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Forbes
32 minutes ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
IndyCar's Alex Palou: ‘What, Me Worry?' As Points Lead Shrinks To 73
Alex Palou, driver of the #10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, celebrates after winning the NTT ... More IndyCar Series 109th Running Of The Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 25, 2025. (Photo by) For most of the season, Alex Palou's No. 10 Honda at Chip Ganassi Racing sports the iconic red and yellow DHL colors. But this weekend at one of the premier resort areas in Wisconsin, the NTT IndyCar Series championship points leader has a paint scheme and sponsor that is a perfect fit for a weekend at the lake. It's Solo Cup, the iconic red, plastic cup that can be found at Fraternity Keggers, Sorority Parties, Basement Bashes, Softball Games or any places where a Keg on Ice is being tapped. And for the minors, the red solo cups work great with soft drinks, lemonade, tea and any other beverage that doesn't include alcohol. The Red Solo Cup means 'Party' and 'celebration', and Palou is hoping to celebrate a sixth victory in IndyCar with a win in Sunday's XPEL Grand Prix at Road America. 'Obviously it makes it super fun, and I think it's perfect timing, as well, for Solo to enter IndyCar for the first time and for us to run the car,' Palou said. 'I would say probably Road America is one of the coolest atmosphere tracks that you see, like kids are on vacation, they are camping, people are having fun there all around the track. 'It's probably the best weekend to start out with Solo. "Yeah, I don't know what I'm going to have yet in case we win, but that's something that hopefully it's a good problem to have after the race.' Toby Keith with a Red Solo Cup on July 5, 2019 — (Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo ... More Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images) The late Toby Keith made the plastic cup famous in 2011 with his song 'Red Solo Cup' off the album 'Clancy's Tavern.' It was the only song on the album Keith did not write or co-write. 'I heard it from one of the engineers, yes,' Palou said when asked if he had ever heard the song? 'I was not familiar with the song before. 'I don't think it's a good idea that I sing, but I can play it if we win. So maybe that's close.' Cause For Celebration In 2025, the three-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion has much to celebrate. When Palou won the 109th Indianapolis 500 on May 25, it was his fifth victory in the first six races in 2025. His lead in the championship was a staggering 115 points, more than two full races worth of points. Just two races later, Palou's lead in the NTT IndyCar Series has dwindled from 115 to 73 after the June 15 Bommarito Automotive Group 500. But to borrow a phrase from the iconic Alfred E. Newman of Mad Magazine, 'What, me worry?' as he heads to Road America for the XPEL Grand Prix of Road America. Alfred E. Newman of Mad Magazine "I mean, keeping track of the points, like you always keep an eye on it, obviously, but I would say that focusing on the championship, that only goes on the last two races,' Palou explained his mindset. 'Whenever it's like you already know that hopefully you're in the fight or not. 'Hopefully it's only yourself and three other drivers and you know what you need to do, or you know who you need to fight for. 'Now we're fighting against everybody, so it just doesn't really make much sense to count points. It's good to have a look at them when you're leading and see that hopefully we can extend a little bit more the gap, but I think now -- the way we got here was by racing hard and going aggressive on strategies and trying to go for wins. 'I think that's the way we need to continue racing. Hopefully we can have a look at who we're racing against towards the last two, three races of the year.' Palou started ninth and finished eighth last Sunday night at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Prior to that, he finished 25th in the 27-car field for the June 1 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix after he was punted into the tire barriers by David Malukas. 'I felt good at St. Louis even though it didn't really go smoothly in our way, but yeah, I'm excited for Road America,' Palou said. 'It's a place I love. It's a place that we've done really, really well in the past, and it's one of my favorite tracks in the calendar for sure.' Palou is a two-time IndyCar race winner at Road America, and he scored his first career podium finish at the 4-mile, 14-turn. Road course in 2020 when he drove for Dale Coyne Racing. Alex Palou, driver of the #55 Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh Honda, leads a pack of cars during the ... More NTT IndyCar Series Rev Group Grand Prix Race 2 at Road America on July 12, 2020 in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. (Photo by) 'I guess I had great cars there,' Palou explained. 'Honestly, even my first year with Coyne, I got my first ever IndyCar podium there, and I had a great car, great strategy, and then with CGR we've always been running very fast. 