sizes=”(min-width: 1025px) 650px, calc(100vw – 30px)” class=”img” type=”image/webp” />
sizes=”(min-width: 1025px) 650px, calc(100vw – 30px)” class=”img” type=”image/jpeg” />
data-template=”https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7480×4987+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7f%2F5a%2Fdbe48c564646b73f8c392279c880%2Fap25145754637981.jpg”
class=”img” alt=”Alex Palou, of Spain, celebrates after winning the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.”
fetchpriority=”high” />
Alex Palou, of Spain, celebrates after winning the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.
Michael Conroy/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Michael Conroy/AP
Alex Palou of Spain took first place in the 109th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, winning IndyCar’s marquee event for the first time in his career.
The 28-year-old rocketed past Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson in the final laps of the contest and held onto the top position until the end.
Palou is the first driver from Spain to win the prestigious race.
Moments after his victory, Palou stopped his car on the oval track, jumped up on top of it and threw his arms in the air to cheers from the crowd.
“I cannot believe it,” Palou said, speaking to reporters. “What an amazing day. What an amazing race.”
Minutes later Palou, who is originally from Barcelona, took a swig of milk as is the tradition of all Indy 500 winners. “Best milk I’ve ever tasted,” he said.
Ericsson finished in second place, while David Malukas of AJ Foyt Racing came in third.
The race got off to a slightly late start Sunday afternoon due to a rain delay. As it got underway, several promising drivers quickly found themselves out of the competition.
Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske was warming up his tires during the pace lap when he crashed out. Then, in the fourth lap, Marco Andretti collided with the wall after being nudged out of a crowded field. Andretti is the grandson of racing legend Mario Andretti.
For Kyle Larson, who had set out target=”_blank”>to complete in both the Indy 500 and the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 in North Carolina on the same day, his race ended after he spun out and was involved in a multi-car collision and finished in 27th. The early exit gave him additional time to make it to the race in Charlotte.
