Alex Palou’s march toward a fifth IndyCar championship hit a serious snag on Sunday at the inaugural Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C.
The four-time champion started from pole but never led a lap. On his first pit stop, Palou clipped an unattended tire in Mick Schumacher’s pit box on his way out, drawing a drive-through penalty, his first in-race penalty of his own making since 2020. His next stop compounded the damage when his Chip Ganassi Racing crew struggled to secure the left-front wheel, dropping him a lap down.
Things got worse from there. As the race went on, he clipped a wall, bending the rear toe link. It held for another 20 laps before finally snapping on Lap 122, sending him into a spin.
He crossed the line 20th, his worst finish of the season and only his third result outside the top 10 all year.
Meanwhile, championship rival Kyle Kirkwood took full advantage, leading 128 of 147 laps for a dominant win. Palou’s points lead, which stood at 133 entering the weekend, has been cut to 91 with three races remaining.
“It was one of those days where I did a couple mistakes, we had a bad stop, we had everything happening to us today,” Palou said afterward. “Worse, worse, worse, worse.”
With two races at Milwaukee Mile this weekend and the season finale at Laguna Seca still to come, Palou’s cushion is still substantial, but no longer the formality it looked like heading into D.C.