Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour presented by NASCAR on FOX - Alex Palou Interview

Episode Date: September 17, 2025

Fresh off his 2025 IndyCar Championship, Alex Palou joins Kevin Harvick for this week’s Victory Lap. Palou opens up about his incredible run of four championships in five years, why this season’s title means the most to him, and what it’s been like cementing his place as one of motorsport’s biggest stars. The two also discuss Palou’s perspective on the future: whether he’d ever consider trying his hand in NASCAR or Formula 1, how he views his legacy in IndyCar, and what keeps him motivated to continue chasing greatness.  LINK TO SUBMIT PICKS FOR GATEWAY: https://forms.gle/G5YKrv6famwBuo7A9 0:00 - Intro 0:35 - Alex Palou Joins The Show! 1:30 - Winning The 2025 IndyCar Championship 7:37 - Indy 500 Vs. The Championship 11:34 - IndyCar Playoff System Vs. NASCAR 17:48 - Interest In Racing NASCAR? 19:30 - Plans For Future 21:22 - Relationship With Chip Ganassi 23:53 - Differences Between IndyCar & F1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's been a magical year for me. I'm a bit sad that it ended. What feels bigger at this point? Winning the championship or the Indy 500? The 500, by far. I think it would be a lot tougher for me to go to NASCAR. Those races look challenging. That was something that I was chasing.

Not now. I'm happy here. Welcome to Kevin Harvick's Happy Art, presented by NASCAR on Fox. And today we've got four-time IndyCar champion now, Alex Palo. And Alex, thanks for joining us. And congratulations, man. four of the last five years, that's, that's outstanding. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Yeah, I mean, it's been a tremendous couple years with

CGR and IndyCar and, yeah, lots of great success. So been having a lot of fun, on track and off track. Well, your reputation, obviously, I don't know you well, but the reputation and all the feedback that I get from everybody on our Fox team is that you're always going to have a smile. You're always going to shake everybody's hands. You're going to be quite a pleasure to be around. And I think when you look at that and you look at the determination that you bring to the racetrack, win in four out of five championships, no matter if you're good, happy, sad, mad, no matter what that is and no matter what the series it's in, it's hard. And where does this championship rank over the previous three compared to how it went? I mean, I know you won a lot

of races, but how does this one rank in compared to the last three? I got to say this has been the best by far. I mean, just the amount of success we had, you know how tough it is to win races. And I've been lucky enough to win eight this year, the 500 and then the championship. Like, it's just been one of those very complete years where we had so much pace. We were able to execute perfectly. We had, you know, that sparkle of luck whenever we need it on those strategies sometimes. So it's been a magical year for me. Like last year in 2024, we won the championship

and we only won two or three races. So that shows you how special this year has been. And yeah, it's been a really cool one. I'm a bit sad that it ended. You know, whenever you're having such a good year, you don't want it to end. You just want to keep on going. You want to get more races and get good.

some more good memories. As you look at those, you know, the last five years in general, how many changes have you had within the team? Has there been big shakeups or have you had pretty consistent team around you the whole time? No, I've been very lucky to have a very consistent team like my crew chief, my race engineer, my strategies. These three people have always been there and they've always been the same at the same place as well. I've been very lucky.

I think there's been a lot of other teams and many other cars as well that have changed a lot more to people. And you know, when you have that chemistry with your strategies, with your race engineer, that is able to get you that set up change that you need. He knows when I say that I have a little bit of obviously. He knows what I mean. He knows what I need and what I like, what I don't like. So I've been very fortunate to keep my group the same. So over the last five years, what would you say the biggest change that you've made from a driver's standpoint?

