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Alex Palou has been a strong driver in NTT IndyCar Series 2025. However lady luck [an old, outdated CART term] played a role in his victory at Iowa Speedway yesterday. Palou was running in third place late in the Farm to Finish 275 powered by Sukup when time came for the final round of pit stops. Josef Newgarden and David Malukas brought their Chevrolet-powered cars in for fuel ahead of Palou. However, Palou’s Honda, in perhaps an over-cut move, stayed out. However, a caution flag waved because of Colton Herta’s wall contact on the backstretch. Advantage Palou, – he was able to stop under yellow while the other front runners did under green. The race resumed with 11 laps remaining, and the driver of the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda kept the lead and held on for his seventh race win of the season.
“Speechless, honestly speechless,” Palou said in victory lane. “It’s been an unbelievable day, an unbelievable weekend. More than anything, what an incredible year for us.*
Scott Dixon finished second in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to give Chip Ganassi’s organization its third 1-2 finish of the season, although the recent race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course went in Dixon’s favor. Palou edged his teammate in the season-opening race on the Streets of St. Petersburg.
Honda scored their first podium sweep of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season and 11th win in 12 races with championship leader Alex Palou taking the victory from pole in the Farm to Finish 275 at Iowa Speedway—the second race of Sukup INDYCAR Race Weekend.
*Palou became the first driver since Al Unser Jr. in 1994 to win seven of the first 12 races of the season. Unser Jr. won only one more race that season. Palou now has five more shots. He inarguably is within driving distance of the all-time record.
In 1964, A.J. Foyt won 10 races. Six years later, Al Unser finished the 1970 season with the same number. Mario Andretti won nine races in 1969, and Unser Jr. is one of five drivers to end a season with eight race wins.
Still to come in 2025 are two tracks where Palou has won Series races previously. He has won one race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (site of the July 27 race) and two at Portland International Raceway (August 10). Two years ago, Palou finished second in Toronto, site of next weekend’s Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto.
[For the record Palou led 194 of the 275 laps, the second-highest total of the weekend in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Newgarden, a six-time winner at the track, led 232 laps in Saturday’s Synk 275 powered by Sukup despite finishing second to Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward. – AutoCrat]
Lap Leaders
- Palou, Alex 1 – 64
- Newgarden, Josef 65 – 128
- Palou, Alex 129 – 182
- Kirkwood, Kyle 183 – 191
- Palou, Alex 192 – 240
- Newgarden, Josef 241 – 248
- Palou, Alex 249 – 275
NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings
Palou 515, O’Ward 386, Dixon 342, Kirkwood 335, Lundgaard 300, Rosenqvist 298, Armstrong 267, Power 244, Herta 244, Ferrucci 237, Malukas 237, McLaughlin 234, VeeKay 211, Newgarden 207, Rasmussen 207, Rossi 194, Simpson 191, Daly 184, Rahal 169, Ericsson 164, Siegel 156, Foster 150, Shwartzman 145, Robb 120, DeFrancesco 115, Ilott 111, Abel 88, Takuma Sato 36, Helio Castroneves 20, Ed Carpenter 16, Jack Harvey 12, Ryan Hunter-Reay 10, Kyle Larson 6, Marco Andretti 5.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
IndyCar Iowa Speedway – Palou’s Seventh Honda Win
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Alex Palou has been a strong driver in NTT IndyCar Series 2025. However lady luck [an old, outdated CART term] played a role in his victory at Iowa Speedway yesterday. Palou was running in third place late in the Farm to Finish 275 powered by Sukup when time came for the final round of pit stops. Josef Newgarden and David Malukas brought their Chevrolet-powered cars in for fuel ahead of Palou. However, Palou’s Honda, in perhaps an over-cut move, stayed out. However, a caution flag waved because of Colton Herta’s wall contact on the backstretch. Advantage Palou, – he was able to stop under yellow while the other front runners did under green. The race resumed with 11 laps remaining, and the driver of the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda kept the lead and held on for his seventh race win of the season.
“Speechless, honestly speechless,” Palou said in victory lane. “It’s been an unbelievable day, an unbelievable weekend. More than anything, what an incredible year for us.*
Scott Dixon finished second in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to give Chip Ganassi’s organization its third 1-2 finish of the season, although the recent race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course went in Dixon’s favor. Palou edged his teammate in the season-opening race on the Streets of St. Petersburg.
Honda scored their first podium sweep of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season and 11th win in 12 races with championship leader Alex Palou taking the victory from pole in the Farm to Finish 275 at Iowa Speedway—the second race of Sukup INDYCAR Race Weekend.
*Palou became the first driver since Al Unser Jr. in 1994 to win seven of the first 12 races of the season. Unser Jr. won only one more race that season. Palou now has five more shots. He inarguably is within driving distance of the all-time record.
In 1964, A.J. Foyt won 10 races. Six years later, Al Unser finished the 1970 season with the same number. Mario Andretti won nine races in 1969, and Unser Jr. is one of five drivers to end a season with eight race wins.
Still to come in 2025 are two tracks where Palou has won Series races previously. He has won one race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (site of the July 27 race) and two at Portland International Raceway (August 10). Two years ago, Palou finished second in Toronto, site of next weekend’s Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto.
[For the record Palou led 194 of the 275 laps, the second-highest total of the weekend in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Newgarden, a six-time winner at the track, led 232 laps in Saturday’s Synk 275 powered by Sukup despite finishing second to Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward. – AutoCrat]
Lap Leaders
NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings
Palou 515, O’Ward 386, Dixon 342, Kirkwood 335, Lundgaard 300, Rosenqvist 298, Armstrong 267, Power 244, Herta 244, Ferrucci 237, Malukas 237, McLaughlin 234, VeeKay 211, Newgarden 207, Rasmussen 207, Rossi 194, Simpson 191, Daly 184, Rahal 169, Ericsson 164, Siegel 156, Foster 150, Shwartzman 145, Robb 120, DeFrancesco 115, Ilott 111, Abel 88, Takuma Sato 36, Helio Castroneves 20, Ed Carpenter 16, Jack Harvey 12, Ryan Hunter-Reay 10, Kyle Larson 6, Marco Andretti 5.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.