Starting from 6th place Car 10 Alex Palou, Honda, won the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for his 16th NTT INDYCAR SERIES win. This is his 5th win & 6th Top 5 of 2025. 2nd Place Car 28 Marcus Ericsson, Honda, started from 9th place posted his 1st Top 5 of 2025. 3rd Place Car 4 David Malukas, Chevrolet, started from 7th place posted his 1st Top 5 of 2025.
4th Place Car 5 Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, started from 3rd place followed by 5th place Car 60 Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, started from 5th place. 6th Place Car 27 Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, started from 23rd place followed by 7th place Car 14 Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, started from 15th place. 8th Place Car 21 Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, started from 18th place followed by 9th place place Car 7 Christian Lundgaard, Chevrolet, started from 8th place Lastly in the Top 10 was Car 76 Conor Daly, Chevrolet, in 10th place, started from 11th place. Canadian Car 30 Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda finished in 14th place.
The race had 7 Cautions for 45 laps: 1st Caution on lap 1 for Contact: Car 3 in Turn 1. 2nd Caution on lap 5 for Contact: Car 98 in Turn 1. 3rd Caution on lap 19 for Conditions. 4th Caution on lap 82 for Contact: Car 18 at Pit In. 5th Caution on lap 92 for Contact: Cars 8, 17 and 77 in Turn 2. 6th Caution on lap 106 for Contact: Car 21 in Turn 4. 7th Caution on lap 200 for Contact: Car 6 in Turn 2.
The race had 22 Lead changes among 14 drivers. Lap Leaders: Shwartzman, Robert 1 – 8, O’Ward, Pato 9 – 10, Sato, Takuma 11 – 23, Rossi, Alexander 24 – 29, Rasmussen, Christian 30 – 32, Rossi, Alexander 33 – 36, Rasmussen, Christian 37 – 38, Rossi, Alexander 39 – 42, Carpenter, Ed 43, Harvey, Jack 44 – 46, Sato, Takuma 47 – 60, Kirkwood, Kyle 61 – 62, Sato, Takuma 63 – 86, Hunter-Reay, Ryan 87 – 102, DeFrancesco, Devlin 103 – 119, Daly, Conor 120 – 132, Malukas, David 133, Hunter-Reay, Ryan 134 – 139, Rasmussen, Christian 140 – 142, Hunter-Reay, Ryan 143 – 168, Malukas, David 169, Ericsson, Marcus 170 – 186, Palou, Alex 187 – 200.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Point Standings: Palou 306, O’Ward 191, Kirkwood 180, Lundgaard 177, Rosenqvist 163, Dixon 150, McLaughlin 145, Power 140, Herta 117, Ericsson 115, Malukas 105, VeeKay 105, Rossi 104, Newgarden 103, Rahal 102, Armstrong 100, Ferrucci 99, Rasmussen 91, Siegel 79, Daly 79, Simpson 67, Shwartzman 65, Foster 64, Robb 61, DeFrancesco 61, Ilott 58, Sato 33, Jacob Abel 28, Castroneves 17, Carpenter 13, Harvey 9, Hunter-Reay 7, Larson 5, Andretti 5.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES STATEMENT:
Palou Wins Indianapolis 500 To Earn First Oval Victory, Immortality
INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, May 25, 2025) – Alex Palou’s place among the legends is now secure.
Three-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou earned the first oval victory of his career, capturing the biggest race of them all, the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“Best milk I’ve ever tasted,” Palou said on the Victory Podium after a hearty swig from the traditional winner’s bottle of milk. “It tastes so good. What an amazing feeling.”
Palou won under caution when “500” rookie Nolan Siegel crashed his No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet in Turn 2 on the final lap of the 200-lap race, which started 43 minutes late due to passing sprinkles. Two-time defending series champion Palou passed the No. 28 Allegra Honda of Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson on Lap 187 and never trailed thereafter.
“I cannot believe it,” Palou said. “It’s amazing to win. There were some moments that I felt really good in the race, but at the end I didn’t know if I was going to able to pass Marcus or not, but I made it happen. First oval win. What a better place?”
Palou earned his fifth win in six series races this season in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, padding his championship lead to a whopping 115 points over Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren. But more importantly for his legacy as one of the great all-time champions of the sport, he gained a spot on the Borg-Warner Trophy – the first Spaniard to earn that distinction – and immortality.
“It’s going to make Alex Palou’s career, it’s going to make his life, and it certainly has made mine,” winning team owner Chip Ganassi said.
Chip Ganassi Racing earned its sixth victory in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and first since Ericsson won in 2022.
Ericsson finished second for the second time in the last three years, as he also was the narrow runner-up to Josef Newgarden in 2023. Newgarden’s drive to become the first to win three consecutive Indianapolis 500s ended with a mechanical problem in his No. 2 Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Team Penske Chevrolet, as he ended up 25th after completing 135 laps.
David Malukas, who missed last year’s race with injury, finished a “500” career-best third in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises.
