Road America is a well-known race track with lots of twists, elevation changes, and long sections where cars build speed. It’s a track where strategy and tire wear can really decide the outcome.
The pole sitter is the driver who starts the race from the very front because they were fastest in qualifying. It’s a big advantage, but the race can still play out differently.
Pit stops are when the car comes into the pits during the race to change tires and sometimes refuel or adjust the car. When you pit can strongly affect where you run on the track afterward.
“Reds” are a specific tire type used in IndyCar. They’re generally the grippier option, but they may not last as long as harder tires.
Term
black tires
“Black tires” refers to a particular type of tire compound used in the race. Different compounds wear at different rates, so teams pick them based on how long they need the tires to last.
Cautions are when the race slows down because of something on track. They can change the strategy because the cars are closer together and time is managed differently.
“Cycling” is a strategy idea: you pit at the right time and then come back out in front of other cars. It’s mostly about getting track position when the race is slowed or timed right.
“Motor explodes” means the engine failed badly and stopped working. Even if the driver was doing great, the race can end instantly with an engine failure.
“Under breaking” means while the driver is slowing down for a turn. If a car changes lanes during braking, it can be risky because the other driver may not be able to react in time.
The podium is the top three finish spots. If you’re on the podium, you finished first, second, or third.
Term
spins off
“Spins off” means the car loses control and rotates, usually ending up off the racing line. It usually costs a lot of time and can lead to more trouble.
Race control is the officials running the race. If they penalize someone, it means they decided a rule was broken and the driver has to take a penalty.
A last-lap incident is something that happens right at the end of the race. Since the race is almost over, it can change who finishes where.
LIVE
Indycar Dad: Whoa doggy! IndyCar Road America is always great, and this year is no exception. That was a fantastic race. Hi, I'm IndyCar Dad, your host for IndyCar News in five minutes. I read and watch everything IndyCar in the past week and then summarize it for you in five minutes.
This is a review of the Road America race. The big news is it was a great race where no one could have predicted the winner. At the end of the second lap, Christian Lumart was in last place. And then he won the race.
So it's fantastic. Here's my very fast recap of the race. So Pelow gets out front, and that sounds like it's gonna be bad, right? Because he's pole sitter and he's out front, but he's not really making much of a gap.
There's a few guys up there in the front that are showing speed, and some of them even are on black tires where Pelow's on reds. So you know something might come up. So they go through a set of pit stops and Rosenquist cycles to the lead.
He had been on blacks and he made him last longer. So then Pillow makes a pit road speed violation, gets a drive-through ⁓ penalty. So which you would think would send him all the way to the back. But some cautions come and they end up cycling Pillow to like midfield.
So and that same caution hurts Rosenquist but helps his teammate Armstrong. So now Armstrong's in the front. Armstrong leads a bunch of apps, almost wins the race, but his motor explodes with a just a few to go And Christian Lungard is sitting there in second place and goes on to win the race.
Thriller. There's way more than I've even mentioned in there. Incidents and offs, and everybody's dropping wheels in the grass and bumping into each other. It's just a fantastic race. Tons of excitement.
So let's talk about the finishing order. Lungard wins. David Malucas has another second place for his resume. ⁓ Will Power is involved in a last last. ⁓ incident with Graham Ray Hall where Will might have been able to pass Graham at the end of a straightaway into Canada Corner and Graham moves over under breaking and they make contact, Graham spins off and Will Power ends up on the podium.
So and ⁓ I know people can argue either way, Graham Ray Hall was upset about it after the race and he thinks Will Power did something wrong, but race control penalized Graham, not Will, and let Will keep his podium finished.
So I guess we're all siding with Will Power. So I side with Will Power. I think ⁓ Graham moved over under breaking, which is a dangerous thing to do. So can't have that. Kiffin Simpson got a fourth place finish, which is really great.
Top CGR car. Alex Pelow. That penalty didn't really hurt him that bad because he still finished fifth. Alexander Rossi, who at one point dominated this track, ⁓ he got a sixth place place with his ECR car.
⁓ Scott McGlachlin was seventh. He does well here usually. Felix Rosenquist charged ⁓ after he didn't lead anymore. He was in 17th and he charged up to eighth. So good performance for him as a driver.