Because, you know, I feel like we're all faster when we're younger. You're still really fast, obviously. But I always found that, you know, it was easier to start beating people because of that consistency in your team and the details that you start to pick out as a driver to go with that speed. What's been the biggest changes for you as a driver that you feel like you have progressed over the last five years? I would say just being able, as you say, to clean up all the details during the races, like understanding what you need to win a street Indica race. Like I need to take care of those tires, of the fuel,

I need to know what's going on on the different tire compounds. And just that communication with the team is very important. But then you go to a road course or a novel race and you need a completely different mindset or strategies to go on. So I would say that this was probably the area where I was lacking a little bit more when I started in 2020 and 2021 in IndyCar. But now I feel a lot more comfortable. I know there's a lot more to come because I can see that from my teammates, Scott Dixon, that he's probably the best at reading the race and positioning himself or doing everything he can to try and help the team get the best strategy for him.

But yeah, I feel a lot more comfortable now than I was four or five years ago. What does a week look like for you from a training standpoint? How do you, what's the training for yourself? Has that progressed through the years or has it gone down and you feel like you're more consistent? What's that look like during the week from a driver's standpoint in IndyCar series? I do. So it depends if it's on season or off season. On season, I go like, let's say Monday to.

Thursday before we travel to a race weekend. I go and I work out with my trainer in Indianapolis, let's say an hour and a half CrossFit. And we do a lot of stuff that it's for the driver, you know, like neck, grip work and a little bit of cardio. Then I normally have a couple days that I need to go to the shop, but we need to do the simulator ahead of the weekend to prepare it. And that's it. Like, I mean, that's basically the routine. Obviously, you have media here and there that you need to. to do or events.

But that would be my prep week. And when it's off-season, I would say it's a little more than when we're in season. You just need to build that endurance, that muscle to try and keep it throughout the season. Because normally it declines. Whilst you are in season, it just goes down. You feel more tired in the car, basically because we're traveling from race to race. And it's tough. It's tough to be feeling good physically.

So was there any thing that you had a challenge with this season? Were there any of those moments where you're like, man, that was a tough weekend or we needed to get better? You got worried at any point in the season because it looked like a pretty flawless year from start to finish. Honestly, I've always, whenever we had a bad weekend, we've always knew why? Was it because of I screw up, whatever, like, I don't know, a bit sequence or a strategy, or we had that yellow that put us from leading the race to like 15th, you know? There was always something. I think we've been, out of 17 races, we've been like 12 or 13 times in the podium.

Like, it's been one of those years that are like crazy. So, yeah, this year, we've just been feeling really, really good, really strong about our car, our chances and it's been really fun. So you win the Indy 500, you win the IndyCar Championship. Which one's bigger? This is, as far as the media and the attention and everything that goes with it, it seems like the Indy 500 is just such a massive event. What feels bigger at this point?

When in the championship or the Indy 500? Media attention-wise and people attention-wise, the 500, by far. Yeah, it just feels like that raise is, seen by everybody, even overseas, feels like everybody, well, there's like people that doesn't really follow racing that much, but they always follow the 500. So you have a lot more attention during the 500 than the championship.

I think that it feels also more special winning the 500 because you cannot really prepare for it. Like you, it's a one-day show. There's 350,000 people at the track and you don't know if you're going to win or you're going to finish last until that last speed stop and then you kind of prepare yourself to fight at the end. The championship, it's 17 races, so you kind of prepare yourself mentally for that championship battle and then you likely end up winning. But yeah, they're both amazing and I've been just lucky enough to win both the same year.

Yeah, well, to win them both in the same year is an unbelievable accomplishment. And I think as you As you look at the Indy 500, you know, oval racing is obviously not your background. You have the Indy 500 and then you have the race ending at Nashville. How is your progression on those ovals? And it's become obviously something you're really good at now. But that progression of learning the ovals, what has been the biggest thing that's really made it turn into consistent wins now and being in contention on those ovals week after week from your standpoint?

point that that was hard to get used to. A little bit of everything, like how the race evolves and how do you need to take care of the tires. I was good or at least I understood what I needed to do on Broad and Street courses to try and get, take care of those tires to have more at the end or to be able to fight. On Oval's, I had no idea. I was like, I just drive and I just try and survive. And then also like going through traffic, like going through traffic for us.

