Musings From the Weekend: Spoiler Alert!

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

Lando Norris led a McLaren 1-2 in Austria. Red Bull did not have a great day at the Red Bull Ring. Liam Lawson did have a great day at the Red Bull Ring. Someone got hurt in the Netherlands. Now, it is tourney time, and eight of the 16 teams that advanced in the NASCAR In-Season Challenge were in the bottom half of the seeds! IndyCar will not be going to Thermal Club next year. How long the spring break will be remains unknown. At least the Grand Prix of Arlington, has a "foundational partner" in Toyota, and of course that has led to wild speculation! Just be prepared for disappointment. However, I went to the movies, and you have been warned. 

Spoiler Alert!

What if Martin Donnelly attempted a comeback? 

That is what F1 The Movie asks. Rolled into an American folklore of motorsports hero, F1 takes a real-life accident and uses it for an unthinkable comeback story. 

Much of the story and what we see on-track does not fit reality. It is a movie though. It is supposed to be fictional, a foot in reality but allowed to exist outside what we see on a daily basis. While a motorsport fans' stomach for creative license will be pushed beyond its limits, a savant must appreciate the cinematography and how it captures an already breathtaking sport in a more astonishing light. As immersive as a current television broadcast is with its plethora of camera angles and onboards, F1 finds a way to go a step further. 

Plurids aside, oh boy! This movie is good. Comedic at times, even if it uses actual incidents as inspiration for what we see in the film, it pushes the limits on the drama. Based on reality, it is flawed, but there was something about it going beyond what is realistic that makes it entertaining. I have seen it compared to Driven. That is asinine. Though some racing sequences are ridiculous, F1 has good acting and depth to its characters. In Driven, you could see the strings while the technical advancements of F1 allows for a clean blend of a fictional race team into real race footage. 

It is hard to forgive some of the liberties taken. In this film, it is a world where the stewards see nothing and do less. There are certain expectations from the real world that we must see to ground the film in reality. When you do not see those, it is disappointing. It is like if we saw a football movie and the quarterback was body-slammed in front of the referee five seconds after the whistle, and no penalty was given. There is a good chance Sonny Hayes would have earned enough penalty points in his first two races that he would not be allowed to make a third start. We were watching a Yuji Ide situation! 

But Hayes isn't that bad of a driver. His years of experience, including a stint in Formula One 30 years prior, has him a step ahead of the APX GP team, and some of the competition. It is almost a step too far as we do not see drivers this intertwined in strategy to the point of manipulating a race. But Hayes is not your typical Formula One driver. He has spent decades competing everywhere, almost in a way of conquering all the summits of the motorsports world. He has raced in the top levels of NASCAR and sports cars. He probably has also run in some low-budget efforts and had to do more with less, forcing Hayes to be more cerebral than a man who just slams his foot down on the throttle with countless numbers of engineers and strategists studying telemetry.

Hayes wants to win for himself, but he can see how his role is to elevate the team. His finishing position is not the be-all, end-all even if it is what he wants the most. He can selflessly put the team ahead of himself. If the team can get a win, he will do what he was brought in to accomplish. 

Can a big-budget racing film live without a spectacular crash sequence? 

Regardless of what film it is, they all have it. Grand Prix, Le Mans, Driven. Even Cars had two! Rush was centered on an actual crash. That film needed it. If it didn't show it, the story would be incomplete. I didn't see Gran Turismo, but that is based on Jann Mardenborough's career, and I know he had a big accident in his career that seems like it could only be in a movie, but it actually happened. It has to be in the film at that point. I guess Ford v Ferrari doesn't have one, but that is another film centered on real events. When it comes to fictional films, the immediate instinct is to get a big accident onto the screen. F1 goes for the spectacle, but the accidents are believable because they are based ones that happened. One was practically a recreation with an aspect of a different accident added for dramatics to complete this one moment in the film.

It is hard to say it is unrealistic when it is based on something we saw. We know it is possible, but what strains the motorsports lovers in the audience is why it is necessary to include it in the story. 

Motorsports is on the ragged edge enough. It does not need the spectacular each time out. It can be visually staggering but still hit hardest on the emotional anguish from a bad result. It does not require physical injuries to feel pain. 

