'It's probably my best race' of all time, Palou says of Barber win

Alex Palou rates his latest victory, a 16s romp over Christian Lundgaard after leading 81 of 90 laps from pole, as a career-defining triumph.

“It’s probably my best race or my best weekend in IndyCar,” Palou told RACER before correcting himself. “Not only in IndyCar. When I say IndyCar, it would be like my career.”

The 28-year-old from Spain was fastest in time trials on Saturday, was quickest Sunday morning during warmup, and rocketed away once the green flag waved in a manner that must have been demoralizing for his rivals.

“Getting the pole when everything so tight, getting it at the last moment, and then today the fact that we had to run used tires that are used from qualifying, they not in good condition,” he added. “They are better than primaries, but I think everybody that was in the Fast Six was a small disadvantage than everybody else (since they had fresher tires). To still be able to keep a good performance, then also to do it on the primaries, was great.”

In 71 starts for Chip Ganassi Racing, Palou has taken 14 wins, which is a modest 19.7 percent strike rate. It’s in the numbers for podiums with 34 from 71 for 47.8 percent, and top fives, with 46 from 71 for 64.7 percent, where Palou is separating himself from the field. An average finishing position of 5.4 since joining Ganassi as a sophomore in 2021 is another marker of his high-level output in the No. 10 Honda.

The three-time IndyCar Series champion also took a 34-point lead in the Drivers’ standings coming into the Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix, the fourth race of the year, and added a point for pole, plus a maximum of 53 points for the win and leading the most laps, to leave Barber Motorsports Park with 60 points over Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard in second.

After four races last year—where he went on the win the title—Palou’s championship lead was all of 12 points. He won the Indianapolis Grand Prix in 2024, which is next up on the schedule, took pole at the Indianapolis 500 in 2023 and placed fourth at the Speedway in 2024, and has all the momentum he could ask for as both races approach in the coming days and weeks.

“Yeah, honestly, Indy road course, we’ve been really, really strong there in the past,” he said. “Hopefully we can maintain our performance there. It’s always tough there. I would say it’s the toughest place because for some reason everybody has a good car there. To get to the Fast 12, you need to work so hard. The margins are almost nothing, like half a tenth. The same to get the pole or stay up front. It’s a tough one. Hopefully we can continue with the form that we had so far this year.

“Then the 500, it’s a big one. Yeah, everybody knows here I’ve never won on an oval. I plan on changing that this year so you can write a great story. I’m excited. It’s May. I think everybody’s excited. I feel like every year that I’ve been in IndyCar I get more excited. I would say at the beginning I was getting excited, but I was just not over the moon. Now I’m getting like, ‘Man, can we go to the racetrack right now?’”