By Roy J. Akers- www.skyviewsports.net
Alex Palou led four times for 48 laps at the Grand Prix of Monterrey and for the second time in three years, Palou continued his dominance at the famed track.
Who’s Hot No. 1
The checkered flag goes to Alex Palou. He took over the NTT Indy Car Points lead winning for the second time this season. Palou’s dominance at Monterrey includes two firsts, two seconds and the pole this year and he beat the second place finisher Colton Herta by nearly two seconds. “It was a chaotic race, man,” Palou said. “We didn’t do a very good job on the starts and those restarts at the beginning.”
Who’s Hot #2
Colton Herta finished second on Sunday and while he would have liked to win the race, Herta stayed out of wrecks and course sideshows and that has helped him. Herta was the NTT points leader earlier this season and currently sits in the fourth spot. Herta led once for eight laps midway through the race but he said Palou was the best on the track on Sunday. It’s a good result,” California native Herta said. “We chose the strategy that we did, and we did a really good job with what we chose. It hurts not to win here, but we have to be happy with second place here.”
Who’s Hot #3
Alexander Rossi needed a podium finish. He has raced better than his ‘racing luck’ as Bobby Unser used to say. Rossi led at Monterrey one time for ten laps and has risen in the standings to 7th, 95 points behind Palou. For the season, Rossi has finished in the top ten six times with three of them coming in the top five.
Who is Not No. 1
Josef Newgarden had an up and down day and it finally settled in the latter when he spun out losing control late in the race and ended up in a sand barrier. Newgarden has steadily climbed up the standings after being penalized and disqualified in the season opening race. Newgarden led once at Monterrey for five laps at lap 70 as cars were pitting. Since winning the Indianapolis 500, Newgarden has received an extension from Team Penske, but he would like to get back into the winning groove.
Who is NOT hot #2?
Graham Rahal is not having a good season. Monterrey was another chapter in this story as Rahal got tangled up with Kyffin Simpson on lap 87 and he finished 24th. Rahal has only a single top ten finish in 2024 and has little to show for the RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING | MOBIL 1.
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the2025 Civic Hybrid on Sunday, July 7 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. That event marks the dawn of a new era for the series, as the hybrid power unit will make its race debut after months of extensive testing.
Roy J. Akers is a multi-media reporter and covers several sports for www.skyviewsports.net