The NTT IndyCar Series were at Road America in Plymouth, WI, Sunday afternoon for the Rev Group Grand Prix. Qualifying took place on Saturday, with Josef Newgarden winning the pole and Colton Herta started second.
On the opening lap, Newgarden kept the lead from Herta. Herta slipped to fifth place ten laps into the race after starting second. On the second lap, Takuma Sato dove to the bottom to get by Conor Daly. He was penalized for avoidable contact and had to give up a position. In the back, Simon Pagenaud and Pato O’Ward were fighting for ninth place.
On lap 14, Ryan Hunter-Reay passed Alexander Rossi for the eleventh position. On the same lap, drivers began to make their first scheduled pit stops. The first caution came out on lap 16 when Jimmie Johnson got wide, went on the grass before spinning at turn seven. The race restarted on lap 19 with Newgarden in the lead.
Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi resumed their battle, this time for the seventh position. Rossi got by Hunter-Reay for the seventh position. The second caution came on lap 23 for a spin at three by Marcus Ericsson. Kevin Magnussen and Takuma Sato elected to stay out while everyone else pitted. The race restarted on lap 25.
Six laps into the restart, Sato passed Magnussen for the lead. One lap later, Josef Newgarden got by both Magnussen and Sato for first place. On lap 35, Magnussen’s car suffered a mechanical issue that brought out the third caution. His day was done, and he finished in 24th place. The race restarted on lap 38.
Not long after the restart, drivers began to make their last scheduled pit stops of the day. Once the pit cycles were complete, Newgarden resumed the lead. On lap 52, Conor Daly’s car had a left rear flat and went around at turn 12 that brought out the fourth caution.
The race resumed with two laps to go. Alex Palou blew by Newgarden for the lead. Newgarden’s car suffered a mechanical failure. Alex Palou led the last two laps to win the race by 1.9106 seconds over Colton Herta. It was Palou’s second win of the season.
The rest of the top ten finishers were Will Power third, Scott Dixon fourth, Romain Grosjean fifth, Marcus Ericsson sixth, Alexander Rossi seventh, Takuma Sato eighth, Pato O’Ward ninth, and Max Chilton tenth. Josef Newgarden led 32 laps, the most in the race. There were eleven lead changes and four cautions for seven laps.
The NTT IndyCar Series heads to Mid-Ohio on Sunday, July 4th, at noon on NBC.
