After a heated qualifying session on and off track, it’s time to for the main event at Road America.
Pole sitter is Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta, lining up with Pato O’ Ward on the front row. Championship leader Alex Palou is in P3, next to 500 winner Josef Newgarden, whereas 2019 Road America winner Alexander Rossi is starting in P5 after having lead all practise sessions of the weekend.
At the start Kirkwood hit O’Ward in the rear, forcing the McLaren driver to drop back to P6, leaving Palou in P2, as Herta held on to the lead. A caution was issued to allow his engine to be refired, forcing the Andretti driver to yet another comeback driver after his last time out in Detroit.
Three drivers went out on the grass, as Pedersen ends up rejoining the grid in P26 after starting in P10. Marcus Armstrong is among the biggest movers so far, up to P3 from his starting P8.
Many drivers took advantage of the caution to tick off the first pit stop of the day. As soon as it was issued green, Ericsson overtook Deviln Defrancesco for P8, but was passed again, whereas O’Ward and Rossi battled for P5 and Armstrong tried to bother Palou for P2.
DeFrancesco completed a move on Ferrucci for P7 while much further down the order Grosjean and Power fought for P19, with the Swiss driver forcing him off track.
Lundgaard tried to make a move on Newgarden, but ended up on the grass, as the Rahal Letterman racer is passed by Rossi as well. O’Ward was forced to give back two positions due to blocking while defending from Ferrucci at the beginning of the race, as well as Kirkwood, who was ordered to drop to the back of the field for avoidable contact, going from P22 to P27.
Canapino went off at Turn 14, but was able to resume his race, while his Juncos Hollinger Racing teammate Callum Ilott overtook Veekay for P11. The Ed Carpenter Racing driver made contact with Felix Rosenqvist, spinning him out on the grass a Turn 3, but didn’t get a penalty for it.
On Lap 10, Herta is stil in the lead, followed by Palou, Armstrong, Newgarden and Rossi. Scott McLaughlin has made his way up to the top ten after an unfortunate red flag had forced him to not make the cut to Round 2, thus starting in P19.
On Lap 12 Romain Grosjean spun out at Turn 3 after running slightly off the racing line. All drivers immediately rushed to the pits for fresh rubber. Unsafe release penalties might be coming, as Kirkwood missed on his pit entrance due to Veekeay exiting his lane, as well as Armstrong being released just as Pagenaud was coming in.
The Chip Ganassi part time driver didn’t manage to hold on his provisional P3 after the pit stop, with Newgarden exiting before. He is also forced by race control to drop one position, ending up behind Rossi, just like the Dutch driver, who was penalised for unsafe release and forced to drop behind Kirkwood.
Racing resumed on Lap 16, but immediately Jack Harvey hit the back of Helio Castroneves’ car, running off track and into the tyre wall at Turn 14, issuing yet another caution. The Rahal Letterman Racing driver’s car stalled again after restarting. Under the caution Power pitted for the fifth time of his afternoon.
At the restart, Lundgaard tried to pass Armstrong, but he didn’t mnage to. The Chip Ganassi driver moves on to pass Rossi, while Defrancesco passed Ericsson for P9. Pagenaud and Ericsson then make contact, with the French driver going slightly off track.
Dixon has gained 14 position, all the way up to P9 on Lap 21. Rossi returns to his previous P4 ahead Armstrong, with O’Ward closely watching from behind, just as Palou and Newgarden make contact. The Team Penske driver manages to slot up to P2.
Photo credits: Penske Entertainment | James Black
It’s not Armstrong’s moment, as the former Formula 2 driver is passed on Lap 24 by O’Ward and Lundgaard. Malukas stops on track for the fourth caution of the day.
Almost all the drivers stopped, with race leader Herta losing the lead of the race due to his car stalling whiletrying to start his car after pitting. Palou is now first, followed by Newgarden and Herta. The only driver who din’t pit, provisionally in P1, is Armstrong.
Castroneves has to drop to the back fo the field due to equipment on his car. After the restart, Armstrong is leading followed by Power, Palou, Herta, O’Ward and Newgarden. Veekay passes Defrancesco, who runs wide in the grass. On Lap 30 Herta overtakes Palou for what’s now provisional P3, but might be the race lead.
Ferrucci rans wide after making contact with his teammate Pedersen, as Armstrong stops to pit, leaving the most controversial driver of the weekend in the lead, Will Power.
Lapped Grosjean didn’t make it easy for drivers on the lead lap to pass him, as Dixon finally succeeds in the move. Power pits on Lap 34, ending up in P23 just in front of Armstrong as Lundgaard tried to overtake McLaughlin for P9.
Rossi is struggling on the alternate tyres once again after yesterday in qualifying, as he is passed by his teammate Rosenqvist. On Lap 37 Herta is leading Palou, O’Ward, Newgarden and Dixon, whereas Lundgaard manages tocomplete the move on McLaughlin.
Andretti’s Kirkwood approaches the Top Ten, completing the move on Veekay for P12 after his first turn crash. Grosjean was shortly up in the air after taking a bump.
With 15 laps to go Herta heads to the pits for what should be his last stop, prompting many other drivers to do the same. Palou remains out in the lead, followed by O’Ward, Newgarden and Dixon, who all pit the next lap.
At the exit from the pits Lundgaard, Rossi and Rosenqvist had a moment, as the Dane tried to pass returning Rossi but ran off wide. Grosjean ran wide another two times in the same lap, for what has definitely not been the weekend of the Andretti driver, twice on the podium this season.
Ilott ran wide off track at the exit of Turn 6, as Power, who didn’t stop, is in P1 ahead of Herta, Palou, Newgarden and O’Ward. Kirkwood passes Rosenqvist for P11.
With nine laps to go Power pits, leaving very close to each other Herta and Palou in the lead. The Team Penske driver rejoins the grid in P14.
At the outside of Turn 1 Palou passes Herta for the lead at the beginning of Lap 48, as Ericsson overtakes Rossi for P8. The Andretti is left a sitting duck as with six laps to go Newgarden gets ahead of him, while on Lap 50 is time for O’Ward and Dixon to get through, lacking the fuel to push for a better final position.
Power ran wide on the grass but managed to neither crash his car nor hit any car while returning on track, just before Lundgaard did the same thing at a different turn, proof of the almost slippery track conditions when driver steer off the racing line.
Robb ran off ending up almost in the wall at the carousel, but is able to return on track with no damage, only dirt on his car and on the track. The battle for third is still open as recovering Dixon is only half a second off O’Ward.
Armstrong spun off at the Carousel and after rejoining teh track is almost hit by his teammate Alex Palou on the final lap of his race.
Championship leader Alex Palou wins his third race of the season and the second in a row ahead of Newgarden, O’Ward, Dixon, Herta, Ericsson, Lundgaard, McLaughlin, Kirkwood and Rossi. The Spanish driver extends his championship lead on Ericsson to 74 points and on Newgarden to 81 points.
