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

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

Alex Palou stretched his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda’s available fuel supply to the last drop Sunday afternoon at historic Road America, where the Spaniard secured his sixth NTT IndyCar Series victory in nine starts this season.

Alex Palou – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by James Black

“It was a crazy race. There were moments I thought we were losing a ton of positions,” said Palou, whose victory in the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR was the definition of “strategic.” Consider that Palou, who qualified second, led only six of 55 laps around the daunting, 4.014-mile/14-turn natural-terrain road-course in Wisconsin’s scenic Kettle Moraine region.

“I don’t know about how it looked from the outside, but from inside, it just felt like there was a lot going on. A tough race for everybody,” said Palou, driver of the red No. 10 SOLO Cup Honda overseen by longtime CGR team manager Barry Wanser. “Kudos to the team for the amazing strategy and Honda for giving us the fuel mileage we needed at the end to make it.

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

“Couldn’t do donuts. I would have liked that, but yeah.”

The three-time/reigning series champ and runaway point-leader, Palou earned his third win at Road America and the 17th of his domestic open-wheel career to climb into the top 30 all-time in INDYCAR history. Palou also is the first INDYCAR driver to score at least six wins in a season since Australian Will Power of Team Penske in 2011.

SEE: Race Results

In addition, Palou expanded his lead to 93 points over Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood as the season passed its halfway point. Eight races remain on the 17-event schedule.

Alex Palou – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by James Black

“We were looking really bad at the beginning, then really good, then terrible, then really good,” said Palou, 28. “It was tough to be up there. But yeah, we just had to stay focused on battling against the people that were on our strategy.”

Among that group was Felix Rosenqvist. Unshackled from a fuel-saving strategy over the closing laps in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian, the Swede fell 2.1725-seconds short to finish second. And Dallas resident Santino Ferrucci had enough Shell 100 Percent Renewable Race Fuel to hang onto third in the No. 14 Sexton Properties/A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet _ “Santucci’s” fourth straight top-five finish.

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

Kirkwood, winner of two consecutive races entering this event, remained as hot as Sunday’s ambient temperatures in the mid-90s to finish fourth in the No. 27 Siemens Honda of Andretti Global. Marcus Armstrong of Denmark recorded a season-best result of fifth in the No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda, as Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian placed both its cars in the top-five.

The race produced a record nine leaders, with Palou taking the top spot for good on Lap 53 of 55 when teammate and leader Scott Dixon of New Zealand couldn’t pull off another of his signature fuel-saving drives and was forced to pit the No. 9 PNC Bank CGR Honda. Dixon previously had pitted at the end of Lap 38, with about 15 laps maximum between stops barring a caution period to reduce speeds and save fuel. Dixon’s gamble didn’t pay off, as there were no cautions during the last 24 laps despite yellow flags flying five times in the first 30 laps.

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

“When I was following Scott I could see that he was not saving as much as I was,” Palou said of Dixon, the six-time series champion. “I was like, ‘This guy is crazy; how is he going to do it?’ But I didn’t know. Like I don’t have a lot of information. If it was another driver, I would have probably just focused on myself, but I know that Scott can make crazy stuff happen.”

Palou made his final stop at the end of Lap 40. Those two fewer laps on his final tank of fuel than Dixon _ and saving fuel by running second in Dixon’s aerodynamic draft _ ultimately proved pivotal in Palou making it to the finish with authority.

“We didn’t know we were on the right strategy until like 10 to go,” Wanser said. “We’re reacting based on what we think is happening. There was obviously a lot of cautions this race. But we made some strategy changes on the (Firestone Firehawk) tires during the race that we went against what we all agreed on before the race. He (Palou) wasn’t very happy about that, but we saw what our competitors were doing and who we were racing, so we had to make that change to be able to stay with them and then beat them. And it worked out.

“Look, today was luck to be on the right strategy because it was hard. There were several different strategies going on.”

Felix Rosenqvist – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by James Black

Rosenqvist made his final stop at the end of Lap 42 and pushed full-max toward leaders Dixon, Palou and Alexander Rossi in the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet. Rossi, saving fuel like Dixon, also was forced to stop at the end of Lap 51, creating more clean air and open space for Rosenqvist to charge.

Still, Rosenqvist was nearly four seconds back when Rossi pitted. While Rosenqvist turned the quickest lap of the race on his final trip around the circuit, it wasn’t enough to trim the margin and challenge Palou at the front.

“It was going back-and-forth there, comers-and-goers through the race,” said Rosenqvist, 33, INDYCAR’s Rookie of the Year in 2019. “We had great speed, had really good pace. We’ve had bad luck the last few races, haven’t really had a good go. Good comeback now. It’s been a while since I’ve been on the podium.”

Indeed, this was Rosenqvist’s first podium finish in a points-paying race since securing second in September 2023 at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway.

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

First-time NTT P1 Award-winner Louis Foster finished 11th to tie his career-best result in May in the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course.

“It was a decent race, I think,” said Foster, a 21-year-old native of Odiham, England. “We probably got the most out of it that we could. Obviously starting P1 and finishing P11 you don’t love but we struggled so much on the blacks (Firestone’s primary rubber) and a lot of other drivers did three red stints (on alternate tires) and we only did two and that’s what really made the race for them.

