Alex Palou makes history as 1st Spanish driver to win Indianapolis 500
auto racing
By JENNA FRYER
Alex Palou has become the first driver from Spain to win the Indianapolis 500 by holding off former Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson over the closing laps Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Palou, who has won three IndyCar titles in four years — including the last two, came to the speedway with four wins through the first five races this season. But it was No. 6, 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,' that he had circled on his calendar.
Without an Indy 500 win, Palou said his career resume would never be complete.
Palou stopped the car just beyond the Yard of Bricks, climbing out of it and nearly losing his balance as he raised his arms in triumph. He jumped down and took off in a run down the front stretch, pulling off his gloves and tossing them behind him, and ultimately was engulfed by his father, Ramon, and his Chip Ganassi Racing team in a jubilant celebration.
Scott Dixon gave him a big hug, so did Dario Franchitti, with both Ganassi Indy 500 winners welcoming Palou into the exclusive club.
'I cannot believe it. What an amazing day. What an amazing race,' Palou said. 'I cannot believe it. It was tough. Tough conditions out there, especially if you were like, third or fourth in the pack. Even leading, the fuel consumption was super high, so they didn't want me to lead. I wanted to lead, honestly, so yeah, made it happen.'
Meanwhile, Ericsson climbed from his car and pressed his hands to his face at the disappointment of coming oh-so close to a second Indianapolis 500 victory.
Ericsson, the 2022 Indy 500 winner, finished second for Andretti Global in a 1-2 finish for Honda. David Malukas was third for A.J. Foyt Racing and the highest-finishing Chevrolet.
Josef Newgarden's bid to win three consecutive Indy 500s ended with a fuel pump issue. He was trying to become the first driver to come from the back row to win because he and Team Penske teammate Will Power were dropped to the back of the field for failing inspection before qualifying.
Power wound up 19th, the highest-finishing Penske driver on a miserable day for the organization owned by Roger Penske. He earlier this week fired his top three IndyCar executives for a second technical infraction in just over a year, and has had to defend the optics of his teams failing inspections when he also owns IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy500.
Penske has won the Indy 500 a record 20 times.
It was Indy 500 win number six for Ganassi, who has been on a dominating wave since hiring Palou ahead of the 2021 season. Palou then won the championship that year, has added two more titles and now seems on pace for a fourth one.
'The guy is just unbelievable — I don't know what else to say,' Ganassi said. 'It is an incredible thing — it's going to make Alex Palou's career, it is going to make his life, and it has certainly made mine.'
Palou started the race tied with Pato O'Ward as the co-favorites, listed at +500 by BetMGM. O'Ward finished fourth — the fifth time in six career starts the Mexican has finished sixth or higher.
Kyle Larson won't complete 'the double' after crashing out of the Indianapolis 500 before he headed to North Carolina to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race.
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
a day ago
- Japan Today
Summer McIntosh goes for her second gold on Day 2 at the swimming world championships
Summer McIntosh of Canada competes in the women's 200m individual medley semifinal at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) swimming By STEPHEN WADE It's Day 2 at the swimming world championships in Singapore. That means it's a chance for Summer McIntosh to add her second gold medal after winning the 400 freestyle on the opening day. The 18-year-old Canadian is trying for five individual golds across the eight-day event in Singapore. On Monday she's a strong favorite to get her second gold, this time in the 200-meter individual medley. She set the world record of 2 minutes, 05.70 seconds at the Canadian trials a few months ago. McIntosh is expected to be challenged by American Alex Walsh. Also in the field is 12-year-old Chinese Yu Zidi, whose age and astounding times are the talk of global swimming. The women's 100 butterfly is another eye-catching race. American Gretchen Walsh — Alex's older sister — is the favorite and set the world record of 54.60 earlier this year. Roos Vanotterdijk of Belgium and Australia's Alexandria Perkins will push Walsh. Two more finals are set. Qin Haiyang of China and Nicolo Marinenghi of Italy are the favorites in the 100 breaststroke. The Italian is the Olympian champion from Paris, and Qin won this event two years ago at the worlds in Fukuoka, Japan. The 50 fly final is wide open, but the quickest qualifiers were Maxime Grousset of France and Noe Ponti of Switzerland. There are also three semifinals Monday — the men's 100 backstroke, the men's 200 free, and the women's 100 backstroke. AP sports: © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
3 days ago
- Japan Today
Pogačar closes in on 4th Tour de France title; Groves wins penultimate stage
A smiling Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, crosses the finish line of the twentieth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 184.2 kilometers (114.5 miles) with start in Nantua and finish in Pontarlier, France, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy) cycling Tadej Pogačar closed in on a fourth Tour de France title after safely finishing Saturday's penultimate stage and maintaining his big lead over arch-rival Jonas Vingegaard. Australian rider Kaden Groves won stage 20 with a late solo breakaway, while Pogačar rolled over the line about seven minutes later in the same time as Vingegaard. The Slovenian cycling star leads the two-time Tour winner Vingegaard by 4 minutes, 24 seconds, with German rider Florian Lipowitz 11:03 behind Pogačar in third overall. Barring a heavy crash or illness, Pogačar was expected to celebrate Sunday and move level with British rider Chris Froome on four Tour titles. Victory would also give Pogačar a fifth Grand Tour after winning the Giro d'Italia in dominant fashion last year. 