Good Morning From Road America

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Welcome to a cloudy, cool day at the National Park of Speed. The threat of rain has diminished, but the clouds are expected to linger most of the day, with a high of around 78 degrees. Enjoy this balmy weather. The forecast for tomorrow and Sunday calls for highs in the low to mid 90s with heat indexes near 100 degrees. If you’re at the track, please remember to hydrate. A lot.

Things seem a bit subdued this morning, as many fans are recuperating from watching last night’s Pacers game. I watched from a restaurant in Elkhart Lake, and I could have sworn I was in downtown Indy. There will be a mad rush down I-65 Sunday after the race as people try to get back to indy in time to watch Game 7.

It hadn’t really dawned on me that 2025 is the 70th anniversary of Road America. As far as tracks go, this is an impressive age. IMS is 116 years old. The Milwaukee Mile dates to 1903. The free fan guide available at the track has a lot of information, including a nice two page history of the track.

There are some changes coming tothe track. The pedestrian bridge on the front stretch, built in 1961, will be replaced with a structure which will accommodate both pedestrians and golf carts. The North paddock area will be paved. Renovations will be made to suites and the press paddock.

On track, barriers on driver’s left at turns 4-5 and turns 13-14 will be straightened. The barrier bases will be removed and reconstructed.

The are at the kink just off the track surface has been redone with what is called “grasscrete. It’s a perforated strip f concrete which allows grass to grow through it. Its purpose is to eliminate dust thrown on the track and allow for a cleaner exit.

I’ll be back with more later. i am going out to explore the grounds and see what else is new here.

Road America Preview- The Search for Number 3

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IndyCar has sought a third engine manufacturer for awhile now, but with the announcement that that a new power formula has been pushed back to 2028, that quest is a bit moot right now. Still the number three still lurk throughout the paddock, as in who will be the third race winner of 2025?

This weekend will be the 11th race at Road America since the series returned in 2016. Two races took place in 2020. Last year was heonly time I have missed this event, and when I planned ny 2025 schedule, everything else revolved around a return to Road America.

The first practice is at 4:30 pm eastern today on FS2.

Last Sunday’s amazing race at Gateway showed every indication that he winner would not be named Alex Palou or Kyle Kirkwood. Team Penske locked out the front row and took three of the first five starting spots. In the end, Kirkwood won his third race of the year, and second in a row. Palou has won at Road America, and Kirkwood had a track career best of fifth last season.

Like the Madison, Illinois oval, Road America has seen dominance by Team Penske. Last year they swept the podium. Will Team Penske salvage something from what has been a dismal year on Sunday?

Pato O’Ward is second in points depite not winning a race so far this season. In 2020 Race 2, he was nipped with two laps to go by Felix Rosenqvist. O’Ward is arguably the leading candidate for race winner number three.

Colton Herta was on the pole in 2023, but a questionable strategy call cost him a victory. He has been close, and this might be his weekend.

Weather may be a factor with high temperatures getting into the 90s on Saturday and Sunday.

I’m going with O’Ward to beak though this weekend. He will maintain his slight edge over Kirkwood in the standings, but Palou will still keep his healthy lead.

XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR Fast Facts 

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 Race weekend: Friday, June 20 – Sunday, June 22
Track: Road America, a 4.014-mile, 14-turn permanent road course (clockwise), in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 55 laps / 220.77 miles | INDY NXT by Firestone: 20 laps / 80.28 miles or 55 minutes

Push to Pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation. | INDY NXT by Firestone: A maximum of 50 activations total or 150 seconds of total Push to Pass time.
Hybrid energy deployment parameters: Unlimited activation, with a maximum deployment of 715 kilojoules (kj) per lap
Firestone tire allotment: Six sets primary (hard/black sidewall) and five sets alternate (soft/red sidewall) to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race. INDY NXT by Firestone: Four new sets to be used during the race weekend.
X: @RoadAmerica @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #XPELGP, #INDYCAR #ROADAMERICAI
nstagram: @RoadAmerica, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #XPELGP, #INDYCAR #ROADAMERICA
Threads: @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT
Facebook: @Road America, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #XPELGP, #INDYCAR #ROADAMERICA
TikTok: @INDYCAR @INDYNXT, #INDYCAR
YouTube: @RaceRoadAmerica, @INDYCAR
Event website: www.roadamerica.com
INDYCAR website: www.indycar.com

