Will Power scored his first IndyCar victory in almost exactly two years, leading a one-two-three for Penske at Road America.
The shape of the race was set when first-time pole-winner Linus Lundqvist was hit at the first corner by one of his team mates, triggering a multi-car crash.
Lundqvist led the field to turn one with a fast-starting Kyle Kirkwood up from fourth alongside him. However Lundqvist’s Ganassi team mate Marcus Armstrong got too close to the pole winner as they rounded the first corner and knocked him into a spin at the exit.
Colton Herta, who shared the front row with Lundqvist, was unable to avoided the melee. The oncoming field reacted swiftly to avoid the three spinners, but in a stroke Armstrong’s error wiped out the trio of top three starters.
Following a second Safety Car period, necessitated by Kyffin Simpson spinning off at the final corner, Penske’s Scott McLaughlin led the field away followed by Kirkwood and Josef Newgarden, back in action after his huge crash at the end of qualifying. Power was sixth at this stage behind Alexander Rossi and Scott Dixon.
Newgarden looked in strong shape strategically as he dispensed with the unfavoured red ‘alternate’ tyres in his first stint. McLaughlin was the first of the three Penske drivers to pit, coming in on lap 16, followed a lap later by his team mates.
The pattern repeated at their second stops and although McLaughlin emerged behind his team mate he was able to sweep past them. Now he and Power took the alternates, however, and the number 12 driver risked taking his a lap further than his team mate.
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That proved decisive: after the final tyre changes Newgarden came out comfortable ahead of McLaughlin, but Power jumped the pair of them handsomely, and ran out the winner by 3.2 seconds over Newgarden.
Alex Palou salvaged fourth place for Ganassi after their frustrating start to the race. Kirkwood slipped to fifth, while Herta impressively recovering to sixth after his delay. Romain Grosjean was close behind as he claimed his best result for Juncos Hollinger so far with seventh.
Pato O’Ward, Marcus Ericsson and Graham Rahal completed the top 10. The luckless Lundqvist came in 12th behind Christian Lundgaard.
Race result
| P. | No. | Driver | Team | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Will Power | Penske | Chevrolet |
| 2 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Penske | Chevrolet |
| 3 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Penske | Chevrolet |
| 4 | 10 | Alex Palou | Ganassi | Honda |
| 5 | 22 | Kyle… |
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