Alex Palou celebrates in victory lane Sunday at the Long Beach Street Circuit. (Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment photo)

By Thomas Hughes, SWN Staff Writer

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 19, 2026) – Several words could be used to describe the nature with which Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou wins races, including repetitious, persistent, or ceaseless.

But perhaps one word fits best: looming.

Palou was a factor through the first 58 laps of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Sunday afternoon. But it was Meyer Shank Racing-Honda’s Felix Rosenqvist that was the commandant out front.

The 35-year-old Swede led 51 of the race’s 90 laps, and at the time of pit stops on lap 58, it appeared as if Rosenqvist was set for his second career win.

But Palou snagged the lead with a timely pit stop and didn’t relinquish it en route to his first-ever victory on the streets of Long Beach.

“Feel so, so lucky with the opportunity I had to win the 500 last year, the Long Beach GP this year,” Palou said. “It just feels like I'm living on this amazing cloud of happiness.”

One could say Palou has the “it” factor. More specifically, it’s the unyielding and unflinching nature of rarely, if ever, being rattled. Palou started third and threatened for second in the opening sequence, darting for the inside on the opening lap for a potential move on Rosenqvist.

Though that move proved unfruitful, Palou struck the very next lap, cutting off the inside line to seize second from Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward and then setting his sights on Rosenqvist.

“I wanted to get ahead of [O’Ward] as quick as possible,” Palou said.

Through the race’s midpoint, the lead held steady. Rosenqvist paced Palou, with O’Ward, Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood and Team Penske’s David Malukas in tow. That changed on lap 58. Debris clattering near the circuit’s Aquarium Fountain warranted a caution, and with it came pit stops.

“Having the pit location and the pit crew we have, it certainly was on the top of our minds coming down pit lane knowing we have a shot at getting the win here,” remarked Barry Wanser, team manager of Palou’s No. 10 Honda.

With speedy service, Palou grabbed the lead and did not yield it for the duration of the race, seizing his 22nd career victory in his 103rd NTT IndyCar Series start.

“It only takes one second, like a small mistake, and then suddenly you go from second to seventh,” Palou said of the opportune caution. “The guys know, as well, the pressure that they have to take that moment was pretty high. Incredible, the work they did.”

What else does Palou have beyond that “it” factor? After Sunday, he has the championship lead. Palou, who now boasts three wins five rounds into the season, sits at 205 points, 17 ahead of Kirkwood and 63 clear of Malukas.

Following the yellow flag, Palou proverbially skidded past Rosenqvist for a 3.966-second victory. Aside from a 24th-place DNF in the second race of the season – at Arizona’s Phoenix Raceway – Palou has finished top-two in each of the other four races.

Despite the disappointing ‘slip-away’ nature of the race, Rosenqvist still secured his best finish of the season – and his first top 10 of the 2026 campaign. Simply, his team’s 58th-lap stop was a trigger slow and resulted in Palou leapfrogging Rosenqvist for first.

The Meyer Shank Racing driver never got the lead back.

“Today, we just had really, really solid pace,” Rosenqvist said. “Actually incredible pace on the reds, not as good as Alex on the blacks. I just kind of struggled a little bit on that last stint. It was going to be hard to pass him anyways.

“That last pit cycle was kind of the defining moment. I don’t even think we had that bad of a stop. We had to come around the [No.] 14 [of Santino Ferrucci]. I don’t know if Alex had an open in. Details like that matter. It didn’t seem like a super slow stop, but he probably nailed it or his crew. … End of the day, I'll gladly take a P2.”

Behind Palou and Rosenqvist, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon finished third – his first top-three finish of the season – followed by Kirkwood. Kirkwood did not lead any laps in Long Beach, and his two-point deficit entering the season’s fifth race ballooned to 17 at its conclusion.

O’Ward rounded out the top five, followed by Team Penske teammates Scott McLaughlin and Malukas. Rahal Letterman Lannigan’s Graham Rahal followed suit in eighth, while Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi and Ganassi’s Kyffin Simpson rounded out the top 10.

Rahal’s eighth-place finish vaulted him into 10th in the season standings at 106 points, three behind ninth-placed Rosenqvist (109).

Elsewhere in the field, Andretti Global’s Will Power was assessed a drive-through penalty for contact with a crew member on pit lane. Power finished in 19th position and now sits at No. 14 in the championship on 89 points.

The NTT IndyCar Series is off for the next two weeks before it starts its May merriments with a road course race on the infield configuration of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

Broadcast coverage of the Sonsio Grand Prix airs Saturday, May 9 at 4:30 p.m. ET, live on FOX, the IndyCar Radio Network, and SiriusXM IndyCar Nation, channel 218. Palou has won each of the past two races on the IMS Road Course. 

The 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 looms as well, now 34 days away on Sunday, May 24. Palou claimed last year’s iteration, his first ‘500’ victory and his first on an oval.

Heading into the Indianapolis 500 open test, the road course race and the 500 itself, Palou is riding a fresh wave of momentum. For the four-time champion, that momentum is “huge.” 

“Momentum in sport and life in general is huge,” Palou said. “The confidence that I can carry myself personally, but then all the team, I think the crew as well. After delivering that pit stop, they're super, like, tense and pressure, high-pressure moments. It's like every single stop at the 500. They're preparing for it. They're ready for it.”

Should Palou win either of the next two races, it will mark the third time in four years that he has amassed four or more wins in a season.

The finish:

1. Alex Palou, 2. Felix Rosenqvist, 3. Scott Dixon, 4. Kyle Kirkwood, 5. Pato O’Ward, 6. Scott McLaughlin, 7. David Malukas, 8. Graham Rahal, 9. Alexander Rossi, 10. Kyffin Simpson, 11. Dennis Hauger, 12. Nolan Siegel, 13. Rinus Veekay, 14. Josef Newgarden, 15. Christian Rasmussen, 16. Louis Foster, 17. Mick Schumacher, 18. Santino Ferruci, 19. Will Power, 20. Christian Lundgaard, 21. Romain Grosjean, 22. Caio Collet, 23. Sting Ray Robb, 24. Marcus Armstrong, 25. Marcus Ericsson