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More than 7 million viewers stood out to see Alex Palou win the first Indianapolis 500 in his career this weekend, Fox Sports announced Monday.
The race got 7.05 million viewers, Fox Sports said, citing Nielsen Fast National Ratings. The company added that it had 8.4 million viewers at its highest between 7 p.m. 16 ET and 16:15 ET.
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Indianapolis 500 champion Alex Palou from Spain, with Borg-Warner Trophy during the traditional winning photo session at Indianapoli’s Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Monday 26 May 2025. (Michael Conroy/AP Photo)
It was the most viewed Indianapolis 500 in 17 years, according to Fox Sports. The last Indy 500, which draws comparable viewing, was the 2008 race that got an audience of 7,245 million. Fox Sports said viewing rose 40% from last year’s race.
It was the first year Fox released the Indianapolis 500.
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Alex Palou from Spain is celebrating with fans after winning Indianapolis 500 Auto Race at Indianapoli Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday 25 May 2025. (Michael Conroy/AP Photo)
Palou passed Marcus Ericsson with 14 laps to walk in the race and held him and the rest of the package in check to win the race. It was the fifth win of the 2025 season for Palou, and the first time a Spaniard had won the Indy 500.
Palou started the race in the sixth position on the second row on the outside of Scott Dixon and next to Felix Rosenqvist. He had to work hard to get to the front as sustained drops of rain and several caution flags came out, which could have stopped his momentum at any time.
Alex Palou from Spain is celebrating after winning Indianapolis 500 Auto Race at Indianapoli Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday 25 May 2025. (AJ MAST/AP Photo)
When the race came down to the end, he was given his opportunity to move around Ericsson. He had some lap traffic in front of him, but they did not seem to prevent Palou’s ability to win at all. For Palou, it was cheering down the front Stretch with the expectation of kissing bricks and some ice cold milk to cool him after the violent event.
