It was bound to happen. Alex Palou won more than one of his seven races this year with the perfect race strategy calls, but going against the grain at the Honda Indy Toronto turned his fortunes upside down as multiple decisions to stay out while others pitted during cautions took the championship leader out of contention and ensured Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward went sailing into victory lane.
The triumph for O’Ward, his second in three races, was everything he needed to keep his slim title hopes alive and it was precisely what Palou didn’t want as his run to a distant 12th-place finish handed back a large helping of points – from 129 over O’Ward entering Toronto to leaving with 99 – as an excellent strategy play by O’Ward’s No. 5 Chevy team put him in position to capitalize on the Chip Ganassi Racing driver’s strange pit stop tactics.
As much as Palou’s No. 10 Honda team, which led a race-high 37 laps, got it wrong, O’Ward’s braintrust was flawless in their decision making. With their driver nailing his in- and out-lap performance on the final stop, he sauntered away to control the race which ended under caution when teammate Nolan Siegel and Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist tangled on lap 89 of 90.
Dale Coyne Racing’s Rinus VeeKay, who led 16 laps, was a remarkable second in the No. 18 Honda, and behind him, Ganassi’s Kyffin Simpson earned his first career podium by taking the No. 8 Honda to third.
“What a great strategy,” said O’Ward, who led 30 laps. “Great job in the pits. I can’t say I saw this one coming today.”
The Mexican’s team was aggressive from the outset, calling him into the pits on the third lap – right after he’d completed the minimum requirement of turning two laps on the unloved Firestone alternate compound – and was rewarded when the race’s first caution flew about 30 seconds after he left the pits.
Most of the front runners stopped once the pits opened, but Palou stayed out on the more durable Firestone primary compound and led through the next caution, where he also opted to stay out. He continued to lead, but still had to meet his two-lap requirement on alternates.
The ill-fated choice to stay out on two straight cautions played straight into O’Wards hands, and when Palou finally stopped, he returned deep in the pack and spent the rest of the race stuck in the midfield – more than 30 seconds down to the leader – as Chevy and O’Ward went on to capture the checkered flag.
“[Arrow McLaren] was spot-on today,” added McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown.
VeeKay’s team owner and race strategist Dale Coyne was also centrally involved in their march to second place, and the same was true for Simpson’s strategist Taylor Kiel. For O’Ward, who started 10th, VeeKay who started ninth and Simpson who started 13th, it was a day where doing the obvious thing was rewarded.
“It was really good day,” said VeeKay, who got his first podium for Coyne and his first since 2022. “We’ve been moving all season, but we’ve been coming from the back. We qualified well with ninth this race, and I knew we could move forward. These guys in strategy, they know what they’re doing.”
Simpson was fifth at the Detroit street race and seems to thrive on the bumpiest and most challenging tracks.
“It was a crazy race, and so many ups and downs,” he said. “At one point we thought we were in the worst position, and then very quickly it turned to one of the best positions.”
With Palou serving as the only driver in the top six to use primary tires to open the race, he rolled the dice while starting second when it didn’t have an obvious upside.
“I chose the strategy, so there’s what we did wrong today,” Palou admitted. “I was pushing for that strategy. I thought it was going to give us the best option to win. The car was really fast. I wanted to be up front, trying to avoid being there [in] traffic, but it happens. We knew it was going to be a risky strategy compared to starting on alternates. It was kind of working. We’re able to open a big gap after that first yellow, but it was not enough today. So yeah, not our day.”
The only other standout result to mention was produced by PREMA Racing’s Callum Ilott who was yet to crack the top 10 all season in the No. 90 Chevy, but was solid all afternoon and claimed eighth for the rookie team which also stands as its highest finish of the season.
Despite the misfire, Palou’s 99-point lead with four races to go is an imposing gap for O’Ward to overcome. It will take more excellence from the No. 5 Chevy squad and more runs outside the top 10 for the No. 10 Honda team to break the championship wide open. The next opportunity arrives on Sunday at Laguna Seca.
As it happened
The 90-lap Honda Indy Toronto opened with dueling tire strategies on the front row with polesitter Herta on the quick-but-fragile alternates and Palou starting on the slower-yet-durable primaries. The rest of the top six were also on alternates and Herta got the jump along with Armstrong who went to second. Kirkwood also got by Palou who dropped to P4 on the first lap.
Lap 2 and Kirkwood’s march from P6 to P3 has him challenging Armstrong for P2.
Lap 3 starts and Herta has 1.02 on Armstrong as O’Ward, Marcus Ericsson, Nolan Siegel, and Scott McLaughlin pit to shed their alternates. Simpson is up to ninth and McLaughlin’s in the wall. Caution. Left-rear wheel fell off.
Lap 4 and most of the leaders pit and shed their alternates as Palou stays out.
