Alex Palou Eyes 2nd Indy 500 Pole after Leading 1st Day of Qualifying
It took Alex Palou just four laps around Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday to tighten his grip even harder on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES this season and zero in on possibly his second career Indianapolis 500 pole.
Three-time series champion and current points leader Palou, who has won four of the first five races this season, was the fastest driver on the opening day of PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying for the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. He turned a four-lap average speed of 233.043 mph on his only qualifying attempt of the day in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
SEE: Qualifying Results | Qualifying Format
Palou's sole attempt came at 1 p.m., two hours after qualifying opened on the 2.5-mile oval with air temperatures around 70 degrees and track temperatures around 100 degrees, about 20 and 35 degrees cooler, respectively, than Fast Friday presented by Turtle Wax practice. Wind speeds picked up to 15-20 mph today, with gusts exceeding 30 mph
'It's tough conditions out there,' Palou said. 'Yesterday it was with the temperature; today it was with the wind. The car has been really good. We were struggling this morning (in practice). I was unable to finish a four-lap (qualifying simulation) run. Now we were able to finish it quite strongly.
'Super happy. I don't know if there's more (speed in the car), but there's always more. The line between more and too much is very thin here at IMS. We'll see what we have for tomorrow.'
Palou and the 11 other fastest drivers in nearly six hours of qualifying today will participate in Top 12 Qualifying at 4:05 p.m. ET Sunday, which will whittle the field to the Firestone Fast Six that will compete for the NTT P1 Award at 6:25 p.m.
In between those sessions, Rinus VeeKay and Jacob Abel of Dale Coyne Racing, Marcus Armstrong of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian and 2020 '500' pole sitter Marco Andretti of Andretti Herta w/Marco & Curb-Agajanian will compete for the three final spots in the 33-car starting field in Last Chance Qualifying from 5:15-6:15 p.m.
FOX, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network will cover all three qualifying sessions live.
Practice for the Top 12 will take place from 1-2 p.m., with a final practice for the Last Chance Qualifiers from 2-3 p.m. (both sessions FS2, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
Joining 2023 '500' pole winner Palou in the Top 12 Qualifying session Sunday are 2024 pole winner Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske (233.013 Saturday, second), two-time reigning '500' winner Josef Newgarden of Team Penske (233.004, third), Pato O'Ward of Arrow McLaren (232.820, fourth), 2008 '500' winner Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing (232.659, fifth), rookie Robert Shwartzman of PREMA Racing (232.584, sixth), David Malukas of AJ Foyt Racing (232.546, seventh), Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian (232.449, eighth), two-time '500' winner Takuma Sato of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (232.415, ninth), 2018 '500' winner Will Power of Team Penske (232.144, 10th), 2022 '500' winner Marcus Ericsson of Andretti Global (232.132, 11th) and Christian Lundgaard of Arrow McLaren (231.809, 12th).
There were 73 qualifying attempts on a hectic day of track activity, none more frantic perhaps than local hero Conor Daly's last-ditch try to earn a spot in Top 12 Qualifying.
Indianapolis-area native Daly drove his No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet on the track at 5:46 p.m. ET as the last driver on track before the session ended. Daly already had qualified 21st but was attempting to improve his speed and earn a spot in the top 12 that get a shot at the NTT P1 Award on Sunday.
Daly was fast enough to snare the 12th and final spot after three laps, but he slowed on the last trip around the historic oval and ended up 13th with a four-lap average of 231.725 -- .0564 of a second short after 10 miles at top speed.
'I really wanted to get into that Fast 12,' Daly said. 'I investigated holding sixth gear through Turn 1 and 2, and it worked for those middle two laps. But I didn't get the weight jacker back time for Turn 1 on the last lap. Literally, the team deserves to be in the Fast 12. I made the mistake of trying to push it too much and not getting the weight jacker back in time. Just got a little bit tight in (Turns) 1 and 2.'
There was further drama under partly cloudy skies. Andretti, grandson of 1969 Indy 500 winner Mario Andretti, made four attempts to try and earn his 20th '500' start but fell short and will fight for a spot Sunday.
