Alex Palou Wins Repeat Victory at Barber Motorsports Park

Palou dominates the field, but Christian Lundgaard makes it close with a late charge

Mar. 29, 2026 at 9:39pm

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A cubist, geometric painting depicting an IndyCar race at Barber Motorsports Park, with overlapping planes of color representing the speed and intensity of the competition.Palou's repeat victory at Barber Motorsports Park showcases his championship-caliber speed and consistency, even as new challengers emerge in the 2026 IndyCar season.Leeds Today

Alex Palou, the three-time defending IndyCar series champion, won his second race of the season on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama. Palou led 79 of the 90 laps, but his margin of victory over Christian Lundgaard was only 13.2775 seconds due to a slow final pit stop for Lundgaard's team.

Why it matters

Palou's repeat victory at Barber puts him right back in championship contention, even though he trails points leader Kyle Kirkwood by two points. Palou showed he still has the speed and consistency to be the driver to beat for the title, despite the emergence of other strong contenders like Lundgaard this season.

The details

Palou dominated the race, leading the majority of the laps, but he said the margin of victory didn't reflect how close the race actually was. Lundgaard had the pace to potentially catch Palou, but a slow final pit stop cost him valuable time. Kirkwood finished fifth, which was enough to maintain his points lead, while David Malukas continued his strong start to the season with a fourth-place result.

  • Palou led 79 of the 90 laps on the 2.3-mile Barber Motorsports Park circuit.
  • Palou won the race by 13.2775 seconds over Lundgaard.

The players

Alex Palou

The three-time defending IndyCar series champion, who drives the No. 10 car for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Christian Lundgaard

The driver of the No. 7 car for Arrow McLaren, who finished second after a slow final pit stop.

Kyle Kirkwood

The points leader, who drives the No. 27 car for Andretti Global and finished fifth.

David Malukas

The fourth-place finisher, who is in his first season driving the No. 12 car for Team Penske.

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What they’re saying

“If you look at the result and you don't follow the race, the timing, maybe then you look like you were so much faster than everybody else. That was not the truth.”

— Alex Palou, Driver, Chip Ganassi Racing No. 10 car

“With the pace and how the race panned out today, we had the car to win the race. We had the pace, we had the track position at the time.”

— Christian Lundgaard, Driver, Arrow McLaren No. 7 car

“We had a really clean day on pit lane. That's what we had in [the first two races at] St. Pete and Phoenix. So back to normal.”

— Kyle Kirkwood, Driver, Andretti Global No. 27 car

“A good points day, we learned a lot, and we keep going from here.”

— David Malukas, Driver, Team Penske No. 12 car

What’s next

The IndyCar series will have a two-week break before returning to action on the streets of Long Beach, where Kyle Kirkwood won last year. Kirkwood will be the favorite heading into the marquee event, as he looks to extend his points lead.

The takeaway

Despite not being the dominant force he was last season, Alex Palou has shown he can still capitalize when other drivers and teams make mistakes. His repeat victory at Barber puts him firmly back in the championship conversation, even as new challengers like Christian Lundgaard emerge to challenge the defending champion.