'Last year we kind of struggled a little bit, especially in the race with those three Penskes finishing one, two, three, and we were kind of there alone in fourth place. But I feel like this year hopefully we can get back on speed and try and fight for the win.' Team owner Chip Ganassi continues to believe Palou continues to get better season after season. 'It's the beauty of the sport that you can always get better at everything,' Palou said. 'You can always get better at going a little bit faster, getting more speed, just saving better the tires, saving more fuel, managing better how you are aggressive in defending or overtaking. 'There's so much stuff that you can always be a little bit better that I think there's no limit, and you can see that in amazing drivers like Dixon, Power, these guys that have been around for so long, and I think Power said the past weekend that he's been driving the best that he's ever done. 'I believe in that, and I think that it's the beauty of motorsports, that you can always keep on pushing yourself to try and be a little bit better. 'Where do I think I can get better? Well, everything. A little bit faster, hopefully better on short ovals, better on qualifying up front and defending moves or overtaking. I think there's always stuff that you can improve on.' Since the Indianapolis 500, Kyle Kirkwood has won both races and Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward has helped narrow the gap in points. Again, Palou is not worried. 'I said it before the 500 and after the 500, that the same way we won like four or five races in like a very short period of time, there could be somebody else could do the same because it's not impossible,' Palou explained. 'We've done it, so somebody else can do it, as well, and we've seen that with Kyle. I think obviously without his penalty at the 500 he would be even a lot closer. 'It didn't add any pressure at all just because I didn't ever think that it was done or it was ours or anything like that. I knew that we just had a perfect start of the season, and obviously you could see a big point difference. But yeah, I expect that it's going to get very tight. It's going to make it interesting. 'I just hope that we are there at the end to fight for it.' The diversity of the IndyCar schedule is evident from the past three four race weekends. On May 25, it was the Indianapolis 500 on the massive 2.5-mile oval. On June 1, it was the streets of Detroit on a short and tight street circuit. On June 15, it was the 1.25-mile short oval just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. This weekend, it's a track known as 'America's National Park of Speed' – the 4-mile, 14-turn Road America road course. 'I think that's what makes IndyCar so challenging, as well, is you go from a really small track at Indy road course, then you go to a superspeedway, then you go to the bumpiest track that we have in the calendar with Detroit and very tight walls, and then you go to St. Louis which is a completely different track and now you go back to Road America, which it's like going back to the circle of Indy road course,' Palou said. 'Preparation-wise, I would say for the driver it's not as hard as probably for the team, the mechanics, the engineers, getting the setup right and also building the car to, like, the different specs. 'But for the driver it's just amazing that you get to focus on different places and different techniques of driving. It just keeps you sharp, keeps you studying a lot, and I enjoy that. I enjoy that part a lot.' The new IndyCar chassis and engine package will likely be pushed back to 2028, which means the current Dallara chassis will be in action for 16 years. Again, Palou responded with a 'What, me worry?' answer. 'Honestly, at the end of the day, I don't care,' Palou said. 'Would I like a new car that looks a little bit better and has more power? Yes. But do I really care at the end of the day? No, I don't care. As long as everybody has the same exact car and the racing is good, I do not care what we do. 'I think it's important that whatever we do, it's good, and it's not going to affect our product, which is just fun racing, really close racing, and just like the pure IndyCar that we have. 'As long as we keep that in mind, if it delays one year, two years, I do not care, and hopefully that gives enough time to everybody like all the teams, Dallara, IndyCar, to come up with a great solution that everybody is happy about visually and also, like, speed-wise and power-wise. 'So yeah, at the end of the day, I don't care. As long as we all get to do the same, it'll be good.' For Alex Palou, the points lead may be dwindling, but with a maximum of 54 points available in each race, he has reason to say, 'What, me worry?' Alex Palou celebrates winning the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor ... More Speedway on May 25, 2025. (Photo by Michael L. Levitt/Lumen via Getty Images)
USA Today
15 hours ago
- Automotive
- USA Today
What is the start time for the IndyCar race Xpel Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.?
