ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Friday, June 20, 2025) – Two heat waves are arriving this weekend at the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR.

One is a weather system expected to hike air temperatures into the mid-90s Saturday and Sunday at the iconic Road America circuit in Wisconsin. The other is named Kyle Kirkwood.

Kirkwood, who has won the last two NTT INDYCAR SERIES races, continued his hot form Friday by leading the first practice with a top lap of 1 minute, 44.9881 seconds in the No. 27 Siemens Honda fielded by Andretti Global. Kirkwood is third in the series standings, two points behind second-place Pato O’Ward and 75 behind leader Alex Palou.

“Good start,” Kirkwood said. “Definitely a session that was hindered a little bit by the red and the timing (of red flag). Happy to be quick once again here. We were quick last year, so I guess that’s a good positive to take away from today, and hopefully that trend continues.

“But the weather is going to be so much different tomorrow that I’m not sure what we learned from today is going to be applicable tomorrow or the next day. We’ll see what happens.”

The air temperature, in the low 80s Friday, is expected to climb at least 10 degrees into the mid-90s Saturday and Sunday. That will reduce the grip of the Firestone Firehawk tires and test the stamina of drivers.

Devlin DeFrancesco, 25th in points, ended up a surprising second at 1:45.1414 in the No. 30 Manitou Group Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Team Penske began its rebound from a tough event last Sunday night at World Wide Technology Raceway by placing third and fourth on the 14-turn, 4.014-mile natural-terrain road course. Reigning Road America winner Will Power was third at 1:45.1795 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, while two-time Road America winner Josef Newgarden was fourth at 1:45.2228 in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet.

Christian Lundgaard rounded out the top five at 1:45.2246 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Scott McLaughlin helped Penske’s recovery by clocking in sixth at 1:45.3191 in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet. McLaughlin, Newgarden and Power finished 24th, 25th and 27th, respectively, last Sunday night on the oval at WWTR.

Championship leader Palou was ninth at 1:45.3664 in the No. 10 SOLO Cup Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou led with seven minutes left in the 75-minute session, but nearly the entire field pitted late for Firestone Firehawk alternate tires, which provide more grip and speed but have less durability.

That shuffled the order considerably until the checkered flag, although a red flag with five minutes left caused by a trip into the Turn 1 gravel by 2019 Road America winner Alexander Rossi in the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet interrupted some late attempts to dash up the speed charts.

Up next is pre-qualifying practice at 11 a.m. ET Saturday, followed by NTT P1 Award qualifying at 2:30 p.m. ET. FS1, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network will provide live coverage.

The 55-lap race starts at 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday (FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).

CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES
XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR
Road America
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Friday Practice Report
June 20, 2025

Chevrolet-powered drivers turn five of the seven quickest laps in Road America practice – Will Power fastest

• Defending race winner Will Power in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, was the quickest of the five Team Chevy drivers in the top seven on the timesheet during Friday practice in preparation for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR. Power’s 105.1795-second lap was the third best on the 4.014-mile, 14-turn Road America road course. His teammates Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet and Scott McLaughlin in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet, along with Christian Lundgaard in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet and David Malukas in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies/A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet joined Power.
• A late red flag interrupted drivers on the preferred Alternate Firestone Firehawk Tires (Reds) during qualifying simulations, leaving a portion of the field with question marks headed into qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
• Team Chevy drivers were quick on the critical long straightaways leading to the two best passing zones on the undulating and wooded circuit.
• Malukas, at 186.075 mph, was the quickest in the speed trap on the long downhill run to Turn 5, with Chevrolet-powered drivers holding four of the top five speeds.
• McLaughlin, at 188.475mph, was the quickest through Kettle Bottoms and the speed trap approaching Turn 12, with Chevrolet-powered drivers holding the top five speeds.
• The Team Chevy drivers and teams will practice one more time at 10 am (Central), before qualifying at 1:30 pm on Saturday.

