Palou further extends points lead with powerful Road America win

By Marshall Pruett June 18, 2023 4:47 PM

By Marshall Pruett | June 18, 2023 4:47 PM ET

Colton Herta took pole position, led the most laps, and drove a nearly flawless race to almost earn his first victory of the season, but unfortunately Alex Palou was also participating in round eight at Road America. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver stalked and passed Herta with six laps left in the 55-lap contest to score back-to-back wins, deliver CGR its 250th motor racing win, and its 139th triumph in IndyCar.

'@AlexPalou on his winning move on Colton Herta.

Is the championship his? He weighs in. #INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/j3P8xcp1ku

— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) June 18, 2023

The 2021 IndyCar title winner also lengthened his championship lead from 51 points to a gaudy 74 as Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden from Team Penske followed him home in second with a 4.5s deficit and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward completed the podium after crossing the line 6.7s adrift.

Palou’s teammate Scott Dixon was the biggest mover of the day, starting 23rd and motoring to fourth, one spot ahead of Herta, who was helpless to stop Palou and the other three drivers while saving fuel to get to the checkered flag as they were able to run hard the rest of the way.

“It was great to start up there, saving fuel, and then things started moving a lot with the cautions,” Palou said. “We kept on pushing, great pit stops, and vied for the win at the end.

“Once my tires were up to temperature (on the final stint), I was able to pass him, and he pitted one lap earlier, so he had to save fuel. Great day for us.”

Among the other accolades for Palou, the Road America victory was his third of the season, his third from the last four races, and the seventh of his career. In the Drivers’ standings, the 26-year-old has almost a 1.5-race lead over teammate Marcus Ericsson at the halfway point of the season.

“I’m not relaxed by the points gap, whatsoever,” Palou added. “It’s IndyCar.”

After Dixon, Kyle Kirkwood was another driver who covered more distance than most when he spun on the opening lap, fell to 27th and last, improved four positions but was penalized for hitting O’Ward before his spin, went back to the back of the field, and charged to ninth, second best from the Andretti Autosport camp.

Minus the last-place dramas, Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin improved 10 positions to finish eighth, and closing the weekend’s sagas, teammate Will Power who started an angry 22nd, worked all afternoon to change his fortunes and picked up nine spots to take 13th at the checkered flag.

On the opposite end of excellence, Herta’s teammate Romain Grosjean was nothing less than a nuisance throughout the race, spinning on his own and going a lap down and fighting front-running drivers who were faster, and when he wasn’t being a hinderance, he kept running off track or clashing with other drivers in what was easily the worst race of his IndyCar career. Starting 19th, he was credited with 25th in the end.

As it happened

Colton Herta brought the 27-car field to the start/finish line at a slow and orderly pace and fired into Turn 1 with the lead in hand as P3 Alex Palou took P2 from Pato O’Ward. O’Ward was hit from behind by P6 Kyle Kirkwood which slowed O’Ward and dropped him to P7 while Kirkwood spun and stalled.

The first caution of the race flew as Kirkwood was restarted and resumed in last place. P10 Benjamin Pedersen was nerfed off on the opening lap as well and plummeted to P26. Big early movers included Callum Ilott who was up to P12 from his P19 start. Romain Grosjean also improved seven positions and was up to P17. Ryan Hunter-Reay, starting P27 and last, was up to P24.

The lap four restart featured Marcus Armstrong charging to P3. IndyCar also announced O’Ward would be penalized for blocking and needed to give up two positions which would leave him in P9. Christian Lundgaard tried to pass Josef Newgarden for P4 at Turn 5 and was fed onto the grass and resumed in P6.

After five laps, Herta held a 0.6s lead on Palou, 1.5s on Armstrong, 2.9s on Newgarden, and 3.3s on Alexander Rossi. Kirkwood, running P23, was ordered to the back of the field for the avoidable contact with O’Ward.

Lap nine and Felix Rosenqvist was off in Turn 3 after being hit by Rinus VeeKay, who he’d just passed for P13. Rosenqvist’s long trip through the grass dropped him to last.

Lap 10 and Herta’s lead on Palou was 0.8s. Armstrong was 1.7s arrears, Newgarden was 3.1s down, and Rossi was 3.9s behind the leader. Lap 12 and Grosjean was stuck sitting backwards in the Turn 3 gravel trap, a victim of his own error, having put his left-front tire onto the grass under braking which sent him slewing sideways across the track and into the runoff area.

Herta and the leaders pitted at the end of the lap with Newgarden leaping Armstrong for P3 as the caution came out. Kirkwood, in an escalating race of misfortune, was blocked from getting into his pit box as VeeKay was launched while he was turning in; VeeKay left without issue but Kirkwood needed to be wheeled back and placed into the stall. Rescued by the AMR Safety Team, Grosjean resumed minus one lap of running.

The field attempted to go green at the end of lap 15, but Jack Harvey charged too hard into Turn 14—the final corner—and tapped the left-rear tire of Helio Castroneves before running off the circuit and hitting the barriers nose-first. VeeKay, who wasn’t penalized for spinning Rosenqvist, was penalized for an unsafe release and was ordered to fall behind P22 Kirkwood. Harvey was eventually sent on his way; he pitted for a new nose and joined Grosjean in the one-lap-down club.

The lap 19 restart saw Armstrong take P4 from Rossi and Marcus Ericsson get shuffled back from P9 to P12 and Simon Pagenaud go for a ride through the grass while trying to pass Ericsson as well. Lap 23 and Rossi takes P4 from Armstrong. Palou runs wide at Turn 5 and Newgarden’s up to P2 after knocking Palou into the dirt; he holds onto P3.

Lap 23 and Herta’s leading by 0.6s. Lap 24 and it’s up to 1.2s as Armstrong tries to overtake Rossi at Turn 5, fails, and is passed by multiple cars, leaving him down in P7.

David Malukas, running P14 on lap 25, pulled off and stopped as the latest caution was flown. The majority of the field pits, barring Armstrong, and Herta lost the lead with a bobble exiting the box. Palou took P1 with Newgarden in P2 and Herta in P3, followed by Rossi, Power—who stayed out—and O’Ward in P6.

The lap 29 restart saw Scott Dixon take P8 from Scott McLaughlin and VeeKay run down the inside of Devlin DeFrancesco, leading DeFrancesco to run off course. Lap 30 and Herta motors past Palou to take P3 behind Power and Armstrong.

Lap 32 and Armstrong pits; not sure what they were thinking here. Armstrong was P7 when everyone pitted; he resumes in P24. Lap 34 and Power joins him, resuming in P23.

Lap 36 and Ericsson relieves Rossi of P6 and teammate Rosenqvist knocks him down to P8 a few moments later. Herta’s holding 0.6s over Palou at the front of the field; O’Ward is 1.2s back.

Lap 40 and Herta pits as Palou and O’Ward stay out. The rest of the leaders pit on lap 41 and Herta goes back to P1 followed by Palou and Newgarden.

Lap 46 and Palou is pressing Herta, trying to make a pass at Canada Corner. Lap 47 and Palou is 0.4s behind and continuing to stalk Herta who needs to save a bit of fuel.

Lap 49 and Palou takes the lead into Turn 1 and builds a healthy gap over Newgarden as Herta quickly sinks to finish fifth.

RESULTS

Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, Road America, IndyCar