⁓ not great luck. Santino Ferrucci, another good driving performance, finished ninth. And Kyle Kirkwood wasn't really far to anywhere to be seen all weekend, didn't seem to have great pace. ⁓ he finished tenth.
So, ⁓ What's ⁓ so last week I did a preview and lately I've been doing race previews. What I don't tell you drivers I think will win the race. I tell you drivers that I think will be exciting to watch.
So I'm gonna review the drivers I picked as exciting and we'll see if they have excited race exciting races. Pelow I picked as exciting, and it was. McGoughlin I picked, he didn't really have an exciting race.
He did well, but not exciting. Marcus Erickson, I picked, he had a very exciting race, was near the front, went off track, lots of battling, tons of stuff. Joseph Newgarden had a very exciting race. He was driving with only one foot, and he was still fast.
He even led laps, but then on the last lap, he made a mistake and he punted Nolan Siegel, so he finished really far back. Will Power, again, a very exciting race. Last lap incident for third place, thrilling stuff.
Groshan, I predicted predicted to have an exciting race, and it looked like he was driving a bumper car out there. He was all over the place and all passing and being passed and tons of excitement. Santino Ferrucci, I predicted is having an exciting race.
I'm not sure if it was very exciting, but he was up and down the leaderboard all day, so pretty good. Felix Rosenquist had a very exciting race from looking like he was going to win to battle being at 17th to getting up to eighth.
Graham Ray Hall, I also predicted. ⁓ his certainly had the most exciting last lap if it wasn't a good one for him. And then I predicted Pado would have an exciting race, but I don't remember it being that exciting.
⁓ he didn't seem to be in the mix too much ⁓ through the day. So out of the eight drivers I told you would have exciting races, I got six. So I think I did pretty well. Two drivers I wish I would have told you to watch, but I didn't know any better.
Marcus Armstrong because he was thrilling, and Christian Lungard, because last place to first place would have been fun if you were watching the leader board. Like if you're gonna watch this race again, you would probably pay attention to where Lundard is at every stage.
But during the race, I had no idea that he was gonna win this race. So but he had a great performance. ⁓ our top rookie was ⁓ Kyle Kollet in 16th. He looked better than that, but running an entire race as a rookie without incident is difficult.
So top rookie 16th. ⁓ and then every year I like to every week I like to do winners and losers after each race. So winners include Lungard, Malucas, Power, Simpson, like our top four, ended up with great finishes.
And I'm throwing in Marcus Armstrong in there because he had a great weekend without a great result. So in the loser category, I'm putting him in there also. So on showing speed he's a winner, but on on finish, he ends up a loser.
Christian Rasmussen, I continue to not be impressed with Christian Rasmussen. I hope he doesn't punch me in the face if he sees me in the paddock. But again, he had a last bo last place finish. I get it, the car broke.
But also their team was kind of weird about it. And he f ended up, like right just after pit exit, ended up stopping on track. It's like, ⁓ and that caution helped your teammate? I don't know. I I don't wanna accuse anybody of doing untoward things, but ECR has just dropped another ball on that one and it just didn't work out well.
And ⁓ Graham Ray Hall, I think, you know, to get yourself involved in a racing incident where you moved over on someone is one thing. ⁓ but then when it w doesn't work out in your favor and you blame the other driver, I th I give you a thumbs down on that, Graham, you know.
You gotta take some personal responsibility in this world, my friend. So we're off this weekend. Mid-Ohio's coming up. I'll be there on race day, and I'll do a preview on which drivers you'll want to watch.
So thanks for listening. I try to keep these brief and informative. You can find me on social media as IndyCarDad, and I hope to see you at the races.
About this episode
Road America delivered a chaotic, strategy-heavy IndyCar race that flipped the script early and kept changing with pit stops and cautions. Christian Lundgaard surged from last at the end of lap two to win, while a pit road speed violation triggered a drive-through penalty. The late-race drama centered on Will Power’s battle at Canada Corner and a controversial contact that decided podium positions—race control penalized Graham, not Will. The hosts also look ahead to Mid-Ohio.
The Road America race was a thrilling and unpredictable event, with Christian Lundgaard going from last place to first place. The race featured incidents, penalties, and last-minute drama, making it an exciting spectacle for fans.
