Alex Palou will lead the field next Sunday in the Indy 500. The reigning champion seeks his second win in the ‘Greatest Spectacle in Racing.’
The initial Saturday qualifications were a wash due to rain throughout the day — the last time this happened was in 2008. Officials in response to the inclement weather moved to combine all time trials into one day.
Drivers navigated a track Sunday with some strong winds that added difficulty.
After making it through all three qualification rounds, Alex Palou secured the top spot and was the only driver to break a four-lap average of 232 miles per hour, in his number 10 car with team Chip Ganassi Racing.
Palou said he didn’t expect to win the top spot.
“We barely made it into the Fast 12,” Palou said. “But I think that kind of helped us. Just struggling a little bit on those conditions kind of made us work a lot.”
But Palou said even with the pole position the team will need to continue to work hard to stay in the lead and take home the checkered flag.
“The emotion, the momentum and everything that comes with it, it’s incredible, but it’s totally different to the race,” Palou said. “Like, that doesn't guarantee us to having an easier race. It guarantees us to have the best view heading into the first corner, but that's about it.”
Palou’s 2025 win made him the first Spanish driver to win the Indy 500. He also won the pole position in 2023.
The 2026 front row is rounded out with former Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi and David Malukas.
For Rossi, he said it would mean the world to win the race a second time.
“I didn’t understand the heartbreak of this place,” Rossi said, reflecting on the past 10 years since he last won.
“I didn't understand the magnitude of what this track means to not only the teams and drivers, but the people that come here every single year, the generations of families that turn up and support us rain or shine. It transcends any other place that we go, and it would be pretty magical if it chose me again.”
The grandstands are sold out, and the 33-car field is set for the Memorial Day weekend race Sunday, May 25, at 12:30p.m. EST.
Contact WFYI All Things Considered newscaster and reporter Samantha Horton at shorton@wfyi.org or on Signal at SamHorton.05
