Indy 500 Winner Alex Palou Interested in Running NASCAR Road Race

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou (10) poses for a photo Monday, May 26, 2025, after winning the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It's been a dream season so far for Alex Palou in the NTT IndyCar Series.

The three-time NTT IndyCar Series champion appears to be heading toward a fourth championship as the 28-year-old has amassed five wins through the opening six races of the season, and this past weekend, he scored his first career win in the Indianapolis 500, one of the most prestigious races in the world.

As Palou continues to pile on career accolades in the NTT IndyCar Series, he's allowed himself to start daydreaming about other opportunities in addition to his full-time IndyCar driving duties with Chip Ganassi Racing.

Palou, who had aspirations of moving to Formula One a few years ago, before being entangled in a strange and public contract dispute between Chip Ganassi Racing and McLaren during the 2022 season, explained in an interview with the Indy Star that he no longer has a desire to move from the NTT IndyCar Series ranks to Formula One.

"(F1) is not calling me anymore. I still follow it. It’s a huge series. It’s amazing. I’m a big fan, but I don’t think they’re having as much fun as I’m having here," Palou said to the Indy Star. "I don’t see people celebrating with their wives and their kids as much as we do. I don’t see them hanging in the bus lot or having dinner with their mechanics. I only enjoy driving and having fun and being with my people, so I think (F1) is the total opposite."

While F1 is off the table, Palou, who appeared on Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour Podcast this week, didn't rule out competing in NASCAR in the future. Palou said while he knows he wouldn't have much of a chance of competing against the full-time NASCAR drivers on ovals, he'd like to mix it up with them on a road course or street course down the line.

"Oh, absolutely. I'd be down for that," Palou said of running in NASCAR. "I mean, it's a very different car, it's a very different kind of racing, but I know I would get smashed by all of you guys on ovals, but I would love to give it a try at a road or a street course."

That's an interesting answer as Palou's NTT IndyCar Series team owner, Chip Ganassi, was a longtime NASCAR Cup Series team owner, who sold his race team and assets to Justin Marks and Trackhouse Racing a few of years ago.

Interestingly enough, Trackhouse Racing fields a part-time No. 91 entry, known as PROJECT91, where it gives opportunities to world-class drivers attempting to make one-off starts in the NASCAR Cup Series. Perhaps there could be a path there for Palou if he truly wants to run a NASCAR Cup Series event on a road course?