Alex Palou dominantly wins IndyCar race at Barber - Full results from Children's of Alabama Indy GP

Chip Ganassi Racing star Alex Palou won the 2025 IndyCar race at Barber Motorsports Park. The #10 Honda driver dominated the race after starting on pole and remained in the effective lead.

Christian Lundgaard, who started outside the Top 6, finished in P2 with a brilliantly devised strategy. After a hard-fought race and keeping Rinus VeeKay at bay in the final lap, Scott McLaughlin rounded the final podium spot.

The championship leader, Alex Palou, qualified on pole position for the 2025 Alabama Indy Grand Prix. Scott McLaughlin, the winner of the previous IndyCar race at the Barber Motorsports Park, started behind the St. Pete and Thermal Club race winner.

Rinus VeeKay and Nolan Siegel were the two surprise entries who made it into the IndyCar Fast 6 and started the race in P5 and P6, respectively. Scott Dixon had a shocking qualifying session and started the race near the end of the grid in P26.

2025 Children's of Alabama Indy GP highlights

Alex Palou, who started in the pole position, got off to a great start and maintained his lead with Scott McLaughlin following close behind. Colton Herta, Will Power, and Rinus VeeKay maintained their starting position to complete the Top 5.

Christian Lundgaard made the move on his teammate Nolan Siegel on Lap 2 to get himself up in P6. Alexander Rossi, who started P15, was the big mover as he got himself up into P9 in the first 4 laps, chasing Pato O'Ward for P8.

Alex Palou used a lot of his push to pass in the first five laps of the race as he kept McLaughlin at bay. By lap 7, the Spaniard carved out a three-second lead over the Team Penske IndyCar driver behind him.

Josef Newgarden, on the other hand, was one of the biggest losers off the race start. The #2 Team Penske started in P9 and was down in P15 by the end of lap 8. Marcus Ericsson was the first driver to make the pitstop and get rid of the harder primary tire and get onto a new set of soft alternate tires.

After a slow start, Newgarden pitted on Lap 14 to switch to a new set of alternate tires. All the IndyCar drivers who started on the hard tires struggled with pace and dropped both time & position in the initial laps. Scott Dixon, who also started on hard, pitted on the very next lap.

Pato O'Ward was the first driver from the Top 10 to blink and pit on Lap 16 and was followed by Long Beach winner Kyle Kirkwood. O'Ward's teammate Christian Lundgaard pitted on the lap after his teammate and came out ahead of the Mexican.

Scott McLaughlin from P2 pitted on Lap 18 in an attempt to undercut Alex Palou and put on a new set of alternate tires. McLaughlin's Team Penske teammate Will Power also pitted the same lap, but came out in traffic behind Devlin DeFrancesco.

Rinus VeeKay pitted on the next lap to protect from Power's undercut. Kyffin Simpson had a slow pitstop as the Andretti had troubles with the air jack, and then the rear right pit gun got jammed.

By Lap 20, Alex Palou continued to lead the IndyCar race, not pitting despite Scott McLaughlin’s undercut. Colton Herta, who started on the hard tires, pitted on Lap 21 for alternate tires, making the primary tires work better than others around him.

As Palou caught up to the backmarkers on Lap 22, the #10 CGR got the call to pit. The Spaniard switched the soft tires for the hard alternate tires. The CGR driver came out in the effective lead of the race.

A third of the way into the race, Palou maintained the lead with Colton Herta getting up to P2. McLaughlin dropped to P3 with his early stop. Will Power and Christian Lundgaard rounded up the Top 5.

While most drivers struggled on the hard tires, the #10 CGR driver kept increasing his lead on the primary tires, pulling out a seven-plus-second lead over the Andretti Global behind him.

Christian Lundgaard instigated the second round of pit stops on Lap 38. Scott Dixon and David Malukas followed the Arrow McLaren into the pits, and got close on the exit with the AJ Foyt Racing driver ceding the position.

Scott McLaughlin, Will Power, and Pato O'Ward fought for the final podium position, with the #12 driver blinking first to make the second stop. Pato O'Ward also pitted and came out right in front of teammate Lundgaard. The two Arrow McLaren IndyCar drivers fought with Christian Lundgaard making the move on the #5 Chevrolet, followed by a move on Power.

Scott McLaughlin also pitted from the final podium stop and came out ahead of the scrap between Power, O'Ward, and Lundgaard. The very next lap, Lundgaard made a bold move on the outside of a turn to take the effective podium away from McLaughlin.

The #7 Arrow McLaren then continued his pursuit of Colton Herta. The #26 Andretti pitted on Lap 45 under the pressure from Lundgaard. Herta stalled the car as he left his pit mark and came out behind the scrap between Lundgaard, McLaughlin, Power, O'Ward, and Rinus VeeKay.

Christian Lundgaard effectively got into P2. McLaughlin, Power, O'Ward, and VeeKay were involved in a scramble for the final IndyCar podium spot for the next few laps before settling down into their respective positions.

