IndyCar: Road America Preview

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES will close out a hectic five-week stretch of competition this weekend at one of North America’s top road-racing destinations: Wisconsin’s historic Road America for the Sonsio Grand Prix Presented by AMR.

“It’s a circuit that presents a variety of engineering tests,” says Rob Buckner, Chevrolet Program Manage. “Obviously, the track is very fast with long, wide-open straights but at end of these are hard braking zones for a number of 90-degree corners. Throw in high-speed corners like the Carousel and the Kink, plus a race surface that brings high tire degradation, and this will be one of the most challenging races of the season.”

Chevrolet is coming off an historic victory last weekend at Belle Isle – the manufacturer’s 100th INDYCAR win since it returned to the series in 2012 with its 2.2-liter, twin-turbo V-6 engine. The Bowtie Brand reached the mark by winning five of the first seven events of 2022 and leads the Engine Manufacturer Championship.

2021 Race Review

Polesitter Josef Newgarden led 32 of 55 laps on the 4.0-mile Road America circuit but his Chevy engine gave up the ghost on the last green flag start with 3 laps to go, handing the Rev Group GP to Alex Palou.

Until Newgarden’s engine issue, Palou in the #10 Ganassi Honda had nothing for Newgarden #2 Penske Chevy despite a couple of cautions that allowed Palou to close right up on the back of Newgarden.

But as they say, it’s not over until it’s over.

Palou easily held off the most talented Andretti Autosport driver, Colton Herta, who finished 2nd, 1.91s behind in his #26 Gainbridge Honda.

2022 Race weekend: Friday, June 10 – Sunday, June 12

Track: Road America, a 4.048-mile, 14-turn permanent road course (clockwise), in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin

Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 55 laps / 222.64 miles | Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires: 20 laps/80.96 miles or 55 minutes

Entry List

	CAR	DRIVER	HOMETOWN	CAR NAME	TEAM	ENGINE
1	2	Josef Newgarden	Nashville, Tennessee	PPG Team Penske	Team Penske	Chevrolet
2	3	Scott McLaughlin	Christchurch, New Zealand	Sonsio Team Penske	Team Penske	Chevrolet
3	4	Dalton Kellett	Stouffville, Canada	K-LINE / AJ FOYT RACING	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet
4	5	Pato O’Ward	Monterrey, Mexico	Arrow McLaren SP	Arrow McLaren SP	Chevrolet
5	06	Helio Castroneves	Sao Paulo, Brazil	AutoNation/SiriusXM	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda
6	7	Felix Rosenqvist	Värnamo, Sweden	Vuse Arrow McLaren SP	Arrow McLaren SP	Chevrolet
7	8	Marcus Ericsson	Kumla, Sweden	Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
8	9	Scott Dixon	Auckland, New Zealand	PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
9	10	Alex Palou	Barcelona, Spain	The American Legion	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
10	11	Tatiana Calderon (R)	Bogota, Colombia	ROKiT / AJ FOYT RACING	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet
11	12	Will Power	Toowoomba, Australia	Verizon Team Penske	Team Penske	Chevrolet
12	14	Kyle Kirkwood (R)	Jupiter, Florida	ROKiT / AJ FOYT RACING	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet
13	15	Graham Rahal	New Albany, Ohio	Fifth Third Bank	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
14	16	Simona De Silvestro	Thun, Switzerland	Paretta Autosport	Paretta Autosport	Chevrolet
15	18	David Malukas (R)	Chicago, Illinois	HMD	Dale Coyne Racing with HMD	Honda
16	20	Conor Daly	Noblesville, Indiana	BitNile	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
17	21	Rinus VeeKay	Hoofddorp, Netherlands	Direct Supply	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
18	26	Colton Herta	Valencia, California	Gainbridge	Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian	Honda
19	27	Alexander Rossi	Nevada City, California	NAPA AUTO PARTS / AutoNation	Andretti Autosport	Honda
20	28	Romain Grosjean	Geneva, Switzerland	UniFirst / DHL	Andretti Autosport	Honda
21	29	Devlin DeFrancesco (R)	Toronto, Canada	PowerTap	Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport	Honda
22	30	Christian Lundgaard (R)	Hedensted, Denmark	Fleet Cost & Care	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
23	45	Jack Harvey	Bassingham, England	Hy-Vee	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
24	48	Jimmie Johnson	El Cajon, California	Carvana Chip Ganassi Racing	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
25	51	Takuma Sato	Tokyo, Japan	Nurtec ODT	Dale Coyne Racing with RWR	Honda
26	60	Simon Pagenaud	Montmorillon, France	AutoNation/SiriusXM	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda
27	77	Callum Ilott (R)	Cambridge, England	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevrolet

All cars use fourth-generation NTT INDYCAR SERIES chassis (Dallara IR12) with universal IR-18 aerodynamic bodywork, Chevrolet or Honda engines and Firestone tires.

