By RICHIE HALL
SPEEDWAY – Alex Palou put together a dominant performance last Saturdayat the GMR Grand Prix, the opening to the Month of May action at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Spaniard won his first NTT INDYCAR Series event of 2023 by triumphing at the Grand Prix. Palou led 52 of 85 laps, starting in front and ending in front. Palou led the first 17 laps of the race, then paced the final 20 laps, beating Pato O’Ward by 16.8006 seconds.
“A win is the same if you do it by 30 seconds or by one tenth,” said Palou.
The Grand Prix win is Patou’s fifth INDYCAR victory in his relatively short career on the circuit. His last victory came at the 2022 season-ender in Monterey.
“Everything goes so well,” said Palou. “The car feels how you want it to feel.”
While Palou bookended the race with comfortable leads, there were several changes during the middle laps. A total of eight drivers were in first place, and all of them led at least two laps.
Polesitter Christian Lundgaard succeeded Palou to lead 13 laps. The Dane stayed near the top after his turn in the lead. Lundgaard eventually finshed the race in fourth place, just off of the podium.
O’Ward led two laps during the second half of the race, and also stayed in podium position during the last few laps. Also making the podium was Alexander Rossi. The 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner started in 10th position and worked his way up into the top five. He led three laps before Palou took over for the final time.
Pato O’Ward finished second in the GMR Grand Prix. (Kent Graham)
Noblesville’s Conor Daly finished in 19th place. Daly moved up to 11th place twice during the first half of the race, and zoomed up to ninth at points during the second half of the event before falling back.
Colton Herta, last year’s winner, placed ninth. Herta was contending for a podium place with five laps to go, but was called for a blocking penalty when he moved in front of Felix Rosenqvist, who was attempting to pass. Rosenqvist would go on to finish fifth; he led three laps during the early stages.
Noblesville’s Conor Daly placed 19th in the Grand Prix. (Kent Graham)
Other lap leaders were Graham Rahal, who was in front for seven laps, Scott Dixon, who led for three laps, and last year’s Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, who led two laps.
This year’s Grand Prix was a mostly clean race. The only caution came on the second lap when David Malukas and rookie Sting Ray Robb made contact, forcing a yellow flag for three laps. After that, it was green for the duration.
KIBLER GIVES THE COMMAND
Drew Kibler was born in Indianapolis and grew up in the area, becoming a star swimmer at Carmel High School.
But he had never been to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before. Kibler finally got the see the Speedway last Saturday, and he got to do something special there as well.
Kibler gave an enthusiastic command to the Grand Prix competitors: “Drivers, start your engines!” Kibler was named the grand marshal of the Grand Prix; he was honored as a member of the United States Olympic Team, and participated in the 2021 Summer Olympics, where he was a member of the fourth-place 800-meter relay team.
One of Kibler’s friends showed him videos of Kevin James giving the command in order to give Kibler some inspiration, telling him “it’s way better to be energetic than to be boring.”
Drew Kibler
Before Kibler gave the command, he reflected on his first-ever day at the track. He said “it started as ‘Oh, maybe we’ll get you into the Speedway during a race weekend,’ and it’s grown into this bigger thing. So, I’ve been slowly finding out more and more of the honor that it is, so it’s super exciting, super fun. I got to meet a lot of cool people so far today, and it’s been a great experience all around.”
Kibler also got to ride in the two-seater car, coasting around the track at speeds up to 150 mph. His fellow Team USA swimmer and Indiana native Lilly King rode the two-seater after Kibler. His advice? “I just said enjoy it,” said Kibler. “It goes by so fast.”
Kibler got to met several drivers, including Lundgaard, Rahal and Jack Harvey.
“I got to spend a lot of time in the pits and the garages, meeting them, talking with them,” said Kibler. “Some of them live near me, which is sweet.”
Overall, Kibler enjoyed the race, spending it with his parents and friends.
“One of the pillars of Indiana culture, so enjoying that as an Indiana native,” said Kibler. “Lilly (King) said something similar to that, she said it best. Just happy to be here for sure.”