Alex Palou enters the 2026 Indianapolis 500 as the reigning champion of the past three seasons (2023, 2024, 2025) and four of the past five. He won the first two NTT IndyCar Series races of 2025, at St. Petersburg and Long Beach, but the 2025 Indianapolis 500 was won by Josef Newgarden, not Palou. Palou has never won the Indianapolis 500; his best finish is second in 2024.
No driver has ever swept all three May races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (the Grand Prix, the Indy 500, and the road course race) in a single season. The closest was Simon Pagenaud in 2019, who won the Grand Prix and the Indy 500 but not the road course race. Palou's 2025 season included wins at St. Petersburg, Long Beach, and the Indianapolis road course race, but he did not win the Indy 500.
As of May 5, 2026, Palou is a strong contender for the 2026 Indy 500, but historical data shows that sweeping all May races is extremely difficult. The 2026 Indy 500 is scheduled for May 24, 2026.
