Alex Palou does it from the pole … Palou wins the INDYCAR race at Detroit.
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The 36th running of the Detroit Grand Prix took place Sunday.
Álex Palou survived cautions, crashes, and a late charge from Kyle Kirkwood to claim his fourth victory of the IndyCar season Sunday at the 2026 Detroit Grand Prix, extending his grip on the championship standings. Starting from pole for the third consecutive race — the 16th pole of his career — the Chip Ganassi Racing driver navigated five full-course cautions and a chaotic final restart on harder tires to hold off Kirkwood at the finish. Graham Rahal earned his third podium of 2026 in third. For Palou, it was his third street-course win of the season. Nobody in the field has an answer for him.
Alex Palou does it from the pole … Palou wins the INDYCAR race at Detroit.
Race control threw the second yellow flag of the afternoon after Kyffin Simpson made contact with Graham Rahal, spinning Rahal at Turn 3. Simpson then collected Louis Foster in the same sequence, bringing out a full-course caution that reshuffled the running order through pit strategy. Palou, driving the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, emerged from the caution cycle as the new race leader on Lap 41, according to ApexIndyCar on X.
Alex Palou wins (again) on the streets of Detroit.
Kyle Kirkwood finishes second ahead of Graham Rahal, Pato O’Ward and Christian Lundgaard.
Felix Rosenqvist finishes sixth ahead of Louis Foster.
Here are the final 2026 Detroit Grand Prix standings:
| Pos | Driver | Engine | Gap | Best Lap | Laps | Start | Pit Stops | Passes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A. Palou | Honda | — | 1:03.079 | 100 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | K. Kirkwood | Honda | +3.058 | 1:03.530 | 100 | 6 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | G. Rahal | Honda | +5.180 | 1:03.560 | 100 | 12 | 3 | 12 |
| 4 | P. O’Ward | Chevrolet | +6.242 | 1:03.607 | 100 | 7 | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | C. Lundgaard | Chevrolet | +7.263 | 1:03.448 | 100 | 5 | 2 | 9 |
| 6 | F. Rosenqvist | Honda | +8.193 | 1:04.097 | 100 | 16 | 3 | 17 |
| 7 | L. Foster | Honda | +8.800 | 1:03.627 | 100 | 11 | 2 | 7 |
| 8 | M. Ericsson | Honda | +9.247 | 1:03.643 | 100 | 10 | 2 | 10 |
| 9 | K. Simpson | Honda | +9.674 | 1:03.983 | 100 | 17 | 3 | 9 |
| 10 | J. Newgarden | Chevrolet | +11.896 | 1:04.374 | 100 | 21 | 3 | 4 |
| 11 | M. Armstrong | Honda | +12.530 | 1:03.613 | 100 | 8 | 5 | 8 |
| 12 | R. VeeKay | Chevrolet | +13.400 | 1:04.356 | 100 | 18 | 3 | 14 |
| 13 | D. Hauger | Honda | +14.188 | 1:04.229 | 100 | 15 | 3 | 8 |
| 14 | S. Robb | Chevrolet | +14.952 | 1:04.686 | 100 | 24 | 3 | 8 |
| 15 | N. Siegel | Chevrolet | +15.324 | 1:03.669 | 100 | 13 | 2 | 3 |
| 16 | C. Collet | Chevrolet | +15.960 | 1:04.094 | 100 | 19 | 5 | 6 |
| 17 | A. Rossi | Chevrolet | +54.044 | 1:03.939 | 100 | 14 | 4 | 7 |
| 18 | D. Malukas | Chevrolet | +3 Laps | 1:03.678 | 96 | 25 | 5 | 7 |
| 19 | S. McLaughlin | Chevrolet | +3 Laps | 1:03.223 | 96 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 20 | R. Grosjean | Honda | +8 Laps | 1:04.409 | 91 | 20 | 2 | 5 |
| 21 | M. Schumacher | Honda | +8 Laps | 1:04.117 | 91 | 23 | 6 | 3 |
| 22 | W. Power | Honda | +20 Laps | 1:03.277 | 79 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 23 | S. Ferrucci | Chevrolet | +21 Laps | 1:03.887 | 78 | 22 | 4 | 7 |
| 24 | S. Dixon | Honda | +30 Laps | 1:03.369 | 69 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 25 | C. Rasmussen | Chevrolet | +90 Laps | 1:03.884 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Palou arrived at Detroit as the NTT INDYCAR Series points leader and the defending Indianapolis 500 champion — though this year’s Indy 500 crown went to Felix Rosenqvist, who starts 16th in Sunday’s 25-car field. Palou posted the fastest qualifying lap at Detroit, earning the pole for the third consecutive race, according to IndyCar.com‘s Paul Kelly.
Before the caution period reshuffled the field, the early running produced a hard-fought battle at the front. Will Power pushed into the lead around Lap 20 and held it under pressure. Scott McLaughlin, starting from the second row after the third-quickest qualifying run among Chevrolet-powered cars, moved to challenge Power for the top spot, with Christian Lundgaard also mixing into the front group, according to official IndyCar posts on X.
McLaughlin, piloting the No. 3 Clarience Technologies Team Penske Chevrolet, backed up his qualifying pace in morning warmup, clocking fourth-fastest at 1:03.2625, per IndyCar.com. His Penske teammate David Malukas — who absorbed a heavy qualifying crash Saturday — rebounded to run fifth in warmup at 1:03.2943 and lined up in the field with something to prove.
Kirkwood, the defending Detroit winner, led the morning warmup session with a lap of 1:02.4051 in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda, more than six-tenths of a second clear of second-place Rosenqvist, according to IndyCar.com. The Andretti Global driver started sixth in the race.
Palou’s grip on the championship is real. The NTT P1 Award leader clocked eighth in Sunday morning warmup at 1:03.5794, but pole position and a clean opening stint put him in position to take the lead when others pitted under caution. Whether Kirkwood, McLaughlin, or any of the mid-field chargers can run Palou down over the remaining laps is the central question of the afternoon.
Rosenqvist, who won at Indianapolis seven days ago, enters Detroit with momentum. He was second-fastest in warmup at 1:03.0140 in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda. Street courses demand a different skill set than oval racing, but Rosenqvist arrives in the Motor City carrying the confidence of a fresh Indy 500 champion.
The race continues Sunday afternoon on FOX and FOX One.
Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist who covers MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, boxing, golf, and Olympic sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Newspaper and Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering the Olympics, pro baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin
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