IndyCar Road America: Christian Lundgaard wins after contact

After a red-flagged race at Gateway that went beyond the scheduled two-hour time limit by nearly an hour and saw Josef Newgarden took victory in the night race; the series moved on to Road America for the next round of the championship.

Practice One

Practice One at Road America provided the first look at which drivers could be contenders for the weekend. The challenging Wisconsin circuit tested the field with its long straights, fast corners, and demanding layout as teams worked to find the perfect setup. The session was interrupted when Sting Ray Robb spun at Turn 14 and hit the barriers, bringing out a red flag and damaging his rear wing and suspension.

After the restart, teams continued gathering data, improving tyre performance, and preparing for qualifying. Drivers including Santino Ferrucci, Nolan Siegel, Christian Lundgaard, and Christian Rasmussen showed strong pace, proving the field was highly competitive. Practice One highlighted that at Road America, speed alone was not enough precision, strategy, and avoiding mistakes were key to success.

Image Credit: Penske Entertainment by Joe Skibinski

Practice Two

Practice Two at Road America saw the IndyCar field push harder as teams searched for more speed and the ideal balance around the fast and challenging circuit. The session was interrupted early when Will Power went wide, ran onto the grass, and caused the first red flag, showing how quickly mistakes could happen at Road America.

The drama continued when Louis Foster suffered car issues, bringing out another stoppage and forcing his team to investigate the problem. Once the session resumed, drivers focused on qualifying simulations and race preparation, collecting valuable data. Practice Two showed that the field was competitive, but staying mistake-free was just as important as finding outright pace.

Image Credit: Penske Entertainment by Paul Hurley

Qualifying

Qualifying at Road America delivered a close and competitive session as drivers fought for the best starting positions around the fast 4.014-mile Wisconsin circuit. After two challenging practice sessions, teams focused on finding the final performance gains, knowing every lap and every tenth of a second could make the difference. Alex Palou secured pole position, while David Malukas qualified second, putting himself in a strong position to challenge at the front.

The session showed that Road America rewarded precision, consistency, and commitment through its high-speed sections. Following the earlier practice incidents involving Sting Ray Robb, Will Power, and Louis Foster, drivers knew that even the smallest mistake could affect their weekend. After qualifying, Caio Collet and Alexander Rossi received penalties for engine changes, affecting their starting positions.

Alex Palou
David Malukas
Marcus Armstrong
Felix Rosenqvist
Marcus Ericsson
Scott McLaughlin
Santino Ferrucci
Nolan Siegel
Caio Collet
Pato O’Ward
Will Power
Scott Dixon
Christian Lundgaard
Romain Grosjean
Josef Newgarden
Christian Rasmussen
Dennis Hauger
Kyle Kirkwood
Kyffin Simpson
Graham Rahal
Alex Rossi
Rinus Veekay
Mick Schumacher
Louis Foster
Sting Ray Robb

Race Start at Road America

As the green flag waved, Palou led the field away at Road America. Armstrong moved into second place after passing Malukas, while Lundgaard dropped back after making contact early in the race. From Laps One to 11, the field settled in with several smaller battles and position changes.

On Lap 12, Rosenqvist passed Malukas for third place, while Collet and McLaughlin battled for sixth on Lap 13. The first caution came on Lap 15 when Grosjean exited the pit lane slowly after a tyre was not fitted correctly. Grosjean managed to return to the pits, while the caution allowed several drivers to make pit stops. Schumacher was later sent to the back of the grid after receiving a penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

Racing resumes

Racing resumed on Lap 20, but contact occurred between Rossi and Rahal as they fought for position. On Lap 25, Foster received a blocking penalty and had to give up two positions. Two laps later, Armstrong and Ericsson battled closely for third place.

On Lap 29, race leader Palou received a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane, dropping him down the order. The same lap saw Palou and Grosjean fighting around 17th place. Another caution followed on Lap 30 when Rasmussen slowed and stopped on the start-finish straight, bringing out another yellow flag.

Debris causes yellow flag

The race restarted on Lap 33 with Armstrong leading, but a full-course yellow quickly followed after Rosenqvist clipped the kerb and Schumacher made contact with the track surface, causing debris on the circuit. The green flag returned on Lap 36, with Armstrong still at the front.

On Lap 38, Power and Palou fought for sixth place, making contact as Palou’s front wing was damaged, but Palou managed to take the position. On Lap 40, Malukas nearly went off track while battling Lundgaard for position. Lundgaard then made a strong move past Malukas on Lap 43 to take second place.

Lundgaard is close to winning the race

By Lap 51, Lundgaard had taken the lead from Armstrong. However, the race changed again on Lap 52 when Armstrong suffered an engine failure, bringing out another caution. The restart created a one-lap shootout, where Power briefly moved into third after passing Rahal, but the two made contact, sending Rahal into the wall and causing another caution.

In the end, Lundgaard won the race, with Malukas finishing second and Power completing the podium in third. The race was defined by penalties, cautions, and late drama, proving once again that Road America rewarded consistency and survival just as much as outright speed.