O’Ward finished fourth in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, his fourth top-four “500” finish in the last five years, but with none ending on Victory Podium. Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top five in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian.
Robert Shwartzman, the first rookie pole sitter since 1983, ended up in 29th place. He was eliminated from the race during a pit lane mishap on Lap 87 when his No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet skidded through his pit box, hitting the inside wall and a few crew members.
The race, which took place under cloud cover in unseasonably cool air temperatures in the low 60s, featured a chaotic first half with six of the race’s seven caution periods in the first 108 laps. That attrition eliminated seven cars, including in separate incidents marquee drivers such as Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, Marco Andretti of Andretti Herta w/Marco & Curb-Agajanian and NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, who was attempting to complete the “500” and the Coca-Cola 600 this evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the same day.
But once the race settled into a groove, it became a furious contest of dueling pit strategies and breathtaking passes amid thick traffic.
Palou made his final pit stop on Lap 168, playing a potentially dangerous game with fuel mileage, as 32 laps was around the maximum fuel mileage on one tank.
Malukas took the lead on Lap 169 when 2014 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay pitted in the No. 23 DRR CUSICK WEDBUSH SECURITIES Chevrolet, the last of his 48 laps led. Only two-time “500” winner Takuma Sato led more laps, with 51 out front on the 2.5-mile oval. Hunter-Reay stalled on pit exit, ending his chance to contend for a second win.
Chicago native Malukas then made his final stop on Lap 170, handing the lead to Ericsson. Malukas exited the pits ahead of Palou, giving him perhaps a chance to contend for the win once Ericsson made his final stop.
But Palou then hustled past Malukas for position, taking advantage of lapped traffic that slowed Malukas. Ericsson made his final stop on Lap 175 with slick and quick service from Andretti Global and exited the pits in front of Palou and Malukas.
“I’m not going to lie: I was crying coming into the pits (after the race),” Malukas said. “Man, we were just so close to getting it. Lappers came in, and he (Palou) was able to get a run. We were leading, so he had a good tow, and he timed that perfectly. It’s bittersweet because we didn’t get it.”
Palou sat in second while in Ericsson’s aerodynamic draft, saving fuel, stalking and presumably waiting until the last five to 10 laps to pounce. Ericsson was trying to navigate the turbulent air from the cars of Rahal Letterman Lanigan teammates Devlin DeFrancesco and Louis Foster, who were battling for 15th place on the tail end of the lead lap ahead of Ericsson.
But Palou surprised the sellout crowd of 350,000 on Lap 187 by using the aerodynamic tow from Ericsson’s car and diving under the Swede entering Turn 1 for the last of the 22 lead changes in the race.
“We had those lappers ahead of us that were making it difficult,” Ericsson said. “He got a run on me. I didn’t know if he was going to go for it or not. That’s the thing that I’m thinking about constantly now – I should have covered that inside, of course.”
Ericsson stayed close to Palou for the next 13 laps but never got close enough to make a run for his second spot on the Borg-Warner Trophy.
“That was painful,” Ericsson said. “To miss out, so close again. Second time second place here, and this is a winner-takes-all kind of place. It’s really painful. We kept fighting. Congrats to Alex and Chip Ganassi Racing.”
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Sunday, June 1 on the streets of downtown Detroit (12:30 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
Photo Courtesy of INDYCAR
109th Indianapolis 500 Post-Race Notes
INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, May 25, 2025) – Historical and event notes from the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
This was the first career Indianapolis 500 victory for Alex Palou in his sixth career “500” start.
Alex Palou is the first Spanish driver to win the Indianapolis 500.
Chip Ganassi Racing earned its sixth Indianapolis 500 victory, second only to Team Penske’s 20 wins. Team owner Chip Ganassi also won the race in 1989 as the co-owner of the Patrick Racing machine driven by Emerson Fittipaldi.
Alex Palou is 28 years old. The last 28-year-old to win the “500” was Buddy Rice in 2004. Palou became just the second driver under age 30 to win the “500” in the last 10 years. The other was Alexander Rossi, who was 24 when he won in 2016.
This is the sixth time the car that started sixth won the Indianapolis 500. The last winner from the No. 6 starting spot was Dan Wheldon in 2011. The event record is 21 winners from the pole.
This is the 16th Indianapolis 500 victory for a Honda engine, second to Offenhauser’s 27 wins.
This is the second time car No. 10 has won the Indianapolis 500. The first time came in 2010 by Dario Franchitti, who also drove for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Helio Castroneves completed the full 500-mile distance for the 19th time in his Indianapolis 500 race career, extending his race record. He has been running at the end of the race in 23 of 25 career starts, also a race record.
Louis Foster was the top-finishing rookie today, in 15th place.
Helio Castroneves made his 25th Indy 500 start, moving into fourth place for all-time Indianapolis 500 starts. The record is 35 by A.J. Foyt, followed by Mario Andretti with 29 and Al Unser with 27.
