The usually reserved Alex Palou offered a promise following his victory in Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. If he sweeps the month by winning his first Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, he will let loose in historic fashion.

“I’ll get crazy, like very crazy,” the NTT INDYCAR SERIES points leader said. “Yeah, things are going to fly, flames here, flames there. It’s going to be amazing.

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“Everybody in Indiana will know that I’m an Indy 500 champion if that happens.”

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver finished second in the 2021 “500” and has an average finish in the past four Indy 500s of 5.0. He has led 119 laps, with at least 35 laps led in three of the past four years. But he hasn’t led a last lap.

Palou not only hasn’t won the “500,” he hasn’t won on an oval despite 15 career series wins. Both achievements are top of mind as he prepares to begin practice Tuesday at noon ET (FS2, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network, with television coverage switching to FS1 at 4 p.m.).

“I can’t wait to get back on ovals, especially this one, to try and win our first one,” he said.

There is a field full of drivers sharing that winning sentiment, and chief among them are two with record-setting opportunities at hand.

The biggest story of the month will be Josef Newgarden’s pursuit of the first three-peat in “500” history. The Team Penske driver won both the 2023 and 2024 races with last-lap passes to become just the sixth back-to-back winner.

Before Newgarden, the driver who most recently won consecutive “500s” is Helio Castroneves (2001-02), and he has his own chance at history on the line in this year’s event. Driving for Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian, this will be the Brazilian’s fourth try at a record fifth victory. He shares the all-time mark with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears.

Takuma Sato will begin his pursuit of a third Indy victory, again with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a pairing that resulted in the 2020 win. Only 10 drivers have won three or more “500s.” Sato’s chance at a record is relative to his age. Sato, 48, and Castroneves, 50, can become the oldest winners in race history, breaking Al Unser’s mark of 47 years, 360 days.

Other former Indy winners in the field are Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon (2008), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi (2016), Team Penske’s Will Power (2018) and Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson (2022).

Marco Andretti of Andretti Herta w/Marco & Curb-Agajanian seeks to become just the 13th driver in history to make at least 20 starts in the event.

2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson also returns for a shot at winning “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” He again will be part of Arrow McLaren’s stable of cars, joining Pato O’Ward, Christian Lundgaard and rookie Nolan Siegel. Larson’s other goal is to compete in both major events Sunday, May 25. Last year, the weather delay in Indy contributed to him not participating in NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The Indy 500 rookie class features Siegel, Dale Coyne Racing’s Jacob Abel, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Louis Foster and PREMA Racing’s Robert Shwartzman. PREMA Racing will be making its first bid to earn a spot in this event.

The race is on. A forever likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy and racing immortality await the victor.