Marcus Armstrong and Felix Rosenqvist, who were running at the front of the alternate strategy, pitted to give Alex Palou the lead of the race. Armstrong had an issue with the fuel hose as the MSR lost multiple seconds.

Will Power had a heated conversation with his team over the radio as the Team Penske crew asked the #12 driver to save fuel. However, as it turned out, Power suggested that the same wasn't required.

Louis Foster on Lap 56 put his RLL on the grass, and almost into the barrier. However, the IndyCar rookie was able to save the car and prevent a caution. The last caution in the 2025 IndyCar season happened on the opening lap at the season opener at St Pete when Power and Seigel crashed in the first few corners.

Two-thirds into the 90-lap race, Alex Palou led Christian Lundgaard with a six-second lead. Scott McLaughlin ran in P3 with Rinus VeeKay, and Will Power completed the Top 5.

Pato O'Ward pulled the trigger for the final round of pit stops on Lap 64 and a flurry of cars followed the Arrow McLaren in the pits, including Felix Rosenqvist and race leader Alex Palou. The #10 CGR went into a shiny new set of alternate tires that Palou would take to the end of the race.

Christian Lundgaard and Will Power also followed. Rinus VeeKay, from being in contention for a podium, had a slow pitstop as the wheel nut went missing on the final pitstop. VeeKay just came out in front of Power as the two battled for the next lap. The Dale Coyne Racing IndyCar driver managed to keep Power behind him.

The Top 5 after the final round of pit stops were: Alex Palou, Christian Lundgaard, Scott McLaughlin, Rinus VeeKay, and Will Power. Santino Ferrucci had a huge moment, losing the rear of the car on the exit of a corner with 20 laps to go. However, the AJ Foyt Racing driver was able to save the car.

Nolan Siegel and Alexander Rossi battled for P8 with 15 laps to go. The Arrow McLaren on the softer tires put the ECR driver under pressure, but the experienced IndyCar was able to soak it up.

Christian Lundgaard caught up backmarker traffic with 10 laps to go, and lost time to McLaughlin in P3. With 6 laps to go, the gap to the Team Penske driver was reduced to just a couple of seconds. With 5 laps to go, Lundgaard got past the final backmarker.

Rinus VeeKay in P4 caught up to McLaughlin with three laps to go as the two fought for the final podium spot. McLaughlin fended off the DCR to take the final podium spot. Alex Palou took his third race win with a 16-second lead over Christian Lundgaard. Rinus VeeKay and Will Power rounded out the IndyCar Top 5.

Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou wins the 2025 IndyCar Children's of Alabama Indy GP and extends championship lead

Three-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou, after winning the first two races and a P2 at Long Beach, got back to winning ways at the Barber Motorsports Park. The Spaniard started on pole position and didn't break a sweat to flawlessly win the race, but with a 16-second margin to Lundgaard in P2.

Palou won his first-ever IndyCar race with CGR at Barber in 2021. As the Spaniard repeated the same, he spoke with FOX Sports after the race. The CGR driver said,

“It was a perfect day. I would say a perfect weekend. First time we were rocking that #10 HRC livery. Super proud of everybody that has been working on the same car and CGR and HRC as well.”

“Honestly, it's been just a perfect day. The car was amazing, super fast, and I just had a ton of fun. Yeah, I was a bit lonely there, but I loved it. It was an amazing day. Doing it four years later with the safety, it's amazing. I mean. We've always been really good here. I love this place,” added the Indycar championship leader

Full Results from the 2025 IndyCar Children's of Alabama Indy GP

P1 #10 Alex Palou: Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

P2 #7 Christian Lundgaard: Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

P3 #3 Scott McLaughlin: Team Penske Chevrolet

P4 #18 Rinus VeeKay: Dale Coyne Racing Honda

P5 #12 Will Power: Team Penske Chevrolet

P6 #5 Pato O'Ward: Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

P7 #26 Colton Herta: Andretti Global Honda

P8 #20 Alexander Rossi: Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

P9 #6 Nolan Siegel: Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

P10 #2 Josef Newgarden: Team Penske Chevrolet

P11 #27 Kyle Kirkwood: Andretti Global Honda

P12 #9 Scott Dixon: Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

P13 #60 Felix Rosenqvist: Meyer Shank Racing Honda

P14 #15 Graham Rahal: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

P15 #21 Christian Rasmussen: Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

P16 #4 David Malukas: AJ Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet

P17 #66 Marcus Armstrong: Meyer Shank Racing Honda

P18 #14 Santino Ferrucci: AJ Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet

P19 #76 Conor Daly: Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet

P20 #28 Marcus Ericsson: Andretti Global Honda

P21 #8 Kyffin Simpson: Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

P22 #77: Sting Ray Robb: Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet

P23 #90 Callum Ilott: PREMA Racing Chevrolet

P24 #30 Devlin DeFrancesco: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

P25 #83 Robert Shwartzman: PREMA Racing Chevrolet

P26 #45 Louis Foster: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

P27 #51 Jacob Abel: Dale Coyne Racing Honda