Louis Foster P1 Award – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by Chris Owens

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

Rookie Louis Foster always will be able to frame-and-explain his first INDYCAR pole by the reaction of the driver who qualified second Saturday afternoon at Road America.

Louis Foster – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – (Photo by Travis Hinkle | IMS Photo)

That would be three-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou, who admittedly was ambushed by Foster and his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing crew during Firestone Fast Six qualifying for today’s XPEL Grand Prix of Road America presented by AMR.

Foster became the second rookie to earn an NTT P1 Award this season, clicking off a stunning lap of 1- minute, 44.5141-seconds/138.263 mph around Road America’s daunting, 4.014-mile/14-turn circuit in Wisconsin’s scenic Kettle Moraine region. Elkhart Lake is located roughly midway between Milwaukee and Green Bay. Foster’s best previous start this season was third at the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course in May.

Louis Foster P1 Award – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by Travis Hinkle

An intriguing mix of tire selection strategy emerged as a key element among the six drivers competing in the Fast Six final segment, a session run in ambient temperatures in the 90s and track temps at or near 122 degrees. Foster secured P1 on lightly used Firestone Firehawk alternate (red) tires _ the only driver in the Fast Six to not use the harder, more durable primary (black) tires during any of the three segments. Palou opted for scuffed alternates before using new alternates on his final laps.

“Obviously, a massive thank you to the team. They’ve done an amazing job,” said Foster, a 21-year-old native of Odiham, England, and driver of RLLR’s No.45 Droplight/Desnuda Tequila Honda. “When we got through to the Fast 12, I was surprised because I messed up my lap. We were sitting there before the group stage, the Fast 12 stage. I said to the guys, ‘I don’t think I have the car to make it through the Fast Six. Do you want throw some used tires on and maybe get a spot or two and see how it goes?’

“They were confident in the ability of the car and myself to be able to push into the Fast Six, which obviously was the right call. When we did the last run, again, we were just conserving reds. We were in the Fast Six. Top-six starting spot for us is awesome alone. We just ran out, did the out-lap and pushed on the used reds. By the time I went through Turn 1, I was about 2/10ths up, then maintained that throughout the lap. Gained about a 10th or so in a couple corners. The reds held on really, really well _ clearly. Yeah, still a little bit in shock.”

Alex Palou – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – (Photo by Travis Hinkle | IMS Photo)

Apparently, so was Palou _ the Spaniard who has won five of the season’s first eight races en route to a comfortable lead in the driver’s championship. “It was interesting. We had a really fast car,” said Palou, referring to his red No. 10 SOLO Cup Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “Then I thought qualifying was going to be only against people on new tires. I think Louis did it on used tires, right? Yeah, I wasn’t counting on that. He did an amazing job.

“I’m really happy with the qualifying we did. I think we matched our best lap time of the weekend in Fast Six. We didn’t have more speed, just a little extra there on Fast Six. Happy to start on front row. It’s big here to start up-front, so happy.”

Palou also acknowledged Foster’s first series pole as a “huge” career moment. “Not only that, but the way he did it _ it’s pretty impressive,” Palou said. “I think it’s going to help him have a great result (today) and push him during the year. So yeah, it’s cool to see.”

Today’s 55-lap/220.77-mile race will start at 1:30 p.m. (EDT), with live coverage on FOX Sports, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network. A 25-minute warmup session will precede the race (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).

Louis Foster P1 Award – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by James Black

The 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone champion, Foster became the first rookie to claim an NTT IndyCar Series pole on a road-course or street circuit since Linus Lundqvist of Sweden won the top spot for this race last year. Fellow-rookie Robert Shwartzman of Israel stunned the open-wheel racing world in May by becoming the first rookie since Italian Teo Fabi in 1983 to qualify on-pole for the Indianapolis 500.

Foster and Shwartzman are the first rookie INDYCAR pole-winners since 2019, when Felix Rosenqvist of Sweden and Colton Herta achieved the feat.