it's quite tough. You need to use, like, multiple lanes. And to be able to do that, you need to set up your car before the race, obviously. So I would always have, yeah, a balance that was not what I needed for traffic. But this year, suddenly I understood what I needed. We understood what I needed from myself of, like, how to set up a pass and all that stuff that goes along. So I would say just I learned a little bit of how I needed to. race. Before I was just being part of the race. So you had a flat tire yesterday. Was that something

that happened instantly or was that something where the tire was worn out? Because you caught it. There's not many people that can catch it. So I think that that shows the incredible feel that you have with that race car. You kept that thing out of the wall and drove straight to the pits. So I caught on entry of turn one. So I started feeling like a lot of vibration. I had vibrations. that they were building. So I started feeling a lot of vibration on entry, and I was like, oh boy, like this is not good. So I started slowing down.

And then suddenly my steering angle, you know, like you just suddenly wash. And I was like, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. But I was lucky enough that it, although it went flat, it didn't go completely flat until the exit when my steering wheel was already straight. And I was able to, we only lost like, I would say, five seconds. It was crazy.

Like I was super lucky. Yeah. No, I didn't lose much. I was lucky. I was very lucky that I was able to get back to the pitch without losing much or crashing the car. So you won the championship with a couple races to go and now there's chatter of a playoff system. How do you feel about the talk of a playoff system? Because I know for me, I'm a very, I'm old. So I'm somewhat traditional. I like the whole season mattering. But being in the middle of the now, NASCAR playoffs and the pressure and intensity that comes with that. Is that something you'd be for against? Where do you lay on how you would decide the season championship if you had some

playoff races? I am very traditional as well. Honestly, I think if I think about this season winning eight races and then you go to the last race of the season and you just have a bad strategy call or a bad caution, or you get into traffic with somebody that is fighting for P-27 and you are not allowed to win the championship because of that, I think that's not really fun. I wouldn't like it.

But if that's the way that sport goes, honestly, it is what it is. I'll just adapt to it and I'll need to just be better at the end of the season. But I am a very traditional guy, And I think that if you've been able to win or to put a lot of points at the beginning of the season, you should be rewarded for it. When I look at the IndyCar season, obviously there was a lot of drama with the Penske organization and all the things that happened there. You've got new ownership on that side. Where do you feel like IndyCar racing is as a whole as you move forward? It seems like you guys have worked through a lot of those things and had a great end of the season.

where does 2026 take IndyCar racing? How do you see it looking different? How do you see the momentum of new TV partner with Fox coming in and all the things and their enthusiasm that has gone with putting you guys on network TV? And where do you think the overall picture of IndyCar racing is in your mind? I'm excited. I'm very excited. I think this was the first year with Fox being part of IndyCar.

And now they took a little bit of ownership as well towards the last part of the season, which I think it's amazing for the sport. We just need a partner that puts us in front of a lot of people to let them know what IndyCar is about, to show them the races, for them to discover the different driver personalities, and then for them to come to the races. So I am very excited. I think we've seen a big increase this year with all the attention that Fox created. I mean, we were on a Super Bowl commercial.

Yeah. I was there. Pado had another one. Indycar had another one and Joseph had another one. Like they spent a lot of time and resources to make IndyCar bigger. And you could see that when going to racetrack. So, yeah, I can't wait to see what the future holds. I know that there's some exciting news and new race.

racetracks that are going to be part of the calendar, and I'm sure that people is going to love it. Yeah, when you talk about those new racetracks, obviously the trucks are going with you guys to St. Pete. Phoenix is going to be on the schedule with IndyCar NASCAR double-headers. And so we've had a couple of those weekends. I've been a part of those at the Indy Roadcourse. And as you look at those combo events, I'm a race fan. So I love having the mixture of the drivers from completely different forms of racing because I don't think people realize IndyCar drivers, NASCAR drivers, F1 drivers, we all share the same thing and that's the love of the sport. How do you feel about having those events together and what that brings to the racing world?

