Palou Stays on Top as Weather Looms for Qualifying

(SPEEDWAY, IN) – Alex Palou continued his commanding form at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday afternoon, topping 2nd Practice for the Sonsio Grand Prix with a lap of 1:10.4507 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. After leading the morning session, the reigning champion once again proved untouchable on the 14-turn, 2.439‑mile road course, even as darker skies and incoming rain added tension to the paddock.

Palou’s consistency has become a defining theme of the weekend, and his second-practice pace—though slightly slower than his morning benchmark—kept him firmly ahead of the field. His closest challenger remained Kyle Kirkwood, who clocked a 1:10.5574 in the No. 27 Andretti Global Honda. Kirkwood, currently the only driver within 1 race’s worth of points of Palou in the standings, continues to shadow the championship leader with impressive precision.

Second Practice Results

The standout performance of the session came from Louis Foster, the 2024 Indy NXT champion, who surged to 3rd with a 1:10.7182 in the No. 45 Desnuda Organic Tequila Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Foster’s speed reinforced the team’s strong showing, with teammate Mick Schumacher also breaking into the top ten, finishing 7th in the No. 47 Honda.

Rounding out the top 5 were Christian Lundgaard in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet at 1:10.7370 and Marcus Ericsson in the No. 28 Allegra Honda 1:10.7396, both separated by mere hundredths of a second in a tightly packed midfield. Multiple drivers experienced minor offs and spins during the session, though no significant damage was reported. Teams running Honda power plants also encountered clutch concerns, prompting early pit lane returns for several cars, including those of Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon.

With rain expected to arrive just as qualifying approaches, the competitive order may yet be shaken. But for now, Palou remains the benchmark—calm, quick, and in complete control as the Sonsio Grand Prix weekend builds toward a dramatic showdown.

Up Next: NTT P1 Award qualifying at 5:30 PM/ET