(R) – Denotes Rookie of the Year candidate

 

Push-to-pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation. Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation.

Firestone tire allotment: Seven sets primary, four sets alternate for use during the race weekend. One additional set of primary tires may be used by teams fielding a rookie driver. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race.

Twitter: @RoadAmerica @INDYCAR, #SonsioGP, #INDYCAR

Event website: www.roadamerica.com

INDYCAR website: www.indycar.com

2021 race winners:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

Alex Palou (No. 10 NTT DATA Honda)

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Race 1: Kyle Kirkwood (No. 28 Andretti Autosport)

Race 2: David Malukas (No. 79 HMD Motorsports)

2021 NTT P1 Award winner: Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet) 1:46.0168, 136.301 mph

Qualifying lap record:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

Dario Franchitti, 1:39.866, 145.924 mph, Aug. 19, 2000

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Colton Herta, 1:52.0034, 129.018 mph, June 24, 2017

NBC Sports race telecast: 12:30 p.m. (ET) Sunday, June 12, NBC (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for NBC’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe.

Peacock Premium Live Streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying will stream live on Peacock Premium, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product, while NBC’s Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America race telecast will be simulcast on the streaming service. Peacock Premium’s exclusive post-race show – featuring driver interviews, podium ceremonies and post-race analysis – will be streamed following the race. The Indy Lights Grand Prix at Road America will be streamed on Peacock Premium, with practice and qualifying being shown on INDYCAR Live!

INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Ryan Myrehn and Joel Sebastianelli are the pit reporters. The Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America race (noon ET Sunday), Indy Lights Grand Prix at Road America (10:30 a.m. ET Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 160, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.

At-track schedule (all times Central Time):

Friday, June 10

2:30-3 p.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Practice 1, INDYCAR Live!

3:25-4:40 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1, Peacock Premium (Note: One set of alternate tires may be used during this session and all teams must return that set after the practice)

Saturday, June 11

8:45-9:25 a.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Practice 2, INDYCAR Live!

9:45-10:45 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (45 minutes in a 60-minute window), Peacock Premium

Noon-12:25 p.m. –  Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Qualifying, INDYCAR Live!

12:45-2 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying), Peacock Premium

4:20-4:50 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Final Practice, Peacock Premium

Sunday, June 12

9:35 a.m. – Indy Lights Grand Prix at Road America command to start engines

9:40 a.m. – Indy Lights Grand Prix at Road America (20 laps/55 minutes), Peacock Premium

11:10 a.m. – Driver introductions

11:48 a.m. – Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR command to start engines

11:55 a.m. – Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR (55 laps/222.64 miles), NBC (live)

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:

• There have been six different winners in seven NTT INDYCAR SERIES races in the 2022 season. Scott McLaughlin (Streets of St. Petersburg), Josef Newgarden (Texas Motor Speedway and Streets of Long Beach), Pato O’Ward(Barber Motorsports Park), Colton Herta (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-1), Marcus Ericsson (Indianapolis 500) and Will Power (Raceway at Belle Isle Park)have all won in 2022. The record for most different winners in a season is 11 in 2000, 2001 and 2014.
• There have been seven different winners in the last 10 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races (Alex Palou, Colton Herta, Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, Pato O’Ward, Marcus Ericsson and Will Power). The only repeat winners in that stretch are Herta (Laguna Seca, 2021 and Long Beach, 2021) and Newgarden (Texas, 2022 and Long Beach 2022).
• The Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR will be the 33rd INDYCAR SERIES event conducted at Road America since it hosted its first INDYCAR event in 1982. Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi have the most wins by an INDYCAR SERIES driver at the track (three).
• Scott Dixon has won twice at Road America – most among active drivers. Other previous Road America winners entered include Josef Newgarden, Will Power, Alexander Rossi, Felix Rosenqvist and Alex Palou.

ACTIVE RACE WINNER	WINS	SEASONS
Scott Dixon	2	2017, 2020 Race #1
Will Power	1	2016
Josef Newgarden	1	2018
Alexander Rossi	1	2019
Felix Rosenqvist	1	2020 Race #2
Alex Palou	1	2021

• Eight drivers have won the Road America race from the pole: Mario Andretti (1983, 1984 and 1987), Danny Sullivan (1989), Paul Tracy (1993), Jacques Villeneuve (1995), Bruno Junqueira (2003), Sebastien Bourdais (2007), Will Power (2016) and Josef Newgarden (2018).

