'Hungry' Palou starts from pole in pursuit of second straight Indy 500 triumph
Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou of Spain will start from pole as he chases a second straight triumph in the Indianapolis 500 (Sean Gardner) Alex Palou is "hungrier than ever" as he starts from pole on Sunday in pursuit of a second straight Indianapolis 500 triumph to further his bid for a fourth straight IndyCar series crown. Palou stormed to pole with a four-lap run at an average speed of 232. 248 mph (373.
77 Km/h) on the famed 2. 5-mile (4 km) Indianapolis Motor Speedway, another dominant performance in a season that's seen him win three of the first six races. Now the Chip Ganassi Racing driver, who tops the season standings by 27 points, is aiming to become the first since Josef Newgarden in 2023 and 2024 to go back-to-back in the series showpiece.
"I'm hungrier than ever just because I know what comes with it," he said. "Once you win the Indy 500 and what it means. "I don't feel more pressure," added the 29-year-old Spaniard, who won his first IndyCar crown in 2021 before stringing together three straight in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
"Not because I won once, it's not like now I need another one. It's more the opposite, it's more like I want to go back-to-back. " Palou will start alongside Ed Carpenter Racing's Alexander Rossi with Team Penske's David Malukas rounding out the front row of the grid.
Rossi was cleared on Friday to start after a massive practice crash on Monday, when he spun in turn two, hit the barrier and was crashed into by Pato O'Ward. Rossi, the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner underwent surgery to repair minor injuries to his ankle and hand and even while still on crutches insisted that "for what I need to do in a race car, I'm 99%. " The first two rows of the grid feature six different teams, promising a wide-open battle when the green flag drops.