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Fox Sports
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
INDYCAR Power Rankings: Who has Indy 500 hangover and who is just over it
The Indianapolis 500 — the biggest race of the INDYCAR season — was also the first oval race of the year. But did it give much insight into which drivers will perform best on ovals? Probably not. The 2.5-mile rectangular asphalt oval is nothing like any of the other ovals. The others are Nashville (1.33-mile concrete), WWTR Gateway (1.25-mile asphalt), Milwaukee (one-mile asphalt) and Iowa (0.875-mile asphalt). So keeping that in mind, the influence of the Indy 500 on the power rankings is a little debatable. In trying to weigh all the factors, here's the list: Dropped out: Rinus VeeKay (Last Week: 9) On the verge: David Malukas, Josef Newgarden, Alexander Rossi 10. Colton Herta (LW: 10) Herta showed speed at Indy, but then a crash in qualifying on Saturday put him behind. Herta finished 17th after a speeding penalty and then overshooting his pit. It was certainly a disappointing result when he had the speed. 9. Marcus Ericsson (LW: Not Ranked) Ericsson, it could be argued, should have won the Indy 500, as Alex Palou passed Ericsson when lapped traffic hindered his pace. It was still a great drive by Ericsson after finishes of 20th or worse in three of the previous four races. 8. Scott Dixon (LW: 7) Dixon finished 23rd at Indianapolis, three laps down after his left rear brake overheated on the warmup laps of the race. Up until then, he had a relatively solid month. 7. Will Power (LW: 4) Power finished as the best Team Penske car in the 500. Unfortunately for Power, it was a 19th-place finish and one lap down. A 20-second pit stop where Power overshot his pit stall and ran over the front air hose ruined his day. 6. Scott McLaughlin (LW: 2) McLaughlin probably still can't figure out what happened as he wrecked on the pace laps of the race, ending his day before it could even begin. 5. Felix Rosenqvist (LW: 8) Rosenqvist earned a solid fifth-place finish, completing a solid month at Indy where he also started fifth. The Meyer Shank Racing driver has five top 10s in the six races this year. 4. Christian Lundgaard (LW: 5) Lundgaard finished a quiet ninth at Indy, where he started eighth. This was another relatively good day, especially considering he didn't have the strongest car. 3. Kyle Kirkwood (LW: 6) Kirkwood had confidence in his car the entire month of May but just missed it in qualifying, starting 23rd. To see him race up to sixth was not a surprise. The Andretti driver is third in the series standings. 2. Pato O'Ward (LW: 3) O'Ward's fourth-place finish at Indy ended what he called a good points day, as he moved up to second in the standings. That would be great if he wasn't 115 points behind Palou. 1. Alex Palou (LW: 1) Palou's win earned him his fifth victory in the six races to open the season. It will take at least a few races to knock the Ganassi driver off this spot. 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. BEST OF FOX SPORTS' INDY 500 COVERAGE: Ranking Indy 500 drivers from 33 to 1: Can anyone unseat Josef Newgarden? Got milk? 33 potential Indy 500 winners pick preferred dairy option Pato O'Ward pens letter to Indy 500: 'Had my heart broken here … but it also fuels me' No oval experience, no problem: Rookie Robert Shwartzman captures Indy 500 pole Rash of Crash: Inside a wild weekend of wrecks during Indy 500 prep From 'magical' to 'legendary': Drivers describe the Indy 500 in one word 2025 Indy 500 liveries: See the designs of all 34 cars on the track at The Brickyard Counting down the 25 most memorable moments in Indy 500 history recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Alex Palou finally conquers oval track with first-ever Indianapolis 500 win
Alex Palou has won the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 after finishing first at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday. This marks Palou's first-ever Indy 500 win and his first win on an oval track. Palou is also the first-ever Spaniard to win the Indianapolis 500. The three-time IndyCar champion and two-time defending champion has won five of his first six races this season. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! BEST OF FOX SPORTS' INDY 500 COVERAGE: Ranking Indy 500 drivers from 33 to 1: Can anyone unseat Josef Newgarden? Got milk? 33 potential Indy 500 winners pick preferred dairy option Pato O'Ward pens letter to Indy 500: 'Had my heart broken here … but it also fuels me' No oval experience, no problem: Rookie Robert Shwartzman captures Indy 500 pole Rash of Crash: Inside a wild weekend of wrecks during Indy 500 prep From 'magical' to 'legendary': Drivers describe the Indy 500 in one word 2025 Indy 500 liveries: See the designs of all 34 cars on the track at The Brickyard Counting down the 25 most memorable moments in Indy 500 history recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
Fox Sports
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Indianapolis 500 live updates, leaderboard: Kyle Larson out, flown to Charlotte
The 2025 INDYCAR schedule continues with the highly anticipated Indianapolis 500 on Sunday (live on FOX and the FOX Sports app). Josef Newgarden is aiming to become the first driver to three-peat at the Indy 500, while INDYCAR Series leader Álex Palou is looking for his first win on an oval. Robert Shwartzman has already made history as the first rookie to win the pole for the Indy 500 in 42 years. Here are the highlights from Sunday's race! Live Coverage for this began on 3:37p ET recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Alex Palou chasing elusive Indy 500 win: My face 'would look good on that trophy'