2024 race winners:NTT INDYCAR SERIESWill Power (No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet)INDY NXT by FirestoneJamie Chadwick (No. 28 Andretti Global)
2024 NTT P1 Award winner:Linus Lundqvist (No. 8 The American Legion Honda) 1:45.1519, 137.424 mph
2024 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner:Jamie Chadwick (No. 28 Andretti Global) 1:51.0333, 130.145 mph
Qualifying lap record: NTT INDYCAR SERIESDario Franchitti, 1:39.866, 145.924 mph, Aug. 19, 2000INDY NXT by FirestoneKyffin Simpson, 1:49.1028, 132.448 mph, June 17, 2023
FOX Sports telecasts: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 
Practice 1, 4:30 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live);
Practice 2, 11 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live);
Qualifying, 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live);
Warmup, 10 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live);
Race, 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX (live), FOX Deportes.
Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be available on FOX Deportes. 
INDY NXT by Firestone: 
Practice 1, 3:30 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live);
Practice 2, 10 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1;
Qualifying, 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live);
Race, 11 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live). Kevin Lee is the play-by-play announcer for FOX Sports’ coverage of INDY NXT by Firestone alongside analyst Jack Harvey. Georgia Henneberry is the pit reporter.
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Nick Yeoman, Jake Query and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Alex Wolff, Drake York and DJ Clark are the pit reporters. The XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR race (1 p.m. ET Sunday), INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America (10:55 a.m. Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. All INDY NXT by Firestone practices, qualifying sessions and races are available on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
At-track schedule (all times Central Time):
Friday, June 20
2:30-3:15 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 1, FS2 (live)
3:35-4:50 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1, FS2 (live)
Saturday, June 21
9-9:45 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 2, FS1 (live)
10:05-11:05 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (45 minutes of green flag or 60 total minutes), FS1 (live)
12:30-1 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Qualifying (two groups/12 minutes each), FS1 (live)
1:35-3 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying), FS1 (live)
Sunday, June 22
9:02-9:27 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup, FS1 (live)
10:01 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America Command to start engines
10:06 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America (20 laps/55 minutes), FS1 (live)
Noon — Driver introductions
12:40 p.m. XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR Command to start engines
XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR (55 laps/222.64 miles), FOX (live). Spanish telecast on FOX Deportes (live
)NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:
There have been two winners in eight NTT INDYCAR SERIES races in the 2025 season. Alex Palou (Streets of St. Petersburg, The Thermal Club, Barber Motorsports Park, Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and Indianapolis 500) and Kyle Kirkwood (Streets of Long Beach, Streets of Detroit and World Wide Technology Raceway) have won this season.The XPEL Grand Prix at Road America, Presented by AMR, will be the 36th INDYCAR SERIES race held at Road America since it hosted its first INDYCAR event in 1982. Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi have three wins, the most by an INDYCAR SERIES driver at the track.Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou and Will Power have won twice at Road America – most among active drivers. Other previous Road America winners entered include Alexander Rossi and Felix Rosenqvist.The driver who has gone on to win the championship has won at Road America seven times: Mario Andretti (1984), Michael Andretti (1991), Jacques Villeneuve (1995), Alex Zanardi (1997), Cristiano da Matta (2002), Sebastien Bourdais (2007), Scott Dixon (2020) and Alex Palou (2023).Scott Dixon and Will Power have competed in 12 previous races at Road America, most of any driver. Fourteen entered drivers have led laps at the track: Josef Newgarden 159, Alexander Rossi 70, Will Power 76, Pato O’Ward 43, Scott Dixon 43, Colton Herta 42, Scott McLaughlin 18, Felix Rosenqvist 18, Alex Palou 18, Marcus Armstrong 5, Graham Rahal 5, Marcus Ericsson 4, Kyle Kirkwood 3 and Christian Lundgaard 1.
Chip Ganassi Racing has won seven times at Road America (1997, 2001, 2017, a sweep of the 2020 doubleheader, 2021 and 2023), including four of the last six INDYCAR SERIES races at “America’s National Park of Speed.” CGR is one of three current teams with wins at the track.
Team Penske also has won seven times at Road America (1989, 1992, 1993, 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2024) while Andretti Global won in 2019.
Rookies Jacob Abel, Louis Foster and Robert Shwartzman will race an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car at Road America for the first time this weekend.
Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 348th consecutive start, extending his record streak…Dixon passed Mario Andretti for the all-time in INDYCAR SERIES starts with his 408th start May 25 at Indianapolis and will extend his record with his 411th career start Sunday.
INDY NXT by Firestone Notes:The ultra-competitive INDY NXT by Firestone season continues with a visit to Road America. Dennis Hauger leads the point standings on the strength of four wins in the first six races, but the other race winner this season, Hauger’s Andretti Global teammate Lochie Hughes, is hot on the Norwegian’s heels for the title and the financial benefits to advance to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.Group qualifying will decide the starting grid on road and street circuits. Based on the best lap times from the practice session immediately preceding qualifying, the fastest driver in that session will choose which group will compete in the first of the two qualifying sessions. With 12 minutes allotted for each group (with a guarantee of one timed lap), the fastest driver between the two sessions will be awarded pole position with the drivers who finished behind that driver, in order and in that group, occupying the odd-numbered starting positions (3, 5, 7, etc.) for the race and the drivers who finished in order from the other group occupying the even-numbered starting positions (2, 4, 6, etc.). One driver and entrant championship point will be awarded to the fastest car in each qualifying group. 

