IndyCar News: Palou out duels Ericsson to win the 109th Indy 500

Alex Palou stayed patient and made the winning move on Marcus Ericsson on Lap 187 to win the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500, extending his championship points lead in the craziest of 500-mile races.

Even before the race started, on the final pace lap, Scott McLaughlin, the No. 3 Team Penske Pennzoil Chevrolet driver, made contact with the inside pit wall while warming up the tires.  Coming to a stop on the grass in Turn 1, the gutted Kiwi’s chance for a win was wiped out before the green flag.

Marco Andretti, driver of the No. 98 Andretti Herta w/Marco and Curb-Agajanian, made slight contact with Jack Harvey in Turn 1 on Lap 5 to bring out the second yellow.  Harvey was able to continue while Andretti was done for the day.

The pole sitter, Robert Shwartzman, led the first nine laps until Pato O’Ward passed him on Lap 10.

Rain started to fall lightly on Lap 19, which caused yellow laps until Lap 30.

The other Kiwi, Scott Dixon, had a brake fire on the left rear on Lap 1, but stayed on track, and the fire was extinguished just by him driving around.  Then on Lap 30, Dixon pitted and his crew replaced his left rear brake pads and rotor.

We are unsure why Dixon did not pit under the yellow that came out on Lap 24, but the maintenance cost him the race.  The brake parts that were replaced were shredded.

The lead changed several times from Lap 30 to Lap 55 due to pit stops.  Rossi passed his teammate, Christian Rasmussen, on Lap 34.  Then Rasmussen returned the favor on Lap 37.  On Lap 39, Rossi took the lead back and held onto it until Lap 44, when his owner, Ed Carpenter, took the lead.

ON Lap 51, Takuma Sato took the lead until Lap 62, when Kyle Kirkwood took the lead.

Alexander Rossi, driver of the No. 20 Ed  Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, came into the pits on Lap 73 with a gearbox issue, and a fire broke out in the left rear of his car.  His day was toasted.

Rinus VeeKay, driver of the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing askROI, entered the pits on Lap 81 and did a half-spin, hitting the inside pit wall and severely damaging the right rear wheel.  VeeKay reported to his team that he had no brakes when entering the pits.

On Lap 87, Prema Racing’s Robert Shwartzman came in for a pit stop and skidded into his pit wall, hitting four crew members and breaking his front suspension. One crew member went to the medical center complaining of a hurt foot.  The rookie’s day ended there.

On Lap 91, Ryan Hunter-Reay took the lead before a multi-car crash involving Kyle Larson, Sting Ray Robb, and Kyffin Simpson.  All three drivers exited their cars after they were done for the day.

Kyle Larson ran out of talent in Turn 2, lost control of his Chevy powered IndyCar, and took out the other two cars.  It was Larson’s 2nd crash at Indy this year, and anyone who claims he may be a better driver than 4-time world champion Max Verstappen is simply blind to the facts. He’s decent, but not worthy to tie Verstappen’s shoelaces.

Hunter-Reay led from Lap 91 to 103 when he pitted for four tires and fuel.  Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Devlin De Francesco led Lap 106 until he pitted on Lap 120.

Conor Daly took the lead on Lap 120 until Lap 134.

Josef Newgarden had been quietly working himself up from the last row to the top 10, looking good for his third win.   But on Lap 134, the defending race winner returned to the pit lane with a fuel pressure issue, which ended his third win in a row conquest.

On Lap 170, Marcus Ericsson, driving the No. 28 Andretti Global Allegra Honda, held the lead until Palou passed him on Lap 187. Palou ducked under Ericsson going into Turn 1 and took him to school the rest of the way.

2025 Indy 500 Results

Lucille Dust reporting live from Indianapolis