Watch: IndyCar points leader crashes out of Detroit GP

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou. Kristin Enzor/For IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Watch: Indy 500 winner, IndyCar points leader crashes out of Detroit GP

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jun 1, 2025 2:40 PM ET

Alex Palou came into Sunday's Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix as the NTT IndyCar Series points leader after winning five of the first six races of the season, but his race in Detroit turned sour in the closing laps.

Palou, who won the Indianapolis 500, was running inside the top-10 with less than 30 laps to go when contact from David Malukas sent him into the turn 1 tire barrier.

The crash caused significant damage to Palou's No. 10, knocking him out of the race.

CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER ALEX PALOU IN THE WALL pic.twitter.com/jOm1mLAUzu
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 1, 2025

"I thought we were running good to sneak into the podium at the end," Palou told Fox Sports. "(It's) unfortunate."

Palou was the first driver since A.J. Foyt in 1979 to win five of the first six races in an IndyCar season. At Long Beach - the only race of the first six he did not win - he finished second behind Kyle Kirkwood.

Detroit will be the first race all year where Palou will not finish on the podium, but his points lead, which was 112 points entering Sunday's race, is still safe for the moment.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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