Palou overcomes obstacles for a P2 in Toronto

A lot could have gone wrong for Alex Palou Sunday in the Honda Indy Toronto. But as the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season has proven, the Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) driver can deliver results no matter the odds.

After struggles in qualifications left Palou starting 15th – his lowest starting position of the season – Palou was able to make his way up in the field as the day progressed, settling in the top five. And then on Lap 46, Palou was involved in an incident involving two other cars that cracked the nose cone and knocked lose the front wing of the No. 10 Journie Rewards Honda.

Despite that, Palou managed to move up and then hold onto the No. 2 finish, trailing only first-time INDYCAR race winner Christian Lundgaard. The win was Palou’s ninth-straight top-five finish and pushed his series points leads to 117 points over teammate Scott Dixon with seven races remaining. In 43 races with Chip Ganassi Racing, Palou has finished on the podium 20 times.

"It was a tough day at the office, but I'm really glad that we made it to P2,” Palou said via CGR media. “I didn't know if we were going to make it with the front wing damage. Super happy that we got the No. 10 Journie Rewards Honda on the podium. P2 was like a win today so we'll take it."

Overall, Chip Ganassi Racing had all four drivers finish 11th or higher. In addition to Palou, two other CGR drivers had some sort of American Legion branding over the weekend.

INDYCAR rookie Marcus Armstrong delivered his best finish of the season, driving the No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda to seventh place, keeping his lead in the series’ rookie standings and moving up to 11th in the overall point standings.

“It was a long day in the office. It was a tough track to do 85 laps but it was a lot of fun,” Armstrong said. “I think the team did a great job with strategy, choosing when to box and how far we can go on fuel and with the tires. I thought today was a race of attrition and I've always made the best of it."

Marcus Ericsson and the No. 8 Huski Ice Spritz Honda maintained their fourth-place position in the championship standings after finishing 11th.

"We were running in the top group but had an issue in the end there and we had to pit,” Ericsson said. “We lost top position there and it's just a shame about the ending. Otherwise, it was a strong day for us."

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES heads to Iowa this weekend for an oval doubleheader: the Hy-Vee Homefront 250 presented by Instacart on Saturday, and the Hy-Vee One Step 250 presented by Gatorade on Sunday, July 23, comprising the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend doubleheader at Iowa Speedway.

Should Palou win either race, he and CGR will receive $1 million through the PeopleReady Force For Good Challenge. Half of that will go to The American Legion, Palou’s chosen charity.