“We got a few places at the end and took the result from being a pretty average result to a decent one. We averaged our season-best result of 11^th, so I’m not overly disappointed. But I feel like there was more on the table for the team today.”

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

Foyt Racing’s Ferrucci scored his career-best third-place finish on a permanent road-course with the message “In Honor of Marlyne Sexton” emblazoned on the sidepods of the all-black No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet. The message was a tribute to Mrs. Sexton, longtime friend and sponsor of team-owner/INDYCAR icon A.J. Foyt Jr. of Houston. Marlyne Sexton passed away June 11th.

“All I could think about to myself is that we are doing this for Marlyne,” said Ferrucci, a 27-year-old native of Connecticut who started 18^th in the 27-car field. “They were counting down the laps, and I told Mike (strategist Armbrester) I’ve got to focus because this is getting stressful and just let me drive. The crew did an amazing job _ awesome job on stops. And, I stalled it, too! Even with the stall, to come back and finish how we did was pretty amazing. This one goes to Marlyne. She was running with us today. I’m very proud. This one tastes a little bit sweeter.

“Marlyne has been on the car since I’ve been driving for A.J. Foyt and for Larry, and obviously I would not have had a full-season ride without Larry and her support. I’m very honored to be running that car with her riding along this weekend. To have her daughters here this weekend, Tracy and Nicole, was pretty amazing on the grid. It was hard not to be emotional about it.”

David Malukas – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by Joe Skibinski

Foyt Racing’s David Malukas, who qualified the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet seventh, made his race difficult when he ran deep into Turn 3 and hit the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet of Denmark’s Christian Lundgaard; the contact resulted in Malukas spinning off-track. Restarting at the back of the field, Malukas and his engineers led by James Schnabel rallied to finish seventh.

“That was probably one of the most chaotic races I’ve ever been a part of _ and it was a lot of fun,” said Malukas, who is 12^th in the standings. “I had no idea what was going on. I was really hot, and around Lap 35 I was hallucinating from the heat and seeing bears in the Carousel. I’m just joking _ maybe not _ but yeah, it was a lot of heat, a lot of fun, a lot of passing and we finished right where we started. So good recovery, really good job from the team and the entire crew.”

A.J. Foyt, 90, watched the race unfold on TV from his ranch in Texas. “Both drivers did a great job, and I’m happy that they both finished in the top-10,” Foyt said. “To be truthful, I was very happy for Santino and the No. 14 team because that car was a tribute to Marlyne and we go way back. I think the team did her proud today.”

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

Pato O’Ward finished a lead-lap but distant 17^th in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. “It was the worst result of the year for us today, so there’s not much to report on from here,” said O’Ward, a native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “We’re testing at Iowa (Speedway) this week and can’t wait to race at Mid-Ohio next.” O’Ward dropped from second to third in the standings, 18 points (293-275) behind Kirkwood.

The spate of cautions in the race’s first half led to the divergent strategies. It also bred intense competition on a scorching day in Central Wisconsin. Elkhart Lake is located roughly midway between Milwaukee and Green Bay. There were 348 on-track passes _ including 345 for position _ 96 passes in the top-10 and 29 passes in the top-five. Each of those metrics rank second all-time among INDYCAR races at the historic facility.

Palou’s win continued another trend. Palou (six wins) and Kirkwood (three wins) are the only drivers to have visited Victory Lane in 2025. The last time two drivers so dominated the first half of an INDYCAR season was in 1980, when Bobby Unser and Johnny Rutherford were the only winners through nine races. Rutherford, of Fort Worth, Texas, went on to win the driver’s title under Championship Auto Racing Teams sanction in the famed “Yellow Submarine” No. 4 Chaparral/Cosworth fielded by fellow-Texan Jim Hall of Midland.

Pato O’Ward – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by James Black

Honda also remained perfect in its corporate engine rivalry with Chevrolet this season. Honda’s twin-turbocharged V-6 engines have powered Palou and Kirkwood to their combined nine race wins.

“I think if you look at the paces, if you look at the races, it doesn’t make sense,” Palou said. “I think it’s kind of the same magical moment that we have in the No. 10 car. It’s the same for Honda, where even though sometimes they’ve not been _we’ve not been the fastest _ that we’re able to maximize everything and get the win, like Kirkwood did at St. Louis (World Wide Technology Raceway oval).

“I think it’s amazing. It’s not normal that it’s happening. I don’t think there’s huge differences between drivers or engines. Yeah, they (Honda Racing) should be proud of that, as well.”

Next race is The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by the all-new 2026 Passport on Sunday, July 6, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

Native Brazilian Caio Collet joined the ranks of this season’s INDY NXT by Firestone race-winners Sunday at historic Road America.

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

Collet passed rookie championship leader Dennis Hauger with less than five laps remaining and drove away to win the Grand Prix of Road America, his second career INDY NXT by Firestone victory. Collet’s No. 76 HMD Motorsports car crossed the finish line 1.7093-seconds ahead of Hauger’s No. 28 Nammo car fielded by Andretti Global.