Graham Rahal, who struggled with car handling all week, was the final driver to earn a guaranteed spot today. He qualified 30th at 229.863 mph in the No. 15 United Rentals Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing on his second attempt, at 3:27 p.m. Then he had an agonizing wait of nearly two and one-half hours to see if his speed would keep him in the field.
'This day didn't start off well, but we found a lot and we improved a lot as this day went on,' Rahal said. 'Our guys kept our cool today and head's down. That beer's going to taste good tonight. I was praying all day somehow this would happen.'
Two drivers had mixed results after big crashes earlier in the day.
Colton Herta qualified 29th at 230.192 after hitting the SAFER Barrier and flipping upside down in Turn 1 on his first attempt at 12:05 p.m., making secondary contact in Turn 2. The Andretti Global team thrashed to prepare a car for him, and he made the show at 4:45 p.m.
Armstrong hit the SAFER Barrier heavily in Turn 1 during pre-qualifying practice this morning in the No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda, which was damaged beyond immediate repair. The Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian crew hustled to convert a road-course car into an oval car in Gasoline Alley, but Armstrong wasn't fast enough in two attempts in the final 55 minutes and will try to gain a starting spot Sunday.
2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson qualified 21st at 231.326 in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. 2024 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Larson is attempting the 'double' May 25 of racing in the '500' and the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race that evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for Sunday, May 25 (10 a.m. ET, FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
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Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
What To Know About INDYCAR At Portland: Title Race, Power's Future, Caution Calls
PORTLAND, Ore. — Alex Palou, viewed by many as the 2025 INDYCAR champion-in-waiting, looks back on a year ago at Portland International Raceway knowing he had a solid day in second. He also knows he got his butt kicked. Will Power won that race by an astonishing 9.82 seconds. So it was a good result but one where Power had the better race. At the end, he also had the better tire choice for the 12-turn, 1.964-mile track located just north of downtown Portland and just south of Vancouver, Washington. "He just destroyed us," Palou said. "The pace that he had was crazy. I was right behind him at some point, and I could not do anything to stop him. "It was frustrating, but at the same time, we still finished second, and our car was really, really good there. I was still kind of happy." Palou could leave Sunday from Portland really happy if he clinches his fourth INDYCAR championship. He enters the 110-lap race Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FOX) at 121 points ahead of Pato O'Ward with three races left in the season. He clinches if he leaves Portland with at least a 108-point edge on O'Ward. "It just feels like a normal weekend," Palou said Friday morning. "It feels very special, obviously, because we know it can be a different one at the end. But at the same time, it's still early on. It's not the last race of the season, where it's the last chance, and one driver is going to win it here. "There's good odds of if we do the job that we know that we can do, we can try and win the championship this weekend. But as long as I win it this year, I'll be happy." Here is what to know going into the final road-course race of the season. The final two races are contested on The Milwaukee Mile and Nashville Superspeedway (1.333-mile) ovals. Can Power Repeat? This was Power's third win of the 2024 season, and he hasn't won since. Power said he doesn't feel "desperate" for a win. "I'm not desperate," he said. "Obviously, it would be very nice. But not let's take some huge risks." Thinking back to that race a year ago, Power believes he can find that pace. "It all depends on the situation, but you can run away if we qualify well and we're at the front and put ourselves in that position," Power said. "That is possible. It's going to be a good challenge if you can drop Palou." Power said the team can't assume things will go well because of last year. "I love the track," he said. "You can't assume you're going to turn up and be very competitive just because you were last year. You've got to do your homework and be light on your feet to make some changes and so on. "It's another opportunity to execute a good weekend, which we haven't had many of this year." Of course, there are other things on Power's mind, like what he is doing next season. He doesn't need to have a final decision from Penske until the end of August. The season finale at Nashville is Aug. 31, and Power can't talk to other teams until then. "I don't think I'll know until after, at the end of or during the weekend of Nashville," Power said. "I just want to know, to be honest. I would like to know what I'm doing. That would be nice. That's sort of the stress that would be off me is just to know, like, where am I driving and am I driving at all?" Will INDYCAR Hold The Yellow? There was some criticism of INDYCAR for not throwing the caution quickly with Rinus VeeKay stranded by the barrier at Laguna Seca and then Marcus Ericsson stalled on the track at