“The boys have been working their asses off, I’ll be honest,” said Foster, again deflecting credit. “Yeah, they worked endlessly these last two weeks. They’ve rebuilt the car twice. My target now is to focus and be with the team and make sure that we’ve got the race car to be able to battle up-front and try to retain our position as long as possible up-front. We’ll go for a win if we can. We have a fast car. Full-focus on the race. We have to bring in some solid points.”

Foster added a shout-out to teammate Graham Rahal, who also advanced into the Fast Six. “I think teamwork is really the key for us at Rahal Letterman Lanigan,” Foster said. “As soon as Graham finished his group stage, he jumps out of his car, the first thing he does is runs to me, let’s me know about certain things that he learned in the session. If that’s not teamwork, I don’t know what is. I don’t see any teams or drivers doing that. It’s really a family feeling at RLL. I think that really helps us push the program forward.”

Alex Palou – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by Joe Skibinski

Palou rebounded from two consecutive races off the podium by qualifying second at 1:44.6300-seconds/138.110 mph. And Palou certainly figures to be a prime player this afternoon, especially on Firestone’s now proven alternate rubber.

“They look good. Honestly, they look better than last year,” Palou said of the softer, red-marked compound. “I think last year everybody was a little bit scared on the alternates. I think we’ll see a bit more during warm-up when we’re able to do, like, eight laps in a row pushing, or 10 laps.

“Yeah, Louis got pole on used alternates, I was on new alternates. They for sure are going to be capable of doing a full-stint. We need to see if they’re going to be a lot faster than the primaries or not. It’s a tough race both on fuel and tires. It’s going to be interesting who bails because of fuel or who bails because of tires.

“Honestly, I think it’s a bit of an unknown for everybody until we’re in warm-up. The primaries seem to be OK, but maybe seem to be a little bit slow. It could be an ‘alternate race.’^”

Kyle Kirkwood – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – (Photo by Travis Hinkle | IMS Photo)

Kyle Kirkwood, who has won the last two races, qualified third at 1:44.8523-seconds/137.817 mph in the No. 27 Siemens Honda of Andretti Global. Native New Zealander Scott McLaughlin will join him in Row 2 after qualifying fourth at 1:45.0137-seconds/137.605 mph in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet.

Denmark’s Christian Lundgaard, quickest in pre-qualifying practice Saturday morning, will start fifth after his best lap of 1:45.0828-seconds/137.514 mph in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

“Good qualifying. It’s nice to bounce back from last weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway,” said Lundgaard, who started and finished 14th on the egg-shaped, 1.25-mile oval in Madison, Ill. “We didn’t quite have it. Pace is close. We obviously saw in the Fast Six how close the qualifying times are. There are a couple guys we’re fighting in the championship, the No. 27 (Kirkwood) and the No. 10 (Palou) used a third set of alternates, so me and the No. 3 car (McLaughlin) are in a better position for the race. I think that was really our goal _ don’t sacrifice the race and make sure we think about the long game.

“I think we did and at the end of the day we can fight from fifth. I’m happy, hot, sweaty, and conditions will be even worse (today).”

Graham Rahal – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by James Black

Rahal qualified sixth at 1:45.4877-seconds/136.587 mph in the No. 15 Hendrickson International Honda as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was the only team to place two drivers into the Fast Six during the three-segment qualifying format.

“It was a good day for the Hendrickson team and a good day for the team overall,” said Rahal, son of team founder and 1986 Indy 500 champion Bobby Rahal. “I would have liked to be further up in the Fast Six but we made the strategy play to run the primary tire (in Round 3) because we didn’t need them for (the race) because we’ve got so many tires. We didn’t use a lot in practice so it was like, ‘Well, we’ve got an extra set so we might as well use these freshies and we’ll try to keep the reds for the race in case it magically turns into a red race.’

“It’s good. I’m very happy for Louis but I’m just happy for the whole team.”

Pato O’Ward – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by Joe Skibinski

Pato O’Ward, currently second in points, qualified 11th at 1:45.3704-seconds/137.139 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. “I was happy with the balance today, and I think all the changes we made were definitely helping us improve,” said O’Ward, a native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “We had a very strong Round 1 and just lost half-a-second of engine performance on the straight line in Round 2. That put us at a bigger deficit to transfer into the Firestone Fast Six. It’s frustrating because I thought we had something to fight for pole with.”

