IndyCar Notes: Palou Eyes Three Straight On IMS Road Course

INDIANAPOLIS — Three-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing has won three of the first four races of the season. Palou leads the standings by 60 points.

He’s also won the past two Sonsio Grands Prix. Palou could become the first driver since Josef Newgarden won three straight races at World Wide Technology Raceway from 2020-2022 to win three consecutive years at the same facility.

Among tracks on the schedule, three in a row has only been accomplished four other times. Bobby Rahal won four in a row at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (1984-87), Al Unser Jr. won four in a row at Long Beach (1988-91) Michael Andretti won three straight at Portland (1990-1992) and Sebastien Bourdais won three in a row at Long Beach (2005-07).

• Roger Penske may be the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but IMS has long been a Team Penske playground, and that includes races on the road course.

Led by Will Power’s five race wins, Roger Penske’s drivers have won eight times on this circuit, including two wins from Simon Pagenaud (2016, 2019) and another from Josef Newgarden (2020).

• The Sonsio Grand Prix will be the 17th IndyCar Series event conducted on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Active race winners expected to compete are Alex Palou, Alexander Rossi, Colton Herta, Rinus VeeKay, Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden and Will Power.

• Four drivers have competed in every IndyCar Series race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course — Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Graham Rahal. All are entered this weekend.

• Team Penske has eight wins on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020-Race 2, 2020-Race 3, 2021-Race 2). Chip Ganassi has four wins — with Scott Dixon in 2020-Race 1 and 2023-Race 2 and Alex Palou in 2023-Race 1 and 2024.

Andretti Autosport and Ed Carpenter Racing are the only other teams to win at the track. Andretti Autosport won the Sonsio Grand Prix with Colton Herta in May 2022 and Gallagher Grand Prix with Alexander Rossi in August 2022, while Ed Carpenter Racing won in 2021-Race 1 with Rinus VeeKay.

• Three rookie-of-the-year contenders — Jacob Abel, Louis Foster and Robert Shwartzman — are entered and will race an Indy car on the IMS road course for the first time alongside veteran driver Nolan Siegel.

• Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 344th consecutive start, extending his series record.

• Two hundred seconds of total time with a maximum single duration of 20 seconds. Push to Pass is not available on the initial start or any restart unless it occurs in the final two laps or three minutes of a timed race.

• Five sets primary (hard) and four sets alternate (soft) to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires in the first practice session. Teams must use two sets of primary and two sets of alternate tires for at least two laps in the race.

• Six NTT P1 Award winners have won on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course from the pole: Alex Palou won the 2024 Sonsio Grand Prix from the pole. Will Power won the 2015, 2017 and 2018 Sonsio Grand Prix and the second Harvest GP race in 2020 from the pole. Simon Pagenaud also won the Sonsio Grand Prix from the pole in 2016.