What is the start time for the IndyCar race Xpel Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.? The IndyCar Series returns to the road when it competes at Road America's 14-turn, 4-mile course in the Wisconsin countryside for a 55-lap race. Push-to-pass: Drivers have 200 total seconds, in increments of up to 20 seconds. Tire allotment: Six sets primary (hard/black sidewall) and five sets alternate (soft/red sidewall) for the weekend. Rookie drivers are allowed one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race. Nathan Brown is your best IndyCar follow, and keep up with coverage throughout the season with IndyStar's motorsports newsletter. Who is leading IndyCar? 2025 IndyCar results Alex Palou has won five races and leads by more than one race of max points. Kyle Kirkwood has won three races. However, Pato O'Ward leads Kirkwood for second place overall. 'A lot of work to do': Alex Palou doesn't think his IndyCar championship lead is safe Who won at Road America in 2024? 2024 IndyCar results at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin Team Penske swept the podium: Will Power, followed by Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin. IndyCar expert picks, predictions for Road America From Nathan Brown, IndyStar We're reaching the halfway point of a 17-race season, and Palou and Kirkwood have hogged all the checkered flags. Is anyone besides Alex Palou or Kyle Kirkwood allowed to win a race? If so, who? Fortunately ... or unfortunately ... depending your fandom, this feels like an 'Alex Palou rebound' weekend. In four years racing at Road America for Chip Ganassi Racing, he has two wins and took 4th last year. I don't expect him to settle for a bunch of top-5 finishes the rest of the way. Palou's going to win again, and coming off finishes of 25th and 8th since his Indy 500 victory, this feels like the weekend. Who will have a surprising qualifying effort? Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing rookie Louis Foster will make a Fast 6 appearance, a much-needed boost for a team that has seen all three of its full-time cars finish 20th or worse in both races since the Indy 500. RLL has a strong history at Road America. Team Penske swept the podium last year at Road America but had a horrible time in St. Louis last weekend? How will it fare this weekend? The team will again fall short of its first win of the year, but we'll see a return to the podium for just the fourth time this season, delivered by Will Power, who won last year's race. Block the noise: Malukas knows 'I need to mature' on track, 'switch off' rumors When will it happen next?: IndyCar paddock believes 'every oval should be a night race' A matter of eyeballs: Why IndyCar's 1 million viewers is good ... but not as good as it looks IndyCar Series schedule at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (All times ET; all IndyCar sessions are on IndyCar Live, IndyCar Radio and Sirius XM Channel 218) IndyCar schedule at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on Friday, June 20 3:30-4:30 p.m.: Indy NXT practice, FS2 4:30-6 p.m.: IndyCar practice, FS2 IndyCar schedule at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on Saturday, June 21 10-11 a.m.: Indy NXT practice, FS1 11 a.m.-noon: IndyCar practice, FS1 1:30-2 p.m.: Indy NXT qualifying, FS1 2:30-4 p.m.: IndyCar qualifying, FS1 IndyCar schedule at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on Sunday, June 22 10 a.m.: IndyCar warmup, FS1 11 a.m.-noon: Indy NXT race, FS1 1:30 p.m.: IndyCar race, Fox What channel is IndyCar race at Road Ameica in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on? TV: Coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. ET, Sunday, June 22, 2025, on Fox. Green flag is scheduled for 1:47 p.m. Will Buxton is the play-by-play voice, with analysts James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell. Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters. How can I stream the IndyCar race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on Sunday, June 22? Fox Sports app. Watch free with a Fubo trial How can I listen to IndyCar race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on Sunday, June 22? IndyCar Nation is on SiriusXM Channel 218, IndyCar Live and the IndyCar Radio Network (check affiliates for each race) Will it rain at the IndyCar race Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin? Friday: Partly cloudy with a high in the low 80s. Saturday: Partly cloudy with a high in the low 90s. Sunday: Partly cloudy with a high in the low 90s. 2025 IndyCar Series schedule The 2025 IndyCar Series schedule includes 17 races, all televised on Fox. (Times are ET; %-downtown street course, &-road course, *-oval) March 2, St. Petersburg, Florida % (Winner: Alex Palou) March 23, Thermal, California & (Winner: Alex Palou) April 13, Long Beach, California % (Winner: Kyle Kirkwood) May 4, Birmingham, Alabama & (Winner: Alex Palou) May 10, Indianapolis & (Winner: Alex Palou) May 25, Indianapolis 500 * (Winner: Alex Palou) June 1, Detroit % (Winner: Kyle Kirkwood) June 15, St. Louis * (Winner: Kyle Kirkwood) June 22, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin &, 1:30 p.m. July 6, Lexington, Ohio &, 1 p.m. July 12, Newton, Iowa *, 5 p.m. July 13, Newton, Iowa *, 1 p.m. July 20, Toronto %, noon July 27, Monterey, California &, 3 p.m. Aug. 10, Portland &, 3 p.m. Aug. 24, Milwaukee *, 2 p.m. Aug. 31, Nashville *, 2:30 p.m. IndyCar drivers for 2025 (Team and drivers; *-Indianapolis 500 only) IndyCar Series 2025 points championship points (Through eight of 17 races)
