Alex Palou is the first Spaniard to win the biggest event in American auto racing, and he did it on his very first crack at an oval track.
The 28-year-old star of the Chip Ganassi Racing team won the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday despite leading only 14 laps. In fact, Palou didn’t even take the lead until lap 187.
Ryan Hunter-Reay was the leader at the halfway point of the Indianapolis 500 as he looked for a second victory in ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.’
Hunter-Reay, in a one-off entry for DRR-Cusick Motorsports, won the Indy 500 in 2014 as a driver for Andretti Global. Him leading Sunday with 100 laps remaining was fitting for a race that was first briefly delayed by rain and then hit with a rash of weird incidents.
Scott McLaughlin crashed on the warm-up lap while swerving to get heat in his tires. Scott Dixon had a brake fire before the race went green and then Marco Andretti was crashed on the first lap.
It was reminiscent of the 1992 Indianapolis 500, when pole-sitter Roberto Guerrero spun out and crashed while also trying to warm up his tires during the parade laps.
Alex Palou is the first Spaniard to win the biggest event in American auto racing
Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou (10) of Spain celebrates winning the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
‘I really have no idea what happened,’ a heartbroken McLaughlin said. ‘I can´t believe we´re out of the race. I had so much hope. It´s the worst moment of my life.’
The Indianapolis 500 has sold out its grandstands for the first time in nearly a decade, and the local TV blackout that has been in place since 1951 has been lifted so fans in central Indiana will be able to watch the race live.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Boles said Monday that while its roughly 230,000 grandstand seats had sold out, general admission infield tickets were still available. He expects a crowd of about 350,000 race fans – or about 1 for every 1,000 people living in the U.S. – will be at the track Sunday for the 109th running of ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.’
‘From our longest-tenured ticket-holders who have been coming to the Racing Capital of the World for generations to new fans who’ve recently fallen in love with this iconic event, everyone has contributed to this exciting and historic moment,’ Boles wrote in a letter to fans. ‘I am grateful for the support and passion you have for this race and this place.’
The lifting of the local TV blackout was good news for Fox, which will be broadcasting the race for the first time, as well as NBA fans in central Indiana. Normally, the race would be aired locally after its conclusion Sunday evening, creating a conflict with the Pacers set to host the Knicks in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference final the same night.
‘Fox Sports is all in on IndyCar, and this is an incredible accomplishment to celebrate with our first Indy 500 broadcast,’ Fox Sports chief executive Eric Shanks said. ‘As a lifelong fan, I am also personally thrilled to see the grandstands filled on race day and look forward to broadcasting the race live in central Indiana.’
The first sellout since the 100th running in 2016 had been imminent with Boles telling fans late last week that few grandstand tickets were still available. And the biggest reason for such fevered anticipation is that storylines abound.
