victory to solidify Palou’s position among the legends of the sport is a full-circle for Ganassi, Mike Hull and the rest of the leadership team at CGR. It is the ultimate vindication for faith put in Palou almost five years ago after a solid but often unassuming rookie season with Dale Coyne Racing.

It was at the Speedway where they first spotted Palou’s potential as word spread about the Spaniard qualifying seventh for his rookie Indy 500 with a failed weight jacker. And in the post-qualifying pit assignments, Palou ended up beside Dixon.

Hull watched over throughout the week and noticed something “special” in the then-23-year-old.

Palou crashed out of the race but Ganassi and Hull were sold. When Felix Rosenqvist departed for Arrow McLaren at the end of 2020, they did not have to think twice about their replacement.

The rest is history.

“It’s certainly my new favorite race, my new favorite win,” Ganassi said in the aftermath of Palou’s Indy 500 win. “This is a big, big thing. The Indianapolis 500 is a big damn race. He will always be known now as an Indianapolis 500 winner, Álex Palou.

“Like he said, if he was to go through his whole career and not win here at Indianapolis, it wouldn’t be a complete career. He’s just an incredible driver. What can you say?”

Ominously, Ganassi believes Palou is still far from complete. But for the time being, owner, driver and everyone in between are on top of the world. No matter what else happens in his career, Palou is entirely validated as an IndyCar legend.

“This is the best place ever,” he said. “Best win ever.

“Where I rank emotionally, I would say the best I’ve ever been and the best I’ve ever felt - and I’m comparing all days of my entire life. There’s nothing like this.”