O’Ward trails Palou by 73 points, while Kirkwood is third, 75 back of the leader.

David Malukas – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by James Black

David Malukas paced the two-car entries from Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing in seventh after a lap in 1:45.0906-seconds/137.504 mph in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet.

“I think we’re really happy,” said Malukas, referring to race engineer James Schnabel. “I mean, we’re almost just trying to make it to the Fast Six and commit to a sixth-place finish because we really want to save these red tires. Just save all tires, to be fair. I think we did a good job there. P7 is kind of, I think, right where we want it to be. It’s a good starting spot and we’ll just have some good stops and try to make these tires last.”

Malukas _ in his first season with the team founded by 90-year-old motorsports icon A.J. Foyt Jr. of Houston _ considers Road America his home track. Malukas attended numerous events at the facility as a youngster watching his father race.

Santino Ferrucci – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by Joe Skibinski

Foyt teammate and Dallas resident Santino Ferrucci will start 18th at 1:45.2816-seconds/137.255 mph in the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet. “Obviously, not the qualifying result I think we had in mind,” said Ferrucci, referring to race engineer Adam Kolesar. “Really, really solid on the prime tire and then we just kind of missed it on the alternates. Good thing is I think we know exactly why, but at the end of the day, Sunday is what’s going to matter.”

Ferrucci is the only series driver coming into this weekend having posted three top-five finishes in the past three races. “You can pass on this track, and I’m not afraid to race so I’ll get it up there,” Ferrucci said. “I think we just kind of missed something in the mid-corner rotation. Like I said, I’m not afraid to brake-late and get on it. So, I guess I’m just, at this point, padding my passing stats for the season, unfortunately.”

Ferrucci’s all-black No. 14 livery features a tribute “In Honor of Marlyne Sexton” in gold chrome lettering atop its sidepods. Marlyne Sexton passed away June 11th. A successful businesswoman and philanthropist who lived in Indianapolis, Mrs. Sexton was a longtime friend of Foyt, who originally met her through her husband Joe Sexton.

Sexton Properties first became part of Foyt Racing in 2015 as an associate sponsor of the Alfe Heat Treating entry driven by Canadian Alex Tagliani in the Indianapolis 500. Sexton Properties’ association with the team grew with each succeeding year to eventually become a primary marketing partner.

Dennis Hauger – Grand Prix at Road America – INDY NXT Presented by Firestone – (Photo by Travis Hinkle | IMS Photo)

Rookie Dennis Hauger wasted no time Saturday seizing P1 for the Grand Prix of Road America, turning an early quick lap that never was bettered. The INDY NXT by Firestone championship leader, Hauger earned his fifth pole of the season with a best lap of 1-minute, 52.3301-seconds/128.642 mph in the No. 28 Nammo car of Andretti Global.

SEE: Qualifying Results

Hauger, who has won four of six races this season, turned his quickest lap with more than eight minutes remaining in the first of two qualifying groups. No driver in his group came within a half-second, and none of the 10 drivers in the second qualifying group could touch his time. It ranked as an impressive debut on Road America’s daunting, 4.014-mile/14-turn natural-terrain road-course.

“I think we maximized the first run,” said Hauger, a 22-year-old native of Norway. “We knew it (best lap) was going to be on the first run. The second run was more of a small test session for (today’s race). We’ve been running a bit out of the window balance-wise. Got a bit surprised in Practice 1, but we’ve built up from there. Super-happy that we managed to get pole.”

The qualifying format for INDYCAR’s developmental series features two groups, with the first group determining the odd-numbered starting spots on the grid and the second group filling the even-numbered spots.

Brazilian Caio Collet, who led both practice sessions leading into qualifying, was second at 1:52.5479-seconds/128.393 mph in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car. The 2024 series Rookie of the Year, Collet led the second qualifying group, which was slowed by a red flag with around five minutes to go when Salvador de Alba of Mexico made contact with the tire barrier in Turn 12 in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car of Andretti Global.

