Alex Palou dominates IndyCar field, extends winnin...

For a short spell, it seemed like Alex Palou would possibly truly be beatable on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway highway course. The pole-sitter misplaced the lead simply after the inexperienced flag flew and spent many of the race working within the tire tracks of Graham Rahal. 

However in the long run, the Spaniard discovered his solution to the entrance – simply as he’s completed for the majority of the NTT IndyCar Collection season so far. 

Palou labored his well past Rahal on lap 58 of 85 and marched off from there for a cushty victory within the Sonsio Grand Prix. The primary in-race warning because the St. Petersburg season-opener threatened to shake issues up with 16 laps remaining, however Palou held serve on the following restart and by no means seemed again.

“I can’t describe the wonderful season we’ve had up to now,” Palou mentioned afterward. “I owe all the pieces to the group – Chip Ganassi Racing, my teammates and everyone that’s working behind the scenes to make me look so quick on monitor. 

“It’s wonderful. It’s unbelievable. Hopefully we get to remain right here (in victory lane) once more in a few weeks for the largest race of the yr.” 

The Chip Ganassi Racing star finally took the checkered flag 5.484 seconds away from runner-up Pato O’Ward, securing his fourth victory and fifth top-two end in as many races to open the yr. It’s one of the best begin for an IndyCar competitor in over 60 years. He’ll now set his sights on a win within the tour’s largest race, the Indianapolis 500.

O’Ward mounted a powerful drive to rally from eighth to second, beginning on sticker reds and rising by the sector with two units on primaries within the center levels. He was joined on the decrease finish of the rostrum by Staff Penske’s Will Power, who used an analogous play to go from seventh-to-third. 

Because the race unfolded

All eyes have been on the tire charts in Saturday’s race, with IndyCar forcing groups two utilized two units of each the first and alternate tires. Ultimately, the rostrum all used the identical technique, beginning and ending on alternates with two major stints within the center levels. Scott McLaughlin was the primary finisher to start out on the black tires in fourth, with Scott Dixon utilizing an analogous technique to rally from sixteenth to fifth. 

Rahal was the story of the day, seeking to finish a 128-race winless streak. However the Ohioan’s alternating red-black-red-black tire technique proved to be his undoing, leaving him sixth at race’s finish after he misplaced floor ready to be launched for a pitting Kyle Kirkwood on the ultimate cease. 

Marcus Armstrong, Kyle Kirkwood, Rinus VeeKay and Felix Rosenqvist accomplished the top-10. 

Saturday’s race began beneath yellow, delayed by an MGU concern for sixth-place qualifier Josef Newgarden. The Tennessean needed to begin behind the grid consequently, relegating him to twelfth at race’s finish. One other driver – Kyffin Simpson – had a mechanical concern on the grid and by no means noticed the inexperienced flag. 

Of people who have been extra lucky, just a few noticed their races impacted by early bother. A 3-car accident on the opening green-flag lap ruined Callum Ilott’s race. Colton Herta suffered a damaged entrance wing after early contact with Christian Lundgaard and ended up retiring earlier than race’s finish. His teammate, Marcus Ericsson, suffered early mechanical woes and retired after seven laps. Jacob Abel retired 17 laps from the end. 

Of these with points, David Malukas was essentially the most notable. The Wisconsinite discovered himself stalled off-course with 16 laps remaining, forcing collection official to throw the primary mid-race warning because the Lap 1 crash within the St. Petersburg season-opener. It ended a stretch of almost 5 races with no real warning – a stretch of 408 inexperienced flag laps. 

Most of these laps ended with Palou in entrance. He’ll hope to maintain that pattern going for one more 200 in two weeks. 

With Saturday’s race full, the IndyCar area will take Mom’s Time without work earlier than kicking off two weeks of motion on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. The Indianapolis 500 will crown its 109th champion on Could 24.