Reigning and four-time IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou turned a tactical stroke of fortune and pure driving grit into a landmark night at Nashville Superspeedway, holding off defending race winner Josef Newgarden to claim Monday’s Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix.
The victory was the 24th of Palou’s career and his fifth of the season, extending his championship lead by 27 points and now holds an 83-point advantage over his nearest rival in Team Penske’s David Malukas, who finished third. It also marked his 50th career podium and his third career oval victory, while also delivering a monumental milestone for his team, securing Chip Ganassi Racing’s 150th all-time IndyCar win.
“Incredible, honestly,” Palou said. “Just, yeah, I’m so happy. It’s one of those tracks that we’ve been struggling with in the past. I know last year we were second, but we kind of got very lucky with a yellow there. Today it helped us. I’m not going to say that the yellow didn’t help us. We were already P3, P2. We were right there. The #10 car, I was struggling a little bit at the beginning, but at the end I was so comfortable, especially once we got into the lead.
“I was a bit nervous to get into traffic because I know that’s when Josef kind of shines. He’s been the best the last seasons. I was like, ‘Please, Alex, you need to do it.’ I was committed. I wanted to try and give my best. Yeah, I’m just so happy that everything worked.”
Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Photo by: Penske Entertainment
The race’s defining sequence unfolded on Lap 122. Palou ducked into pit lane for fresh tires just moments before his teammate Scott Dixon rear-ended ECR’s Alexander Rossi, bringing out a full-course caution on Lap 123.
As the frontrunners pitted under yellow, Palou cycled to the front, officially taking the lead on Lap 131 of 225. He went on to lead a race-high 97 laps, but the team readily admitted that lady luck played a massive role in setting up the triumph.
“We got lucky on the yellow,” admitted CGR team manager Barry Wanser. “Everyone keeps saying we came in to catch a yellow, but we came in because we caught traffic and we got the most out of the tires on the car. We came in, took a chance, and we lucked out.
“I want to thank the race car today for not crashing because Alex tried to crash the car,” Wanser added. “Fortunately, the car didn’t want to crash today.”
The ultimate test came following the final pit stops under caution on Lap 185. On the final restart with 31 laps remaining, Palou found himself leading on the harder, primary tires, while Team Penske’s Newgarden loomed directly behind him on fresh, softer alternate ‘red’ tires.
Despite the tire advantage leaning toward Newgarden, Palou drove flat-out to defend his position through lapped traffic, holding off intense pressure to cross the finish line just 0.8731 seconds ahead.
“Yeah, I was not confident at all,” Palou said. “He was right there, man. I was flat out. I really couldn’t do anything. There was no more I could do. I’m sure he was the same. But just kind of with the draft, it was helping him a lot to kind of get closer to us.
“I think once he started degrading the tires and we got through traffic, that’s when I got a gap. But no, I was not confident at all.”
Wanser stood by the decision to keep Palou on the primary compound for the stint, trusting his driver’s ability to manage the gap as Newgarden’s soft tires eventually began to degrade.
“I think he was a little nervous at the end that all the cars behind him were on sticker reds and he was on the harder primaries,” Wanser said. “We felt we had the car to do that. We all said we wanted to finish on the primaries. It worked out.”
For Chip Ganassi Racing, the victory cements another legendary chapter in the team’s storied history.
“It’s incredible – an amazing achievement for the team,” Wanser reflected on reaching 150 wins. “To reach 150 IndyCar wins, it’s pretty special. I missed the races in ’96, but I started in ’97. It’s been a pleasure being a part of such a great organization.”
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