Speedway, IN

  • Alex Palou wins Indianapolis 500—his first 500 win and fifth victory of 2025
  • Honda drivers start the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season with six straight wins
  • Palou extends championship lead to 115 points after six races

Honda returned to victory lane in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing with Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou taking the win in the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The victory extends Honda's record as the most wins for any major manufacturer at 16, and also extends Honda's winning streak to start the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship—with six wins in the first six races.

Five of those victories have come at the hands of Alex Palou. The Spanish sensation has won at St. Petersburg, Thermal, Barber Motorsports Park and earlier this month on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Today's Indy 500 triumph gives him five wins in the first six races as he tries to go for his fourth-career NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship in just five years.

Palou's worst finish so far this year is second, finishing behind Honda driver Kyle Kirkwood at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in April. The stellar start to the season has Palou sitting 115 points ahead of his nearest championship rival (306-191).

Palou started sixth and led just 14 laps en route to his first oval win, with Honda's Takuma Sato leading the most laps in today's Indy 500 at 75. Sato started second in the race and would come home 11th. 

Andretti Global's Marcus Ericsson finished second to Palou as he tried to repeat his 2022 Indy 500 win—making it a Honda 1-2. Felix Rosenqvist started fifth and finished fifth today in a strong showing for Meyer Shank Racing. While Ericsson's Andretti teammate Kyle Kirkwood drove from 23rd to sixth at the line—the biggest mover today. 

Indianapolis 500 Honda Race Results

1st Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
2nd Marcus Ericsson Andretti Global Honda
5th Felix Rosenqvist Meyer Shank Racing Honda
6th Kyle Kirkwood Andretti Global Honda
11th Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
13th Helio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda
14th Devlin DeFrancesco Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
15th Louis Foster - R Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
17th Colton Herta Andretti Global Honda
20th Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
21st Marcus Armstrong Meyer Shank Racing Honda
23rd Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
28th Kyffin Simpson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
30th Rinus VeeKay Dale Coyne Racing Honda
32nd Marco Andretti Andretti Global Honda

R – Rookie

Quotes

Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) finished first: "Number one! What an amazing day. It was a strange race, it felt like everything went by super fast—except for the last 10 laps when I was leading. Those felt like the longest laps of my entire life! Since the beginning, I felt like I had a ton of power with this Honda engine, and although the balance wasn't super good, I knew that if we could get the balance where we needed it to be, we were going to be able to fight at the end, and we did. So amazing!"

Marcus Ericsson (#28 Andretti Global Honda) finished second: "It was an interesting race. We started off really strong, and then we were struggling quite a bit in the middle of the race with the balance of the car. The Allegra team did a really good job to get us back in the mix, and the Honda engine was giving me some really good fuel numbers, so we were able to go a bit off strategy. Then in the end, Alex and I had a good fight, but some lapped cars ahead of us were sort of making it difficult. It's a race you want to win, and it's a winner-takes-it-all kind of race. I'm proud of the effort, I'm proud of the performance, but it hurts to finish second again. It's been a great month of May. I know how much effort that Honda has put in to really step it up. Last year we were all feeling like we were lacking a little bit, and to come back and have two Hondas fight it out for the win here, that means a lot and I'm super thankful because I know how much hard work has been put in, not only from the people at track, but also in the factory. Really proud of them all, that effort is what got us here to fight for the win, so thank you to everyone at HRC."

Felix Rosenqvist (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda) finished fifth: "The CREED wagon was really quick. It was a good race, we had two restarts where we lost a lot, kind of just got stuck on the inside. We also had some really good restarts as well. Everyone kind of went through the same thing and we were hanging in the same group. It was hard to pass and I feel like we were a bit quicker than the guys in front. I felt like I was just risking the car every corner to try to get a run and I wasn't even close to getting around Pato O'Ward. We started fifth and finished fifth. As much as I'm disappointed for having the opportunity to win, I'm super proud of my group—the #60 Honda crew did a masterclass in execution with good pit stops and good strategy, and that's what we need for the rest of the season."

Kyle Kirkwood (#27 Andretti Global Honda) finished sixth: "Absolutely incredible day for Honda, P1 for Alex Palou and P2 for Marcus Ericsson, my teammate. So happy for both of them, but also for the Honda family. In recent years, we've had setbacks, but this was a huge comeback and so great to see. For us in the #27 Andretti Global, we finished sixth, which was a big result for us. We were as far back as I think you could go, and we made something out of nothing today, and ended up being the biggest mover and getting close to a top five with it. Good day overall."

David Salters (President, Honda Racing Corporation USA): "So teamwork really does make the dream work, and the power of those dreams is Honda. Just want to say a huge thank you to the men and women of HRC—who from adversity continued to dig deep, and came back and yet again won the Indy 500. As always, it's a team effort. Thank you very, very much for the brilliant teamwork that we enjoy with all the like-minded racers at CGR. And what to say about a certain Mr. Palou, unbelievable generational talent and a true champion, and now an Indy 500 winner. Quite stunning. Huge thanks to everyone because it's a team that makes this all happen and everyone should be very proud. I'd just like to really, really stress the effort that goes into this. There's a beautiful prose by Mr. Roosevelt, The Man in the Arena, it should actually be titled The Men and the Women in the Arena. Thanks to all our men and women that are in this arena. Stunning job, well done HRC, keep pushing."

Next
The 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES heads to streets of downtown Detroit for the Detroit Grand Prix just one week from today—June 1st.

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