It was 96 degrees in the air and much, much hotter on track at Road America as Alex Palou won the XPEL Grand Prix during an exceptionally aggressive afternoon of IndyCar racing in Wisconsin.
By the end, it was the Spaniard’s ability to make speed when it was needed and to sip fuel to close the race – an urgent need with the timing of the numerous cautions that meant he would be at risk of running out – but he mastered both demands and cruised to a 2.1s victory in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda over Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist in the No. 60 Honda. Santino Ferrucci completed the podium in the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevy.
“It was a crazy race for us,” said Palou, who earned his sixth win of 2025 and the 10th straight for Honda dating back to Nashville Speedway in 2024. “At the start we were losing a ton of positions. Kudos to the team for the amazing strategy and Honda, HRC for giving us the amazing fuel mileage we needed in the end to make it.”
Palou’s performance also took his championship lead from a diminished 73 points after two consecutive rough finishes up to a 93-point advantage over Kyle Kirkwood who placed fourth. MSR’s Marcus Armstrong was fifth, completing the team’s best combined effort of the season, and Ganassi’s Kyffin Simpson was sixth, making it a 1-2-5-6 for Ganassi or Ganassi-affiliated drivers.
Behind them, David Malukas went from being last at the end of the first lap – the result of hitting the back of another car entering Turn 3 and spinning into the gravel trap – to take seventh by way of making an alternate pit strategy work to his favor, and Ganassi’s Scott Dixon was ninth after starting at the back. Dixon led with two laps to go and did his best to stretch his fuel to make it to the end, but he was two laps shy and needed a visit to the pits and a splash of fuel to get to the checkered flag.
Palou stopped two laps after Dixon for his final stint and did just enough to get to the finish line under full power. About one third of the field pulled over and stopped on the front straight – near pit exit – and climbed from their cars, knowing there was no way they’d be able to make it back after the cooldown lap.
Ferrucci, who s topped in Turn 1, had fans throw bottles of water over the fence after a scorching afternoon of racing, but he wanted a beer, which he quickly emptied to the delight of the hearty Road America fans.
Polesitter Louis Foster led at the outset but fell to the back and recovered to take 11th, matching his best finish of the season.
Firestone reported a peak track temperature of 131 degrees, which should have scorched the softer alternate tires, but they performed remarkably well and delivered grip for most of their stints.
As it happened
The 55-lap race got its start with Louis Foster on pole and Alex Palou alongside crossing the start/finish line and the RLL driver held the point into Turn 1 as Palou played every hand the wrong way and exited the first corner in fourth. By the halfway point in the opening lap he was shuffled back to seventh.
There was a caution before the end of lap one as Malukas got crossed up approaching Turn 3, hit the back of Christian Lundgaard, went off into the gravel trap and got stuck. The big mover at the start was Scott McLaughlin who charged to second.
Lap 3 and Scott Dixon, starting at the back, pits to trade primaries for alternates and starts the alternate pit stop routine to try and capitalize on a perfectly-timed caution later in the race. Of the leaders, Foster, McLaughlin and Lundgaard are on alternates. Kirkwood in third is on primaries.
Lap 4 restart and McLaughlin blows by Foster to take the lead. Palou takes sixth from Power; Power takes it back. Power fires past Kirkwood into Canada Corner but slows himself and Kirkwood and Palou sweep by both to take fourth.
Lap 4 caution for the crashed Robert Shwartzman.
Lap 5 O’Ward pits. At the restart it’s McLaughlin, Foster, Lundgaard, Palou, Power, Kirkwood, Graham Rahal in seventh, Josef Newgarden, Rosenqvist and Callum Ilott.
Lap 8 restart and McLaughlin fires away again and Newgarden takes seventh from Rahal.
Lap 9 and Lundgaard takes second from Foster. Team Chevy has brought the power.
Lap 10 and McLaughlin has 0.6s on Lundgaard. Big crash involving Sting Ray Robb into Turn 5. Caution. Appears to have been a solo incident at one of the fastest points on the track.
Lap 11 and pit stops are about to happen. Leaders are McLaughlin, Lundgaard, Foster, Palou, Power, Kirkwood, Newgarden, Rosenqvist.