Kyle Kirkwood advanced more positions than any other driver, finishing sixth after starting 23rd.
Helio Castroneves recorded the fastest lap (226.178 mph) of the race on Lap 175.
In the past five Indianapolis 500 races, only 2025 winner Alex Palou and 2022 winner Marcus Ericsson were able to hold the lead over the final 10 laps.
There were five drivers who led the Indianapolis 500 for the first time: Devlin DeFrancesco, Christian Rasmussen, Jack Harvey, David Malukas and Robert Shwartzman. The record is seven, in the inaugural race in 1911. There were six first-time leaders each in 2002, 2004, 2013 and 2024.
Pato O’Ward finished fourth, his fourth top-four finish in his last five starts. None were victories.
Both Scott Dixon (197 laps) and Josef Newgarden (135 laps) were unable to complete the full 500-mile distance, stopping their record string at seven consecutive races completing 200 laps.
The first and 200th lap of the 2025 Indianapolis 500 were under caution. The last time this happened was in 2010.
Scott Dixon set new records for car No. 9 in the Indianapolis 500, reaching 21 consecutive races with that number, with 22 overall from 2003 and 2005-2025. Dixon carried No. 1 in 2004. He surpassed A.J. Foyt’s previous records with 20 consecutive races with 21 overall with car No. 14 in 1967 and from 1973-92.
Ed Carpenter completed 199 laps, extending his Indy 500 race career miles driven to 9,975. He moved into fifth place, just ahead of Tony Kanaan, who has 9,877.5 career miles driven.
The 2025 Indianapolis 500 had 14 different lap leaders, tying for third-most in race history with the 2013 and 2023 races. The 2024 race holds the record at 16 different lap leaders, while the 2017 and 2018 races had 15 different lap leaders.
Takuma Sato has led 138 career laps in seven different events in his Indy 500 career. This year’s race was the first time he was the top leader (51 laps).
Robert Shwartzman led the initial lap of the 2025 race in his first Indy 500 start, joining Johnny Aitken (1911), Paul Bost (1931), Teo Fabi (1983) and Tony Stewart (1996) as first-time starters to lead the initial lap. Aitken, Fabi and Stewart were rookies. Bost was not considered a rookie in 1931 because of previous Indianapolis 500 experience as a relief driver.
109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Race Results
INDIANAPOLIS – Results Sunday of the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, car #, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
1. (6) Car 10 Alex Palou, Honda, 200, Running
2. (9) Car 28 Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 200, Running
3. (7) Car 4 David Malukas, Chevrolet, 200, Running
4. (3) Car 5 Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 200, Running
5. (5) Car 60 Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 200, Running
6. (23) Car 27 Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 200, Running
7. (15) Car 14 Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 200, Running
8. (18) Car 21 Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 200, Running
9. (8) Car 7 Christian Lundgaard, Chevrolet, 200, Running
10. (11) Car 76 Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 200, Running
11. (2) Car 75 Takuma Sato, Honda, 200, Running
12. (21) Car 90 Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 200, Running
13. (22) Car 06 Helio Castroneves, Honda, 200, Running
14. (16) Car 30 Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 200, Running – Canadian
15. (20) Car 45 Louis Foster, Honda, 200, Running
16. (24) Car 6 Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 199, Contact
17. (27) Car 26 Colton Herta, Honda, 199, Running
18. (14) Car 33 Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, 199, Running
19. (33) Car 12 Will Power, Chevrolet, 199, Running
20. (28) Car 15 Graham Rahal, Honda, 199, Running
21. (30) Car 66 Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 198, Running
22. (26) Car 24 Jack Harvey, Chevrolet, 198, Running
23. (4) Car 9 Scott Dixon, Honda, 197, Running
24. (25) Car 23 Ryan Hunter-Reay, Chevrolet, 171, Mechanical
25. (32) Car 2 Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 134, Mechanical
26. (17) Car 77 Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 91, Contact
27. (19) Car 17 Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 91, Contact
28. (13) Car 8 Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 91, Contact
29. (1) Car 83 Robert Shwartzman, Chevrolet, 87, Contact
30. (31) Car 18 Rinus VeeKay, Honda, 80, Contact
31. (12) Car 20 Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 73, Mechanical
32. (29) Car 98 Marco Andretti, Honda, 4, Contact
33. (10) Car 3 Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 0, Contact
Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 168.883 mph
Time of Race: 2:57:38.2965
Margin of victory: Under caution
Time of Race: 02:57:38.2965 Avg Speed: 168.883
Fastest Lap: 226.178 mph ( 39.7916 sec) on lap 175 by 06 – Helio Castroneves
Fastest Leader Lap: 222.914 mph ( 40.3743 sec) on lap 127 by 76 – Conor Daly
Cautions: 7 for 45 laps
Lead changes: 22 among 14 drivers
Next Event: Sunday, June 1 Streets of Detroit FOX 12:30 p.m.
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