The IndyCar series both arrived and left Barber Motorsports Park with a lot of the same storylines we've been following through the 2025 season: Alex Palou wins, the racing is somewhat lackluster, and fan favorite Colton Herta seems to have the worst luck (more on this below). But there's a glimmer of hope for a few lucky folk in the paddock. Who and what else to watch is all in this week's "Winners and Losers of IndyCar."
Winner: ‘Last pick’ Rinus Veekay sees his best start, finish of the season
He may have been the final driver to secure a ride for 2025, but he’s proving he’s not a last-pick driver. Rinus VeeKay brought his #18 Dale Coyne Racing machine into the Fast Six qualifying Saturday, landing P6 for the race start. A combination of a good grid place for the start and tire strategy, put him with 4th at the checkered flag. It’s not only Veekay’s best finish of the season, but the team’s best finish of the season — and best finish in two seasons really. It’s reminiscent of Santino Ferrucci’s experience of turning around some results for AJ Foyt Racing. If the consistency can continue, this could make for a great season for both Veekay and Coyne.
Loser: Even a great tire strategy couldn’t stop Alex Palou
Forever thankful that IndyCar and Firestone have kept tire choices to two different tires: the soft alternate (red), and hard primary. Upcoming changes to tire strategy starting at the Indianapolis road course next week may be telling on whether forcing more tire usage during the race (at least minimums for each) will help “spice up” the racing too.
This weekend, with the requirement to run one set of sticker alternates and one set of primaries, the strategies trended to whether you used the primary set at the beginning of the race — or the end. We learned getting the primary set out of the way was the most beneficial as the top seven drivers utilized that approach. Alexander Rossi was the only car in the top 10 that managed to utilize it at the end of the race. Had he pitted earlier, maybe he could have made up a little more on the track position. Yet not one strategy was able to get anyone even close to challenging Palou on Sunday.
Winner: Alex Palou can’t stop, won’t stop — no one will stop him
This goes without saying, even with 13 races left on the IndyCar 2025 season calendar, Palou is setting up a strong run to his fourth IndyCar championship. It’s not as far-fetched of an idea if you break down his stats. The Spainard only won two of the 17 races in the 2024 season, five of 17 in 2023 — and still won the championship. He also averaged several podium finishes those seasons as well. As long as he keeps consistent, much like a Scott Dixon on fuel-saving mode, the 2025 championship may already be Palou’s. The next questions are: who will come in second for the season, and will we see Palou’s grinning face on the Borg-Warner Trophy?
Loser: The IndyCar “show” in the hybrid era
It’s commendable that the series has gone over 300 laps and three straight races without a single caution. The few mishaps on track this weekend never required an actual caution because the car was able to rejoin under its own power. It’s safe and that’s welcomed. But is this high-speed processional what the fans, drivers, and the series want?
Maybe playing with tire allocation requirements for the weekend will be helpful, actually change up pit strategies and make the racing interesting at Indy’s road course. Maybe something needs to be done with the tires to help them fall away faster, or last longer. Perhaps something in the hybrid power can be limited or played with to further complicate strategies. With a new hybrid system coming from/shared with IMSA (in 2027), there’s room for some play in there too. But something has to change. Maybe a few things.
Winner: Team Penske may have found its footing
All three Team Penske drivers finished the race at Barber in the top 10 — a first this entire season. So far, each of Penske’s drivers, Josef Newgarden, Will Power, and Scott McLaughlin, have found themselves at the back of the field for a race finish. This weekend might have seen a change in their luck, though. McLaughlin earned the team’s second podium finish of 2025 (3rd place), Power kept a consistent finish of 5th (having finished 5th, 6th, and 26th in the races prior), and Newgarden just made it by in 9th. While it might be strange to see Team Penske — typically kings of the paddock — working a little harder to get those wins, it is nice to see them, well, work a little harder for those wins.