Bruce Martin Special to INDIANAPOLIS — Get to know Alex Palou and there are a few things that immediately stand out. The first is his total and complete focus. All he thinks about is racing. The second is his complete coolness and calmness, even under fire. "I've only seen Alex get mad once," 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson told FOX Sports of his former teammate. "And when Alex got mad, it only lasted for five minutes, and he was back to being nice again." In an intense profession that includes a high degree of risk, Palou is the coolest driver on the track. But he laughed when he was asked why he never gets angry. "I can tell you I get mad sometimes, but at the end of the day, it's quite simple. I'm living the dream," Palou told FOX Sports. "It's amazing to be a racing driver. It's amazing to be an INDYCAR driver and to do this for a living. I'm enjoying every single day. "Even a bad day in an INDYCAR is an amazing day." Palou is a nice guy, but this nice guy has finished first often. And drivers in the NTT INDYCAR Series are mad at their inability to find a way to defeat him. He was an INDYCAR rookie in 2020 before joining Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021. His first race for the team was a victory in the season-opening race at Barber Motorsports Park. It was the start of the first of three INDYCAR Series championships in four seasons, including the last two in a row. Palou is on a roll and doesn't show signs of slowing down. He opened the 2025 season with two-straight victories before he finished second to Kyle Kirkwood in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. It must have motivated Palou because he won the next two races at Barber Motorsports Park and the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course to kick off the month of May. But he has never won the Indianapolis 500. In fact, he has never won a race on an oval. He came close by finishing second to Helio Castroneves in the 2021 Indy 500, but that remains his best-ever finish on an oval. Palou was the fastest driver in last Saturday's Indianapolis 500 qualifications and was part of the Fast 12 round on Sunday. He advanced into the Fast Six group that would fight it out for the pole, but Palou finished sixth in that round with a four-lap qualification average of 231.378 miles per hour around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. He starts Sunday's 109th Indianapolis 500 on the outside of Row 2 with former teammate Felix Rosenqvist in the middle and CGR teammate and 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon on the inside of the second row. Palou is the best driver in INDYCAR that has yet to win the Indianapolis 500, a title he wants to remove on Sunday. "It's good and bad," Palou told FOX Sports. "It's not what we want. We want to be introduced as Indianapolis 500 champion, but it takes time. It's hard to win. That's why it is so important and separates some drivers who are really elite and amazing drivers. "We're pushing and that is all I think about. Hopefully, we can get rid of that introduction this year." Palou admits he has dreamed of winning the Indy 500, but reality would be 20 times better than his dream. He realizes it is difficult, and there are no guarantees that it will happen, but he is confident that he will one day win it. "I feel more confident than ever before," Palou said. "I got to experience different parts of the 500, like running up front, running in the back, having to overtake, having a fast car, having not such a fast car. I feel more ready than ever, and I think it's enough to win, so that's why. And I'm hungry to win it. "We are ready. You start getting excited thinking about traffic and how to get a fast race car for the Indianapolis 500. I'm excited for the race to come." Palou was a rookie at the 2020 Indianapolis 500, a race that was moved to August 23 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and fans were not allowed in the massive Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He drove for Dale Coyne Racing, started seventh and finished 28th, crashing after 121 laps. The following year, his first with Ganassi, Palou finished just .493-of-a-second behind Helio Castroneves, who became the fourth, four-time Indy 500 winner that day. Palou was so close, but the Indy 500 win remains so far away. "My race against Helio in 2021 was amazing," Palou recalled. "He won it in a car that was a little bit slower than mine. He won it because he was better than me. That's it. Period. "I had the faster car than Helio, but he just had more experience. He was much better than me reading the traffic and knowing when to overtake, when to defend. "I think I have a lot more experience now. I don't have as much experience as Helio, but I believe I could have done something different." Palou finished ninth in the 2022 Indianapolis 500. He won the Indy 500 Pole in 2023 and led 36 laps, but midway in the race during a pit stop under caution, Rinus VeeKay ran into Palou as he was leaving pit lane. Palou's Honda went back to 28th place, but he was able to race his way to a fourth-place finish in what may have been his best Indy 500 in terms of racing. Last year, Palou started 14th and finished fifth, so he is a legitimate contender for this year's win. But is he prepared to make a bolder move if it means winning the Indy 500? "In that race, you don't think about the championship at all," Palou explained. "A third place is not good enough. A second place is not good enough. It's only first that counts. "You don't act crazy, but I think