I love it. I think it's, yeah, as a fan as well, I love it. like just imagining that you can get to see different races and so different series at the same time, the same weekend. It's amazing. I would love if we could be a little bit more together, not like what we had, I would say, two years ago that we were very separate. And I just wanted to see the NASCAR cars as well. Like I wanted to be close to that car, but I think it's going to be a little better in 2026. And it's fun. I think it's super fun for drivers and fans.

So the big question I had, when we did the road course racing at the brickyard, I grew up a Rick Mears fan. All I wanted to do was race in the Indy 500. I got to compete there in NASCAR. But I always felt weird about going backwards on the front straightaway at Indy. And I always thought that there should never be anything on the racetrack at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway other than the brick. Yard 400 and the Indy 500. Do you, do you, you sound like a traditional guy, but you're in the Indy car world. Maybe you can give me some different perspective on going backwards down the front straightaway at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway because I never could wrap my arms around it. And I didn't really like the road course at Indy. So help me with this. Yeah, I mean, although I'm traditional, I love my road courses. And I really like Indy Road course. Yeah, it might just be because of how the car feels as well. But yeah. I don't know, we're set up very differently when we're in the garages and when we're on the road course.

So for me, it's very easily mentally to just go do the road course and then in two days switch and be like Indy5 Harden Mode. Like it just changes completely the mindset and how we're set up and how we look forward to the race. So yeah, for me it's not that hard. But yeah, I understand there's there's some drivers that also have a hard time going. towards the other end of the straight on the road course. Well, I was also not very good there. So maybe that was part of the problem. You mentioned the fact that you want to see the NASCAR cars

and the things that they do. Would you ever be interested in driving one of those cars at one of the road course races? Because we've seen SVG and a lot of these other guys that have come over here and had fun with it. I think that indie car drivers, NASCAR drivers, I think they should always try to participate in the 24 hours. I love the fact that our car is on the NASCAR side

is more capable of letting you guys kind of move around and come over and be competitive with the way that the car drives now. Is that something that you would be interested in doing? I think it would be great for the sport, and I think it would be fun to watch, and I think you'd do pretty good at it. Oh yeah, absolutely. I would love to test first and see how competitive I am because you never know. Like the cars are so different. The way you drive an indie car is like super late, super hard on the brakes.

And I think it would be a lot tougher for me to go to a NASCAR. But I would love to do a test, see how I am. And I would love if I'm okay to do a road course race and see. how that racing is. It looks fun. The series looks super, super competitive, and those races look, look challenging. Yeah, they are challenging. They run into each other a lot now, so that would be different for you, to be able to bang into the side of each other. Yeah, yeah, I think I would have a hard time with that. And then maybe going back to Indyka and just like going and taking somebody off on the first corner. But yeah, that would be a bit challenging.

So what, what, so you're done, it's, it's the first. of September. So what happens now? Do you go race anything else or do you just plan for next year? What's the plan between now and the start of the season? Because for me, I'm a rhythm guy. And if I sit around that long, I have to get into something. Do you cart? Do you go race at their division? What's the plan? Yeah, I'll try and do as many stuff as I can. Last year, I was able to do some GT races, although it's very different. It's still the same. You're still having pedals for wheels and an engine. So I'll still try and do some GT stuff if I can. I'll go and do Petit Le Ma with the GTP cars.

And I'll do some go-car testing if I can. Like, you know, that's the purest motor sport thing and the hardest probably. So, yeah, I also need to be in that rhythm, need to be driving a race card to just be sharp and get ready for next season. But yeah, it's tough that the season, our season ends. so early. I just love to be around the race cars and to be driving. So it's going to feel like a very long off-season for sure. So do you have any hobbies? No, really. I mean, working out, playing with my daughter as much as possible and seam racing. But yeah, I don't do any other stuff. I try to golf. That's not my thing, at least for now. I might try and do it again, but it's very

frustrating for me. So, yeah, I might give it another try. Yeah, well, golf, golf for me turned into shooting guns because myself and Ron Hornaday, we decided we were going to play golf and we took ourselves to the golf course and realized that golf really wasn't for us. I enjoy golf, but I'm like you. I'm not very good at it and I get frustrated really quick. you've got one of the most intense owners that ever stepped foot into racing. Did you get that big Chip Gannasi bear hug yesterday? And what has Chip been like through this year? Because I know he always talks about loving winners. And right now you guys are winning a lot. So how is that, did you get the bear hug from Chip?