Lap 6 and Palou is P1 ahead of VeeKay, Foster, Simpson, Malukas and Dixon. O’Ward is P14, Herta is P17.
Lap 8 restart and Palou gets a good jump on VeeKay.
Lap 9 and Palou has 1.6s on VeeKay and 8.1s on O’Ward in P12 and 9.5s on Herta in P15.
Lap 10 and Palou’s 2.4s up on VeeKay and 8.4s on O’Ward.
Lap 11 and Palou’s lead is 3.6s. Malukas takes P4 from Simpson.
Lap 12 and Palou has 6.4s on Foster as VeeKay falls to P4 on dying alternates.
Lap 14 and Palou has 7.0s on Foster and 23.6s on O’Ward as Rasmussen spins and crashes after being hit by Power. He keeps going. Simpson’s slowing the pack that pitted, which is helping Palou to draw out a big lead. Caution to clear bodywork shed by Rasmussen.
Lap 18 restart and Palou leads Foster, Malukas, Dixon, Lundgaard and Newgarden. Malukas takes P2.
Lap 20 and Palou leads Malukas by 1.6s and Foster by 2.7. O’Ward in P9 is 7.8s back and Herta in P11 is 10.7s down.
Lap 23 and Palou’s lead on Malukas is 2.5s and 11.9s on O’Ward.
Lap 25 and Palou’s lead on Malukas is 3.2s and 14.5s on O’Ward.
Lap 27 and Palou’s lead on Malukas is 3.5s and 18.1s on O’Ward.
Lap 29 and O’Ward pits.
Lap 30 and Palou’s lead on Malukas is 3.7s and it’s a caution for a crashed Rossi.
Lap 34 and most pit, but Palou and Dixon stay out as Kirkwood spins on entry to his box after being hit by Armstrong. Bold decision by Ganassi with Palou needing to use alternates.
Lap 37 restart and caution for a big crash in Turn 1 as Abel is wide, clashes with Foster, hits the wall and Newgarden goes under his car. Their races are over. DeFrancesco, Robb, and Ilott get tangled as well. Siegel has nose damage. Those four continue.
Lap 39 and the running order is Palou, Dixon, VeeKay, Simpson, Daly, Power, O’Ward, Shwartzman, Rahal, and Rosenqvist.
Lap 41 and Palou and Dixon pit.
Lap 43 restart and it’s VeeKay leading Simpson and Daly as O’Ward takes P4 from Power. Power fights back at Turn 3 and lightly nerfs the wall and resumes after falling to P19. Palou is P14.
Lap 44 and O’Ward is up to P3. His early stop is paying off. Foster pits with rear suspension damage.
Lap 45 and O’Ward takes P2 from Simpson.
Lap 46 and VeeKay leads O’Ward by 0.5s. Palou is 8.3 back in P13.
Lap 49 and VeeKay leads O’Ward by 0.9s and Palou in P13 by 10.3s.
Lap 50 and Malukas pits. VeeKay leads O’Ward by 0.8s and Palou is bleeding time in P13 at 12.6s to P1.
Lap 54 and VeeKay leads O’Ward by 0.9s and Palou in P11 by 16.9s.
Lap 55 and Palou pits to shed his alternates. He return in P18, 40.5s down to VeeKay.
Lap 56 and Dixon pits for alternates. VeeKay’s lead is 0.9s on O’Ward and 2.7s on Simpson. Dixon beats Palou out in P17. Slowish stop for Palou.
Lap 57 and VeeKay pits. Clean stop.
Lap 58 and O’Ward pits. He comes out with an easy lead on VeeKay. Ericsson and Herta are the leaders; O’Ward is P3.
Lap 60 and Ericsson pits. Palou is P16.
Lap 69 and O’Ward has 2.3s over VeeKay and 28.5 over Palou in P15. This is everything O’Ward needed.
Lap 73 and Malukas pits from P3.
Lap 76 and Rosenqvist runs long into Turn 3. He resumes in front of Palou, who gets by at Turn 5.
Lap 77 and O’Ward leads VeeKay by 3.2s. Palou is 34.7s back in P12.
Lap 81 and Palou falls to P13 to lose more points to O’Ward.
Lap 82 and Malukas is charging forward after taking P12 from Palou and is up to P10.
Lap 83 and Daly and Lundgaard make contact; Lundgaard falls to P14.
Lap 84 and Palou takes P11 from Daly as O’Ward had 2.3s over VeeKay.
Lap 85 and Malukas takes P9 from Dixon.
Lap 87 and O’Ward leads VeeKay by 2.7s, Simpson by 5.1s, and Herta by 6.0s.
Lap 88 and Power takes P11 from Palou.
Lap 89 and it’s a caution for Siegel and Rosenqvist who’ve crashed. Game over. Huge victory for O’Ward.
Lap 90 and it’s O’Ward, VeeKay, and Simpson on the podium followed by Herta, Ericsson, and Kirkwood at the top six.
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