It’s another P1 for Palou and ‘Be the One’

There is no doubt who the hottest driver in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is right now. And his results have helped Chip Ganassi Racing’s (CGR) Alex Palou continue to elevate the public’s knowledge of The American Legion’s “Be the One” suicide-prevention initiative.

Over his past four races – three of those in the No. 10 American Legion Honda – Palou has picked up three wins and a fourth-place finish. His most recent effort was an impressive victory Sunday in the Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR. Palou overcame a bad wreck just before qualifications on Saturday to take the lead from Josef Newgarden on lap 49 Sunday and pull away, winning the 55-lap road course race by 4.5610 seconds.

“What an amazing job by these guys and girls,” Palou said in Victory Lane while motioning to CGR’s No. 10 Honda crew. “It’s been an amazing weekend, great comeback, and another win for The American Legion ‘Be the One.’ I cannot thank the team and the sponsors enough. We’re going to keep it rolling into Mid-Ohio now.”

Palou’s dominant performance since May has allowed him to build a 74-point lead in the INDYCAR points standings. And this win came despite a hard crash in Turn 14 during Saturday’s morning practice. CGR’s crew had just 90 minutes to get the car ready for qualifications. And they did, with Palou capturing the No. 3 spot in the starting grid.

“We started with a lot of speed,” Palou said. “Big mistake by my part in practice two. We went back on track, and it (car) was even better than in practice two. We have an amazing team behind us.”

It was the second win of his career at Road America for Palou. “It’s my favorite road course on the calendar and probably in the States,” he said via CGR media. “I got my first podium here and now my second win. It’s been an amazing weekend.

“We had a lot of speed, and our Honda was very good on fuel mileage, honestly. That gave us the win today. It’s still early, but you obviously want those points in your camp instead of other ones. We’re not going to lose the focus. We know we have a great team, and that we can continue winning races and being consistent." 

With the win, Palou picked up a $10,000 bonus that is split with Chip Ganassi Racing and his chosen charity, The American Legion, as part of the PeopleReady Force For Good Challenge. He has won two of the three legs needed to earn a $1 million bonus, with a win on the road courses at IMS and Road America and the street circuit at Detroit. Palou can secure the bonus with a win in any of the three remaining three oval races.

It was Chip Ganassi Racing’s 250th victory. Team owner Chip Ganassi was asked about the accomplishment after the race. “A lot of people have a lot of blood and sweat and tears and money in those 250 wins,” he said on USA Network. “The great partners we’ve had over the years have contributed to every one of those. It’s all about the team.”

Ganassi was the only team to place two drivers in the top five. Scott Dixon started 23rd but was able to make up 19 spots for a fourth-place finish.

Two other CGR drivers featured American Legion branding also ran in the Sonsio Grand Prix. Marcus Ericsson drove the No. 8 Huski Ice Spritz Honda to a sixth-place finish, giving him a top-10 finish in every race this season. He remains in second behind Palou in the series point standings.

"It was an eventful day to say the least,” Ericsson said. “There was a lot of pushing and shoving out there, but I think we were really fast. We had really good pace in the car. Unfortunately, we had a couple of issues today, and you know in racing sometimes that happens. We had to fight back, but the pace was really good to get back to P6. I think it was a really good effort.

“Could've, would've, should've, but still a decent points day and Alex winning the 250th race for Ganassi is incredible, so a good day for the whole team." 

And NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie Marcus Armstrong started eighth in the No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants and led five laps before finishing 24th. He holds a 20-point lead in the series rookie.

"We had a good start and picked up about five spots,” Armstrong said. “The car was really good for the first stint, and we were just fuel saving and tire saving. The car was mega. We had a few wobbles in the second stint but still it was okay. Unfortunately, we didn’t box with the rest of the field on the second safety car. But nevertheless, we’re going to learn from it and come back even stronger." 

The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by the 2023 Accord Hybrid on Sunday, July 2, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course near Columbus, Ohio.

CGR developmental driver Kyffin Simpson had a strong weekend leading up to Sunday’s INDYNXT SERIES by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America.

In the No. 21 car that features American Legion “Be the One” branding, Simpson had the top spot in Friday’s practice session, and then won the pole Saturday with a top lap of 1 minute, 49.1028 seconds – nearly three seconds quicker than the previous record set by Colton Herta in 2017.

“I was just really hoping that today would be the day that I would finally get my first pole,” Simpson said afterward. “It was, so it’s truly incredible. We weren’t able to improve on that last lap, but no one else did, so that worked out well for us.”

But starting from the top spot Sunday, Simpson went wide in Turn 1, launching all four wheels into the air after hitting a curb on the exit of the first turn. He slipped to seventh place after the incident and wound up eighth. It was still his second-best finish of the season and moved him up to 13th in the INDY NXT points standings.

“I ran wide at the start and caught a huge bump… small mistake, big consequences,” Simpson said in an Instagram post. “It’s hard to take after such a good Saturday, but at least the car came home in one piece. Really frustrating to miss out on a good result here. Thanks to the team for all their hard work, hopefully Mid-Ohio is kinder to us. I appreciate the support from everyone this weekend.”