Veteran Josh Pierson will start third, tying his career-best set last year at RA, after a lap of 1:53.0195-seconds/127.858 mph in the No. 14 HMD Motorsports machine. Rookie Lochie Hughes of Australia will join Pierson in Row 2 of the 19-car grid after his lap of 1:52.9548-seconds/127.931 mph in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship entry of Andretti Global.

Jack William Miller produced a top lap of 1:53.1576-seconds/127.702 mph in the No. 40 Abel/Miller/Vinatieri Motorsports car to earn a career-best starting spot of fifth. Teammate Myles Rowe will join Miller in Row 3 after his quickest lap of 1:53.2014-seconds/127.652 mph in the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy car.

The 20-lap/80.28-mile/55-minute race will be broadcast by FS1, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Kyle Kirkwood – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – Photo by Matt Fraver

INDYCAR’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway delivered a primetime average of 1,012,000 viewers last Sunday. The race won by Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global was the first Sunday night race conducted on the egg-shaped, 1.25-mile in Madison, Ill., near St. Louis.

Kirkwood’s second consecutive NTT IndyCar Series victory and first on an oval earned a 95.7 percent audience increase over the 517,191 who watched the 2024 WWTR race, which aired on NBC’s USA cable network.

This marked the first time since 2016 that both races following the Indy 500 _ the Detroit Grand Prix street race and WWTR _ had attracted more than 1-million viewers. The race at WWTR, only the second oval-track event on the schedule, also was the most-watched INDYCAR race (excluding the 109th Indianapolis 500 on May 25) among adults aged 18-and-34 since 2011.

INDYCAR and network officials opted to move the race in-season from an afternoon to an 8 p.m. (EDT) broadcast window in a bid to boost viewership metrics. However, the WWTR event generated a slightly smaller number than the most recent race, the Detroit Grand Prix held Sunday afternoon, June 1, which delivered an average of 1,061,000. Across the season’s first eight races, FOX is averaging 2,007,000 viewers _ a 27 percent increase over the 1,577,000 drawn in 2024.

NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 335; 2, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 262; 3, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 260; 4, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 221; 5, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 206; 6, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 190; 7, Will Power, Team Penske, 181; 8, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 171; 9, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 170; 10, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 153;

11, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 149; 12, David Malukas, A.J. Foyt Racing, 147; 13, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 144; 14, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 138; 15, Rinus VeeKay, Dale Coyne Racing, 137; 16, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 132; 17, Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 125; 18, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 123; 19, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 114; 20, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 112;

21, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 104; 22, Robert Shwartzman, PREMA Racing, 99; 23, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 88; 24, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 81; 25, Devlin DeFrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 71; 26, Callum Ilott, PREMA Racing, 63; 27, Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne Racing, 49; 28, Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 36; 29, Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing, 20; 30, Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing, 16;

31, Jack Harvey, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports, 12; 32, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports, 10; 33, Kyle Larson, Arrow McLaren with Henrick Motorsports, 6; 34, Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta with Marco & Curb-Agajanian, 5.

FOX SPORTS’ 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST COVERAGE SCHEDULE

Sunday, March 2 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, March 23 _The Thermal Club, Thermal, Calif.  (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, April 13 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif. (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)

Sunday, May 4 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Saturday, May 10 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, May 25 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, June 1 _ Streets of Detroit (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)

Sunday, June 15 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill. (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)

Sunday, June 22 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis. (FOX, 1:30 p.m.)

Sunday, July 6 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington (FOX, 1 p.m.)

Saturday, July 12 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 1 (FOX, 5 p.m.)

Sunday, July 13 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 2 (FOX, 1 p.m.)

Sunday, July 20 _ Streets of Toronto, Canada (FOX, noon)

Sunday, July 27 _ WeatherTech Raceway, Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif. (FOX, 3 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 10 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway (FOX, 3 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 24 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis. (FOX, 2 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 31 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn. (2:30 p.m.)

NOTE _ All times Eastern. Dates and times subject to change.