Latest news with #AlexPalou
Fox Sports
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Fans Can Vote for Alex Palou To Win ESPY as Best Driver
INDYCAR Three-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou was one of four competitors nominated in the Best Driver category of the annual ESPYS, and fans can vote for the Chip Ganassi Racing driver now. Palou earned his second consecutive series championship last season, adding to his crown in 2021 during his first season with CGR. He won two races and recorded 13 top-five finishes in 17 starts. The good times have continued to roll this season for Palou, who has won six of the first nine races. He earned his first oval victory in the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on May 25 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Fans can click here to vote for Palou, who leads the series standings again this season. Voting is open until 5 p.m. ET Wednesday, July 16, three hours before the ESPYS will air at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Other nominees in the Best Driver category are NASCAR Cup Series driver Joey Logano and Formula One drivers Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. in this topic
Forbes
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
IndyCar TV Rating Drops Below 1 Million But Continue Overall Gains
Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda celebrates in Victory Lane during the NTT IndyCar Series XPEL ... More Grand Prix at Road America on June 22, 2025 in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. (Photo by Michael L. Levitt/Lumen via Getty Images) Lumen via Getty Images The IndyCar television rating for the FOX telecast of the XPEL Grand Prix At Road America may have dropped below 1 million viewers for the first time in four races, but the overall increase in viewers over last season remains substantial. The year-to-year increase is now 33 percent more viewers watching IndyCar on FOX than last year on average. This comes despite FOX's IndyCar Series coverage from Road America posted 781,000 viewers in an early afternoon starting time on June 22. That was down 10 percent from last year's 863,000 viewers for the Road America Race in 2024. The race peaked with 934,000 viewers from 3:30-3:45 p.m. Eastern Time. There are some differences, however. Last year's Road America IndyCar race was one week closer to the Indianapolis 500. Road America was on June 9, and the 2024 Indy 500 was May 26. In the TV world, the additional viewers in 2024 could have been aided by momentum from the 500 that was still fresh. In 2024, the IndyCar schedule did not have any breaks after the Indy 500 as the schedule went straight to the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix the following weekend and one week after that, Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. But there remain some positive and impressive trends. Sunday's race viewership is up 25 percent over last year's 626,000 viewers for the IndyCar 2024 non-Indy 500 race average on NBC/USA/CNBC. Through the first nine races of the season, IndyCar on FOX is averaging 1,882,000 viewers, up 33 percent from last year's 1,420,000 viewers through the first nine races on NBC/USA/CNBC. IndyCar's greatest television competition on Sunday, June 22 didn't come from a competing sport, but from the major news developments with the United States bombing raid of nuclear facilities in Iran. Ratings for news coverage on CNN, FOX News, MSNBC and NewsMax were more than double last year's ratings for those networks one year ago. On Sunday, June 25, those four news networks had a combined average of 4.214 million. On the corresponding Sunday in 2024 (June 23) the viewership average was 1.862 million. On the actual Road America race date in 2024 (June 9), the four TV cable news channels had 1.99 million viewers. This year's Indianapolis 500 drew 7.01 million viewers and was the most watched Indy 500 telecast in 17 years. The viewership peaked at 8.5 million for the final 15 minutes of the Indy 500. It was the first time the Indy 500 was televised on FOX. Television ratings momentum continued with more 1.061 million viewers for the June 1 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix and the June 15 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway, which drew 1 million, 12 thousand viewers for a prime-time Sunday night telecast. This is the first season IndyCar has been televised exclusively by FOX with all races on the major FOX network.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
How a 'grumpy' Alex Palou ended up thankful for his winning strategy at Road America