Fox News
a day ago
- Sport
- Fox News
Alex Palou is human after all, but the INDYCAR title still remains his to lose
Alex Palou is in a slump. OK, not really. Palou won five of the first six INDYCAR races — including the Indianapolis 500 — to start the 2025 season before finishes of 25th (when he got wrecked) and eighth in his past two starts. His points lead with nine races remaining has gone from 112 to 73. More finishes like he had his last two weeks and he won't be the 2025 champion as most expected after such a strong start. "You always keep an eye on it, obviously, but I would say that focusing on the championship, that only goes on the last two races, whenever it's like you already know that hopefully you're in the fight or not," Palou said. "Hopefully it's only yourself and three other drivers, and you know what you need to do or you know who you need to fight for." The Chip Ganassi Racing driver, who has won the last two INDYCAR titles and three of the last four, shouldn't sweat too much. The series heads to Road America (Sunday, 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX) this weekend, a track where Palou has two wins on his resume. "The way we got here was by racing hard and going aggressive on strategies and trying to go for wins, and I think that's the way we need to continue racing," Palou said. "Hopefully we can have a look at who we're racing against towards the last two, three races of the year." Palou has a 73-point lead on Pato O'Ward, 75 points on Kyle Kirkwood (whose three wins make him the only driver other than Palou to win this year), 114 on Christian Lundgaard and 129 on six-time champion Scott Dixon. "Now we're fighting against everybody, so it just doesn't really make much sense to count points," Palou said. "It's good to have a look at them when you're leading and see that hopefully we can extend a little bit more the gap." Palou still has what many would say is a comfortable lead. He said he doesn't worry about the last two results when it comes to the standings because, as he said, he hasn't focused on the standings yet. Kirkwood, who lost 24 points because of a postrace technical penalty following the Indianapolis 500, has won the last two races heading into Road America. "It didn't add any pressure at all just because I didn't ever think that it was done or it was ours or anything like that," Palou said. "I knew that we just had a perfect start of the season, and obviously you could see a big point difference. "I expect that it's going to get very tight. It's going to make it interesting. I just hope that we are there at the end to fight for it." Palou isn't looking for a couple of wins to put the competition for the championship in an impossible position to win the title. He's looking for a couple of wins to, well, win races. "We were lacking performance [last week] and we struggled a lot," Palou said. "It's not concerning, like, urgency, but it's obviously not good. ... There's always urgency to win. Nobody likes to see somebody else win. "But I think at the same time, we got used to too much success. Not we as the team, but everybody expects us to win every single weekend. It's not possible, unfortunately. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
Fox Sports
a day ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Alex Palou is human after all, but the INDYCAR title still remains his to lose
Alex Palou is in a slump. OK, not really. Palou won five of the first six INDYCAR races — including the Indianapolis 500 — to start the 2025 season before finishes of 25th (when he got wrecked) and eighth in his past two starts. His points lead with nine races remaining has gone from 112 to 73. More finishes like he had his last two weeks and he won't be the 2025 champion as most expected after such a strong start. "You always keep an eye on it, obviously, but I would say that focusing on the championship, that only goes on the last two races, whenever it's like you already know that hopefully you're in the fight or not," Palou said. "Hopefully it's only yourself and three other drivers, and you know what you need to do or you know who you need to fight for." The Chip Ganassi Racing driver, who has won the last two INDYCAR titles and three of the last four, shouldn't sweat too much. The series heads to Road America (Sunday, 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX) this weekend, a track where Palou has two wins on his resume. "The way we got here was by racing hard and going aggressive on strategies and trying to go for wins, and I think that's the way we need to continue racing," Palou said. "Hopefully we can have a look at who we're racing against towards the last two, three races