Alex Palou Takes The Top Step After a Chaotic Race at Road America

Now that he’s won six out of the nine races we’ve had so far, Palou’s shown exactly why he’s the championship leader in what could be his fourth championship-winning season. 

He started the race second behind rookie driver Louis Foster. Palou dropped down amid all the cautions but found himself back at the top during the race’s late stages. It seemed like Felix Rosenqvist could catch up, but Palou kept him at bay. 

Rosenqvist instead finished in second place, followed by Santino Ferrucci. This is Rosenqvist’s first podium of the year and Ferrucci’s second. 

A Chaotic Set of Caution Laps 

Three cautions were brought out during the first 11 laps of the race. Road America isn’t known to be a caution-heavy race, but things were off to a frantic start this afternoon. 

On lap one, David Malukas went off the track and into the sand. A caution was brought out immediately as they worked to get him safely back into the pits. After a pit stop, Malukas was 

able to rejoin the race since his car suffered minimal damage. 

Shortly after, Indy 500 pole sitter Robert Shwartzman found himself in the barrier at turn 12. At Road America, turn 12 is known to be the heaviest braking zone on the track. Shwartzman was under braking and had a rear lock-up up which sent him straight into the barrier. 

After a couple more laps of racing under green, it was Sting Ray Robb who found his race coming to a premature end. Similarly to Malukas, Robb overestimated exactly how much space he had to overtake Marcus Armstrong. He went into the wall at turn 5. 

Tough Luck For Josef Newgarden 

One driver who’s been struggling this season is Josef Newgarden. It’s important to note that a majority of the issues he’d faced during his races have been out of his control. 

Newgarden was forced to DNF this afternoon after going wide at turn 14 and ending up in the wall. After his left rear went off the pavement, Newgarden was sent into the tire barrier. His rear wing was gone, and he spent some time in the pits before Team Penske confirmed he would not be returning to the race. 

Some of Newgarden’s recent DNFs include his seat belt not working properly, fuel leakage, and being in the wrong place at the wrong time last weekend after Louis Foster’s crash sent his car upside down. 

Other Notable Road America Moments 

On lap 25, Conor Daly went off the track and into the gravel after what’s been a difficult weekend for him. The AMR safety was deployed to help him get back on track. After his car got moving again, he went racing with the safety team’s tow rope attached to the back of his car until he pitted and got it removed. 

Christian Lundgaard and Colton Herta got close to making contact this afternoon as well. The two were going side by side, but Lundgaard went over the bumps on the edge of the track. He spun around on track, and Kyle Kirkwood was forced off track in order to avoid contact.

IndyCar goes green next on July 6. The drivers take on the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. The green flag waves at 1:00 p.m.