Alex Palou Runs Away From The Field To Win At Barber
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The phrase ‘sheer dominance’ would not give enough credit to Alex Palou’s performance in the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix on Sunday.
Starting from the pole position, Palou simply, and quite literally, drove away from the rest of the field as he cruised to his 14th career IndyCar Series win at Barber Motorsports Park.
“It was the perfect day, the perfect weekend,” Palou said. “Super proud of everyone who has been working on this car. The car was amazing, super fast. I was a bit lonely there, but it was worth it.”
Scott McLaughlin had been a heavy favorite for the race win this weekend, especially with how slow of start it has been for Team Penske this year. Desperate for a good result, McLaughlin put in every effort to grab pole on Saturday, but it was to no avail as Palou seized the opportunity.
Palou would keep on seizing as he started on the softer and faster red tires and opened up as much as a 9-second gap on McLaughlin heading into the first round of pit stops.
Tires were a storyline heading into the weekend, but not like they normally are. Drivers have been complaining of late to the series that the tire degradation recently has not matched that of the fuel consumption of the new hybrid engines. This has forced some drivers to race more conservatively to save their tires. To help counteract this, IndyCar issued a directive that drivers must use two sets of each tire during the race, while still only having to use one brand-new set of each tire.
The focal point of the race all day long, outside of the tire issues, was never at the front. Palou had the lead well in hand from start to finish. The excitement was in the middle of the pack, where Christian Lundgaard was stealing the show. Lundgaard weaved and wove his way from the seventh starting spot to second.
Lundgaard ascension through the field came at the expense of some misfortune that once again plagued the day for Colton Herta. Herta had risen to as high as second as well, but a costly mistake on his second pit stop likely cost him the day. He stalled his hybrid Honda engine as he tried to exit his stall. He quickly refired it, but by then, he had lost four positions.
Rinus Veekay was another driver who impressed during the weekend. It’s no secret that Dale Coyne Racing has struggled for the best part of the last decade. Veekay qualified his Coyne Chevy fifth, and despite a pit stop mishap involving a dropped wheel nut on Lap 67, Veekay kept his car in the top ten all day long for one of Coyne’s best finishes in some time.
When it came down to what mattered, though, the win was Alex Palou’s from the very beginning. Palou led the whole way for a race that was without any cautions. It’s the third race in a row to be completed without a yellow flag being needed.
Palou held off a charging Lundgaard to the bitter end, never allowing him inside less than four seconds. In fact, Palou ended up winning by a whopping gap of 16.2 seconds.
“We’ve always been good here, and it’s great to win here again with this team,” Palou said. “On to the next now!”
The runner-up result for Lundgaard is his third podium finish in a row and his best finish on the season thus far. Lundgaard is also now second in the championship standings heading into the next race.
“It’s an awesome result. It’s everything we could have hoped for and much better,” Lundgaard said. “At Thermal, we proved this car has the pace and the 10 (Palou) still beat us. It’s been tough mentally lately, but we were really good today and we got on the podium!”
McLaughlin was able to salvage a third-place finish, despite Veekay’s late charge, which gave him fourth. Will Power, who is not under contract to drive anywhere next season, was able to bring home a fifth-place result for Team Penske.
The win is Palou’s third in the last four races to start the season, and he further consolidates his lead atop the IndyCar championship standings.
The series will soon move into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as drivers and teams prepare for the Month of May ahead. First will be the Sonsio Grand Prix on the IMS road course. That will be followed by the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.