TUNE IN ALERT

Saturday

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice #2 – 11am (ET)/10am (CT)/9am (MT)/8am (PT) – FS1/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying – 2:30pm (ET)/1:30pm (CT)/12:30pm (MT)/11:30am (PT) – FS1/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218

Sunday

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warm Up – 10am (ET)/9am (CT)/8am (MT)/7am (PT) – FS1/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218
XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR (55 laps) – 1:30pm (ET)/12:30pm (CT)/11:30am (MT)/10:30am (PT) – FOX/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218

NTT INDYCAR SERIES FRIDAY PRACTICE RESULTS FROM ROAD AMERICA:

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (Quotes):

ARROW MCLAREN

Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“It was a bummer we didn’t get a real run on Firestone Alternates. It’s obviously not ideal going into Qualifying tomorrow, but I think the car is somewhat in the window. We know what the issues are so now, we’re just trying to see what the best solution is.”

Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“That was a positive start to the weekend, and it feels good to say that. We started comfortable and quick right out of the gate. We were solid on both tires, and it was a smooth session with no issues as we get back to another place I’ve raced in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Overall, I’m just feeling comfortable and back at home because I love Road America; it’s one of my favorites. It’s nice to roll off strong.”

Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“Good practice here in Road America. We were pretty fast straight out of the gate, and we kind of carried that momentum throughout the session. So far, a very positive start, and it gives us a good foundation to build on. Going into Practice 2, it’s all about what do we really need, weighing the pros and cons, what do we need to sacrifice and what we need to improve. I think we’re in a good spot right now. We’ll take our time overnight and figure it out properly.”

TEAM PENSKE

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet:

“It was good to see how the hybrid reacted here as the last track – at least until next year – where we haven’t used it. Everything seemed good to go there. Really want to get a win here for XPEL and Chevy. I think all Chevy drivers are chomping at the bit to get that done. Road America is as good a place as any for that.”

Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet:

“Yeah it was definitely nice to come here after last weekend and continue to have speed in the Verizon Chevy. We’ve had speed all year and it feels like this could be the weekend where it all comes together. Lots to do between now and then and the heat is only going to rise. Qualifying is always important here as well so we need to get a solid starting spot tomorrow and go from there.”

Josef Newgarden

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Wrapping up today’s practice session, currently joined by Josef Newgarden, two-time winner here at Road America, runner-up finish last year. What did you learn in that practice session?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s going to be hot, for sure. I don’t know how you can really prepare much more for that other than it’s just going to be what it’s going to be.

Yeah, I mean, hybrid obviously compared to last year, trying to understand the weight difference. A little bit more of a lap time loss at this track relative to others because of the distance. You’re going to see a little more lap time loss, a second and a half to last year’s would be my guess. Just trying to understand the traits of the car, what we need to do with the tires.

It’s going to be hot. I said that again, but trying to understand not just from a personal standpoint but how the car reacts. The temperature is going to be a big deal. It’s normally never this sort of temperature around this place. That will be the tricky part to get right.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions.

Q. In the past different hot venues, INDYCAR had the aeroscreen. Anything that can be done or has been done to make it more effective to make it more comfortable for y’all in the car?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, it’s fine. It’s fine the way it is. We got cool suits, all sorts of stuff. I don’t think they need to do much more.

Q. Anything you felt you were missing, corner or two corners, something you were missing a little bit at all?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Not really. There’s always something to improve. I felt like our (indiscernible) lap wasn’t the best. If I could have done a better lap… Other than that, the car was in a pretty good window. Happy to start out.

Q. You feel as good as you did a week ago?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I feel better.

Q. All your workouts and…

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Feel even better, Bob (smiling).

Q. Having a good practice after last week, is that…

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t think it matters, no.

Q. We saw some of the hybrids were overheating like at Thermal and stuff. Will the heat impact that at all? Is it impacting performance?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think that’s a good question for all of us to understand this weekend. Obviously, like you said, Thermal, there was some mitigation that had to happen there. We don’t want to see that. It’s a big performance loss, especially around this track because of the long straights.

I think there’s unknowns with how high the temperature is going to get. We feel comfortable that we have enough room, but you never know until you actually go through it. It is a question mark in front of us right now that we’re trying to make sure we have covered.

Q. About last week, there was some question about whether the yellow should have come out earlier. Did you talk to anybody at INDYCAR about that?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I didn’t. It’s just bad timing. Wrong place, wrong time. So, you know, that happens. In the wrong spot at the wrong moment.