'I am more or less sure of my overall victory, but I still don't want to say anything about it. I want to stay focused until I have crossed the finish line in Paris,' Pogačar said. 'That's one of the most beautiful parts of this sport. We are 180 guys who spend weeks riding in the mountains and in the end, all of a sudden, we come to the streets of one of the biggest cities in the world.' However, Sunday's final stage of this edition is not a largely processional one, as is usually the case, and could potentially prove somewhat problematic toward the end with three consecutive climbs. 'I am unsure of how the final stage will pan out,' Pogačar said. 'The course is relatively short, and that will make for a rather punchy effort.' On Saturday, the 184.2-kilometer route through eastern France featured three small climbs and a moderately difficult one up Côte de Thésy before finishing in Pontarlier. But there was scant opportunity for Vinegaard to attack Pogačar. As the riders set off Saturday in driving rain, the yellow jersey group stayed safely at the front until breakaways formed. When the front group tackled the 3.6-kilometer Côte de Thésy, Frenchman Jordan Jegat launched a solo attack, but he was then overtaken by Australian rider Harrison Sweeny. As rain fell heavily again with 40 kilometers, Sweeny opened up a 50-second lead, only to be reeled in shortly after. The wet roads were treacherous at high speeds. Frenchman Romain Grégoire and Spaniard Iván Romeo crashed taking a sharp turn and slid sideways off their bikes. Both continued. Groves surged ahead 16 kilometers out and held on for his first Tour stage win and 10th at major races. The 26-year-old has two at the Giro d'Italia and seven at the Spanish Vuelta. 'Winning in all three Grand Tours is a dream of every rider,' he said. 'We saw today as a chance to win from the breakaway. We played our cards correctly and I had super strong legs." Groves was 54 seconds ahead of Frank van den Broek and 59 clear of Pascal Eenkhoorn. The final stage of the Tour de France is traditionally a largely processional one, with the overall leader all-but-guaranteed to win — barring mishap — and only the sprinters contesting the stage win right at the end, following several laps around Paris. But this year's last stage is very different and could prove spectacular. Breaking with decades of tradition, it features three ascents of Montmartre Hill, a short and sharp climb which featured at last year's Paris Olympics. Some riders have expressed concern that the sinewy, cobbled Rue Lepic climb, lined with heaving fans either side at extremely close proximity, may be problematic. The final climb up Rue Lepic comes less than 7 kilometers from the end, before the riders finish on the Champs-Elysées. Around 3,000 police officers will be deployed to ensure security over the 132.3-kilometer route, which starts from the outskirts of Paris at Mantes-la-Ville before heading into the city. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
4 days ago
- Japan Today
Arensman wins 19th stage of Tour de France; Pogačar moves closer to title
Netherlands' Thymen Arensman crosses the finish line to win the nineteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 93.1 kilometers (57.85 miles) with start in Albertville and finish in La Plagne, France, Friday, July 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) cycling Dutch rider Thymen Arensman launched a daring solo attack on a long final climb and held on grimly to win the 19th stage of the Tour de France on Friday. Although race leader Tadej Pogačar took a step closer to a fourth Tour title, the Slovenian star could not catch Arensman. He finished the stage in third place behind Dane Jonas Vingegaard, who just beat Pogačar to the line. It was a rare success for the two-time Tour winner Vingegaard over Pogačar in this year's race but ultimately made little difference, since Pogačar is 4 minutes, 24 seconds ahead of Vingegaard with two stages left. Vingegaard could not drop Pogačar on Friday's shortened stage, which featured a 19.1-kilometer (11.8-mile) finish up to the ski resort of La Plagne. Arensman had shown his climbing ability with a stunning solo effort last Saturday to win a mammoth mountain stage. He made his move this time with 13 kilometers left. Pogačar and Vingegaard marked each other at first and chose not to follow. By the time they did, it was too late and Arensman won the stage by 2 seconds. 'Tadej and Jonas are the strongest in the world, almost aliens, and I'm human," the 25-year-old Arensman said. "I can't believe I beat them today. I tried to not look behind.' Moments after crossing the line, Arensman put his hands on his face and wept as he sat on the ground against a crash barrier, panting heavily with exhaustion. 'I'm absolutely destroyed, I can't believe it. To win one stage from the breakaway was already unbelievable,' he said. 'But now to do it against the strongest riders in the world, it feels like I'm dreaming.' Stage 19 was shortened after cows infected by a contagious disease were culled in an area along the mountainous route. It was meant to be 129.9 kilometers long but trimmed to 93.1 kilometers. Two of five climbs were removed, including the 13.7 kilometer Col des Saisies — where an outbreak of nodular dermatitis (lumpy skin) affected a herd of cows. 'The discovery of an outbreak of contagious nodular dermatitis affecting cattle in a herd located specifically in the Col des Saisies necessitated the culling of the animals,' race organizer ASO said. 'It was decided, in agreement with the authorities, to modify the route.' However, the stage still featured two Hors catégorie ascents — the hardest level of climbing — with a 12.6 kilometer ascent up Col du Pré followed by the trek up La Plagne. Primož Roglič, the 2020 Tour runner-up and a record-equaling four-time Spanish Vuelta champion, attacked near the top of Col du Pré but then faded well away. Saturday's 20th stage is a hilly 184.2-kilometer route through eastern France finishing in Pontarlier. Sunday's 21st and final stage sees three climbs up Montmartre hill — a short, sharp ascent which featured at the Paris Olympics last year — before a traditional finish on the Champs-Élysées. Around 3,000 police officers will be deployed on Sunday to ensure security. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
