Chip Ganassi Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist battled his way to his maiden win in the NTT IndyCar Series after a hard-fought performance at the second race of the REV Group Grand Prix of Road America.
Rosenqvist had a frantic race that involved a late duel with Pato O’Ward, a slow pit stop, and an early incident with Graham Rahal, in the second race in as many days at the venue.
O’Ward had controlled the majority of the 55-lap encounter from pole position but was unable to maintain the lead when Rosenqvist applied pressure late on, as the pair banged wheels when they scrapped during the closing stages.
Rosenqvist emerged ahead as he claimed his first race victory since the 2018 Marrakesh E-Prix, his first in IndyCar, while maintaining CGR’s unbeaten start to the delayed 2020 campaign.
O’Ward, who was compromised by traffic in the closing part of the race, still secured his best IndyCar result with a maiden podium.
Luck finally went the way of Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi as the Californian showed a turn of speed to get some solid points on the board with a third place, marking his first podium of the season.
Marcus Ericsson put on a stunning display to carve his way through the field after starting the race in 16th, logging fourth.
Colton Herta lost ground compared to his starting position of second but nonetheless maintained his consistent opening to the year by taking fifth, ahead of Dale Coyne duo Santino Ferrucci and Alex Palou.
Takuma Sato had a low-key run to eighth place while Team Penske had an atypically off-the-pace display, with Josef Newgarden only ninth, ahead of Charlie Kimball.
Will Power put in a strong recovery drive to finish in 11th place as he bounced back from first-lap contact with Ryan Hunter-Reay and Rahal, who suffered a hefty impact into the wall exiting Turn 3.
Scott Dixon’s imperious start to the season came to an end as tyre wear and a slow pit stop left the five-time champion only 12th.
Despite the issues, he maintains a 52-point lead going to the double-header in Iowa next week on July 17/18.
| # | Driver | Gap | Laps Led |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felix Rosenqvist | 01:51:22.0391 | 8 |
| 2 | Pato O’Ward | -2.8699 | 43 |
| 3 | Alexander Rossi | -8.6165 | – |
| 4 | Marcus Ericsson | -14.2233 | – |
| 5 | Colton Herta | -32.4166 | – |
| 6 | Santino Ferrucci | -35.8881 | – |
| 7 | Alex Palou | -36.7706 | – |
| 8 | Takuma Sato | -47.9432 | – |
| 9 | Josef Newgarden | -48.7864 | – |
| 10 | Charlie Kimball | -53.0609 | – |
| 11 | Will Power | -53.9711 | 4 |
| 12 | Scott Dixon | -54.5347 | – |
| 13 | Simon Pagenaud | -56.3933 | – |
| 14 | Rinus VeeKay | -1:00.4374 | – |
| 15 | Max Chilton | -1:00.4688 | – |
| 16 | Zach Veach | -1:06.8352 | – |
| 17 | Jack Harvey | -1:08.2959 | – |
| 18 | Conor Daly | -1:45.4680 | – |
| 19 | Marco Andretti | -1 lap | – |
| 20 | Dalton Kellett | -1 lap | – |
| 21 | Oliver Askew | -2 laps | – |
| 22 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | -55 laps | – |
| 23 | Graham Rahal | -55 laps | – |
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