Q. That’s not your first big crash. What is it like to try to move on, put that behind you? Scary experience.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Not really. I mean, it sucked. I was like, Oh, this… But the only thing you’re thinking about is that race is done. Other than that, I’m happy to be back at the track.

I don’t know. It’s kind of awesome to smoke a car into the wall and then come back and race at Road America. I love it. I’m happy to be here.

Q. Do you have any vantage at all of Louis’ car until you pop around Palou? Seemed like you might have been so focused on Palou, there was no way to see his car there at all.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I didn’t see him. I didn’t see him come across the track. I saw Louis up against the wall as I was exiting four. This is happening in like a couple seconds, right? Wasn’t really focused on him.

I went through three. As we’re getting out of four, I was trying to make a move on Palou. I was actually going to try to go underneath him. When I was making that move off of four, I could see that Louis was sort of there, but it was still green.

I didn’t see Louis until Palou went right. As soon as he went right, then I saw him coming across the track. I thought just… There wasn’t much else to do. If I go right, I was going to go into Palou. I had a big jump of speed on him. He had the advantage of seeing him before I did.

Yeah, just bad timing. Really bad timing.

Q. What is it about this place that you feel like you enjoy so much or really is great for your driving style?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: This is such a marquee INDYCAR track. If you want to go to a place to see what an INDYCAR can do, it’s like IMS and Road America. This is the road course version of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to me.

It’s got everything you want: huge straightaway, big high-speed corners, good brake zones, really good race-ability. It’s, like, awesome when you show up here. This is where you want to race in INDYCAR.

I love that about the place. I think it suits my style. I always like high-speed stuff. We always have great cars here, have for the last 10 years. Makes a big difference.

Q. I think all but two of the races here have been won from the top five spots on the grid. Something like 15 cars within a second here in first practice. How much is the race going to be won or lost tomorrow?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It doesn’t make a difference. I mean, you can’t ignore the statistics, right, that you’re speaking of, but I don’t think it’s won or lost just on Saturday. How many times have we seen in INDYCAR that you can make something happen from all the way in the back.

It’s important. You want to start up front. But it’s not the end all, be all. First thing’s first. Let’s try and qualify well, to your point. It just makes our job easier on race day hopefully.

I think we’ll be in a good spot.

THE MODERATOR: Josef, thanks for coming over.

Chevrolet at Road America

WINS

Chevrolet Wins: 11

2024 – Will Power – Team Penske (photo above)
2022 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske
2018 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske
2016 – Will Power – Team Penske
1993 – Paul Tracy – Team Penske
1992 – Emerson Fittipaldi – Team Penske
1991 – Michael Andretti – Newman Haas Racing
1990 – Michael Andretti – Newman Haas Racing
1989 – Danny Sullivan – Team Penske
1988 – Emerson Fittipaldi – Patrick Racing
1987 – Mario Andretti – Newman Haas Racing

POLES

Chevrolet Poles: 13

2021 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske
2020 Race #2 – Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren
2020 Race #1 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske
2018 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske
2017 – Helio Castroneves – Team Penske
2016 – Will Power -Team Penske
1993 – Paul Tracy – Team Penske
1992 – Paul Tracy – Team Penske
1991 – Bob Rahal – Galles Racing
1990 – Danny Sullivan – Team Penske
1989 – Danny Sullivan – Team Penske
1988 – Danny Sullivan – Team Penske
1987 – Mario Andretti – Newman Haas Racing

PODIUMS

Chevrolet Podiums: 32

Chevrolet podiums at Road America by driver: Josef Newgarden (6), Will Power (5), Mario Andretti (3), Emerson Fittipaldi (3), Michael Andretti (2), Rick Mears (2), Pato O’Ward (2) Bob Rahal (2), Al Unser Jr. (2), Helio Castroneves (1), Tony Kanaan (1), Scott McLaughlin (1), Danny Sullivan (1), and Paul Tracy (1)
Chevrolet podiums at Road America by team: Team Penske (19), Newman Haas Racing (5), Arrow McLaren (2), Galles Racing (2), Rahal Hogan Racing (2), Chip Ganassi Racing (1) and Patrick Racing (1)

