The NTT IndyCar Series took on a freshly repaved Road America on Sunday, with high grip and higher speeds the story of the weekend.
Colton Herta led the field away from pole, and was able to stay up front for most of the race. In fact, he all but dominated throughout a good portion of the afternoon.
He suffered a slow pit stop from his Andretti Autosport crew near the halfway point, and lost a couple positions. It was only a few laps later that he had made his way back to the front once again.
READ MORE: IndyCar Road America – Full Race Results
With just seven laps remaining, however, Alex Palou closed in and was able to overtake the polesitter for the top spot.
Herta was having to conserve a little bit of fuel, which contributed to his loss of position near the end of the 55-lap race. Herta eventually finished in fifth after leading 33 laps
Palou’s win vaults him even further into the points lead, with well over a full race’s worth of points now sitting between him and Marcus Ericsson.
It is also Palou’s third win in the past four races, and there seems to be nobody that can equal his pace at this point in the season. The win was also Chip Ganassi Racing’s 250th win in all forms for motorsports.
Josef Newgarden finished in second, nearly five seconds behind the #10 Ganassi Honda. Just a bit behind was Pato O’Ward, who crossed the line in third.
There were multiple incidents in the first laps, with a few drivers taking trips through the grass and gravel that lines the course.
Kyle Kirkwood was the first to venture off the fresh tarmac, stopping on the outside of turn 1 on the very first lap.
After the race got going again, Felix Rosenqvist took a spin through the gravel in turn 3. He was able to keep his Arrow McLaren Chevy running, however, and did not bring out a caution.
Romain Grosjean was not so lucky, and became stuck in the same gravel a few laps later. The incident further ruined what was already shaping up to be a tough race for the Frenchman, and he finished as the final car running.
The second half of the race was much more straightforward, and drivers struggled with their tires on the grippy surface. After about eight laps, nearly everyone was complaining about the rear grip falling off.
Scott Dixon and Will Power both started from the back part of the field after their collision and subsequent troubles on Saturday.
Dixon fared the better of the two, climbing from 23rd all the way up to fourth. It was a remarkable drive for the iceman, and keeps him in the points hunt.
Power attempted an off-sequence pit strategy, and even led a few laps, but ended the day 13th with a couple extra stops to his name.
There were plenty of on track passes, despite some concern that the new surface would only permit running on the racing line and prevent many attacks.
The 27 drivers will reconvene in two weeks’ time at Mid-Ohio, which is also a natural terrain course set among rolling hills. Most will be looking real hard to figure out how they can beat Palou to the checkered flag.
