Palou adds crucial points on “best street course” in Arlington

Credit: Joe Skibinski

In pursuit of making up for lost points after a crash in Phoenix, Álex Palou finished second to Kyle Kirkwood on the weekend of the inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington. He additionally stands second in the championship, behind the No.27 Andretti Global driver. 

Battling the Andrettis

After a single-car Fast Six qualifying session, Palou started on the front row alongside Marcus Ericsson, who secured his first pole position in the series. 

He first took the lead on Lap 22 - after the first pit cycle - and eventually he felt the challenge to keep Kirkwood behind as the Andretti driver progressed from his seventh-place starting spot, dealing with tyre degradation while pushing the car to its limit.

“I tried hard,” Palou said. “Kirkwood was really fast. I could see already on [the] second and third stint that I was pushing as much as I could, using OT [push-to-pass] to try to get gaps. He was closing three/four-tenths on me.” 

Despite several errors in the pit lane, Kirkwood continued to stay on pace with the Chip Ganassi Racing driver, pulling off a decisive overtake with 15 laps to the end. Palou noted that he maximised the potential of the car, but there was not much he could do to catch Kirkwood.

“I was not having any handling issues,” Palou said. “Normally, you cannot drive because you cannot brake or something. I was just flat out. I was happy with my car. They were a little bit happier than us.”

Kirkwood’s overtake put the Spaniard between himself and teammate Will Power. Palou’s focus switched to defending rather than fighting for the win, knowing that the Andretti cars were set up differently. 

“I think also they were very trimmed, all the Andrettis. We were not. It was making a huge difference for them on the straights. It's a decision we took. I was better on all the corners, but I couldn't really use it as much as what they were gaining on me.” 

Credit: James Black

Track thoughts

Palou’s expectations were high for this event, having seen the early renderings and knowing the individuals who helped make this race happen.  

“It's been a 10 out of 10,” he said afterwards. “There's nothing you can say that this was bad.

“The fans were incredible. They stayed until the end, like when we were just pitting in now after a full-course yellow. Everybody was just there being happy. Yeah, it's incredible to be part of this.”

An exciting and energising weekend for the drivers and series, some characteristics can be improved, such as bumps on track, but it was “by far the best street course [Palou] has been part of”, as he anticipates another Arlington race. 

“It's really fun to see so many people on the stands. The energy was incredible. I cannot wait to be back here next year.”

Competitiveness amps up 

Andretti closed out the 2025 season finishing fourth (Kirkwood), seventh (Colton Herta), and 20th (Ericsson) in the championship standings. Kirkwood was the team’s sole winner over the Long Beach, Detroit and at the World Wide Technology Raceway weekends.

Palou recognises the strong potential Andretti has shown, commending the team. He spoke on the added experience the team has received in Power and their competitiveness.  

“If you add in Will, the knowledge that he has from so many years, how he has done things, I think you can improve the team. They've been really fast, really strong on all those three races that we've done so far.”

Stepping into the first weekend off, the Ganassi driver positively considers the season so far, with a win and a second-place finish, as well as the growth of the series. 

“I think from a series standpoint, it's been incredible to see what everybody's been pushing on,” he said. “I think you can see it [in] the ratings, [in] how engaged everybody is. I think that's a big gain.”

Palou heads to Sebring this weekend to take part in the IMSA Sportscar Championship, before returning to Barber to continue trying to close the gap in the IndyCar championship.