LAPS LED

Chevrolet Laps Led: 688

Chevrolet laps led at Road America by driver: Josef Newgarden (159), Will Power (81), Michael Andretti (79), Emerson Fittipaldi (76), Danny Sullivan (62), Paul Tracy (55), Mario Andretti (50), Pato O’Ward (43), Al Unser Jr. (24), Scott McLaughlin (18), Helio Castroneves (17), Max Chilton (7), Felix Rosenqvist (7), Kevin Magnussen (6), Oliver Askew (2), and Simon Pagenaud (2)
Chevrolet laps led at Road America by team: Team Penske (435), Newman Haas Racing (129), Arrow McLaren (56), Patrick Racing (35) Galles Racing (24), Carlin (7), and Ed Carpenter Racing (2)

HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Manufacturer history at Road America

Wins – 35

11 — Chevrolet (2024, 2022, 2018, 2016, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987)

9 — Honda (2023, 2021, 2020 R2, 2020 R1, 2019, 2017, 2000, 1998, 1997)

7 — Ford (2006, 2004, 2003, 1999, 1996, 1995, 1994)

6 — Cosworth (2007, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1982)

2 — Toyota (2002, 2001)

Earned Poles – 35

13 — Chevrolet (2021, 2020 R2, 2020 R1, 2018, 2017, 2016, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987)

7 — Ford (2006, 2004, 2003, 2001, 1999, 1998, 1995)

6 — Cosworth (2007, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1982)

6 — Honda (2024, 2023, 2022, 2019, 2000, 1996)

1 – Ilmor (1994)

1 — Mercedes (1997)

1 — Toyota (2002)

INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturer Championships (since 1979)

21 – General Motors (Chevrolet and Oldsmobile combined)

16 – Chevrolet (6 Championship Auto Racing Teams & 10 INDYCAR)

10 – Honda (4 Championship Auto Racing Teams & 6 INDYCAR)

9 – Cosworth (9 Championship Auto Racing Teams)

5 – Oldsmobile (5 INDYCAR)

2 – Ford (2 Championship Auto Racing Teams)

2 – Toyota (1 Championship Auto Racing Teams & 1 INDYCAR)

1 – Ilmor (1 Championship Auto Racing Teams)

1 – Mercedes Benz (1 Championship Auto Racing Teams)

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Friday, June 20, 2025) – Road America is one of the biggest tests of car performance and driver skill of any circuit, so it came as no surprise Friday that the top three drivers in the INDY NXT by Firestone standings moved to the fore during the series’ first practice for the Grand Prix at Road America.

Caio Collet led the practice for the INDYCAR development series, turning a top lap of 1 minute, 53.1345 seconds in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car. 2024 series Rookie of the Year Collet is third in the standings, 78 points behind leader Dennis Hauger of Andretti Global.

Brazilian Collet topped the charts despite turning just 10 laps on the 4.014-mile natural-terrain road course, as his team had to replace a malfunctioning starter midway through the 45-minute session.

“We started off very, very good,” Brazilian driver Collet said. “The team did a very good job. We had a little issue in the middle of the session, but they were able to assess that very quickly, and we were back on track.”

Rookie Hauger was second at 1:53.5279 in the No. 28 Nammo car. His Andretti Global rookie teammate, Hughes, was third at 1:53.8290 in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship machine. Hughes is second in the standings, 19 points behind Hauger.

Veteran James Roe of Andretti Global aimed to jump-start his disappointing season by ending up fourth at 1:53.8357 in the No. 29 Topcon car. Andretti Global drivers ended up taking four of the top five spots, as Salvador de Alba rounded out the top five at 1:53.9677 in the No. 27 Grupo Indi machine.

Collet admitted his experience in INDY NXT machinery gave him a slight advantage over Hauger and Hughes. Formula 2 veteran Hauger never has raced at this iconic circuit, and Hughes only has competed here in lower junior categories. But Collet doesn’t expect his edge to last long.

“When we start with new tires, if you know the track and everything, you can start with an advantage,” Collet said. “But I expect the guys, especially Dennis and Lochie, to come up and be with me going for the top tomorrow. It will be tight, as always, and we need to keep working.”

Up next is the second practice at 10 a.m. ET Saturday, followed by qualifying at 1:30 p.m. ET. The 20-lap race starts at 11 a.m. ET Sunday. FS1, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network are providing live coverage of all sessions.