The NTT IndyCar Series completed its race around Nashville Superspeedway on Monday afternoon after having the originally schedule delayed due to of bad weather.
Heat and humidity built in for the race, giving drivers an incredible challenge as they raced for 225 laps, which was already shortened from 300 on account of the conditions.
When the checkered flags flew, a familiar name was on top of the timesheets. Alex Palou claimed his fifth win of the year, and his first on an oval in 2026.
READ MORE: IndyCar Nashville – Full Race Results
The reigning champion had hung out near the front all day, and was in position to capitalize when cautions came out at just the right time.
Palou actually entered pit lane three tenths of a second before it was closed for an incident, which allowed him to leapfrog to the lead. He remained there through to the end even when his Chip Ganassi Racing crew had to fit the harder compound tire for the final stint when everyone else around had softs.
Palou now carries an 83-point lead into the final busy stretch of the season.
Josef Newgarden, perennially a threat on any oval event, also stayed near the front all day and came across the line in second place.
His Team Penske team-mate David Malukas started the day at the very back of the field because he was taking medical assistance during qualifying and could not take part.
A bold strategy to stay out during the first caution period worked well for him, and he was in the mix at the front for a good portion of the day.
Even though Malukas was visibly exhausted and requested an IV before taking part in his media duties, he was pleased to have climbed 22 positions to earn his fifth podium of the year. He is still seeking his first victory in IndyCar.
Crashes for a few
There were a couple cautions to break up the action, although long stretches between led to many laps run at speed.
The lengthy uninterrupted stints did a number on drivers as they struggled with the heat while pushing the limits at speed.
The first yellow flag of the day was brought out for rookie Caio Collet on lap 18. The AJ Foyt Racing driver got loose in Turn 3 and was not able to get his car under control before hitting the outside wall.
His impact with the SAFER barrier was quite hard, and cleanup from the incident took a decent bit of time.
It was past the halfway point before another stoppage came, and that was caused by a collision between Scott Dixon and Alexander Rossi.
Rossi was slowing to enter the pits for a routine pit stop when Dixon ran into the back of him at a high rate of speed.
Dixon was able to limp along to pit lane with a broken front suspension and front wing, though he lost multiple laps completing repair.
Rossi was not able to continue, and ended a promising day in a paddock.
Rossi’s team-mate Christian Rasmussen also retired after touching the outside wall in Turn 2 and breaking a rear toe link.
The final caution of the day came when Dennis Hauger crashed in Turn 2. He was classified 21st.
Poor results for some
There were a few other drivers that had disappointing days even if they were able to keep their cars pointing the right direction.
Kyle Kirkwood started on pole and remained in the top three positions for most of the day, but he was on the wrong side of the final caution.
He had just taken tires and fuel on pit lane and was caught a lap down when the yellow waved.
Kirkwood finished in 10th, and lost considerable ground to Palou at the head of the championship standings.
Graham Rahal started near the back and struggled most of the day. His day was not helped by a risky strategy that saw him come to the pits a couple extra times.
It appeared the team was choosing to take a late splash of fuel to help him stay out a few laps longer than others, but it ended up not working and he finished in 19th.
Christian Lundgaard also came to the pits an extra time, but his dilemma was necessary because he nearly ran out of fuel on track. He could not wait the extra lap until the pits opened, and took a penalty for emergency service in a closed pit.
Lundgaard ended the day in 16th, hurting his championship fight after a couple solid runs in recent weeks.
Drivers have two weeks off before heading across the country to Portland in early August.
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