INDIANAPOLIS — Maybe the only thing that can stop Alex Palou right now is rain.
NTT IndyCar Series points leader Palou produced the fastest speed of a rain-interrupted second day of practice for the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Wednesday, 227.546 mph in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
It was the fastest lap of two days of preparations this week for The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Three-time series champion Palou, who has won the last two titles in a row, has opened the 2025 season with four victories in five races. About the only summit he has yet to reach in the series is winning an oval race, with the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 25 his next big target.
“We did a little bit of (running in) traffic,” Palou said. “It’s always tough when people are in different run plans. A couple of good traffic runs. The car is feeling good. You always want it to feel a little bit better, but so far, so good.
“This is the biggest race, and that’s what we work so much toward. So, we’re going to try and chase that win.”
Practice started 68 minutes late due to heavy rain this morning, with further delays of 54 minutes and 15 minutes this afternoon due to passing sprinkles over the 2.5-mile oval.
That reduced the scheduled six-hour practice to three hours, 43 minutes as PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying this Saturday and Sunday draws closer and puts more pressure on teams to complete their preparation programs.
Will Power, who won the 500 in 2018 and fastest Tuesday at 227.026, continued a strong week in second today at 225.584 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. His teammate, two-time defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, was third at 225.545 in the No. 2 Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Team Penske Chevrolet after ending up second Tuesday. Newgarden is trying to become the first driver to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” three consecutive years.
Scott Dixon was fourth for the second consecutive day in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, this time at 225.092.
Conor Daly joined the Chip Ganassi Racing-Team Penske party in the top five, ending up fifth at 224.931 in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet.
All the fastest laps today came with the benefit of an aerodynamic “tow” from leading cars, as teams continued to focus on finding stable setups in traffic for Race Day. But with PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying just three days away, it was noteworthy that Kyle Kirkwood was fastest while running alone for the second consecutive day, reaching 222.760 in a solo run in the No. 27 Siemens Honda fielded by Andretti Global.
All 34 drivers attempting to earn one of the 33 spots in the starting field turned 2,555 laps (6,387.5 miles) in the shortened session.
On-track activity will resume at 10 a.m. Thursday with a refresher test for 2013 “500” winner and Arrow McLaren Team Principal Tony Kanaan, who is readying to be a standby driver for Kyle Larson on Race Day. Larson is attempting the “double” of racing in the Indy 500 and the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 25. Kanaan will step in for Larson if weather delays the start in Indianapolis and Larson must leave for Charlotte for his full-time drive with Hendrick Motorsports.
