When the green flag flies Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Alex Palou will lead the fastest Indianapolis 500 field in history to green, starting on the fastest front row in race history after he broke the race record for fastest pole-winning speed.
All records last set in 2022, and all indicating the Indy 500 just keeps getting faster and faster.
Palou, the IndyCar Series 2021 champion, claimed his first Indy 500 pole Sunday with a stunning four-lap average speed of 234.217 miles per hour, breaking teammate Scott Dixon’s mark set last year. As for the 33-car field as a whole, the average speed is 232.184 miles per hour, and it’s the third straight year the fastest Indy 500 field record has been broken.
The No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda driver just hopes he has the lasting speed to stay out in front of this quick group. Should he win his first Indy 500 from the pole, he’ll celebrate with an ice-cold bottle of whole milk.
Ahead of the 107th Indy 500, For The Win spoke with Palou on Monday about his pole, the wild speeds and his expectations for Sunday’s race.
What a qualifying run for @AlexPalou!
The fastest pole speed in #Indy500 qualifying history: 234.217 mph! pic.twitter.com/nJkx0Gr6id
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 21, 2023
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Congratulations. How does it feel to win your first Indy 500 pole?
Ohh, amazing, amazing! It was a beautiful day [Sunday]. There’s so much effort that goes into a qualifying like that, and you build up to that. So many people here at the track cheering for you or just bringing some good atmosphere to the track, and it just felt awesome to grab the pole at the end.
Fastest pole speed in history with a four-lap average speed of 234.217 miles per hour. To have that high of an average, how fast were you going on the straightaways?
We were about 243 miles an hour at the end of the straight. Obviously, the average goes down. But yeah, 243. That was pretty cool.
When you're driving anywhere between 230 and 243 miles per hour, are you aware of exactly how fast you're going or are you just focused on the feel inside the car?
Honestly, yeah, we are all aware about risk and the speed that we are having. But you’re only like focus on the next corner or the next thing that you have to do with the car with the balance. It’s like we get used to — let’s put it that way — the speed because we’ve been practicing a lot,
But honestly, it changes a lot when we go a couple of miles an hour quicker. So when you’re at that high speed and we add like two miles an hour [during] qualifying, you can feel it as a driver. So it feels pretty cool. We knew that when I was driving that it was going to be a good qualifying. And it’s pretty crazy to think that with such high speeds that we go, when we gain a couple miles an hour, we can feel it so big.
In addition to your record pole run, the 2023 Indy 500 field is also the fastest in race history. What do you think that can predict about Sunday's race?
This car has been the same for a long time now, and it just shows how competitive the series is. We broke the record on the fastest field last year, and we broke it again this year. And I’m sure that we will brake it again in the future just because it’s so close, and everybody is just putting so much effort.
But yes, it’s gonna be a different race. Everybody’s super excited, and everybody is super fast. So it’s going to be a fast race. We’re going to see a lot of passing, and I think it’s going to be awesome for the fans to see.
Along those lines, this is actually the third consecutive year the fastest Indy 500 field record has been broken. Is this where IndyCar is headed and these records will now keep getting broken?
I think so honestly. Who knows what’s gonna happen in the next two, three years? But I think so. I think it’s getting faster and faster. At some point, I think we will have to stop just because obviously it’s super, super fast already. But so far, it’s safe. They did a tremendous job on the cars and bringing more safety here. And I think the teams are elevating, as well, the series on like pushing the limits, making sure that each year they go a little bit faster than the previous year.
And yeah, I think it’s where we’re heading like records each year, which I think it’s super cool for the fans as well. You could hear the crowd yesterday during qualifying. Not while I was driving, but before and after I was driving, you could hear when they get excited when they see a 234 mile-an-hour lap, 235 mile-an-hour lap. So yeah, I think it’s a pretty good moment for for IndyCar.
For you personally, you finished ninth in the 2022 Indy 500 and were the runner-up in 2021. Does this feel like this could be your year, and does the pole position help with that?
Yes, and no. I wouldn’t say that It’s our year because it’s so tough to win this race. You don’t only need a fast car or confidence or starting on the pole. You need the perfect day — 200 laps to be perfect with all the right strategy calls, the right overtaking spots and all that stuff.
But I feel it’s the year that I’m most prepared, so far. It’s going to be my fourth Indy 500, and I think I was able to collect quite a lot of experience from the past races. But we’re starting on the front row, on pole. We’re going to have the best view heading into Turn 1, so that’s pretty cool. And hopefully we can keep that position at the end of those 200 laps.
With such strong finishes in the last two Indy 500s, what have you learned that you're taking with you into Sunday?
Honestly, a lot on battling at the front in 2021 against Hélio [Castroneves, who ultimately won his fourth Indy 500 that year]. It was my first time battling for the Indy 500, so you learn a lot on like passing, defending on the last laps. It was super fun to do, and I was not ready to win it at that time. But I think with everything that I learned on how to defend an Indy 500 or try and overtake and time the traffic perfectly with slower cars, hopefully we will be ready to do it.