ACTIVE POLE WINNER	POLES	SEASONS
Josef Newgarden	3	2018, 2020 Race #1, 2021
Will Power	1	2016
Helio Castroneves	1	2017
Colton Herta	1	2019
Pato O’Ward	1	2020 Race #2

• The driver who has gone on to win the championship has won at Road America six times: Mario Andretti (1984), Michael Andretti (1991), Jacques Villeneuve (1995), Alex Zanardi (1997), Cristiano da Matta (2002), Sebastien Bourdais (2007) and Scott Dixon (2020).
• Scott Dixon and Will Power have competed in nine previous races at Road America, most of any driver. Twelve entered drivers have led laps at the track (Josef Newgarden 123, Will Power 60, Alexander Rossi 54, Pato O’Ward 43, Scott Dixon 43, Helio Castroneves 41, Felix Rosenqvist 8, Alex Palou 5, Graham Rahal 5, Marcus Ericsson 2, Simon Pagenaud 2 and Takuma Sato 2).
• Chip Ganassi Racing has won the last three INDYCAR SERIES races at Road America and is one of three current teams with wins at the track. Overall, Chip Ganassi Racing has won six times at Road America (1997, 2001, 2017, a sweep of the 2020 doubleheader and 2021). Team Penske has won five times at Road America (1989, 1992, 1993, 2016 and 2018) while Andretti Autosport won its first in 2019.
• Rookies Tatiana Calderon, Devlin DeFrancesco, Callum Ilott, Kyle Kirkwood, Christian Lundgaard and David Malukas and NTT INDYCAR SERIES veteran Simona De Silvestro will race an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car at Road America for the first time this weekend. De Silvestro will make her 2022 season debut with Paretta Autosport.
• Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 296th consecutive start, the second-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history…The last time two female drivers were on the grid for an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race was the 2015 Indianapolis 500 with drivers Simona De Silvestro and Pippa Mann.

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Notes:

• Linus Lundqvist will try to extend his Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires win streak to four races when the Indy Lights Grand Prix at Road America hits the track on Sunday. The 23-year-old Swede, who leads Benjamin Pedersen by 84 points heading into the weekend, could match the win streak of Kyle Kirkwood, who won four in a row in his title-winning season in 2021 and Oliver Askew, who also won four races in a row in his title-winning 2019 season. The series record for consecutive wins is five, shared by Greg Moore in 1995 and Alex Lloyd in 2007.
• Push-to-pass could play a key strategic role at Road America as Indy Lights drivers will have a bank of 150 seconds to use an added 50 horsepower to assist in overtaking, similar to the drivers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The maximum amount of time for each press of the overtake system is 15 seconds.

Honda at Road America

• Honda Indy car drivers have scored eight victories at Road America, most recently in last year’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES race, won by eventual series champion Alex Palou in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
• In 2020, Honda drivers scored a clean sweep of both rounds of a doubleheader race weekend. Scott Dixon won Saturday’s opening race en route to his sixth drivers’ title; with his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Felix Rosenqvist claiming victory in Sunday’s event.
• In 2019, Alexander Rossi dominated at Road America leading 54 of the 55 laps for a crushing, 28-second margin of victory in his Andretti Autosport Honda.
• Dixon provided his own master class in race craft in 2017, taking charge midway through the 220-mile contest and fending off all challengers to claim the win.
• Alex Zanardi recorded Honda’s first Road America Indy car win in 1997, on the way to his first of two consecutive Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) titles.
• Dario Franchitti scored the first Indy car victory of his illustrious career at Road America in 1998, heading Zanardi home to a 1-2 finish for Honda, with Franchitti’s future teammate, Tony Kanaan, finishing fourth.
• Honda’s most thrilling Indy car win at Road America came in 2000, as Paul Tracy charged from last to first after a mechanical issue forced him to re-start his engine on the opening lap of the race, dropping him to the rear of the starting field.

· The 2022 season features a deep and talented field with race winners such as Linus Lundqvist and Matthew Brabham joining a promising rookie class that includes Christian Rasmussen (Indy Pro 2000 champ), Hunter McElrea (Indy Pro 2000), Kyffin Simpson (Formula Regional Americas champion) and Ernie Francis Jr. (seven-time Trans Am champion/Formula Regional Americas). Other contenders include returning drivers Danial Frost, Sting Ray Robb and Benjamin Pedersen.