Alex Palou takes his first Indycar victory at the 2021 season opener from veterans Will Power and Scott Dixon at the Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.
The first lap introduced a harrowing incident as Josef Newgarden spun in the grass on the first lap after a blind uphill straight into turn 5, and collected Ryan Hunter-Reay, Felix Rosenqvist, Colton Herta, Max Chilton and Rinus Veekay. Jimmie Johnson managed to weave around the debris and escape the situation without damage. Rosenqvist, Chilton and Veekay were able to rejoin the race.
Alabama Grand Prix race winner from 2019 Takuma Sato made up seven positions on lap 1 and restarted in 12 after the safety session.
Alex Palou Leads From Will Power And Scott Dixon
Spaniard Alex Palou in his second Indycar season, led for a number of laps before crossing the finish line for the checkered flag this afternoon.
Former F1 driver Romain Grosjean led the rookies and finished in 10th. Pole sitter Pato O'Ward had to settle for 4th while first battling Marcus Ericsson, then Sebastian Bourdais and Veekay, who clawed his way back up to 6th after Newgarden's crash on the first lap.