Championship leader Alex Palou’s remarkable start to the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season continued Sunday (May 25) at the Indianapolis 500. He is having the season of a lifetime, now winning five of the last six races and sweeping the Month of May!
The driver of the No .10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda went into the Greatest Spectacle in Racing having won four of the opening five races of the season. The Spaniard started the race from sixth and had a strong pace, leading 14 of the 200 laps on the day, including the one that counted most.
The victory sees Palou take an unprecedented 112-point lead in the championship over Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, who ended the race in third place following an issuance of post-race penalties. Kyle Kirkwood in the No. 27 Chili’s Andretti Global Honda, who went into the race in second place in the standings, has dropped after a post-race inspection found that there was a technical breach with his car. Because of the penalty, he is now fifth in the standings.
Christian Lundgaard has maintained third place in the championship following his seventh-place finish in the race.
Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist in the No. 60 Creed Honda started Sunday’s race from fifth place, and he finished the race in fourth place and has moved up a place in the standings because of the penalties received by Marcus Ericsson and Kirkwood.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon had a disastrous day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A brake fire on the formation lap meant the team had to pit early for repairs, which put Dixon at the back of the field. Ultimately, he finished the race in 20th place, three laps down on his teammate Palou, and heads to Detroit 153 points behind the Spaniard.
Scott McLaughlin has dropped two places in the championship standings to seventh after retiring from the race on the formation lap.
Team Penske’s Will Power came from 33rd on the grid to finish the race in 16th place, but he has lost a place in the championship, moving to eighth. This is disappointing for the Australian, who has had a difficult season to date.
Colton Herta has maintained his ninth place in the championship following a 14th-place finish in the Indianapolis 500. The biggest mover in the standings is AJ Foyt Racing’s David Malukas, who, with his second-place finish on Sunday, has moved up nine places in the championship from 19th to 10th with 110 points.
Last year’s Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden started Sunday’s race from the last row due to a penalty following qualifying last week. He has moved up one place in the championship despite not finishing the Indianapolis 500 due to a mechanical issue.
Dreyer and Reinbold Racing with Cusick Motorsports deserves a special mention as it was their first race with the new hybrid power unit. Unfortunately, their stellar performances led to disappointing results because of mechanical issues. As an Indy-500-only entry, they did a great job with Jack Harvey in the No. 24 INVST Chevrolet. Ryan Hunter-Reay in the No. 23 Wedbash Securities Chevrolet can be proud of the fact that he led 48 laps and was classified in 21st place.
In the manufacturer’s championship, Honda has a 102-point lead over Chevrolet heading into the next race in Detroit.
There are 11 races remaining in the season, and with Palou’s gigantic lead in the championship, it is likely that the Spaniard could be champion before the season-ending Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville at the end of August.
It seems like this championship may be over, but with pre-race and post-race penalties, a rookie winning the pole for the Indy 500, and lots of surprise faces up front this weekend, the Month of May was filled with excitement and energy!
I am sure the rest of the season will be the same, but we are ending this month asking: Can anyone stop Palou?!