Bommarito 500 Thoughts- Racing as it Should Be

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Penske Entertainment photo

What can IndyCar do for an encore? It will be difficult to top last night’s Bommarito 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Fast paced, battles for the lead, fights for position, wild accidents, and a winner in doubt until the end- not much more a race fan can ask for over two plus hours.

In the end, Kyle Kirkwood won his first career oval race and second race in a row, keeping Honda’s winning streak alive and the 2025 winners count at two.

On Saturday, all signs pointed to Chevy and Team Penske ending their season long droughts. Will Power won the pole, and teammate Scott McLaughlin joined him on the front row. Chevy powered cars occupied the first five spots.

McLaughlin’s stall as the grid rolled off pit lane was a harbinger of the woes awaiting Team Penske. Power suffered a tire failure on lap 4 and did a masterful job crab walking the car back to the pits. Josef Newgarden appeared to have full command of the race until he hit the sliding car of Louis Foster, flipping upside down and sliding down the front stretch. McLaughlin retired with 44 laps to go with a mechanical issue.

It has been that type of season for Team Penske. In eight races the team has just two podium spots, no wins, and two poles.

It Was Malukas’ Night Until…

David Malukas shot to the lead at the start and led the first 51 laps. He led two other times until a pit lane penalty cost him three spots in the restart order. He grazed the wall on lap 196, ending his strongest chance for his first victory.

Notes

There is so much to talk about.

Conor Daly once again looked to be in line for the win, but faded to 6th. Junco Hollinger has looked very solid in the first two ovals of the season.

Rinus VeeKay has raised the bar at Dale Coyne Racing. His seventh place finish is his third top 10 finish in 2025.

Christian Rasmussen overcame a fire under his car as he left the pits, fought his way through the field twice, and brought home his first career podium for ECR. Definitely Driver of the Race.