everybody goes there to win the Indianapolis 500. "Hopefully, all the moves we make will work." Palou competes for one of the greatest teams in the history of the Indianapolis 500 and the NTT INDYCAR Series at Chip Ganassi Racing. The team won its first Indy 500 in 2000 with Juan Pablo Montoya. Scott Dixon won the 2008 Indy 500 from the pole, Dario Franchitti won two of his three Indianapolis 500s with Ganassi in 2010 and 2012 and Marcus Ericsson was the last with his victory in 2022. Ericsson is now with Andretti Global, but Dixon and Palou remain, along with young driver Kyffin Simpson of the Cayman Islands. Chip Ganassi Racing has also won 16 INDYCAR Championships, including Palou's titles in 2021, 2023 and 2024. Palou is the face of INDYCAR, but Team Penske star Josef Newgarden has become the face of the Indianapolis 500 after winning in 2023 and 2024. Newgarden is attempting to become the first driver to win three-straight Indy 500s on Sunday, but with the penalties that were assessed after the qualification round on May 18, Newgarden has to start 32nd in the 33-car starting lineup. "I don't believe I'm the face of INDYCAR," Palou said. "I'm not as big with social media to be a big character and the face of IndyCar. That's OK. There are drivers bigger that do a better job than me as the face of INDYCAR." Palou admits that for now, Newgarden is the face of the Indy 500, and he wants to displace him in that role. "It's a goal," Palou said. "It's important. Everybody has to see last year's winner when they enter the track. "Unfortunately, I never got to see my face at the entrance to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hopefully, we can make that happen." When it comes to faces, however, there is no greater accomplishment for a racing driver than having their face attached to the Borg-Warner Trophy along with the other faces of the winning drivers throughout the long and storied history of the Indianapolis 500. That cements a driver's career and legacy for the ages. It is a lifetime goal for Palou. "Absolutely, it is," Palou said. "It's the biggest goal you can have. One of the biggest in motorsports. "I'm pretty sure that my face — although I'm not really handsome — would look good on that trophy." Bruce Martin is a veteran motorsports writer and contributor to Follow him on X at @BruceMartin_500 . BEST OF FOX SPORTS' INDY 500 COVERAGE: Ranking Indy 500 drivers from 33 to 1: Can anyone unseat Josef Newgarden? Got milk? 33 potential Indy 500 winners pick preferred dairy option Pato O'Ward pens letter to Indy 500: 'Had my heart broken here … but it also fuels me' No oval experience, no problem: Rookie Robert Shwartzman captures Indy 500 pole Rash of Crash: Inside a wild weekend of wrecks during Indy 500 prep From 'magical' to 'legendary': Drivers describe the Indy 500 in one word 2025 Indy 500 liveries: See the designs of all 34 cars on the track at The Brickyard Counting down the 25 most memorable moments in Indy 500 history recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Axios
22-05-2025
- Health
- Axios
Take a tour of Indianapolis Motor Speedway's infield care center
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield holds the famed Pagoda, the pits, garages, a whole other racetrack, a golf course, and, on race day, the state's busiest emergency room. Why it matters: About 350,000 people will be packed into IMS on Sunday and several hundred of them are expected to need medical attention. Driving the news: Axios toured IU Health's infield care center, which was renovated in 2023. What they're saying:"One, maybe two days a year, we will be the busiest emergency department in the state depending on how hot Carb Day is," Tracy Ballard, clinic operations manager for the IMS infield care center and IndyCar, told Axios. How many patients they see is weather dependent, Ballard said, with heat being the biggest factor. It usually ranges between 100 and 300 over 12 hours on race day. "We see everything that a normal emergency department would see," she said. "We see cuts, scrapes, bruises … folks that have maybe celebrated a little too much with alcohol." They also see fans with more serious conditions, like a stroke or cardiac arrest. By the numbers: The facility has 18 beds — 14 for the public and four in an area that's just for the drivers. The public side is divided between beds for less serious conditions and an area for more critical care. That includes a resuscitation bay, allowing doctors to stabilize individuals before transporting them to a hospital if needed. Plus: There are 14 first aid stations throughout the track. Zoom in: The center is equipped to deal with any situation the track may throw at drivers racing open-wheel, open cockpit cars at 230-plus mph. That includes X-rays, ultrasound and, during the Month of May and Brickyard 400 NASCAR race, whole blood for transfusion. A helicopter is on site, though an ambulance can get to the hospital faster when traffic isn't bad. On race day, a neurologist, orthopedic surgeon, trauma surgeon and optometrist are on site — just in case. IU Health also provides medical coverage on pit lane, with four paramedics or EMTs. State of play: During all races on the oval track, drivers have to get checked out at the care center after any contact with the wall. During road races, they don't have to come in if they can drive away from the incident. Between the lines: It's not just the Month of May that the facility is open. "There are events from March through October out here at IMS," Ballard said. "So anytime IMS asks us to be open for larger events or for private tests, anything that you have going on out here, we are open."
