Exclusive: Alex Palou “woke up at 3am and couldn't get back to sleep” after Indy 500 win

Not 24 hours had passed since Alex Palou crossed Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s yard of bricks with the checkered flag waving to win the 109th running of the Indy 500, when Motorsport.com was finally able to sit down with him for an exclusive interview. Asking the newly-crowned Indy 500 champion to describe his win in one word, he paused to think for a moment, which speaks volumes for a man who has been moving nonstop to celebrate ever since.

“Spectacular,” Palou told Motorsport.com.

“I slept for four hours before returning to IMS to take more photos. I haven’t stopped all day. I had about three minutes to eat,” Palou says. 

The No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing driver knows a lot about winning. His three championships in the last four years in the IndyCar series and his march toward another probable title this season prove it. However, he acknowledges that the Indy 500 win surpasses all of that.

“I think there’s been much more media coverage. People who don’t follow motorsports that much. People who follow IndyCar closely do value the championships. But I don’t think it’s perceived in the same way abroad as the 500. I have noticed that it’s much bigger.”

The impact of an Indianapolis 500 victory is evident, further fueled by the fact that the King and Queen of Spain sent Palou a letter. “Which is something difficult to get, I imagine”, he said with a smile.

Race winner Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

Palou claims that he still hasn’t had time to process what he has achieved. However, he reveals that he woke up in the middle of the night, realizing that he had been crowned the Indianapolis 500 champion, and had trouble getting back to sleep.

“My wife and I looked at each other before going to sleep and said, ‘We can’t believe we’re Indianapolis 500 champions,'” he said. “We had just won. Then I went to sleep. Around 3am, I woke up and thought about our victory. It took me a long time to go back to sleep because I was so happy and excited about what we had done.”

The “decisive” move

Palou’s first-ever Indy 500 win came after he made an unexpected pass on Marcus Ericsson in Turn one with 14 laps to go. He then managed to stay in the lead, benefitting from the wake of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers Devlin DeFrancesco and Louis Foster, who were trying not to lose a lap.

“I felt it could be the decisive move, but above all, I felt it was a game changer,” Palou said of that pivotal moment in the race. “I didn’t want to wait until the end. I think I caught them by surprise. That’s what I wanted: to pass them when they weren’t expecting it and try to stay in first place.”

Palou doesn’t think he and Ericsson — who was sent to the back of the field on Monday after his car failed post-race inspections — were the fastest in the latter part of the Indy 500. He believes things could have become tricky if the two had started fighting for the lead.

“You never know until you’re there. I think we had a very fast car, [but] I don’t think Marcus and I were the fastest up front. I think we both would have struggled a bit. There were some other cars that were very fast when they were up front. I’m glad everything went well for us.”

“There were times when I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I always believed that if we did everything right — if we got the strategy right and made the pit stops — that we had a car capable of winning.”

By winning the Indianapolis 500, Palou achieved his first-ever victory on an oval, which had been a long time coming for the three-time IndyCar champion. He has come close before, as evidenced by his second-place finish in the 2021 500, when he lost to Hélio Castroneves.

Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing

Photo by: Brandon Badraoui / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

When asked if he was feeling any pressure to win on an oval, Palou explained: “In part, yes, but very little. In general, no. I knew it was only a matter of time before we had the opportunity to win on an oval. Obviously, it feels much better now that I’ve won. I’ve now won on an oval, a street course, and a road course. I’ve won the 500, and I’ve been a champion. This doesn’t stop here; it doesn’t end here. We have to keep working to get more wins, but I’m obviously feeling very good right now.”

Rightfully so, the IndyCar season doesn’t stop. Palou will be racing again this coming weekend at the Detroit Grand Prix, looking to add another win to his already historic performance run in 2025.

“Hopefully, we can add more victories. The truth is, I know these are going to be some very complicated days now. We have a celebratory dinner in a couple of hours. Once that’s over, we’re going to New York for a two-day media tour. Then, we’ll return to Indianapolis and head to Detroit. It’s going to be a busy few days.”

Sure, these are certainly busy days for Palou. However, he probably wouldn’t mind doing it all over again next year.