Premi-notions

 Alex Palou won the Grand Prix of Indianapolis for the second straight year yesterday, and he won it from the pole. And maybe that means this will be Palou's month of May the way last year was supposed to be Palou's month of May, and the year before that was supposed to be his month of May, and maybe even the year before that.

All I know is this: At some point, it is going to be Palou's month of May. We all take that as gospel, right?

Well ...

Well, here is something else I know, having spent most of my life either covering the Indianapolis 500 in May or hanging out at the Speedway in May: The Big Five is both the most venerable event in motorsports, and also the most capricious. It eats assumptions for breakfast -- even gospel assumptions -- and if there are any left over, it eats them for dinner. No place is as adept at transforming premonitions into mere premi-notions.

A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr., Rick Mears and Helio Castroneves have won the 500 four times. Mario Andretti, the greatest race driver in American history unless it's Foyt, won it once, in 1969. He never won it again in 24 more starts stretching from 1970 to 1994.

Scott Dixon, the most accomplished IndyCar driver of his generation, won the 500 in 2008 and hasn't won it since. Bill Vukovich could and probably should have won four times in a row from 1952 through 1955, but his car broke with nine laps to run after he dominated the '52 race, and he was killed while leading the race yet again in '55.

Not-quite-superstars like Buddy Rice, Buddy Lazier and Kenny Brack all gulped the milk in Victory Lane. Marquee names like Michael Andretti, Lloyd Ruby, Ted Horn and Rex Mays never did. You just never know with this place.

Palou, for instance?

He's one of the brightest young stars in a series crammed with more of them than IndyCar has seen in three decades. He's got the skill set and temperament that fits the place and the event, and he races for Chip Ganassi, who knows how to win at Indy on Memorial Day weekend. 

And none of it means a thing once the green drops on race day.

Last year, for instance, he won the Grand Prix, and then won the pole for the 500. And he finished fourth.

In 2022, he finished second to Marcus Ericsson.

In 2021, he finished ninth in his first season with Ganassi.

This year?

Well ... we'll see. 

ybe it'll be his month of May. Maybe it'll never be. Only Indy knows.