Robert Shwartzman earned his first career top 10 result for PREMA. The team has exceeded expectations in their first year in IndyCar. Callum Ilott had a chance to win the race. If the rain had come 10 minutes earlier, we may be talking about an improbable winner today.

Why did the yellow light take six seconds to come on after Foster slammed the outside wall? The late yellow may have prevented Newgarden from crashing into Foster, or at last made the impact less severe. The yellow flashed immediately when Malukas just grazed the wall and kept going. The slow response was unacceptable.

I cannot thank Dallara, the aeroscreen, the roll hoop, and the AMR safety team enough. The safety of these cars and the way they protect the drivers continues to amaze me.

Kyle Kirkwood is finally emerging as the driver I thought he would be when he entered IndyCar. He knows how to win, and I don’t think he is done winning yet this year.

If last night’s race proved anything, it’s that IndyCar needs to race on more ovals, and at night as often as possible. I’m hoping the Saturday race at Iowa can be moved to as night race, and that the finale at Nashville Superspeedway can shift its start time as well. IndyCar at night produces the best racing and it looks great in person and on television.

Penske Resurgence at WWTR

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Will Power led a team Penske awakening as the team and a partner car took four of the top five sport for tomorrow night’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500. Will Power won his 71st career pole, and his first since September,2023.

Pato O’Ward was the only non-Penske affiliated car in the top five. O’Ward will start third.

“It’s been a while. I’ve been on the front row a few times, but it’s always nice to get a pole. It’s one (championship) point and get to lead the field to the green (flag). It’ll be nice to see nothing in front of me! Good stuff. I’m going to enjoy it for now, then get back to (night) practice,” Power said.

IndyCar will have a practice session at 8:15 pm Eastern time on FS2.

Results:

Bommarito 500 Preview

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IndyCar begins its way too limited oval portion of the schedule this weekend with an experimental time slot at World Wide Technology Raceway. Father’s Day weekend races have had mixed success in the past. The first attempt to revive Milwaukee on Father’s Day weekend didn’t go very well.

IndyCar’s first non 500 oval caps a busy motorsports weekend which begins tomorrow with the Le Mans 24 hour race and includes the F1 Canadian Grand Prix, and a NASCAR race in Mexico City. Moving the race to Sunday evening makes sense in the context of all the other motorsports events. going on.

The Madison, Illinois venue started off well, and the event has a super promotional team. The August date worked quite well here, but it remains to be seen if this earlier date will be as well received. Changing the starting time to a Sunday evening may boost television viewing, but I’m not sure what it will do for track attendance.

Let’s take a look on what the two day show may bring.

Penske Rebound?

Josef Newgarden has won five times here, including last year, when he benefitted from a controversial restart. Will Power also has a victory in this race, and Scott McLaughlin usually does well on ovals. If Team Penske is going to score a win this season, Sunday is probably their best chance.

Palou Rebound

I can’t believe we are even talking about this, but after Palou’s crash at Detroit, he will be looking to return to form. Now that the three time series champion has notched his first oval win, I think he may begin a run of oval wins.

Others to Watch

David Malukas finished second in this race in 2022, and WWTR has been one of the better tracks for A. J. Foyt Racing. This is a combination that could be a factor in the race.

Alexander Rossi has run well here and has contended at times, but misfortune seems to find him every year. Could this be the year he has a good result?

Pato O’Ward won at Milwaukee last year and is overdue for a victory in 2025. I look for a strong run from the MclAREN TEAM.

Andretti Oval Resurgence

Kyle Kirkwood and Colton Herta were strong on ovals late last year, and they were strong in the Indianapolis 500. Teammate Marcus Ericsson finished second on track before he and Kirkwood were disqualified.

With so many drivers to choose, I’m going with a Team Penske resurgence, and a Will Power victory this weekend.

Coverage here tomorrow will be a wrap-up at the end of the day of all sessions. I’m not on site this weekend. I will have a quick race summary Sunday evening, and my thoughts on the race on Monday.