Outsmarting his teammates by waiting a lap longer to make his final stop, Will Power ended a 34-race winless streak by capturing the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America.
The two-time IndyCar champion pitted from the lead on Lap 44 under green and blended back on track ahead of Josef Newgarden, who had pitted from first a lap earlier. Scott McLaughlin had started the final Team Penske pit cycle by stopping from second on Lap 42.
It’s the first 42nd career victory for Power but the first for the No. 12 Dallara-Chevrolet driver since the Detroit Grand Prix on June 5, 2022 (the final race at Belle Isle Raceway).
“Finally, you guys deserve that,” Power radioed his team after winning by 3.2609 seconds over Newgarden. “It feels great to finally win a race.”
Newgarden finished second, followed by McLaughlin to give Team Penske a sweep of the podium at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. It’s the first 1-2-3 finish for Penske since the 2017 season finale at Sonoma.
Each of the Penske trio has a victory this season (over the past five races).
L36 — Newgarden passes McLaughlin for lead
Josef Newgarden swiped the lead back from teammate Scott McLaughlin on Lap 36 of 55, and the two-time Indy 500 winner now seems in command of the XPEL Grand Prix.
McLaughlin had taken the lead on Lap 35 as Colton Herta and Linus Lundqvist pitted. But the tires on his No. 3 Dallara-Chevrolet were fading, and Newgarden got past into the lead (with a friendly wave from his No. 2) just as Lap 36 began.
With 16 laps remaining at Road America, Newgarden leads by 1.176 seconds over McLaughlin with Penske teammate Will Power in third, followed by Alex Palou and Kyle Kirkwood.
The Team Penske trio each will have one final pit stop to make that likely will decide the race winner.
L32 — Penske in control on second pit stops
Past the midpoint of the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America, Scott McLaughlin seems to have the upper hand on teammate Josef Newgarden with Team Penske’s third threat, Will Power, lurking just behind.
McLaughlin pitted from the lead on Lap 30 of 55 on the 14-turn, 4.014-mile road course. Newgarden inherited first and then pitted on the next lap with Power.
McLaughlin caught both and was able to carve his way through traffic to move into third.
On Lap 35, Colton Herta leads, followed by Linus Lundqvist with both drivers out of pit sequence after a first-lap incident.
McLaughlin is third, followed by Newgarden and Power.
Lap 25 — Race settles into Penske rhythm
After an extremely choppy start, it seems as if the XPEL Grand Prix is settling into a Team Penske showdown.
Scott McLaughlin led the first 15 laps in his No. 3 Dallara-Chevrolet before pitting and handing the lead to Josef Newgarden, who seems to have maintained his pace despite starting in a backup No. 2.
After pitting a lap later, Newgarden blended back on track just behind McLaughlin.
The teammates are running 1-2 on Lap 25 of 55 after the first round of pit stops with Penske’s third driver, Will Power, in third place.
McLaughlin, who is seeking his first victory in more than a year, has a comfortable 3.5-second lead on Newgarden.
Lap 10 — Dirty driving
If you’re looking for a shining beacon of exemplary race car driving, the NTT IndyCar Series might not be the place for you lately.
It took until the 10th lap of Sunday’s XPEL Grand Prix at Road America for the series to complete a full lap under green.
The start was marred by pole-sitter Linus Lundqvist being knocked out of the lead by Marcus Armstrong in an incident that also collected Colton Herta.
Shortly after a Lap 4 restart, the yellow flew again for debris off Herta’s car after contact again with Lundqvist.
And then after a restart two laps later, the caution quickly came out again for Kyffin Simpson, who landed in the Turn 14 wall after tangling with Christian Rasmussen.
Though no action was taken on the start, IndyCar stewards penalized Rasmussen with a stop and go for avoidable contact.
In an interview with NBC Sports’ Georgia Henneberry, Simpson chalked it up to a racing incident in which he was
trying to hold off drivers on better tires.
“Just unfortunate; we had a pretty good race until then,” Simpson said. “We were able to move forward at the start. Everyone behind me was really quick on the reds. It was tough on the restarts to keep ahead. We were fighting hard.
“I was just fighting hard with Ras. Things happen in racing. He thought I was going to do something, I didn’t, and it just ended up causing that.”
In a separate incident, Sting Ray Robb was ordered to yield seven positions for avoidable contact with Felix Rosenqvist.
The penalties and rough driving were in the aftermath of a Detroit Grand Prix marred by more than 40 percent of the race being run under caution.
Lap 1 — Lundqvist punted from lead by teammate
Picking up where last Sunday’s chaotic Detroit Grand Prix left off, the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America started with intrasquad violence at Chip Ganassi Racing.
Pole-sitter Linus Lundqvist was punted by teammate Marcus Armstrong entering the first turn. As the Ganassi drivers spun, Colton Herta also was collected in the incident.
Herta, whom NBC Sports’ Marty Snider had reported was a prerace favorite of the paddock, was forced to pit. He will restart from the rear after qualifying second.
After three laps of full-course caution, the race restarted on Lap 4 with Scott McLaughlin leading Kyle Kirkwood, Alexander Rossi, Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon.
But the yellow immediately flew again as Herta’s No. 26 Dallara-Honda was hit by Lundqvist and left debris on the track after going over a curb.
After a Lap 6 restart, the yellow flag flew again for Ganassi rookie Kyffin Simpson’s spin into the Turn 14 barrier. Simpson appeared to be forced off course by Ed Carpenter Racing rookie Christian Rasmussen.
It has not been the start Chip Ganassi Racing hoped for.
Linus Lundqvist and Marcus Armstrong spun on lap 1.
Kyffin Simpson crashed on Lap 7. pic.twitter.com/Q2dd7E4Rxu— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) June 9, 2024
Prerace storylines
After a historic start to Sunday at Road America, the NTT IndyCar Series will take center stage at the historic road course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Chip Ganassi Racing rookie Linus Lundqvist will lead the field to the green flag for the first time during his IndyCar career in the XPEL Grand Prix. Colton Herta, who has been identified as the prerace favorite, will start second in search of his first victory since 2022.
After a massive crash in qualifying, Josef Newgarden will be starting fifth in a backup car. The two-time Indy 500 champion was OK after sustaining an impact that he told NBC Sports freelancer Bruce Martin registered at 95 Gs.
You can watch the race on NBC and Peacock and follow along here for live updates.
Nolan Siegel replaces Agustin Canapino at IndyCar Road America after online abuse incident
The move comes after Arrow McLaren’s Theo Pourchaire reportedly received death threats stemming from an incident with Canapino in Detroit.
It’s been a newsy week already in IndyCar with David Malukas announced as Tom Blomqvist’s replacement in the No. 66 of Meyer Shank Racing, and Nolan Siegel replacing Agustin Canapino in Juncos Hollinger Racing’s No. 78 at Road America.
Sunday afternoon already has been eventful at the 14-turn, 4.014-mile road course.
In the Indy NXT warmup event, Jamie Chadwick became the first woman to win on a road course in series history, leading all 20 laps from the pole position.
The native of England held off challenges by Louis Foster and Jacob Abel for her first career victory in the series.
Source Agencies