a blind spot at the top of a hill. INDYCAR race director Kyle Novak texted drivers following Laguna Seca about how they view those situations should be handled in the future. VeeKay said he was frustrated losing two laps in the process but that is the way INDYCAR has officiated some of those instances in the past, especially if they come around a pit-stop cycle. "I feel like in the position I was in, it's kind of how they do it," VeeKay said. "It's happened in the past. The one with Marcus was different, though, because I was racing. I was driving, and it's a little bit of a moment of, 'OK there's a car here somewhere, but where's it going to be?' "He was on track. He wasn't off track. It is such a sketchy part of the track. There's a local yellow but you're still racing." Ericsson said in the moment, he was just trying to get the car re-fired. But he obviously had concerns after seeing the precarious position he was in, even if he didn't have contact with another driver and the hybrid engine can be restarted. "If it's a situation like that, I think we should do something different, right?" Ericsson said. "Because I understand why we don't want to throw yellow for someone who's spinning when we have the hybrid restart, but if you're in a bad spot like that, especially the blind spot, we got to be better than that." Veteran driver Alexander Rossi said it is understandable that the series doesn't want to throw a caution during a pit cycle and impact a race. But this was a situation that wouldn't impact a pit cycle and in a blind spot for drivers coming up the hill. He indicated drivers won't know if there is a change in philosophy until a similar situation happens again. "Just mainly that part of the track, that's the issue," Ericsson said. "What they did with Rinus there, I think was perfectly fine because he was so far off the track in a gravel trap and you see the [local] yellow going in there, you see the car up in the gravel, so it's not really like a dangerous situation. "But for me, I think we should have done something different." Is There VeeKay-Kirkwood Beef? Not according to VeeKay, who posted video from Kirkwood's in-car camera to show how he ended up off the track at Laguna. Kirkwood wasn't happy. VeeKay said they had a conversation. At Portland, VeeKay said he didn't post it to show as much dismay on Kirkwood as just to show fans in the Netherlands who might have not watched the race what had happened. "I think we both didn't mean to do that," Kirkwood said. "We were frustrated. My idea was I posted for the fans in the Netherlands that didn't get to see it with the nine-hour time difference. "Kyle wasn't too happy about posting his in-car, which I get. I'm like, 'Hey, sorry. I didn't want to put you on the spot. It was more here is the situation.' Kyle and I talked, no pointing fingers, we're adults." Beware Of Turn 1 The first turn at Portland has provided plenty of drama, especially on the opening lap. FOX Sports analyst James Hinchcliffe was involved in a first-lap wreck in that area in each of his three starts. It has been a little more tame the last couple of years as INDYCAR moved the restart area to coming out of the final turn so the drivers are more spread out after the long frontstretch. And, Finally, Does O'Ward Have A Chance? O'Ward knows the title is pretty much out of reach. All he can do is go out and try to earn max points and then see what Palou does. But O'Ward has no finish better than fourth at Portland and a poor qualifying result translated into a rough weekend a year ago when he qualified 22nd and finished 15th. "Really we just need to focus on us," O'Ward said. "We had a great month in July, but he still outscored us. So at this point in time, I'm really focused on securing my P2 [second place in points]. "But if that means that we keep on cutting down to keeping it alive, that's extra gravy on the mashed potatoes." Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
Indianapolis Star
6 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
Despite looming IndyCar title battle, Alex Palou, Pato O'Ward focused on themselves at Portland
PORTLAND – Though talk around IndyCar's race weekend at Portland International Raceway revolves around the two remaining championship contenders, runaway points leader Alex Palou and Pato O'Ward insist their own focus remains inward. It's almost a product of that sweet spot where Palou's title cushion lies – presently 121 points with three races remaining and a maximum of 162 points (or 54 per race weekend) – where Palou can hunt another victory to tack onto the eight he's amassed in 2025, and O'Ward has nothing left to do but aim for the best weekend possible and find out once the checkered flag falls if his title hopes remain viable heading to Milwaukee. 'It's been a phenomenal year, and I want to close it out super strong. We've got three races left, and anything can happen – it's racing, and weirder things have happened, so don't count us out yet. But I think it really depends on them screwing up, rather than us having a magnificent weekend,' O'Ward said Friday ahead of Practice No. 1 at Portland. 