Alex Palou led just six laps, including the final three of the 55-lap race, but that was all he needed to reach Victory Lane at Sunday's XPEL Grand Prix at Road America. It marked the shortest time the driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing car has spent out front in any of his six wins during the 2025 IndyCar season so far. In a race that featured two cautions in the first six laps and another two before the halfway mark, strategists across the paddock were deep in calculations, analyzing fuel targets and optimal pit windows in order to maximize both track position and efficiency toward the end. Like most of the field, Palou made his first pit stop on Lap 11 under yellow, triggered by Sting Ray Robb's crash in Turn 5. He pitted again on Lap 23 after a separate incident involving Robb's teammate in Juncos Hollinger Racing, Conor Daly, also in Turn 5, which brought out the fourth caution of the race. At that point, Palou's second stint had lasted just 12 laps, so he could have stayed out —like contenders Christian Lundgaard, Felix Rosenqvist, and Kyle Kirkwood did. Instead, he rejoined in 13th place, having fitted his only set of new alternate (softer) tires —ones he had originally planned to use later in the race. Palou didn't agree with the strategy call Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing 'I didn't agree with Barry's strategy call,' Palou admitted afterward. 'I got to be grumpy for a couple of laps, and then I saw it was working out, and I started saying 'thank you' again.' 'That was our only set of alternates because yesterday I was pushing to try and get the pole -which we didn't get- and that kind of put us on the back foot against Lundgaard, [Scott] McLaughlin, and everybody else who made the Fast Six.' 'I knew having the alternate tires for the second stint was going to help us then, but would hurt us a lot in the final stint. But honestly, the pace we had today in the 10 car was amazing, and we were able to save fuel even on primaries while still being pretty quick.' Wanser explained the thinking behind his decision: 'We made some strategy changes on the tires during the race that went against what we had agreed on pre-race, so he wasn't very happy about that. But we saw what our competitors were doing and who we were racing, so we had to make that change to stay with them—and then beat them. And it worked out.' Still, he acknowledged the element of chance: 'Look, today was luck to be on the right strategy because it was hard. There were several different strategies going on'. Palou credited Wanser's call on when to make the second of three stops as the defining moment of the race. 'That was the moment that gave us the win,' he said. 'We still had about five laps of fuel left, but that wouldn't have been enough. If there's another yellow, you're done. So that was a great call.' The Dixon factor Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing In the final stint, Palou found himself running second behind teammate Scott Dixon. The driver of the No. 9 Ganassi car had pitted on Lap 38 —two laps earlier than Palou's final stop. But Dixon is famous for his almost miraculous fuel-saving abilities. 'I was following Scott and could see that he wasn't saving as much as I was. I thought, 'This guy is crazy. How's he going to make it?' But I didn't know. I don't have all the data. If it were another driver, I probably would've just focused on myself, but I know Scott can make crazy stuff happen,' Palou said. The No. 10 pit crew was equally concerned about engaging Dixon in a fuel-saving duel to the checkered flag. 'We were equally concerned,' Wanser admitted. 'I even said to all of the engineers on the stand: are we missing something here? Because Dixon is running (fuel) numbers, lap times, he's not going to be able to get it, based on the number we gave him. They double-checked everything, triple-checked, but we were pretty confident we were going to be fine.' When asked if he could have passed Dixon with help from a late-race yellow, Palou responded: 'It depends. If it's only a one-lap yellow, yes, I think we would have been able. But if it was like a back-to-back yellow and then ends up being like four laps, he's going to make it on a good number and we're going to be like on the same number almost. So you never know' 'I thought we were at a disadvantage on tires, obviously. He was on the faster tire, and he was able to get out of the corners so well. I was struggling a lot to try and catch him. I think a very big yellow or two yellows in a row would have made it really tough for us. But you never know. It was a crazy race'. In the end, Dixon had to pit with just two laps to go for a splash of fuel, handing the lead—and eventually the win—to Palou. 'It was tough. A crazy race. I don't know how it looked from the outside, but from inside the car, it felt like there was a lot going on. Lots of yellows that shook everything up,' Palou said. 'We looked really bad at the beginning, then really good, then terrible, then really good again. It was tough to stay up there. But yeah, we just had to stay focused on racing the people who were on our same strategy.' To read more articles visit our website.
Fox News
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox News
INDYCAR Power Rankings: Who Joins Alex Palou In Moving Up?
