"He was eating me alive": Former Indy 500 champ recalls Alex Palou's rookie year heroics in IndyCar

Chip Ganassi Racing star Alex Palou began his title defense with six wins in the first nine races of the 2025 IndyCar season. After the Spaniard’s win in Road America, former Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay came out and recalled the Chip Ganassi Racing heroics from the past.

Alex Palou started the 2025 Road America race in P2 behind Louis Foster. The race was full of cautions and crashes, with no clear winner coming out until all the strategies converged at the final pitstop. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver pitted with 14 laps to go, and barely made it to the checkered flag.

However, Alex Palou was able to fend off Felix Rosenqvist's threat behind him and finish P1. The Road America win was the Spaniard's first since his Indy 500 win.

Former Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay appeared on the Race IndyCar podcast. The hosts of the show and Hunter-Reay discussed Palou's performance at the 2025 IndyCar Road America race. While reflecting on the Spaniard's race, he recalled his fight with Palou at Road America during the Chip Ganassi Racing driver’s rookie season.

Detailing the fight with Palou in 2020, Ryan Hunter-Reay said:

“I was watching the Road America Race, and I remember when Alex and his rookie year, you might have to fact check this, but I believe he was with Coyne, and I think I was in the 28 DHL car, and we had a bunch of restarts at Road America coming off that last corner, a corner turn 14. He was eating me alive every time off there.” (10:30 onwards)

“I kept trying to change my entry and trying to get to power earlier, and he just kept doing it. And then I watched him this time from the outside, looking in, watching him do it again to everybody. And I was like, watch, he's like an animal off the last corner,” he added.

Alex Palou made his IndyCar debut in 2020 with Dale Coyne Racing, whereas Ryan Hunter-Reay drove for Andretti Global. At the 2020 Road America Race 1, Palou finished in P3 and Hunter-Reay finished in P4.

Alex Palou reveals how Scott Dixon made him nervous during Road America race

After the pitstop with 15 laps to go at Road America, Scott Dixon came out in the lead with Alex Palou behind him. Both the CGR drivers were marginal in making it to the end. However, Dixon had to pit with three laps to go. Palou came out after the race and revealed how he was scared that Dixon would make it to the end and finish ahead of him.

“When I was following Scott I could see that he was not saving as much as I was. I was like, this guy is crazy; how is he going to do it? But I didn't know. Like I don't have a lot of information. If it was another driver, I would have probably just focused on myself, but I know that Scott can make crazy stuff happen.”

Scott Dixon finished the race in P9 after starting the race in P25.