Alex Palou took the ceremonial swig of milk in victory lane at the Indianapolis 500. He allowed his wife to have a sip, she in turn gave a sip to their baby, and team owner Chip Ganassi ended up with the bottle and took a drink, as well.
“I have to tell you, it was the best milk I ever had,” Palou said.
The first Spaniard to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” then took a victory lap with his entourage around Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the back of a pickup truck. At one point, Palou climbed onto its roof and raised his arms in triumph, the winning wreath draped around his neck. He briefly lost his balance and Ganassi instinctively reached out to grab his star driver.
Palou rarely makes a wrong move.
Palou came to the speedway as the two-time defending IndyCar champion – he has three titles in four years – and had opened this year with victories in four of the first five races. It’s the kind of start not seen since 1964, when A.J. Foyt won the first seven races of the season, including the Indy 500.
But it was win No. 6 that Palou had circled on his calendar. Without an Indy 500 win, he said, his career would be incomplete.
“Like he said last week, if he was to go through his whole career and not win here at Indianapolis, it wouldn’t be a complete career,” Ganassi said. “I don’t want to say his career is complete now – he’s got a lot in him yet. Look at the last five, six races we’ve had. It’s just incredible. He’s on a roll.”
Such a roll that IndyCar officials were trying to hustle along the postrace commitments for Palou to get him downtown to watch the Indiana Pacers play the New York Knicks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. Palou on Saturday wore a Tyrese Haliburton jersey in the Indy 500 parade.
“That’s going to help some people in Indiana to know me,” Palou said.
Palou was in fuel-saving mode over the closing laps, following former Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson. Palou got tired of staying put with 16 laps remaining and charged ahead – a move Ericsson said “will keep me up at night. What I did and what I didn’t do.” Palou was never challenged from there, taking the checkered flag as a crash brought out a caution.
He stopped the car just beyond the Yard of Bricks, climbing out of it and nearly losing his balance as he raised his arms in triumph. Palou jumped down and took off in a run down the front stretch, pulling off his gloves and tossing them behind him, and ultimately was engulfed by his father, Ramon, and his team in a jubilant celebration.
Associated Press
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