'Because even if we win here and win at Milwaukee and win at Nashville, (Palou) has got to not finish here and not finish at Milwaukee for us to have a shot at Nashville.' What the Arrow McLaren driver is referencing is the 41 points – at most – that the two-time defending series champ needs over the final three races to secure his three-peat by the checkered flag at Nashville, if not before. And even if O'Ward were to pull off back-to-back perfect points weekends at Portland and The Mile, presuming Palou merely starts both events and finishes 25th or worse, Palou would still hold a 23-point edge going into the finale at Nashville Superspeedway. But the initial task for O'Ward involves just surviving to see another weekend – a goal that only comes by out-scoring Palou by at least 14 points at a track where he's twice finished 4th but started 22nd and only climbed to 15th a year ago, compared to his championship challenger's pair of wins, one runner-up finish and in all four starts lining up on the starting grid 5th or better. This weekend, the Arrow McLaren crew eyes a rebound after what O'Ward deemed 'the hardest road course (weekend) we've had as a team,' where no driver qualified better than 18th or finished inside the top-10. O'Ward himself lacked nearly six-tenths of a second to polesitter Santino Ferrucci, and it was that speed deficiency, no matter what the team otherwise did to the car, that had them operating off their backfoot all weekend. O'Ward best compared Portland to a combination of the IMS road course, with its relatively flat profile and pair of fast straights, crossed with the uber-abrasive pavement of The Thermal Club – both races where the young Mexican driver finished runner-up at in 2025. The winner in both, of course … Palou. Doing the math: How Alex Palou can clinch fourth IndyCar championship at Portland 'I'm happy with how our year has gone. We didn't have as much of a rocket of a start, but we've gotten better as the year has gone on, and we've pretty much been the best of the rest,' O'Ward said. 'As you see someone like Alex have his insane year, we quote-unquote are having a 'championship season', but just sadly the guy leading is having an unreal, unexpected championship year.' And so wherever they find themselves qualifying, O'Ward said, his No. 5 crew will run its own race, and only if Palou suffers some sort of calamity will they discuss rolling the dice on some hyper-risky strategy to go for a win. 'It'll depend on where (Palou's) at, but really we just need to focus on us,' he said. 'We had a great month of July (with two wins and five top-5s in five races), and he still out-scored us. So at this point in time, I'm really just focused on securing 2nd-place. 'But if that means in doing so we keep cutting down (Palou's lead) and keep (title hopes) alive, then that's extra gravy on those mashed potatoes. It doesn't really depend on what we do. It depends on if he's lucky or not.' IndyCar at Portland: Race start time, weekend schedule, TV tune-in For Palou, the prospect of clinching this weekend at Portland – something he did two years ago when it was the second-to-last stop on the calendar – holds no bearing on how he and his No. 10 crew approach Sunday's race. Neither, the three-time champ said, has the team discussed making in-race decisions based upon what O'Ward does. 'I think we're in a position where we don't really need to do that. If you win the race, you don't even need to think about it,' he said. 'If you're 17th, and he's 14th, and (finishing just where you sit) means you can win (the title), then yeah, maybe we might talk about it, but it also depends on qualifying and where you start. 'Then, you'll have an idea whether you're fighting directly (against each other) like Laguna Seca (where Palou and O'Ward shared the front row), or you're separated and you can't see what your opponent is doing on strategy and stuff. Again, I think we're in a lucky position where we don't need to focus on that.' Insider: Why is Team Penske considering replacing Will Power when he's been its best driver this year? Palou acknowledges that title fights like 2021 and 2024, where even though his challengers faced fairly long odds, there was still something very much on the line at the season-finale, felt much different at the races where he ultimately clinched the Astor Cup, when compared to two years ago at Portland and the emotions he comes into this weekend feeling. Title-clinching talks, as well as the prospect of holding onto the slim chances of taking a run at AJ Foyt and Al Unser Sr.'s all-time wins mark of 10 – which Palou could topple with wins in the last three races – have put no added weight on the shoulders of the 28-year-old Spaniard, who has said repeatedly that the spoils of 2025 have been more than he could've ever imagined. Eight wins, an Indy 500 victory and another oval win to boot – it's all gravy after winning just twice in 2024 and coming away with a title anyways. 'Things feel very special, obviously, because you know (this weekend) can be a very different one at the end, but at the same time, it's still early-on. It's not the last race of the season, where everything is ready and it's the last chance and you know either way that one driver is going to win (the title),' he said. 'Here it's, 'We have a chance,' and there's good odds that if we do the job we know we can do that we can try and win the championship this weekend, but as long as I win it this yar, I'll be happy. 'A championship finale like Nashville last year, where that's all the attention and everybody's looking at that, and you're only looking at that, you're only looking at that car to see what he does (to determine) what you do and how you can come out the best, it's not that. Now, I think we're in a very good position of just being able to focus on the race. If (clinching the title) happens, it's amazing, but if it doesn't, that's okay.'
