Álex Palou had already won three IndyCar championships in four seasons even before this year began but he had not reached his final form until winning the Indianapolis 500 in May en route to yet another championship come September.
That is because, for all the accolades, Palou still had not won an oval race until emerging victorious in the 109th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Despite the immediate speed he showed on road and street courses, the discipline he has spent a lifetime pursuing, there were still five years’ worth of oval education the Spaniard needed to master before becoming this total package.
And for all places to get his first victory, why not the Indianapolis 500, one of the most daring and exhilarating sub-disciplines in all of motorsports?
Palou recently took time to chat with Motorsport.com about his life and career thus far during a media tour in New York back in September. That included a candid revelation about the sheer terror Palou felt the first time he turned laps on a high-speed oval, at Texas Motor Speedway, back in February 2020.
“On the oval, the way of driving, the feeling you get when you drive, it’s completely different to what I (have been) used,” Palou said. “So I was scared, and after the first couple of runs when I jumped out of the car, and started walking, I was a little bit sideways and was like, ‘this is not right, man.’ Like, this is not something that is supposed to happen. What are we doing here?
His driver coach that day was then teammate Santino Ferrucci, who got him up to speed as best as anyone could on the 20 degree banked Turns 1 and 2 and 24 degree Turns 3 and 4.
“I was scared, very scared,” Palou said. “Like, it was really fast. I am supposed to be flat (on the throttle) but I couldn’t make it flat in Turn 1 and 2, where 3 and 4 was a lot easier, but I am used to braking and feeling the car when I brake, feeling the car when I turn and when you load and then you have the banking and with the helmet on, you can barely move, so I cannot really turn my head to look at where I want to land, but it has been a really cool progress.”
In his latest season, his overall best, Palou won eight times. Along with his impressive triumph in the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500, he also won at the short oval of Iowa Speedway. What was a fear has become a strength and there is no longer any weaknesses for Palou at Chip Ganassi Racing.
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– The Motorsport.com Team
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