OCTOBER 4, 2021

It was a whirlwind of a week of celebration for 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing, culminating with the INDYCAR Victory Lap at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum on Friday night, October 1.

The 24-year-old driver from Spain was honored for his first series championship along with team owner Chip Ganassi, team manager Barry Wanser and chief mechanic Ricky Davis, who won the INDYCAR Championship Chief Mechanic Award presented by Pennzoil. 

The winning team was awarded with The Astor Cup. 

Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske was honored for winning the INDYCAR Rookie of the Year award. McLaughlin produced five top-10 finishes, including second place in the Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway in his first oval race, in the No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet.

Also honored were second-place in the standings Josef Newgarden, third-in-the standings Pato O’Ward, Takuma Sato of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for the TAG Heuer “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” Award for advancing the most cumulative places during the season, and Honda Performance Development (HPD) took home the INDYCAR Manufacturers Award for the fourth consecutive season. HPD President David Salters accepted the award on behalf of his team. 

Show host Bruce Martin interviews the champion, Alex Palou. Martin also has interviews with Josef Newgarden of Team Penske, Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren SP, Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing team manager Barry Wanser on this edition of Pit Pass Indy.

For more INDYCAR coverage, follow Bruce Martin at Twitter at @BruceMartin_500