15 hours ago
Alex Palou's unstoppable season: Will he clinch his fourth IndyCar title at Portland?
It's not a question of if Alex Palou will win his fourth IndyCar championship this season, only a matter of when. His first opportunity at clinching a third consecutive title and fourth in five years comes Sunday at Portland International Raceway, Round 15 of the 17-race schedule. A run of utter dominance not seen since Scott Dixon in 2006 has put Palou in need of leaving Portland with a 108-point lead over Pato O'Ward, the only driver still mathematically eligible to beat him for the title. Palou is a comfortable 121 points ahead of O'Ward headed into the race. Even so, Palou is adamant a fourth Astor Cup does not yet belong to him. 'Everybody here is saying we've already won,' Palou said. 'Although we have a lot of points, we still need to win it. If somebody else is mathematically alive, it's still alive, so we don't want anybody to be mathematically alive for the points.' Whatever you say, Alex. O'Ward is already resigned that it will take a total collapse from Palou over the final three races of the season for him to have even an outside chance at snatching the championship away from the most dominant driver of the last five years. Although no one besides Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dixon has had a season so strong in nearly two decades, Palou has easily surpassed all of his peers' previous domination. It started with back-to-back wins to start the IndyCar season — remember, Josef Newgarden bristled when asked what it would take to dethrone Palou with a curt, 'It's Round 1, dude. Let's see how it goes.' Well, here's how it went: Palou won five of the first six races, which included the Indianapolis 500 that had eluded him in five previous tries. That win at the Brickyard cemented his path to another championship and he's been untouchable since. Palou goes into Portland with a series-high eight wins, five poles, 11 top-five finishes in 14 races, 563 laps led and a 1.2 average finish. Dixon, a six-time IndyCar champion considered the best driver of his generation and one of open-wheel's all-time greats, has only one win this season and no answer as to why he can't keep pace with teammate Palou. 'I don't know — sometimes you just have years like that and it just flows and it's not even a confidence thing,' Dixon said. So now Palou controls his own fate and it starts at the Portland track where he has two wins and finished second last season. If O'Ward wins Sunday and picks up the maximum points, Palou would still win the championship by finishing second and leading a single lap. Palou can clinch the title by finishing fourth or better, maybe even eighth depending on various factors involving O'Ward and bonus points. So history basically awaits starting this weekend, when Palou will attempt to join Dario Franchitti, Sebastien Bourdais and Ted Horn as the only drivers in series history to win three consecutive titles. But, the more impressive mark is that Palou, with two wins in the final three races, can tie the IndyCar record for victories in a season set at 10 by A.J. Foyt in 1964 and Al Unser in 1970. A sweep of the rest of the schedule would make him IndyCar's winningest driver in a season. Ironically, Palou entered the season with 11 career wins and can now double that mark in 2025. 'I cannot really comprehend everything that's happening, not only this year, but if I look back at ever since I started in IndyCar, my dream was just to be a professional race car driver, and I never thought about records or anything like that,' Palou said. "I never thought that I would be around those names, and I think obviously this season in particular has been a little bit crazy. 'I almost matched the wins that I had in three years, or in four years actually. It's amazing to be there,' he continued. 'I owe everything to my team and everybody that is behind me, like my personal team and my racing team. It's not that I'm not conscious about what's going on. It's just that I cannot really believe it, and I'm just riding the wave and enjoying every single second of it and having fun.'
