Alex Palou Becomes 112th Addition to Borg-Warner Trophy® After 2025 Indianapolis 500 Victory

• Alex Palou's sculpted face is the 76^th different driver and 112^th overall to be affixed to the legendary trophy
• Palou is the first Spanish Indy 500 winner
• Seventh victory as owner for Chip Ganassi

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Nov. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The sterling silver image of Alex Palou is now affixed to the Borg-Warner Trophy®, commemorating his victory in the 2025 Indianapolis 500. Palou's image on the trophy was unveiled yesterday evening at Commission Row in downtown Indianapolis as part of a ceremony hosted by Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). Palou, the four-time and defending IndyCar Series Champion who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing, is the first Spaniard to win the Indy 500. The win marks team owner Chip Ganassi's seventh win as an owner, the second most wins by a team owner in IndyCar history.

"I'm honored to continue one of the greatest traditions in all of sports and unveil the latest addition to the iconic Borg-Warner Trophy," said Michelle Collins, Global Director, Marketing and Public Relations BorgWarner. "Alex's victory exemplifies that tenacity and constant commitment to excellence will result in success on and off the track. On behalf of everyone at BorgWarner, congratulations to Alex and the team at Chip Ganassi Racing."

William Behrends, the man behind the faces of the Borg-Warner Trophy for over three decades, once again tackled the feat of adding a new face to the trophy. Behrends begins his process of sculpting by examining a series of 360-degree photos of the winner's face and creating a life-size, clay sculpture. He then refines the sculpture during an in-person session with the winner at his studio in Tryon, North Carolina. The large model is then used as a reference to sculpt a smaller, oil-based clay version of the winner's likeness. Once complete, the small clay model is turned into a mold and cast in wax before it's sent to a jeweler where it is transformed into sterling silver. As the final step, the sterling silver face is polished and buffed before it's permanently attached to the trophy.

On May 25, 2025, over 240,000 fans at IMS cheered as Palou crossed the finish line ahead of American David Malukas in second place and Mexican Pato O'Ward in third place. This year in his sixth overall start in The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, Palou topped the 33-car field after finishing fifth (2024), fourth (2023), ninth (2022) and second (2021) in his previous four starts with Chip Ganassi Racing. His second-place finish was behind 4-time winner Helio Castroneves in 2021.

Early next year, Palou will receive his first Championship Driver's Trophy™ and Ganassi will receive his Championship Team Owner's Trophy, both of which are miniature versions of the Borg-Warner Trophy and affectionately referred to as Baby Borgs.

About BorgWarner
For more than 130 years, BorgWarner has been a transformative global product leader bringing successful mobility innovation to market. With a focus on sustainability, we're helping to build a cleaner, healthier, safer future for all. 

The Borg-Warner Trophy, BorgWarner Championship Driver's Trophy, and BorgWarner Championship Team Owner's Trophy are trademarks of BorgWarner Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements as contemplated by the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act that are based on management's current outlook, expectations, estimates and projections. Words such as "anticipates," "believes," "continues," "could," "designed," "effect," "estimates," "evaluates," "expects," "forecasts," "goal," "guidance," "initiative," "intends," "may," "outlook," "plans," "potential," "predicts," "project," "pursue," "seek," "should," "target," "when," "will," "would," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Further, all statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained or incorporated by reference in this press release that we expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future regarding our business strategy, goals, plans, references to future success and other such matters, are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by us in light of our experience and our perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors we believe are appropriate under the circumstances. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance, and the Company's actual results may differ materially from those expressed, projected or implied in or by the forward-looking statements.

You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond our control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed, projected or implied in or by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties, among others, include: evolving legal, regulatory, and tax regimes; the supply disruptions impacting us or our customers; commodity availability and pricing, and an inability to achieve expected levels of success in additional commercial negotiations with customers concerning recovery of these costs; competitive challenges from existing and new competitors including original equipment manufacturers ("OEM") customers; the challenges associated with rapidly changing technologies and our ability to innovate in response; the difficulty in forecasting demand for electric vehicles and our electric vehicles revenue growth;  future changes in laws and regulations, including, by way of example, taxes and tariffs, in the countries in which we operate; potential disruptions in the global economy caused by wars or other geopolitical conflicts; the ability to identify targets and consummate acquisitions on acceptable terms; failure to realize the expected benefits of acquisitions on a timely basis the possibility that our 2023 tax-free spin-off of our former Fuel Systems and Aftermarket segments into a separate publicly traded company will not achieve its intended benefits; the failure to promptly and effectively integrate acquired businesses; the potential for unknown or inestimable liabilities relating to the acquired businesses; impacts of our exit of the charging business; our dependence on automotive and truck production, both of which are highly cyclical and subject to disruptions; our reliance on major OEM customers; impacts of any future strikes involving any of our OEM customers and any actions such OEM customers take in response; fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates; our dependence on information systems; the uncertainty surrounding global trade policies, including tariffs and export restrictions, and their impacts on the Company, its customers and suppliers and the economies in which the Company operates; the outcome of existing or any future legal proceedings, including litigation with respect to various claims, or governmental investigations, included related litigation; impacts from potential future acquisition or disposition transactions; and the other risks noted in reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in our most recently-filed Form 10-K and/or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. We do not undertake any obligation to update or announce publicly any updates to or revisions to any of the forward-looking statements in this press release to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions, circumstances, or assumptions underlying the statements.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alex-palou-becomes-112th-addition-to-borg-warner-trophy-after-2025-indianapolis-500-victory-302621726.html

SOURCE BorgWarner