Palou wins Detroit Grand Prix to extend IndyCar championship lead

DETROIT: Alex Palou continued his dominant IndyCar campaign by securing victory at the Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday, claiming his fourth win of the season after starting from pole position.

The Spaniard crossed the finish line 3.058 seconds ahead of Kyle Kirkwood at the 1.645-mile street circuit in Detroit, strengthening his lead in the championship standings.

Kirkwood finished second for Andretti Global, while Graham Rahal completed the podium in third place. Arrow McLaren drivers Pato O’Ward and Christian Lundgaard finished fourth and fifth respectively.

The victory marked the 23rd IndyCar win of Palou’s career and moved him level with Tommy Milton for 20th place on the series’ all-time winners list. The 29-year-old is chasing a fourth consecutive IndyCar title and a fifth overall championship.

The race was disturbed by six full-course cautions, creating a challenging contest for drivers and teams. Will Power led from Lap 18 to Lap 35 before Scott McLaughlin and Lundgaard briefly moved to the front.

A key moment came on Lap 40 when Rahal was spun at Turn 3 following contact with Kyffin Simpson, triggering another caution period and allowing Palou to regain control of the race.

Palou built a comfortable advantage before a pit-stop sequence briefly shuffled the order. However, a strong strategy from Chip Ganassi Racing helped him return to the lead after his rivals made their stops.

The Spaniard then controlled the remainder of the race to seal another impressive victory.
“It feels like the first time, honestly. It was a tough one, but the team did an incredible job with the strategy and pit stops,” Palou said after the race.

Indy 500 champion Felix Rosenqvist finished sixth.

After eight races this season, Palou leads the championship standings with 327 points. Kirkwood remains second on 265 points, while David Malukas is third with 248 points despite finishing 18th in Detroit.