Palou also reclaimed the championship lead and now heads into the Month of May with a 17-point advantage over Kyle Kirkwood.
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Believe it or not, Alex Palou never won on the streets of Long Beach prior to Sunday afternoon.
The four-time series champion had racked up an incredible 21 career IndyCar Series victories — including the 2025 Indianapolis 500 — but never won the series’ most prestigious street course event.
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All that changed after a quick pit stop on lap 59.
With a little over 30 laps remaining in the race, a full-course yellow was thrown for debris on the exit of Turn 3.
Felix Rosenqvist, who started on pole and had led every lap until that point, was ahead of Alex Palou by about three seconds. With his advantage now eliminated, Rosenqvist needed a quick final pit stop to keep his hopes at a Long Beach win alive.
Unfortunately for the Swede, Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing pit crew got the four-time champ serviced in 7.3 seconds, roughly a full second quicker than Rosenqvist’s crew.
“That last pit cycle was kind of the defining moment. I don’t even think we had that bad of a stop,” Rosenqvist said after the race. “Details like that matter. It didn’t seem like a super slow stop, but (Palou) probably nailed it or his crew.”
Once the green flag flew on the restart, Palou took advantage of clean air and a clear track ahead to pull away from Rosenqvist, eventually finishing with a margin of victory of nearly four seconds.
“(I) feel so, so lucky with the opportunity I had to win the 500 last year, the Long Beach GP this year, it just feels like I’m living on this amazing cloud of happiness,” Palou said after the race. “This full-course yellow put everything on that pit stop. The guys did an incredible job once again.”
Palou was no slouch at Long Beach during his prior outings. During his first try in 2021, Palou finished fourth and wrapped up his first series championship as the race was the season finale that year.
In 2022, Palou went one spot better, earning his first Long Beach podium with a third place finish. After a fifth place finish in 2023, Palou returned to the podium in 2024 where he again finished third.
The 2025 race saw Palou score his then-best result at Long Beach when he finished runner-up to Kyle Kirkwood.
“The 10 car group has been pretty solid with pit stops the last couple years,” said Palou. “Certainly that’s contributed to the performance. Today that was the win. You just need to be smooth and consistent. That’s what they were. We benefited from it.”
Up Next
The series now turns its attention to the Month of May with the Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Saturday, May 9.
However, before the teams take to the IMS road course, they first will participate in an open test April 28-29 on the famous oval.
By virtue of his Long Beach Grand Prix victory, Alex Palou retook the points lead by 17 points over Kyle Kirkwood.