LEEDS, Ala. — At a race course that requires precision, Alex Palou was perfect.
Palou started on the pole and drove away to the 21st NTT IndyCar Series victory in Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park.
The four-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion for Chip Ganassi Racing lead 79 laps of the 90-lap contest at the 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course. It was his third win in this race and second year in a row.
Palou’s first win also came at Barber in 2021, his first race with Chip Ganassi Racing.
In his latest triumph, Palou defeated Christian Lundgaard’s No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet by 13.2775 seconds. Graham Rahal’s No. 15 Honda was third, 14.2877 seconds behind the winner followed by Team Penske’s David Malukas in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet.
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the top five in the No. 27 Honda and maintains the points lead by just two points over Palou.
There were no cautions in the race and five lead changes among three drivers. Palou led 79 laps, Lundgaard 10 and Rahal 1.
“Incredible day for the 10 DHL Honda car,” Palou said. “I said in qualifying it was one of the best car balances I ever drove. In the race, we suffered a little bit on the used blacks that we had to use. It was something we had to do on strategy. But it was a great day.”
On Palou’s final pit stop, he went from a set of used Firestone Black tires to another set of slightly used Firestone Black tires, the only curveball when it came to strategy. When Palou exited pit lane, he was pushed off to the grass by rookie driver Mick Schumacher on the pit exit lane with 25 laps to go.
“That normally never happens,” Palou said. “We thought it was going to be soft tire race but this morning, we decided to go with the harder tires. It was a tough decision, but it worked out.”
As green flag pit stops continued, teams used varying different tire strategies, but Palou kept his cool when it came to saving fuel for the remainder of the 90-lap contest.
When Palou pitted, that returned Christian Lundgaard into the lead followed by Marcus Armstrong, Kyle Kirkwood and Palou.
The four-time NTT IndyCar Series champion encountered traffic just before Kirkwood made his final pit stop.
Lundgaard came into the pits with 22 laps to go but the right rear tire was not bolted on. The extra time in the pits ruined Lundgaard’s chances at the victory, unless something dramatic happened over the final 20 laps.
By the time the sequence concluded, Palou was back in the lead by 11.0567 seconds over Rahal. Lundgaard was third, 13.2759 seconds back followed by Malukas and Kirkwood.
Despite Palou’s dominance, there were still 21 cars on the same lap as the leader with 10 laps to go in the race.
But without a caution for the second year in a row at Barber Motorsports Park, Palou raced with precision to achieve perfection.
Atlanta Braves legend Dale Murphy gave the command, “Drivers, start your engines” and all 25 cars rolled off the grid, led by pole winner Alex Palou.
That’s where Palou would finish, after 90 laps of racing.
The only real battle on the track was for second place between Rahal and Lundgaard. With three laps to go, Lundgaard was able to race hard against his former teammate and pass him for second place with three laps to go.
“I think we had something for Palou,” Lundgaard said. “There was a bobble on the pit stop. I wanted to re-pass Graham and let them know we got it. The guys did an amazing job. We had a chance to make a difference there today and it’s unfortunate, but I don’t think we can be unhappy with a 10th to second.”
Rahal’s Honda was starting to fade and on the final lap, had to fend off Malukas’ No. 12 Chevrolet for the final podium position.
Rahal used all the defensive skill and experience he could to claim third place, his first podium in 42 races.
“It was a great day for the No. 15,” Rahal said. “Our day is coming. The car was a bit loose and trying to fend off Christian was quite hard.
“We’re pretty pleased with this. It feels good.”
