Perfection is rarely embodied by anyone in any sport, but Alex Palou did that on Sunday (May 25) by winning his fifth of six races to open 2025, including the victory in the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.
ALEX PALOU WINS THE 109TH #INDY500 ON FOX! pic.twitter.com/zxtNreWZm4
— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) May 25, 2025
Palou stayed patient all day and made the pass for the lead while working fuel strategy on Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 winner of the 500.
In doing so, Palou wins his first oval race amid his 16 NTT IndyCar Series victories.
“I cannot believe it,” Palou told FOX post-race. “What an amazing day. What an amazing race by the [No.] 10 crew everybody at [Chip Ganassi Racing]. There were some moments that I felt very good in the race. At the end, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to pass Marcus or not, but [I] made it happen, first oval win. What a better place.”
“He just beat everybody today,” Chip Ganassi said. “It’s just great. It’s going to make Alex Palou’s career and make his life. It certainly has made mine.”
Ericsson worked an alternate strategy from the field as he got shifted off the main strategy working to his advantage to climb to the lead in the final green-flag run to the checkered flag. He earned his third Indy 500 top five in his career.
“That was painful to miss out so close again, second time [in] second place here,” Ericsson said. “This is a winner takes all kind of place. The car was really hard to drive. We were running in the back for the middle part of it, but we kept fighting. We kept trying to get back. We had a tough couple of years here, but today, we showed what we could do. We can fight for it, but of course, finishing second is just really tough. Congrats to Alex and Chip Ganassi Racing. This one hurts, for sure.”
David Malukas saved a few extra laps of fuel but was overtaken by Palou on the final pit sequence. He earns a podium finish for AJ Foyt Enterprises and his best finish in his third Indy 500 start.
“I was crying coming into the pits,” Malukas said. “We were just so close to getting it. Out of all the cars, we were number one until the end. [Palou] got lucky. Lappers came in, and he was able to get a run. We were leading. He got a good tow. He timed that perfectly. From our side, we did everything absolutely perfect.”
Last year’s runner up Pato O’Ward finished fourth, and Felix Rosenqvist earned his Creed-decorated Honda a top five in fifth.
Kyle Kirkwood, Santino Ferrucci, Christian Rasmussen, Christian Lundgaard and Conor Daly rounded out the top 10.
Rain delayed the start, and a crash on pace laps for Scott McLaughlin, who was going to start 12th before crashing into the inside wall on the frontstretch.
“I have no idea what happened,” McLaughlin said. “I just lost it. [This is] by far the worst moment of my life. My heart is broken in a million pieces right now.”
Kyle Larson‘s second attempt at the Indy 500/Coca-Cola 600 Double did not go as planned. After losing all his track position on pit road on a slow stop, his day got even worse after crashing on a restart after slowing down to third gear in turn 2. He collected Kyffin Simpson and Sting Ray Robb in the three-car wreck.
His second attempt at the #Indy500 is over.@KyleLarsonRacin day ends after 91 laps. pic.twitter.com/II8TZ4HmFr
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 25, 2025
Josef Newgarden worked his way from the back to the top 10 in his attempt to three-peat the Indy 500. A fuel pressure issue on the second-to-last pit stop ended his chances at his history-making moment.
A three-peat is not in the cards đ@josefnewgarden's No. 2 car has an issue and will not fight for a win in today's #Indy500. pic.twitter.com/FrDkXm8gND
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 25, 2025
Scott Dixon‘s brakes caught on fire pre-race. He was able to start and run in the top 10, but he came down pit road to make a brake change and went down three laps.
Four laps passed before the field lined up three abreast. However, Marco Andretti spun after contact heading into turn 1, spinning sideways into Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong and into the wall, ending his 20th start in the Indy 500 early.
Alexander Rossi led a handful of cars on the alternate strategy during the first half of the race, but smoke and a fluid leak while running third turned into a fiery blaze on pit road, catching the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing fueler on fire and knocking the 2016 Indy 500 winner out of the race.
Shortly after Rossi’s fire, another alternate strategy driver Rinus VeeKay lost his brakes heading into the pits and crashed into the inside wall, taking the Dutchman and lone Dale Coyne Racing driver out of contention.
VEEKAY SPINS ON PIT LANE đŹ
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 25, 2025
The #Indy500 is currently under caution on Lap 87. pic.twitter.com/5vDzhFPfyJ
Indianapolis 500 Results
The series returns at Detroit on June 1, the broadcast coming at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
Wyatt Watson has followed motorsports closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretch as a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt is one of Frontstretch's primary IndyCar correspondents, providing exclusive video content on site. He hosts Frontstretch's Through the Gears podcast and occasionally The Pit Straight.You can find Wyatt's written work in columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monsteras well as exclusive IndyCar features. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch's social media team, posting unique and engaging content for Frontstretch.
Wyatt Watson can be found on X @WyattWRacing