Lap 12 and it’s a slower stop by McLaughlin and Lundgaard comes out first in his group, ninth on track. Great stops by Power and Newgarden who jump P3 to P11 and P4 to P12, respectively. Palou falls from P6-P14 and Foster really suffered, falling from P7-P15. Dixon leads a group of six drivers on alternate pit strategies.
Lap 14 restart and it’s crazy all lap. It’s a repeat at Canada Corner but with Kirkwood going down the inside of Power, slowing both, and Palou sweeping by the pair…again. Unreal.
Lap 16 and it’s Dixon, O’Ward, Alexnader Rossi, Kyffin Simpson, Malukas, Conor Daly, Lundgaard, Rinus VeeKay, McLaughlin, Newgarden.
Lap 17 and Palou tries to pass Newgarden again, this time into Turn 1, but no luck.
Lap 18 and McLaughlin and Newgarden take a trip offtrack at Turn 5; Palou gets by Newgarden. Palou gets by McLaughlin into Canada Corner. It’s a day of ragged racing.
Lap 19 and polesitter Foster has faded to P20. The standard strategy group is led by Lundgaard in P7, Palou in P9, McLaughlin in P10, Newgarden in P11, Kirkwood in P12, Rahal in P14, and Power in P15.
Lap 20 and Newgarden on alternates passed McLaughlin on primaries. Lundgaard is on primaries while Palou is on alternates. O’Ward pits from second.
Lap 21 and Dixon pits from the lead; Simpson takes P1. Newgarden pits as well. Palou passed Lundgaard and is in P2.
Lap 22 and Daly outbrakes himself and gets stuck in the Turn 5 gravel trap. Caution.
Lap 24 and the standard strategists stop except for Lundgaard and Kirkwood and Rosenqvist. Palou leads them out of the pits but is back in P13.
Lap 25 restart and Kirkwood tries to take P1 from Lundgaard but both fly off the track and ultimately hold their positions.
Lap 27 and Lundgaard pits from the lead. Rosenqvist and Foster as well.
Lap 27 and Power spins out of Canada Corner and continues.
Lap 28 and Kirkwood pits from the lead. Lundgaard fires by to extend his lead over Kirkwood. Rosenqvist gets by Kirkwood. Lundgaard’s P17, Kirk’s P18 and Rosenqvist is P19.
Lap 29 and Dixon leads Newgarden, Malukas, Rossi, Palou, and Newgarden spins coming off of Turn 14 and hits the inside wall and breaks the rear wing and left-rear suspension. Caution.
Lap 31 and it’s Dixon, Rossi, Palou, McLaughlin, Simpson, Ferrucci, Herta, Rahal, VeeKay, Ericsson.
Lap 32 restart and Ferrucci takes P5 from Simpson.
Lap 34 and Lundgaard spins on his own at Canada Corner after challenging Herta and bouncing over the exit curbing.
Lap 35 and Dixon leads Rossi by 2.8s – both pitted on the same lap – and Palou’s in third, having pitted two laps later, with a 3.7s deficit to his teammate. Ferrucci is fourth, 6.9s back, with McLaughlin and Simpson completing the top six.
Lap 37 and Rossi pits from second.
Lap 38 and Dixon pits from the lead. He takes alternates. Palou’s leading and turn a 1m47.510s lap, 0.7s faster than the next-fastest driver. He’s trying to make the overcut work while Dixon gets up to speed.
Lap 39 and McLaughlin, Dixon, Rahal, Herta and Ferrucci pit. Palou’s 1m47.312s is 0.6s faster than Rosenqvist in P2.
Lap 40 and Palou pits after delivering two blinding laps.
Lap 41 and it’s Rosenqvist with 4.8s over Kirkwood, 7.2s over Armstrong, 11.4 over Malukas. Dixon is P9 and Palou is 2.8s behind him in P10.
Lap 42 and Rosenqvist pits along with Kirkwood. It’s a battle of full-speed for them and fuel saving for Dixon and Palou. Which strategy will win?
Lap 43 and Malukas pits from the lead. It’s Dixon-Palou 1-2 for Ganassi, Rossi for ECR in third, Rosenqvist for MSR in fourth, Ferrucci for Foyt in fifth, and Kirkwood for Andretti in sixth.
Lap 45 and Palou is sitting 0.6s behind Dixon. Rossi is 4.9s behind Dixon and Rosenqvist, lapping well faster than them, is fourth, 6.6s shy of the leader.
