Palou becomes the first Spanish driver to win the Indy 500

The cooler temperatures on Sunday didn’t slow down the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.

When the checkered flag dropped Alex Palou won the day in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi car with speeds topping 220 mph.  The 28-year-old has been successful in the series but has never won the Indy 500.

Palou is the first Spanish driver to win the 500 and he said it's a major achievement.

“I don't know what's going to be for Spain. Hopefully they are celebrating us as much as I am here. It makes this extra special that I'm the first Spanish driver to win it," Palou said. 

This is the sixth win for Chip Ganassi Racing team owner Chip Ganassi. He said there’s always a little bit of luck involved, this year the car was able to catch the draft of two other cars in the back of the pack.

“We’ve won the race that way, we’ve lost the race that way,” Ganassi said. 

The start of the race was delayed for about 30 minutes as rain showers moved through and after a number of laps under caution, cars soon found their pace.

Out of 33 cars that started, only 23 finished the race. It was a series of crashes and a fire for the 10 that didn’t make it. That included rookie driver Robert Shwartzman who was the first rookie to win pole position since 1983. Shwartzman Indy 500 dreams came to an end after a crash coming into pit lane due to brake issues.

Second-place finisher Marcus Ericsson said the race was tricky due to the weather.

“Cold race, cold tires,” Ericsson said.

This year’s race came with a grandstand sell-out, the first since the 100th running in 2016. An estimated 350,000 people descended on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday’s race.

Adam Triplet was one of the many fans who arrived at IMS early. “It’s the greatest party,” he said.

Local fans not at the race were able to watch on television as a media blackout was lifted due to the sellout crowd.

Looking to make a three-peat, Joseph Newgarden was originally in the top 12 along with teammate Will Power. However both Newgarden and Power were moved to the last row after it was found that both of their cars had an illegally modified part.

IMS and IndyCar President Doug Boles said the decision was based on the expectations for teams to follow the rules and the need to protect the integrity of the sport.

“This is the world's largest motorsport event, the Indianapolis 500, this event defines who people are,” said Boles in a press conference.

This is the second year in a row that Team Penske was penalized amid cheating accusations. Last year the team was caught using a push-to-pass system that can give cars an extra boost. Three members of Penske leadership were fired after this year’s scandal.

Sunday’s race also marked the convergence of two major sporting events in Indianapolis, known locally as Pacers and Racers. It's one of only a handful of times the two big events, the 500 and Pacer playoffs, have coincided. 

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett was one of many fans to pull double duty. 

“At the end of the day we’ll move down to Gainbridge Fieldhouse and watch the Pacers continue in the Eastern Conference Championship,” Hogsett said.

Contact WFYI All Things Considered newscaster and reporter Samantha Horton at shorton@wfyi.org or on Signal at SamHorton.05.