of the year." Palou has a 73-point lead on Pato O'Ward, 75 points on Kyle Kirkwood (whose three wins make him the only driver other than Palou to win this year), 114 on Christian Lundgaard and 129 on six-time champion Scott Dixon. "Now we're fighting against everybody, so it just doesn't really make much sense to count points," Palou said. "It's good to have a look at them when you're leading and see that hopefully we can extend a little bit more the gap." Palou still has what many would say is a comfortable lead. He said he doesn't worry about the last two results when it comes to the standings because, as he said, he hasn't focused on the standings yet. Kirkwood, who lost 24 points because of a postrace technical penalty following the Indianapolis 500, has won the last two races heading into Road America. "It didn't add any pressure at all just because I didn't ever think that it was done or it was ours or anything like that," Palou said. "I knew that we just had a perfect start of the season, and obviously you could see a big point difference. "I expect that it's going to get very tight. It's going to make it interesting. I just hope that we are there at the end to fight for it." Palou isn't looking for a couple of wins to put the competition for the championship in an impossible position to win the title. He's looking for a couple of wins to, well, win races. "We were lacking performance [last week] and we struggled a lot," Palou said. "It's not concerning, like, urgency, but it's obviously not good. ... There's always urgency to win. Nobody likes to see somebody else win. "But I think at the same time, we got used to too much success. Not we as the team, but everybody expects us to win every single weekend. It's not possible, unfortunately. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Pato O'Ward Stays Confident of Title Hopes as Second Half Approaches
INDYCAR Pato O'Ward certainly wanted to win last weekend's NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at World Wide Technology Raceway, but finishing second allowed him to have an optimistic tone. Nine races remain this season, and he stands second in the championship standings. He has won races at three of the eight venues still to come on the schedule, and he has finished second in races at two of the other tracks. Thus, O'Ward is ready – and eager – for what's to come. 'There's plenty of racing to go,' the Arrow McLaren driver confidently said in the hour after the checkered flag at WWTR. 'So much has happened already, so I expect the same for the next half of the championship.' O'Ward had expected to have won a race this season by now, but that feeling is shared by many of the drivers not named Alex Palou (five wins) or Kyle Kirkwood (three wins). Still, O'Ward has finished second in three of the year's first seven races, the most by any driver, and he is at least within shouting distance of the series lead. He trails Chip Ganassi Racing's Palou by 73 points. Mexican driver O'Ward has distinguished himself as one of the series' top oval-track drivers, particularly on short ovals like Iowa Speedway, which hosts a doubleheader July 12-13, and the Milwaukee Mile, site of the season's penultimate race Aug. 24. The driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet has won at both tracks in the past three years, including the sport's return to Milwaukee race last year. O'Ward also finished second in a 2022 race at Iowa and was second in last year's season-ending race at Nashville Speedway, the other oval track still to come this year. Those results, plus past race wins at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (last year) and a pair of podium finishes at Road America, the site of this weekend's XPEL Grand Prix at Road America, add to his confidence. 'All we need to do is just keep on our wagon and keep pushing forward, and yeah, we'll see if we're sitting pretty in Nashville,' said O'Ward, who has seven career series race wins. Unfortunately, the challenge of catching and perhaps overtaking Palou for the series lead will be daunting. But O'Ward sees his deficit in a positive light; it could be worse, and it once was. After finishing third in last month's Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, O'Ward trailed Indy winner Palou by 112 points. O'Ward has gained ground on Palou this month by finishing ahead of him in each of the two races. O'Ward finished seventh and second, Palou finished 25th and eighth. 'The guy has been on a run (with) five wins or something,' O'Ward said of the driver seeking his third consecutive series championship and fourth in five years. 'I've got zero wins – just got a handful of podiums. 'We need to start racking up some wins, and that'll make that points count come down a lot faster than what you're seeing now. I feel like we're just sitting at bay right there just waiting for our run to come, so hopefully that does come to life. 'Yeah, I think it's going to be a tight end to the championship.' Sunday's XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR will be live on FOX, FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET. recommended
