Alex Palou’s first oval test at Texas Motor Speedway today was a success with the rookie turning 125 laps. To say he simply enjoyed it would be an understatement.

Alex Palou: “It was a crazy experience and I loved it! It’s awesome to drive on an oval.”

“It was crazier than what I expected, but it was also more fun than what I expected. At first, it was quite eye-opening because of the banking, and the speed, because everything is so quick. ”

“But you have to take it step by step. All you need are small details to make the car better and make your line better. We went from going slowly, building up my confidence to going out on a new tire run. It felt great.”

“I know it’s going to be really different when we come back here in the summer, it will be hot with lots of cars around, but for the first day I think it was perfect.”

“I can’t wait to go oval racing. I was already really excited to go oval racing because I thought I would like it, but I like it even more than what I thought. It’s just awesome to be able race on ovals this year.”

Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh rookie Alex Palou completed his first official NTT INDYCAR SERIES test on Wednesday at Circuit of the Americas by placing ninth in the 27-car field.

After weather wreaked havoc on Tuesday’s test day, the driver of the gray and hot pink #55 entry, was finally able to turn laps at full speed on Wednesday once the skies cleared and the temperatures started rising.

Palou completed 60 laps and registered a fastest lap time of 1:47.707. While building his confidence behind the wheel of his Honda powered machine, he collected important information that will be useful throughout the season and for when the team returns to the 3.41-mile, 20-turn road course in April for the AutoNation INDYCAR Challenge.

“It was a really good test at Circuit of the Americas today. It was a bit of a shame that the weather prevented us to run yesterday and this morning, so the afternoon was busy,” shared Palou. “It was a lot of fun. We tested a lot of stuff and we learned a lot. I also got confident with the car and the team. It was a very productive test. I think it’s the start of a good year. (About driving with the aeroscreen) I think it’s really good. I expected the visibility to be worse but no, it was perfectly fine.”

Palou will next be getting his first taste of an Indy car on an oval this Friday as he and the Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh squad head to Texas Motor Speedway for the Spaniard’s rookie orientation.

It was IndyCAR Series Media Day on Fbruary 10, a day before COTA (Circuit of The America, Austin) test on Februday 11/12. All drivers spent a busy day for photo shooting, TV interview, and etc.