Relentless Alex Palou Chasing More History in Deep '500' Field

The 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is on tap for Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (10 a.m. ET, FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls). What transpires when the green flag drops is anyone’s guess.

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There are storylines aplenty, highlighted by these five.

Palou on Pole is Race Favorite

By now everyone should know that reigning “500” champion Alex Palou (photo, top) is the pole sitter for second time in four years, and he is the NTT INDYCAR SERIES points leader in pursuit of a record-tying fourth consecutive season title and fifth in five years. His three race wins this year are part of his 11 victories in the past 23 races.

Yeah, Palou has been exceptional, and he has shown no signs of letting up.

But here’s the thing about the driver of the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda: It can be argued that this oval is his best track on the circuit. He easily could have more than one “500” in the past five years.

Only 6 percent of the drivers in Indy’s history have led more laps than Palou (133 laps led), and he ranks sixth among drivers in this field behind Scott Dixon (No. 1, 677 laps led), Helio Castroneves (No. 18, 326), Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 27, 219), Ed Carpenter (No. 41, 150) and Takuma Sato (No. 48, 138). Those five drivers have an average number of Indy starts of 20.6. Palou has made just six, five with Chip Ganassi Racing.

Palou opened Chip Ganassi’s eyes in 2020 by qualifying in the seventh position with Dale Coyne Racing w/ Team Goh. Once hired by Ganassi, Palou has led each of his five “500s,” posting an average finish of 4.2, and it could have been much, much better. It took Castroneves to beat him in 2021, and in the years that followed, he was dogged by an inopportune yellow as he came to pit road as the leader and pit road contact from Rinus VeeKay, among other unlucky breaks.

Know this: Those who draw Palou in the office or family pool should clutch that ticket with all their might. It will have the best odds to cash on Sunday.

Rossi’s Ankle/Finger, Backup Cars on Watch

Alexander Rossi’s spin into the Turn 2 wall in Monday’s post-qualifying practice created major questions about the front-row starter. Until that moment the 2016 “500” was having his best month at IMS.

The driver of ECR’s No. 20 Java House Chevrolet (photo, above) suffered injuries to his right ankle and left finger in the double-whammy incident that included Pato O’Ward’s No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet sliding into his car’s compromised left side. Rossi said he expects to participate in the two-hour Miller Lite Carb Day practice (11 a.m. ET, FS1, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls) and Sunday’s race, but at a minimum he will have discomfort to work around. The good news is, he used the backup car in last year’s race, and it was already in oval configuration with all the important speedway fittings.

Per INDYCAR rules, backup cars keep their starting positions so long as there isn’t a driver change. Therefore, Rossi and O’Ward (No. 6 starting spot) will be in the spots they earned in last weekend’s Firestone Fast Six qualifying round despite driving backup cars.

The third driver in Monday’s incident was Romain Grosjean. Dale Coyne Racing has repaired the damage to the No. 18 Bmax.IO Honda that is scheduled to start 24th.

New Era for Team Penske?

David Malukas remains the only Team Penske driver without an INDYCAR SERIES victory, but that doesn’t figure to be the case for long.

Malukas (photo, above), who signed in the offseason to replace Will Power in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, was the highest qualifier among Roger Penske’s drivers. He will start third. Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet) will roll off ninth with two-time Indy winner Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet) 23rd.

Two things to remember about Malukas: He finished second in last year’s race in an AJ Foyt Racing car, and 46 of the 109 “500” winners have started that year’s race on the front row.

Malukas’ qualifying effort wasn’t a fluke. He has been the fastest of the three Team Penske drivers on two of the five on-track days this month, and he leads the bunch in points after six races. Malukas ranks third, 23 points ahead of Newgarden (fifth) and 44 north of McLaughlin (eighth).

Malukas could become the first driver since Rossi in 2016 to score his first series win at Indy. Prior to Rossi, it was Buddy Rice in 2004. Before that, Buddy Lazier in 1996 and Arie Luyendyk in 1990.

All three Team Penske drivers will aim to give the organization its record-extending 21st “500” victory.

Potential First-Time Winners

There are nine Indy winners in this field. Malukas will have the best starting position of the non-winners, but he is not the only one with a solid chance to win.

For as strong as Palou has been in past events, O’Ward (photo, above, left) has been his equal – without winning. O’Ward has finished second twice (2022, 2024) and was third last year. Two years ago, he led at the white flag, and his only finish outside the top six was in 2023 when he crashed on Lap 193 battling Marcus Ericsson for second place in Turn 3.

Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian; photo, above, right) has fourth-place finishes in 2022 and 2025, and that’s where he starts Sunday’s race. AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci (No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet) is riding a streak of seven top-10 finishes to begin his career, and he will roll off fifth. Conor Daly, who has led 82 career laps, is having his best month and will start eighth in Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s No. 23 DRR Kingspan ARCO Chevrolet.

Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda) is second in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings, and he will be another driver that could be in the mix in the final dash to the checkered flag though he’ll start 25th. But he might have said it best Thursday.

“There’s a lot of confidence amongst the field, which hopefully means we’re going to have a really good race,” he said. “I also hope for ourselves that it’s not a false confidence.”

‘500’ Records on the Line

With 109 races in the books, it’s difficult to achieve a first, but Castroneves has two such chances in Sunday’s race.

The first is the most obvious: A win would give Castroneves (photo, above) record five, breaking the tie with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears. The club of four-timer winners is the most prestigious in the sport.

Castroneves’ other pursuit is no less impressive. If he completes 112 laps, he will break Foyt’s record of 12,275.5 miles completed, which equates to 4,909 laps. Castroneves, who starts 14th in the No. 06 Cleveland Cliffs Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian, has turned 4,798 race laps (11,995 miles) in his 25 years at IMS.

Castroneves and Sato (No. 75 Amada Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) each have a chance to become the oldest “500” winner in history. Unser, who holds the record, was 47 years, 360 days when he won in 1987. On Sunday, Castroneves will be 51 years, 14 days while Sato will be 49 years, 116 days.

Nolan Siegel (No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet) and Kyffin Simpson (No. 8 Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) each have a chance to become the youngest “500” winner. Troy Ruttman was 22 years, 80 days when he set the record in 1952. Siegel will be 21 years, 196 days old on Race Day; Simpson 21 years, 227 days.

This field just missed breaking the event record for combined career Indy starts. They have 256. The record is 260, set in 1987 and 1992.

So, it’s not only an experienced field, it’s a competitive one at that.