Alex Palou Savors Spoils of '500' Victory, Big Media Interest during NYC Tour

INDYCAR
Alex Palou gained worldwide acclaim, INDYCAR SERIES immortality and a healthy monetary prize for winning the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge last Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But there's a good chance the Spaniard also lost something this week with his win: sleep.
Palou embarked on a hectic victory tour stuffed with media engagements and public appearances in Indianapolis and New York just hours after winning 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing' in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, his first oval victory and his fifth win in six NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season.
'It was a very busy couple of days,' Palou said. 'Went to different studios, different kinds of interviews. I had a lot of fun doing those. Got to experience some cool stuff in New York.
'Every time I was getting tired, the people in INDYCAR gave me small treats, like visiting the Empire State Building or stuff that made my day. It's been awesome. I would repeat this again next year after the '500.''
The celebrations started just a few hours after he took the checkered flag for his first career oval victory.
Palou was honored alone on the court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis during Game 3 of the Indiana Pacers-New York Knicks' NBA Eastern Conference Finals game. He wore the winner's wreath and a Pacers' jersey with star Tyrese Haliburton's name and number while stepping into the spotlight on the court to rapturous applause of the sellout crowd.
On Monday morning, May 26, Palou appeared remotely on morning shows 'FOX and Friends' and 'Good Morning America' in between the winner's photo shoot at IMS and on-site interviews with numerous local and national media outlets, including the Associated Press, FOX Sports and FOX Sports Radio.
Then Palou and his family flew to New York that evening for a full schedule of appearances and interviews Tuesday and Wednesday in the country's most populous city, also known as the 'media capital of the world.'
Palou appeared live in studio Tuesday morning on 'Good Day New York' on the FOX affiliate FOX 5 NYC before participating in numerous remote interviews with outlets ranging from 'The Dan Le Batard Show,' Muscle & Fitness magazine, the 'Speed Street' podcast hosted by fellow INDYCAR SERIES driver Conor Daly podcast and Spanish media.
Then Palou headed to FOX Sports' studios in Manhattan to appear live on the popular daily sports talk show 'First Things First,' which also broadcast live last week from IMS. Co-host Nick Wright proudly wore the winner's wreath and drank the winner's traditional bottle of milk during the segment with Palou.
Palou then was whisked to Citi Field in the borough of Queens, where he threw the ceremonial first pitch before the home New York Mets' game against the Chicago White Sox. Palou also gave the command, 'Mascots, start your engines,' on the field for the mascot race in the middle of the third inning.
On Wednesday, Palou posed for photos in front an image of him drinking the winner's bottle of milk on the Victory Podium Sunday displayed on the giant video board in front of the NASDAQ stock market in world-famous Times Square. He then visited the observation deck on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building for photos before more interviews with numerous media outlets, including CNN, SiriusXM and many other media in his native Spain.
The New York portion of the trip ended early Thursday morning when Palou flew to Detroit and participated in pre-event media activities for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, which takes place Friday through Sunday of this week as the next race on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule.
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