Alex Palou is back on top. No surprise after his sixth victory of the season Sunday at Road America. And the driver who finished second to him, Felix Rosenqvist, is back in these power rankings. He and David Malukas are now on the list. Off the list? All the Penske drivers. Hard to fathom but they just have not had the results in recent weeks. They've had speed. It would be no surprise to see any of them win a race. But their recent results have to be frustrating. They've got no top 10s in the last two races. Here are the power rankings after back-to-back race weekends. The series has an off-week coming up, before four consecutive weeks of racing at Mid-Ohio, Iowa, Toronto and Laguna Seca. Dropped out: Will Power (Last Week: 6), Scott McLaughlin (LW: 10) On the verge: Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, Will Power 10. Colton Herta (LW: 8) Herta was 16th at Road America and just did not have a good weekend. Yes, Power was ahead of him on the list previously and finished a couple of spots ahead of him on Sunday, but Herta has earned more points than Power over the last month, keeping Herta on the list. 9. David Malukas (LW: NR) A seventh-place finish was his second top 10 in the last four races with the other finishes in the top 15. The A.J. Foyt Racing driver is grinding out good finishes, despite having some adversity in races. 8. Marcus Armstrong (LW: 9) Armstrong was a solid fifth at Road America, giving him three consecutive top-10 finishes. The Meyer Shank Racing driver has five top 10s in the nine races this year. 7. Christian Lundgaard (LW: 5) Lundgaard, at one point, was the fastest car on his tire strategy. But his day went south with a spin while racing Herta at Road America. The Arrow McLaren driver had to settle for 24th. 6. Felix Rosenqvist (LW: NR) After finishes of 21st and 16th in the previous two races, Rosenqvist earned his fourth top five of the year with a second-place finish at Road America. The Meyer Shank driver hopes that he will get back some of the momentum he had earlier in the year. 5. Santino Ferrucci (LW: 7) Ferrucci earned his fourth consecutive top-five finish with a third at Road America, giving the A.J. Foyt Racing driver a second, a third and two fifths in his last four starts. 4. Pato O'Ward (LW: 3) A forgettable weekend pretty much for O'Ward, as he finished 17th at Road America. Expect the Arrow McLaren driver to be better at Mid-Ohio. He won there last year. 3. Scott Dixon (LW: 4) Dixon had speed but not the strategy, as he had to pit from the lead with a couple laps remaining to finish ninth. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver could use some luck. 2. Kyle Kirkwood (LW: 1) Kirkwood didn't have the speed to keep pace with the leaders but made the most of his strategy and finished fourth. The Andretti driver was coming off back-to-back wins and has five top fives this year. 1. Alex Palou (LW: 2) Palou was fast all weekend and ended up having the victorious strategy at Road America. With six wins this year, it makes you wonder if this is a battle for second. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
Fox Sports
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
INDYCAR Power Rankings: Who Joins Alex Palou In Moving Up?
Alex Palou is back on top. No surprise after his sixth victory of the season Sunday at Road America. And the driver who finished second to him, Felix Rosenqvist, is back in these power rankings. He and David Malukas are now on the list. Off the list? All the Penske drivers. Hard to fathom but they just have not had the results in recent weeks. They've had speed. It would be no surprise to see any of them win a race. But their recent results have to be frustrating. They've got no top 10s in the last two races. Here are the power rankings after back-to-back race weekends. The series has an off-week coming up, before four consecutive weeks of racing at Mid-Ohio, Iowa, Toronto and Laguna Seca. Dropped out: Will Power (Last Week: 6), Scott McLaughlin (LW: 10) On the verge: Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, Will Power 10. Colton Herta (LW: 8) Herta was 16th at Road America and just did not have a good weekend. Yes, Power was ahead of him on the list previously and finished a couple of spots ahead of him on Sunday, but Herta has earned more points than Power over the last month, keeping Herta on the list. 9. David Malukas (LW: NR) A seventh-place finish was his second top 10 in the last four races with the other finishes in the top 15. The A.J. Foyt Racing driver is grinding out good finishes, despite some adversity in races. 8. Marcus Armstrong (LW: 9) Armstrong was a solid fifth at Road America, giving him three consecutive top-10 finishes. The Meyer Shank Racing driver has five top 10s in the nine races this year. 7. Christian Lundgaard (LW: 5) Lundgaard, at one point, was the fastest car on his tire strategy. But his day went south with a spin while racing Herta at Road America. The Arrow McLaren driver had to settle for 24th. 6. Felix Rosenqvist (LW: NR) After finishes of 21st and 16th in the previous two races, Rosenqvist earned his fourth top five of the year with a second-place finish at Road America. The Meyer Shank driver hopes that he will get back some of the momentum he had earlier in the year. 5. Santino Ferrucci (LW: 7) Ferrucci earned his fourth consecutive top-five finish with a third at Road America, giving the A.J. Foyt Racing driver a second, a third and two fifths in his last four starts. 4. Pato O'Ward (LW: 3) A forgettable weekend pretty much for O'Ward, as he finished 17th at Road America. Expect the Arrow McLaren driver to be better at Mid-Ohio. He won there last year. 3. Scott Dixon (LW: 4) Dixon had speed but not the strategy, as he had to pit from the lead with a couple laps remaining to finish ninth. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver could use some luck. 2. Kyle Kirkwood (LW: 1) Kirkwood didn't have the speed to keep pace with the leaders but made the most of his strategy and finished fourth. The Andretti driver was coming off back-to-back wins and has five top fives this year. 1. Alex Palou (LW: 2) Palou was fast all weekend and ended up having the victorious strategy at Road America. With six wins this year, it makes you wonder if this is a battle for second. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
