After 55 laps of tight racing, Chip Ganassi’s Alex Palou saved enough fuel to hold off Felix Rosenqvist and take the win. This is Palou’s 6th win of the season and a record-equaling win at Road America.
High Temperatures Caused Questions Over Tire Performance
Coming into the race, drivers and strategists alike were unsure how the Firestone tires would fare in the high temperatures. Road America has previously seen a temperature average of 22.1°C – considerably lower than this year. During the race, it was 32°C with a track temperature of 53°C – leading to questions over how the tires perform.
When asked about the forecast yesterday, winner Palou predicted it would be a, “tough race on both fuel and tires.” Commentator Jack Harvey spoke to some drivers ahead of the race, including pole sitter Louis Foster, who admitted it would be a, “hot and long race”. Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin joked to Harvey that, “this is what we train for.”
Cautions Breed Cautions
It’s not a secret in IndyCar that caution periods often lead to more cautions. This race was no exception. Road America saw 5 caution periods. The first came on Lap 1 when David Malukas ran into Christian Lundgaard and spun out. The caution lasted until Lap 4, and Malukas was able to keep running after the AMR Safety Team got back on track.
It was Robert Shwartzman who caused the second caution 2 laps later. Shwartzman lost it under braking and crashed at Canada Corner (Turn 12). The second caution lasted a further 3 laps but, once again, we only saw two laps of green flag racing. The third caution came on Lap 10 when Sting Ray Robb had a moment at turn 5, ending in the tire barrier. He was recovered and the green flag flew on Lap 13.
Conor Daly and Josef Newgarden caused the 4th and 5th caution periods, on Laps 22 and 31 respectively. Daly managed to continue the race but got penalised for driving with the tow rope attached to his car. Newgarden had to retire, despite his team trying to fix his suspension.
In total, Road America saw a total of 14 laps under caution, all in quick succession.
Split Strategies Brought Back Markers Into Contention
The grid was split fairly equally between those starting on each tire – an even divide between the two main strategies. However, strategies were scrambled when back-markers, such as Chip Ganassi’s Scott Dixon and Kyffin Simpson, came to pit lane on Lap 3.
When the rest of the grid came to pit on Lap 12, the early pitters cycled to the front of the grid. The multiple caution periods saw a mix of strategies emerge, from stretching fuel stints to prioritising tire freshness.
The mix of strategies saw a fight to the finish line, with Rosenqvist, on newer tires, hunting down Palou, who had to save fuel.
Problems For Penske
Despite all three Team Penske drivers starting in the top 12, it was another unlucky day for the team. McLaughlin took the lead from Foster on the first restart, but a poor pitstop saw him concede positions. Will Power also got a brilliant start, overtaking Palou and Graham Rahal. He fought with Kyle Kirkwood and Palou but he kept falling foul at Canada Corner, which cost him track position. Newgarden got his 5th DNF of the season.
With the Penske drivers finishing P12, P14 and P25, it was yet another race to forget for them.
Canada Corner Creates Chaos
Canada Corner was a tricky one for the drivers during the race, with many going wide and losing positions. Palou benefited from this twice, but other drivers weren’t so lucky.
After edging out McLaughlin in the pits, Lundgaard led the alternate strategy runners. After the 5th restart, he was attempting to overtake Colton Herta at the infamous Canada Corner, but they touched. Lundgaard spun out, he managed to not get beached, but in doing so, lost track position and fell to the back of the pack. He was not able to recover and finished P24, last of all the running drivers.
Chip Ganassi and Alex Palou Save Fuel to Win
Chip Ganassi drivers weren’t playing it safe during the race. After their early stops, Dixon and Simpson found themselves in the leading pack and teammate Palou quickly joined them. Dixon led the most laps – 27 – and was holding Palou off in the final stage.
With 5 laps to go, Dixon, Palou, and Alexander Rossi had to save fuel and fend off Rosenqvist. Ultimately, Dixon and Rossi had to pit, promoting Palou to P1, Rosenqvist to P2, and Santino Ferrucci to P3. Whilst he ultimately took the win, Palou wasn’t sure he had it in the bag and wasn’t counting his teammate out, saying that, “Scott can make crazy stuff happen.”
Post race, when asked about how much fuel he had left, Palou replied, “not much, enough to make it.” Ferrucci was also on a similar strategy and he noted that he was, “stressed out” with the fuel saving.
Road America Doesn’t Disappoint
The XPEL Grand Prix at Road America was a chaotic race, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats. It saw 348 on-track passes, second only to last year. There were a record breaking 9 leaders, with 11 changes for the race lead.
Taking his 6th win of the season, Palou equals the record of three wins at Road America. He joins motorsports legends Mario Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi in this incredible feat. With this win, Palou also enters the top 30 all-time winners and continues his lead in the 2025 championship.
In a race that saw backmarkers emerge into the top ten, Malukas recovered nicely from his early mistake and finished P7. Drivers remain fans of the track, with Rosenqvist saying that, “it’s always a hit”, and Palou commenting that it was, “a crazy race”. Once again, Road America didn’t disappoint and brought a fantastic, action-packed race.
We now see a short break in the calendar before returning to Lexington, Ohio for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio in the first weekend of July.