Alex Palou makes history by winning the Indianapolis 500 Miles

The wait is over for Alex Palou. The Spanish driver etched his name in motorsport history by becoming the first from his country to win the Indianapolis 500, IndyCar's crown jewel event. The 109th running of this legendary race concluded under yellow flag when rookie Nolan Siegel lost control of his Arrow McLaren in Turn 2 on the final lap.

The victory was sealed with a daring move on lap 187, when Palou used the draft from Marcus Ericsson to execute an inside pass at Turn 1. This gave him the lead he would maintain through the scheduled 200 laps on the 2.5-mile oval.

Fuel strategy proves decisive

The Chip Ganassi Racing star executed a high-risk strategy in the closing stages. His final pit stop on lap 168 meant completing 32 laps on a single fuel load - pushing his #10 Honda to the absolute limit.

The opening segment saw multiple cautions, with six of the race's seven yellow flags coming in the first 108 laps. These incidents eliminated several frontrunners including Scott McLaughlin, Marco Andretti and Kyle Larson, who was attempting the grueling "Double Duty" of racing at both Indianapolis and Charlotte on the same day.

David Malukas emerged as a surprise contender late in the race. The A.J. Foyt Enterprises driver led on lap 169 before pitting on lap 170, handing the lead to Ericsson. Though Malukas exited ahead of Palou, lapped traffic allowed the Spaniard to overtake and slot into second behind the Swede.

The winning move and dramatic finish

Ericsson held the lead until lap 187, battling turbulent air from lapped cars of Devlin DeFrancesco and Louis Foster. This created the perfect setup for Palou's decisive inside pass using the draft.

I wasn't sure if he'd go for it. I should have protected the inside, obviously.

Once ahead, Palou managed his lead over the final 13 laps. Ericsson closed slightly but never got within striking distance before Siegel's crash brought out the race-ending caution.

Palou extends championship dominance

This fifth win in six 2025 NTT IndyCar Series races gives Palou a commanding 115-point lead over Pato O'Ward (who finished fourth) in the championship standings.

For Chip Ganassi Racing, this marks their sixth Indy 500 victory and first since Ericsson's 2022 win. Ironically, Ericsson now has two runner-up finishes in three years, repeating his 2023 result behind Josef Newgarden.

The race began under cloudy 60°F (15.5°C) skies after a 43-minute rain delay. Following a chaotic first half, the event transformed into a strategic masterpiece featuring 22 lead changes among 14 drivers.

Pole-sitter Robert Shwartzman, the first rookie to start first since 1983, faded to 29th after a pit lane incident on lap 87.