Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix: Palou returns to the top step at Barber

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou took his 21st career win in the NTT IndyCar Series at Barber Motorsports Park, with Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal rounding out the podium in Alabama.

Palou continued his show of force, leading 79 of 100 laps and taking the checkered flag despite troubles getting through lapped traffic late in the race. During the post-race press conference, the four-time IndyCar champion explained the difficulty of trying to avoid trouble.

“Yeah, that was tough,” Palou said. “That was very, very tough. Everybody was fighting like if it was the last lap of the Indy 500. I was like, Please, guys. I was crying inside. Let me by. I just need to fight with Lundgaard. But yeah, I mean, I understand not 100%, but I understand little bit what they are trying to do.”

Green Flag

Alex Palou maintained his lead after a clean Turn 1. As Lap 1 continued, Kyle Kirkwood and Graham Rahal battled for third place. With Kirkwood on the softer red-walled tires and Rahal on the primary tires, the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington race winner was able to stay close behind.

David Malukas tried to close the gap with Palou for the lead early in the race and could not get by the No. 10 DHL Honda. Alexander Rossi tried to make a move on Scott McLaughlin for 12th but was unsuccessful. Christian Lundgaard made a move on Marcus Ericsson for seventh place as both drivers almost made contact.

Tire Strategy Shake-Up

Josef Newgarden and Marcus Armstrong were the first to pit during the opening stint. Both drivers replaced their red-walled tires with a set of primaries.

Graham Rahal made a move on David Malukas on Lap 16 in Turn 5. With this move, the prediction of a red-tire race was put into question, with Rahal on a set of primaries. Malukas was on a set of red tires, and Alex Palou increased his lead with the primary tire compound.

On Lap 20, Romain Grosjean started a battle for fourth place with Santino Ferrucci. The AJ Foyt Racing driver was able to defend the position. Soon afterward, Kyle Kirkwood tried to overtake Malukas, who was 11th at the time and did not succeed.

Ferrucci was in a five-way battle for 13th with Scott McLaughlin, Alexander Rossi, Pato O’Ward and Rinus VeeKay. O’Ward moved up to 15th over Rossi, as Ferrucci kept McLaughlin behind him. Then, McLaughlin took the spot from Ferrucci and tried to reclaim it as they went wheel-to-wheel.

VeeKay made contact with Rossi, and the Dutchman spun out.  However, VeeKay avoided a caution and rejoined the track safely. Dennis Hauger passed fellow rookie driver Mick Schumacher for 20th place.

Palou vs. Lapped Traffic

As Alex Palou exited the pits next to Mick Schumacher, they battled at the pit exit. Palou was able to get ahead of the rookie as Louis Foster got by his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing teammate to battle the reigning champion.

Then, the driver of the No. 10 DHL Honda was able to get ahead of the lapped car of Dennis Hauger, but lost time against the other contenders at the front of the field.

As Christian Lundgaard pitted from the lead, his No. 7 Arrow McLaren pit crew had trouble getting his new primary right-rear Firestone tire on with a 17.8-second pit stop. Palou took advantage of Lundgaard’s botched pit stop to run away with the lead.

With three laps to go, Lundgaard got into a battle for second with Graham Rahal. The driver of the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda was able to defend against Lundgaard, with the Arrow McLaren driver having more push-to-pass than the RLL driver.

Lundgaard eventually took second place from Rahal and held on to it until the end. Then, David Malukas tried to get ahead of Rahal for the final spot on the podium.

Despite Malukas having 71 seconds of push-to-pass remaining, Rahal was able to defend his position and secure third place, his first podium since 2023 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

With Palou winning from pole, Lundgaard wondered what could have been after losing out on a victory after the slow pit stop.

“It’s unfortunate,” Lundgaard said. “You know, I think there was a there was a bobble on the pit stop. I don’t know if it was my fault or if the car went down too fast. But, at the end of the day, I wanted to go out there and re-pass Graham to make up for that and put make a statement, and, we got it. It’s unfortunate, the guys have done an amazing job and I don’t think that’s really ever happened. One in almost 100 starts, I think it’s okay.”

The NTT IndyCar Series returns to action on Sunday, April 19, with the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Coverage begins at 5:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

Results: 2026 Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park