SEE: Race Results

The 2024 series Rookie of the Year, Collet entered this event with three podium finishes in the season’s first six races, including two runner-up results. His victory was the first this season for HMD Motorsports, as native Norwegian Hauger and fellow-Andretti Global rookie teammate Lochie Hughes of Australia have combined to win every race.

“At the beginning of the season, we couldn’t match them, to be honest,” Collet said of the Andretti teammates. “It was really frustrating. Every time we went on track, it was hard to be second or third. But we kept working hard, and we need to keep working because they are a great team with great drivers. We need to keep pushing.”

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

Hughes completed the podium in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car after passing Josh Pierson in the No. 14 HMD Motorsports machine on the last of 20 laps around the 4.014-mile/14-turn natural-terrain circuit. Pierson ended up tying his career-best finish of fourth. Myles Rowe placed fifth in the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy car in a caution-free, 55-lap race.

Hauger led from pole on an unseasonably hot day in Central Wisconsin, with air temperatures in the high 80s. Collet stayed close from P2, keeping the gap around five- or six-tenths of a second as the duo marched away from the rest of the 19-car field.

Collet’s patience expired on Lap 16. He drove alongside Hauger on the long front straightway and made an outside pass in Turn 1 stick. Collet then eased away from Hauger over the last four laps.

“I kept up the pace, kept up the pressure,” said Collet, a 23-year-old native of Sao Paulo, Brazil. “Yesterday, I think I lost the pole to myself. Dennis did a phenomenal lap, but I think I left a bit in the tank and was very frustrated. Today I really wanted to give the win to the team.”

Dennis Hauger, Caio Collet and Lochie Hughes – Grand Prix at Road America – INDY NXT Presented by Firestone – Photo by Chris Owens

Hauger acknowledged the overall strength of Collet’s program on the famed circuit. “I think we’ve been on the back foot compared to Collet all weekend,” said Hauger, 22. “We did everything right today, but they were just a bit stronger. I tried to do what I could, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Still a decent weekend.”

Hauger’s lead over second-place Hughes grew from 19 to 28 points with his fifth podium finish. Collet is third, 70 points behind Hauger.

Next series race is the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio on Sunday, July 6, at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Coincidentally, Mid-Ohio has been a good track for Collet, who earned his first INDY NXT victory there in July 2024. 

Results Sunday of the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR NTT IndyCar Series event on the 4.014-mile/14-turn Road America road-course in Elkhart Lake, Wis., with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

SEE: Race Results

1. (2) Alex Palou, Honda, 55, Running
2. (12) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 55, Running
3. (18) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 55, Running
4. (3) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 55, Running
5. (15) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 55, Running
6. (23) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 55, Running
7. (7) David Malukas, Chevrolet, 55, Running
8. (13) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 55, Running
9. (25) Scott Dixon, Honda, 55, Running
10. (22) Rinus VeeKay, Honda, 55, Running
11. (1) Louis Foster, Honda, 55, Running
12. (4) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 55, Running
13. (24) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 55, Running
14. (8) Will Power, Chevrolet, 55, Running
15. (9) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 55, Running
16. (16) Colton Herta, Honda, 55, Running
17. (11) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 55, Running
18. (20) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 55, Running
19. (19) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 55, Running
20. (6) Graham Rahal, Honda, 55, Running
21. (14) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 55, Running
22. (21) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 55, Running
23. (27) Jacob Abel, Honda, 55, Running
24. (5) Christian Lundgaard, Chevrolet, 55, Running
25. (10) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 30, Contact
26. (26) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 9, Contact
27. (17) Robert Shwartzman, Chevrolet, 3, Contact

Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 116.696 mph
Time of race: 01:53:30.5917
Margin of victory: 2.1725-seconds
Cautions: 5 for 12 laps 
Lead changes: 11 among 9 drivers

Lap Leaders
Foster, Louis 1 – 3
McLaughlin, Scott 4 – 11
Dixon, Scott 12 – 20
Simpson, Kyffin 21 – 22
Lundgaard, Christian 23 – 26
Kirkwood, Kyle 27
Dixon, Scott 28 – 37
Palou, Alex 38 – 40
Rosenqvist, Felix 41 – 42
Malukas, David 43 – 44
Dixon, Scott 45 – 52
Palou, Alex 53 – 55

NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 386; 2, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 293; 3, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 275; 4, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 231; 5, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 231; 6, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 228; 7, Will Power, Team Penske, 197; 8, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 190; 9, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 184;  10, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 184;

11, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 183; 12, David Malukas, A.J. Foyt Racing, 174; 13, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 161; 14, Rinus VeeKay, Dale Coyne Racing, 157; 15, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 150; 16, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 141; 17, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 137; 18, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 133; 19, Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 133; 20, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 128;

21, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 123; 22, Robert Shwartzman, PREMA Racing, 104; 23, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 102; 24, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 93; 25, Devlin DeFrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 89; 26, Callum Ilott, PREMA Racing, 78; 27, Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne Racing, 56; 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. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

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.