Kyle Kirkwood made the perfect start to the race as he swept around the outside of title contender Alex Palou at turn 1 to take the lead.
It was a great first lap for Scott Dixon as he moved up three spots to P7, with O’Ward falling to 12th from P9.
Championship leader Will Power ran into the gravel at turn 4 as he got out wide and could not turn the car, dropping to the back of the field.
Ferrucci [P14], Armstrong [P9], and Rasmussen [P16] got aggressive, passing Canapino, Grosjean and Ericsson respectively.
There was a hairy moment for Rinus VeeKay as he had a big spin out of turn 5 when running in P17.
Kirkwood, Palou, Rosenqvist, Rossi, Herta, Lundgaard, Dixon, McLaughlin, Armstrong and Grosjean was the top 10 on lap 15.
The first driver to pit was Marcus Ericsson at the end of lap 17.
With Kirkwood struggling for pace, it allowed Alexander Rossi in the Arrow McLaren to undercut the Andretti driver and take the lead. Alex Palou had overcut the Andretti but Kirkwood got his elbows out and passed the Spaniard who was struggling on the primary tyre into turn 1 on lap 28. Herta followed him through into 3 as Palou had got wide.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin got really aggressive as he made a bold, brilliant pass into turn 9 on Christian Lundgaard, with the Dane understeering off on exit, dropping to P11. He also had a brake marker board stuck on his front wing for the rest of the stint.
Felix Rosenqvist ran off track, dropping from inside the top 5 to 9th.
Josef Newgarden’s difficult weekend continued as he served a penalty for incorrectly exiting the pits. As he boxed, Marcus Ericsson was recovering from the gravel following a snap of oversteer at turn 10 and almost took out the Penske in the process.
Rossi led Kirkwood (+5.7), Herta, Palou, Dixon, McLaughlin, O’Ward, Grosjean, Rosenqvist and Malukas was the top 10 on lap 35.
A caution was thrown a lap later as Luca Ghiotto had a big crash at turn 4, ending his day early. Luckily the Italian was absolutely fine.The strategy curve ball was thrown as some of the key runners, while some didn’t. Herta jumped Rossi and Kirkwood in the pits as the Andretti crew pulled off a great stop.
Bizarrely, Scott Dixon clipped the wall entering the pits as he lost the car. The 6-time champion had some front wing damage but it was not changed.
Palou, O’Ward, Grosjean, Malukas, Armstrong, Ferrucci, VeeKay, Simpson, Canapino, Fittipaldi, Newgarden, Siegel and Robb did not pit and that was the order on the restart.
The yellows were back immediately as Nolan Siegel spun out at turn 2 and into the gravel, getting stuck. Just before that, Romain Grosjean made a stunning move around the outside of O’Ward at turn 1 to take P2.
Herta started to carve his way through on the second restart, passing Simpson, Robb and Canapino to move into P10. The Argentine had run wide at the very fast turn 6.
Palou led Grosjean, O’Ward, Malukas, Armstrong, Ferrucci, VeeKay, Newgarden, Fittipaldi and Herta with 50 laps remaining.Herta [P10], Rossi [P12] and Kirkwood [P14] was the top 3 of the runners on the other strategy.
Pietro Fittipaldi was hit with a drive-through as he ended up in the gravel exiting the pits, failing to trigger the transponder like Newgarden earlier.
Race leader Alex Palou came in at the end of lap 25 after pulling 22s to Colton Herta. Due to his searing pace against the drivers saving fuel, he came out in P3.
Herta led Rossi, Palou, Kirkwood, McLaughlin, Dixon, Power, Grosjean and Lundgaard was the top 10 when everyone had made 2 stops.
Power used his reds to make a move on Scott Dixon for P6 at the corkscrew with a big send. He continued his move through the pack as he overtook McLaughlin on lap 63.
Out front, Alex Palou used his massive fuel advantage to pass Rossi on lap 62 and Herta two tours later to take the lead. He immediately drove away to build a 3s lead.
Santino Ferrucci was ordered to give up six spots as he savagely blocked Christian Rasmussen out of turn 5.
Kirkwood, Dixon, Herta, Rossi, Power, McLaughlin pitted on laps 67 and 68, putting Palou in the danger zone for a cartoon.
The Spaniard and Grosjean pitted at the end of lap 70, coming out in a net P1 and P3 respectively. However, Rossi managed to pass Grosjean on his cold tyres around the outside into the corkscrew.
At turn 11, Scott McLaughlin made a brilliant move on the brakes to take position from Kyle Kirkwood.
A third caution was required as Marcus Armstrong stalled. He made contact with Christian Lundgaard at turn 4 as he came out of the pits on cold tyres. The Dane sent it down the inside and the pair made contact. The Kiwi spun across the track and was extremely lucky not to be collected. Lundgaard was handed a penalty for the collision.
As they didn’t throw the caution until Newgarden pitted, the Penske driver benefitted massively, rejoining in 2nd behind Palou. Herta, Rossi, Grosjean, Power, McLaughlin, Kirkwood, Dixon and Malukas completed the top 10.
On the restart, McLaughlin sent it big time into turn 5 on Will Power, resulting in contact between the pair. The Kiwi spun and was penalised for the contact. A broken toe link forced him to pit. Power dropped to P9.
Penske’s nightmare continued as Newgarden put it in the gravel at turn 6 and dropped to P5.
It was a wild ride for Christian Lundgaard as he took off in the gravel at the corkscrew.Another caution was required as Jack Harvey’s engine blew up on the main straight.
Palou, Herta, Rossi, Grosjean, Newgarden, Kirkwood, Dixon, O’Ward, Power and Ferrucci was the top 10 on the restart with ten to go.
Yet another caution came out with 9 laps remaining. Canapino and Simpson made contact into turn 5. Simpson picked up a puncture and spun across the track, getting collected by Graham Rahal. The RLL driver gently hit the concrete wall at low speeds. Both drivers walked away from it. The Argentinian driver was handed a penalty for it.
The green was thrown with 4 laps to go. Power made a pass on O’Ward for 8th.
Incredibly, Josef Newgarden threw away a comfortable P5 as he spun at turn 6 and dropped to P19.
Palou masterfully controlled things until the end, winning by 2s on a day when he perfected the strategy and drove away when required.
Herta and Rossi completed the podium spots, with Romain Grosjean a superb P4 for Juncos Hollinger Racing as he finished just behind the Arrow McLaren car.
Kirkwood, Dixon, Power, O’Ward, Ferrucci and Ericsson completed the top 10 following a wild race.
