1 month ago
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Alex Palou has go the archetypal operator from Spain to triumph the Indianapolis 500 by holding disconnected erstwhile Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson implicit the closing laps Sunday astatine Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Palou, who has won 3 IndyCar titles successful 4 years — including the past two, came to the speedway with 4 wins done the archetypal 5 races this season. But it was No. 6, “The Greatest Spectacle successful Racing,” that helium had circled connected his calendar.
Without an Indy 500 win, Palou said his vocation resume would ne'er beryllium complete.
Palou stopped the car conscionable beyond the Yard of Bricks, climbing retired of it and astir losing his equilibrium arsenic helium raised his arms successful triumph. He jumped down and took disconnected successful a tally down the beforehand stretch, pulling disconnected his gloves and tossing them down him, and yet was engulfed by his father, Ramon, and his Chip Ganassi Racing squad successful a jubilant celebration.
Scott Dixon gave him a large hug, truthful did Dario Franchitti, with some Ganassi Indy 500 winners welcoming Palou into the exclusive club.
“I cannot judge it. What an astonishing day. What an astonishing race,” Palou said. “I cannot judge it. It was tough. Tough conditions retired there, particularly if you were like, 3rd oregon 4th successful the pack. Even leading, the substance depletion was ace high, truthful they didn’t privation maine to lead. I wanted to lead, honestly, truthful yeah, made it happen.”
Meanwhile, Ericsson climbed from his car and pressed his hands to his look astatine the disappointment of coming oh-so adjacent to a 2nd Indianapolis 500 victory.
Ericsson, the 2022 Indy 500 winner, finished 2nd for Andretti Global successful a 1-2 decorativeness for Honda. David Malukas was 3rd for A.J. Foyt Racing and the highest-finishing Chevrolet.
Josef Newgarden's bid to triumph 3 consecutive Indy 500s ended with a substance pump issue. He was trying to go the archetypal operator to travel from the backmost enactment to triumph due to the fact that helium and Team Penske teammate Will Power were dropped to the backmost of the tract for failing inspection earlier qualifying.
Power coiled up 19th, the highest-finishing Penske operator connected a miserable time for the enactment owned by Roger Penske. He earlier this week fired his apical 3 IndyCar executives for a 2nd method infraction successful conscionable implicit a year, and has had to support the optics of his teams failing inspections erstwhile helium besides owns IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy500.
Penske has won the Indy 500 a grounds 20 times.
It was Indy 500 triumph fig six for Ganassi, who has been connected a dominating question since hiring Palou up of the 2021 season. Palou past won the title that year, has added 2 much titles and present seems connected gait for a 4th one.
“The feline is conscionable unbelievable — I don't cognize what other to say,” Ganassi said. “It is an unthinkable happening — it's going to marque Alex Palou's career, it is going to marque his life, and it has surely made mine.”
Palou started the contention tied with Pato O’Ward arsenic the co-favorites, listed astatine +500 by BetMGM. O'Ward finished 4th — the 5th clip successful six vocation starts the Mexican has finished sixth oregon higher.
Kyle Larson won't implicit “the double” aft crashing retired of the Indianapolis 500 earlier helium headed to North Carolina to vie successful the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race.
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AP car racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
