'It means a lot': Alex Palou continues to shine with Indy 500 pole
INDIANAPOLIS -- Alex Palou did not hide his emotions.
During Sunday’s Fast Six at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Palou stayed atop the leaderboard as Felix Rosenqvist finished his run, giving Palou the Indianapolis 500 pole. It was a thrilling finish to the qualifications. Palou’s final qualifying run average of 234.217 mph set a record for a pole sitter. He barely edged out Rinus VeeKay, who was .006 mph behind him. Rosenqvist was in third.
And Palou didn’t hold back in his celebration.
He put both arms in the air, then pumped them toward his torso. Many cameras, some flashing, were around him to capture the moment. Palou hugged those around him. His mouth was open in a big smile.
It was just a pole win, but significant, nonetheless. Speaking during the press conference following Sunday’s qualifying, Palou had lost some of his voice.
“Top three,” Palou said of where he would rank this celebration in his career.
“We know that these times don’t come very often,” Palou added. “We celebrated last week because it was a big win (in the GMR Grand Prix at IMS) and today we were the best on track, so we had to celebrate. We couldn’t celebrate last year and we don’t know if we’re gonna be able to celebrate next week (after the 500).”
There’s a certain thrill to racing, scorching at the speed that they do, while also having to control the car, which Palou embraces.
“I would say it’s scary because you know the consequences and, as (Rosenqvist) said, you touch a button because you adjust, you don’t know if that’s going to be enough or that’s going to be too much or if that’s gonna work,” Palou said. “So that part, till you get to the corner and out, that’s scary. You’re just like, ‘OK, I hope it sticks.’ So, yeah, it’s a bit scary, but that’s also what makes it so exciting.”
Whether Palou is capable of a performance like Sunday hasn’t really been much of a question. The 26-year-old is a young, high-level racer. In 2021, he won the IndyCar Series title. He is perhaps one of the racers that will take the torch from the veteran racers, such as current teammates Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan. In fact, as a kid, Palou watched Dixon.
“I do not remember much, honestly, it was a long time ago,” Palou said. “But I know TK (Tony Kanaan) was also there. … I just remember they were the guys to beat, they are still the guys to beat.”
Perhaps, though, the more pressing question for Palou has been off-the-track drama. His legal conflict with Ganassi took headlines, though Palou still finished 5th in the 2022 IndyCar standings. Being able to erase that drama might not be possible. But Palou has proven he can continue to perform regardless of what is going on around him.
Qualifying continued what has been an impressive stretch. He’s coming off a win at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 13 and can be the first driver since Simon Pagenaud in 2019 to sweep the month of May. He has not placed outside the top eight in all five races this season. He is currently first in the IndyCar Series standings this season.
Last season, Palou placed 9th in the Indianapolis 500. His ability to improve that and continue his hot start this season would validate what he has been building as a young racer.
“As soon as we finished the Indy 500 last year, they started working on Indy 500 2023,” Palou, “and there is so much effort that goes into this, not only from myself, (but) the engineering team, the mechanics, everybody at the shop that it means a lot.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy 500 qualifying: Alex Palou continues to shine with Indy 500 pole
