LEEDS, Ala. — IndyCar doesn’t have a yellow flag drawback; it has an Alex Palou drawback.
He’s simply too good.
And heading to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Month of Could, Palou has left the remainder of the IndyCar rivals seeing crimson with envy.
Palou began on the pole and by no means regarded again. He was in entrance for 81 laps of the 90-lap race, relinquishing the lead briefly throughout his pit stops.
The three-time and back-to-back NTT IndyCar Sequence Champion scored his 14th profession IndyCar win in Sunday’s Kids’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park.
Palou defeated Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard by 16.260 seconds. Crew Penske’s Scott McLaughlin was third, 23.5 seconds behind within the No. 3 Chevrolet.
Rinus VeeKay of Dale Coyne racing was fourth within the No. 18 Honda and Crew Penske’s Will Energy was fifth within the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet, 33.073 seconds behind the race winner.
It was his third win within the first 4 races this season and he takes a 60-point lead within the championship standings into subsequent Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway highway course.
The Month of Could culminates with the 109th Indianapolis 500 on Could 25, a race that Palou has by no means gained.
The one near-incident of the race got here on Lap 57 when rookie Louie Foster’s Honda went off observe. He was in a position to get by the grass and return to the race observe, however pulled out in entrance of two vehicles.
Fortunately for all, there was no incident, however one of many two vehicles was Palou’s No. 10 HRC Honda. IndyCar didn’t wave the yellow flag and high-speed racing continued by to the checkered flag.
The one yellow flag of the season was Laps 1-6 within the season opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 2 due to a three-car incident in Flip 3 of the road course.
Since that point, it has been inexperienced flag racing for the season.
For Palou, his newest victory got here on the identical race course the place he acquired this primary IndyCar win to start out the season in 2021.
“It was the right day, I might say the right weekend,” Palou stated. “Tremendous happy with all people that has been engaged on the ten automotive at Chip Ganassi Racing. It was an ideal automotive, super-fast and a number of enjoyable.
“I liked it. An incredible day.
“We’ve at all times been actually good right here. Each single lap feels superb right here in an Indy automotive.”
The second-place end was Lundgaard’s third podium end within the first 4 races this season.
“It’s superior, it’s the whole lot we might have hoped for and a lot better,” Lundgaard stated. “In Thermal, we had the tempo and the ten automotive nonetheless beat us. At Lengthy Seaside, the crew did an superior job in technique, and we did that right here right this moment.
“We made a key change in a single day and that’s we’re right here right this moment.”
McLaughlin’s third-place end saved him from successful his third race in a row at Barber, however he has some hope that finally, the remainder of IndyCar can catch as much as the highest driver within the sequence.
“The automotive was quick, however we didn’t have sufficient right this moment,” McLaughlin stated. “We had the third-best automotive right this moment and that was it.
“When a man is on high of his recreation, you do the very best you may. He’s executing however we’re executing as effectively. We now have to focus on being there and if we’re there, we may have a battle as effectively.”
Scott Dixon began twenty seventh and handed 14 vehicles to complete thirteenth, the most important mover of the race.
