The NTT IndyCar Series took to the famous Road America road course on Sunday, completing 55 laps around the lengthy, winding course.
The race was an eventful one, with multiple cautions that split up the field and led to varying strategies on track.
After the final pit stops were complete, it appeared as if Marcus Armstrong was going to get his first IndyCar win in his fourth year in the series.
READ MORE: IndyCar Road America – Full Race Results
He held a lead, but was slowly drifting back into the clutches of Christian Lundgaard behind as the laps ticked down.
Fans were not given a chance to witness a battle for the lead, however, as Armstrong began slowing on the track with just three laps remaining.
When he got to the main straight, Armstrong’s Honda engine expired in a puff of smoke that completely ended his chances of giving Meyer Shank Racing its first victory at an event other than the Indianapolis 500.
Lundgaard did not hesitate to move into the top spot, however, and successfully held off attacks from David Malukas during a single-lap shootout to finish the event.
The win is Lundgaard’s second of the season, and solidifies his fourth place position in the points standings. His win seemed quite unlikely early on in the race, as he suffered a broken front wing on the first lap and battled against varying strategies all day.
Malukas crossed the line in second, and he continues to make a habit of taking the runner-up spot as he continues to look for his first win in IndyCar.
Will Power was actually fifth across the line, but was promoted back to third after Race Control reviewed where drivers were when the last lap caution was displayed.
Power’s podium was the 110th of his lengthy career, making him fourth in the all time podium standings.
Overcut working well
Sunday’s race was a tricky one for drivers and team strategists to manage, as the overcut seemed to work well.
However, leaving a driver out put them at risk for getting caught out by a caution, which happened multiple times during the event.
Race Control has also been throwing cautions more quickly in the past couple races as well, which exacerbates the risk in staying out at the end of a stint.
Kyffin Simpson managed the strategy well, and climbed all the way from 19th up to fourth by the end of the race.
The result is Simpson’s best of the season, and will give him a boost of confidence as he enters the second half of his third season.
Palou led the way from the start of the race, but then lost the lead to Felix Rosenqvist on the first pit stops.
He slipped further down with pit strategy, and was hoping he could charge back through the field to extend his points lead.
Palou fought hard and went wide off the track multiple times through repeated wheel to wheel battles on track, but he could not make up enough ground to get back to the front.
He ended the day in fifth, below where he had hoped but still easily maintaining the points lead.
Day to forget
Multiple other drivers had bad days, drifting down the order due to pit strategy or simply slow pace.
Felix Rosenqvist started on the second row, but had poor luck that pushed him down the order. He ended the day in eighth.
Pato O’Ward started in the top 10 as well, and struggled to move forward. He finished in 12th.
His Arrow McLaren team-mate Nolan Siegel looked set to finish ahead of O’Ward, but a spin near the end of the event dropped him well down the order.
The young driver is thought to be at risk of losing his ride at the team, and he will be disappointed to have lost out on a top 10 result.
Josef Newgarden, with an injured foot that is still bothering him, seemingly slipped down the order right from the start.
Pit strategy fought against any hopes he had of moving forward, and he crossed the line in 22nd.
Troubles on track
Romain Grosjean brought out the first caution of the day when his left rear tire came loose following a pit stop.
He tried to make it around the track, but the wheel came off in Turn 5 and he was sent spinning into the gravel.
Remarkably, he was able to continue on three wheels and finished the rest of the lengthy lap rocking back and forth while missing a whole wheel.
Grosjean was given a penalty for his car being released in an unsafe condition, but recovered nicely up to 15th by the end of the race.
Just past halfway, Christian Rasmussen slowed on course and limped around back to the main straight while low on power due to a hybrid power issue.
The failure seemed to impact his steering as well, and he did not enter pit lane and then came to a stop on the main straight. Rasmussen was scored in the 25th and final position.
There was one final caution came out on the second half of the final lap when Will Power and Graham Rahal came together near Canada Corner.
Rahal spun into the wall at high speed and gestured at Power in anger before he climbed into the medical car.
His anger at losing a possible podium was misdirected, however, as the contact between he and Power looked to be largely a racing incident.
The IndyCar paddock will run another race in in two weeks at Mid-Ohio, celebrating America’s Independence Day during the holiday weekend.