And is there anything great that you can tell us that? happened after winning that championship with your owner? Yeah, the hack and the slap, like he always, if you watch, he always does a big slap. I think he doesn't realize, but he has a big grip. And he's very excited when you win. So he slaps you very hard, which is great. I love it. It keeps you awake.

But honestly, he's been amazing. We've had so much success. I've been with the team five years now. and we've been able to win four championships and won Indy 500. So I've been keeping him happy, and we've been having a lot of fun at the racetrack. So it's been amazing the opportunity to drive that number 10 car, and he just gives everything that we need to the drivers,

to the engineers, the mechanics. We have all the tools that we need to go win. So it's amazing to be part of the team. Well, you've had your, you've been a part of, obviously, with the F1 grid and everything that has been happening there. Your name keeps popping up. Is that something that is even possible at this point in your career? No, honestly. I think it's all rumors and, yeah, media just trying to make for different news. But I mean, possible. Everything is possible. But honestly, I'm totally. I'm totally. I'm totally. I'm so happy here. I know I have an amazing opportunity in front of me of continue to have more

success with this team in this series. So yeah, it's not something I think about. That was something that I was chasing before and I would say after my first IndyCar championship, but not now. I'm happy here and I'm trying to build something amazing. Yeah. Well, you're built, you've already built something. You've already done something amazing, but it is, I think for for people that that don't understand, especially on our side of the world over here, explain some of the differences that you think would be there going from IndyCar to F1 because from the outside looking in, people say, oh, that IndyCar looks just like that F1 car. But that's, that's, you and I both know that that that's not the case. And being in those systems, you went through the whole system kind of down

that F1 path and then you wound up at IndyCar. But it's really hard to go back and do something after you've dedicated getting the details of a high-level racing division down. Explain what would be hard about that to our fans who don't understand as they just look at the two cars. Yeah, I mean, although they are similar, they have big differences. Like when you look at how an IndyCar is built and how an F1 is built, like, just starting by like in IndyCar, it's a spec series.

Like we don't develop. It's all about setup and how we put the car together as a team to make it a little bit faster. And if one, they have development for everything. They develop brakes, arrow, engines. Like they develop every single piece of that race car continuously, year in, year out. So the cars develop a lot and they have a lot more downforce than us. they have power steering, they have a lot more power than us. Like it's a little bit bigger car.

I don't think that I drove an F1 two years or three years ago. It's not that different to drive one. It's a lot faster, but it's not like a completely different driving style. But as you said, when you have dedicated so much time in NASCAR or IndyCar or F1, you become really good at knowing exactly what you need to go fast at an IndyCar, to win at an IndyCar. So for me to go to NASCAR or to F1, I would need to learn all those details. I would need to understand what I need in F1 to take care of those stars or in NASCAR

to be sure that I'm able to overtake on a draft. Like there's every single series, there's those details that make the bigger differences. It's not about going fast. I think everybody is able to go fast on any car. Like all drivers, if you give time, it's quite easy. So last question. As a kid growing up, who was your idol? Who did you idolize as a kid as a race driver?

Schumacher. Michael Schumacher, when he was in the Ferrari era, he was winning a lot in F1. And he was driving a race car. And as a kid, that was the thing that I, I really liked the most. So, yeah, Schoemaker was a guy. Well, there's a lot of kids that are idolizing you now. And Alex, you've done an absolutely phenomenal job.

Congratulations on what has been not only an incredible season, but an incredible last five years. And we wish you continued success and enjoy this. You never know when it's going to end. So celebrate it like it's the last one. And although you hope it's not, have some fun with it, and we look forward to watching you again. Thank you.

Thank you so much. I will. Thank you so much, guys.