INDIANAPOLIS (AP) 鈥 Alex Palou took the ceremonial swig of milk in victory lane for the Indianapolis 500. He then allowed his wife to have a sip, she in turn gave a sip to their baby, and team owner Chip Ganassi ended up with the bottle and took a drink, as well.
Then the first Spaniard to win the Indianapolis 500 took a victory lap with his family and Ganassi around Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the back of a pickup truck. At one point, Palou climbed on its roof to raise his arms in triumph, the winning wreath draped around his neck.
He briefly appeared to lose his balance and Ganassi instinctively reached out to grab his star driver.
No need.
Palou rarely make a wrong move.
He came to Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the two-time defending IndyCar champion 鈥 he has three titles in four years 鈥 and had opened this year with victories in four of the first five races. It’s the kind of start not seen since 1964 when A.J. Foyt won the first seven races of the season, including the Indy 500.
But it was No. 6, 鈥淭he Greatest Spectacle in Racing,鈥 that he had . Without an Indy 500 win, Palou said his career resume would never be complete.
He was in fuel-saving mode over the closing laps following former Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson. Palou got tired of staying put with 16 laps remaining and charged ahead 鈥 a move Ericsson said 鈥渨ill keep me up at night. What I did and what I didn’t do.鈥
Ericsson couldn’t make a challenge from there and Palou had the race wrapped up as a crash brought out a caution while Palou closed in on the checkered flag.
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.
鈥淚 cannot believe it. What an amazing day. What an amazing race,鈥 Palou said. 鈥淚 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鈥檛 want me to lead. I wanted to lead, honestly, so yeah, made it happen.鈥
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.
鈥淚t’s pretty painful,鈥 Ericsson said of his second career runner-up finish in the Indy 500. 鈥淚 had the race covered. I need to look at it again, you replay it in your head a million times after the finish, wondering what I could have done differently. Second means nothing in this race.鈥
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 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 Indy 500.
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 won the championship in his debut Ganassi year, has added two more titles, and now seems on pace for a fourth one.
鈥淭he guy is just unbelievable 鈥 I don’t know what else to say,鈥 Ganassi said. 鈥淚t is an incredible thing 鈥 it’s going to make Alex Palou’s career, it is going to make his life, and it has certainly made mine.鈥
Palou started the race tied with Pato O鈥橶ard as the co-favorites, listed at +500 by BetMGM Sportsbook. O’Ward finished fourth 鈥 the fifth time in six career starts the Mexican has finished sixth or higher.
Kyle Larson won’t complete 鈥渢he double鈥 of the Indianapolis 500 before he headed to North Carolina to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race.
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