Alex Palou Dominates for Barber Hat Trick

• Palou led 79 of 90 laps for his 2nd win of 2026 season, 21st career victory
• Lundgaard charged from 10th to 2nd but a bad pit stop derailed his chances
• Rahal finishes 3rd, his first podium of the year and first since 2023 Indy GP

Birmingham, AL – Alex Palou dominated from Pole Position once again to win the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix from Barber Motorsports Park.  

The site of Palou’s first career win has now seen him secure his third win at Barber, leading 79 of the 90 caution-free laps. This serves as his second win of the 2026 season, and the 21^st win of his career. Palou is also the first repeat winner of the 2026 season.  

Michael Young of IndyCar Radio spoke with Palou post-race about his dominant performance. “Incredible day for the #10 DHL Honda car. These guys did an awesome job on strategy, pit stops, car balance, everything. They were incredible on the pits again. They made me look really good on track. One of the best cars I’ve ever driven here.” 

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Christian Lundgaard was on a monumental charge after starting 10^th and was at one point the one driver who could contend with Palou, until a bad pit stop with 20 laps to go de-railed his plans, and had to settle for a hard fought second place finish for a second consecutive year. 

Graham Rahal carried the team flag for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, rounding out the podium in third place after starting the day in third. This was the best finish for the RLL organization this season, his first podium of the year, and Rahal’s first podium since his runner-up finish in the August 2023 rendition of the Indianapolis GP.  

Will Power was the biggest mover of the race after crashing in qualifying yesterday and starting 23^rd, to finish 12^th. Meanwhile, Caio Collet was the highest finishing rookie in 21^st.  

The official results of the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix: 

1. #10 Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing – Honda) 

2. #7 Christian Lundgaard (Arrow McLaren – Chevrolet) 

3. #15 Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing – Honda) 

4. #12 David Malukas (Team Penske – Chevrolet) 

5. #27 Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti Global – Honda) 

6. #66 Marcus Armstrong (Meyer Shank Racing – Honda) 

7. #9 Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing – Honda) 

8. #14 Santino Ferrucci (A.J. Foyt Enterprises – Chevrolet) 

9. #28 Marcus Ericsson (Andretti Global – Honda) 

10. #2 Josef Newgarden (Team Penske – Chevrolet) 

11. #20 Alexander Rossi (Ed Carpenter Racing – Chevrolet) 

12. #26 Will Power (Andretti Global – Honda) 

13. #60 Felix Rosenqvist (Meyer Shank Racing – Honda) 

14. #76 Rinus VeeKay (Meyer Shank Racing – Chevrolet) 

15. #18 Romain Grosjean (Dale Coyne Racing – Honda) 

16. #3 Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske – Chevrolet) 

17. #5 Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren – Chevrolet) 

18. #6 Nolan Siegel (Arrow McLaren – Chevrolet) 

19. #21 Christian Rasmussen (Ed Carpenter Racing – Chevrolet) 

20. #8 Kyffin Simpson (Chip Ganassi Racing – Honda) 

21. #4 Caio Collet (A.J. Foyt Enterprises – Chevrolet) 

22. #77 Sting Ray Robb (Meyer Shank Racing – Chevrolet) 

23. #19 Dennis Hauger (Dale Coyne Racing – Honda) 

24. #47 Mick Schumacher (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing – Honda) 

25. #45 Louis Foster (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing – Honda) 

Kyle Kirkwood maintains a two-point advantage in the standings over Palou, with a 35 point deficit back to third place Lundgaard.  

Round 5 of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series is the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday April 19, at 5:30 P.M. ET.