The 10th round of the Verizon IndyCar Series was run at Road America, Elkhart Lake in Wisconsin.
Josef Newgarden started from Pole Position ahead of Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay. Alexander Rossi had taken 4th starting position ahead of Robert Wickens, Sebastian Bourdais, Takuma Sato and Scott Dixon.
Newgarden took the start of the race, while Will Power dropped far back in the field. He instantly complained about loss of power over the radio. So he pitted right at the end of the first lap, for the team to try and solve the problems, but they ended up pushing the car back to the trailer. They tried to get him back on the track, but the issues surrounding his engine was too tough of a task to fix.
Alexander Rossi overtook Robert Wickens, where Rossi finished off the overtake by moving Wickens right to the edge of the grass. The stewards had a look at it, but decided not to do anything about it.
Tony Kanaan already pitted on Lap 8, to refuel and get four new tires.
Photo: Indycar.com / Chris Owens
Sebastien Bourdais pitted on Lap 10, due to problems with his gearbox. The team tried to turn off and retire the car, and it appeared to solve the issue.
Newgarden lead the race ahead of Hunter-Reay, Rossi and Wickens, before the first round of pitstops.
While the majority of the field chose to pit after 14 laps, Scott Dixon was able to do one more lap, which made him leave the pits in 7th.
Wickens was beaten by Sato on the pitlane, so the Canadian had to chase the Japanese. That was the only change in Top 4 compared to prior the pitstops.
Zach Veach had to pit, when he complained about his steering not being straight. The mechanics adjusted something on the suspension, and sent him back out, and the issue appeared to be gone.
James Hinchcliffe slowly worked his way in Top 13, with an outside move around Zachary Claman De Melo. But that is not the kind positions that the fast Canadian wants to fight for.
Photo: Indycar.com / Shawn Gritzmacher
The Rahal Letterman Lanigan team was once again fast with Takuma Sato at the second round of pitstops, exiting right behind Alexander Rossi. Sato tried to overtake Rossi on the onside, but was sent to the edge of the track, just like Wickens had been earlier in the race. The Japanese driver even lost a position to Wickens, with the three running one after the other. The stewards had a look on it, but decided no further action.
Graham Rahal had good speed, and overtook both Robert Wickens and Alexander Rossi.
Rossi got problems with his car, so he had to pit, when he had problems with the suspension. The mechanics was fast to solve the issue, but it cost him nearly a lap compared to his competitors.
Robert Wickens and Simon Pagenaud almost collided in the pits, during their final pitstop. Wickens was sent away just at the moment that Pagenaud was about to arrive at his. Luckily, Pagenaud managed avoid the collision, and while the stewards reviewed the incident, Wickens escaped without penalty.
Photo: Indycar.com / Chris Owens
Dixon took his final pitstop one lap prior to Newgarden and Hunter-Reay, so he had heat in his tires, when the two others exited the pits right ahead of him.
Josef Newgarden ended up winning the race, four seconds ahead of Ryan Hunter-Reay, while Scott Dixon finished in third, with two seconds up to P2. Robert Wickens was the best rookie in an overall 5th – right after Takuma Sato and ahead of Graham Rahal.
The race was run without a single Safety Car being deployed, and was therefore run in just over one and a half hours.
Scott Dixon still leads the Championship ahead of Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi, who are equal on points. Josef Newgarden has jumped up to 4th, while Will Power fell back to 5th.
Robert Wickens has a very good lead in the Rookie Championship ahead of Zach Veach and Matheus Leist.
The next round of the Verizon IndyCar Series will be run in 14 days on the oval in Iowa.
