On a weekend of mystery for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, there is one constant – Alex Palou is fast.
Three-time and two-time defending series champion Palou led the morning warmup Sunday morning for The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix, turning a top lap of 1 minute, 40.3667 seconds in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
SEE: Warmup Results | Starting Lineup/Tire Choice
Palou qualified third for the race Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). He is the only driver to stand in the top three of all four on-track sessions this weekend, as he led Friday practice and was second quickest in pre-qualifying practice Saturday. All this comes in the exhaust of Palou opening the defense of his season title March 2 with a victory in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.
That adds up to Palou being a favorite to win this 65-lap race. But the 25-minute warmup session didn’t leave many other bread crumbs about how this unpredictable race will play out, as teams still are learning how to adapt strategies for the Firestone Firehawk primary and alternate tires due to the high wear on this abrasive 17-turn, 3.067-mile natural terrain road course.
Chip Ganassi Racing took the top two spots in the warmup, as six-time series champion Scott Dixon was second at 1:40.8267 -- .4600 of a second behind Palou – in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Dixon qualified 11th.
The next three drivers in the warmup showed strong race pace despite disappointing qualifying efforts Saturday.
Two-time reigning Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Josef Newgarden ended up third at 1:40.9362 in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet after qualifying 17th, as Team Penske failed to advance past the first round of qualifying with all its cars for the first time since September 2021.
Graham Rahal climbed to fourth in the warmup at 1:41.0246 after qualifying 18th in the No. 15 Mobil 1 Honda. Callum Ilott, who qualified 22nd in the 27-car field, rounded out the top five at 1:41.1704 in the No. 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet.
Meanwhile, the Arrow McLaren teammates who locked out the front row during NTT P1 Award qualifying struggled to find the same speed in the warmup. Pole winner Pato O’Ward ended up 19th at 1:42.2327 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Christian Lundgaard, who starts second, was 14th in the warmup at 1:41.8759 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