The crash doesn't need to be a car flying through the air. A driver can have a shunt while battling for the lead and break a wrist because he didn't get his hands off the wheel in time. Both are possible. One is more conceivable. It can look like a regular racing accident and have consequences. The audience would still get it. They didn't need to go to the next level to have people catching their breath. 

If we remove two accidents from the film, would the motorsports audience be more accepting? It is the biggest barrier. There are other elements of the film that push expectations. Could a team of that level improve as much as it could in a short period of time? We don't see it so we would likely have a gripe with it, but it isn't inconceivable. In theory, it could happen. In practice, it never does. 

If we remove two accidents from the film, would the non-motorsports audience love it as much as they do? I think so. It goes back to motorsports being naturally on the ragged edge. A slightly worse than average accident is still startling to watch. It doesn't have to be over the top to leave someone breathless. 

While being a film about the biggest motorsports series in the world, F1 quietly champions other forms of motorsports, and uses Sonny Hayes as the archetype for what we want all drivers to be. The dream is Formula One, but Hayes must find a way to fill a void after an accident nearly ended his career before his prime. We meet a man who is not obsessed with the mountaintop but has come to find joy chasing the next challenge. Once he has conquered it, he can move on. 

We see Hayes competing in sports cars. He grew up in IndyCar circles. The film states that he has raced in NASCAR and other sports cars. We know his eye is on Baja. For all these drivers who say they would love to compete here, there and everywhere, Hayes is doing it, and apparently he has done very well. This is a driver who will not be saying, "Aw, shucks," when it is all said and done. He has practically raced it all while most compete in barely enough to fill a thimble. 

If the audience is paying attention, they understand there is a world beyond Formula One, and one that can be fulfilling. Whether that leads others to explore what is going on in different corners of the world and perhaps right under their noses is unknown, but hopefully they take away there is more beyond the glitz of a grand prix weekend, it is rewarding, and they are welcome to give it a try.

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Lando Norris, but did you know...

Marc Márquez won the Dutch TT, his sixth victory of the season. Márquez also won the sprint race. Diogo Moreira won in Moto2, his first Moto2 victory. José Antonio Rueda won in Moto3, his sixth victory of the season. Andrea Mantovani and Alessandro Zaccone split the MotoE races.

Chase Elliott won the NASCAR Cup race from Atlanta. Nick Sanchez won the Grand National Series race, his first career victory. Corey Heim won the Truck Series race at Lime Rock Park, his fifth victory of the season.

The #63 GRT - Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini of Mirko Bortolotti, Jordan Pepper and Luca Engstler won the 24 Hours of Spa.

Ott Tänak won the Acropolis Rally.

Pepe Martí (sprint) and Richard Verschoo (feature) split the Formula Two races from Austria. James Wharton (sprint) and Martinius Stenshorne (feature) split the Formula Three races.

Coming Up This Weekend

IndyCar opens up July in Mid-Ohio.

NASCAR will be in Chicago.

It will be British Grand Prix weekend from Silverstone.

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters will be at the Norisring

The European Le Mans Series has a trip to Imola.

Best of the Month: June 2025

Halfway done. Another year is halfway done. Summer is here. It has been a scorcher across most of the United States. Some relief is on the way. Before we know it, we will be wishing for a little extra warmth.

For this moment, we are in the heart of the season. Every series is competing. Most are around halfway through. Some are just beyond that point. There is plenty of racing to keep as busy, but it will soon be dwindling as 2025 slowly comes to an end. 

IndyCar Tidbits

We are beyond the halfway point in the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season. Nine races down, eight races to go, and this has been a stunning season to say the least. We are on the verge of July and only two drivers have won a race. For the better part of two decades, we knew an IndyCar season would not fully play out until the final rounds. This year, we have already come to terms with who will be champion. 

We might not see a historic title fight in 2025, but the door is open for plenty of history, and records being matched that we have not seen in decades. The drama might not be a battle for the ages but it could be something most have never seen in the IndyCar series. 

We will cover the history as the season moves on. There have been a few pieces of history and milestones that have already happened through the first half of the season. It will not surprise you that a certain driver was involved. 

Fastest to 50 Career Top Ten Finishes

Regardless of what else is accomplished this season, 2025 will be remembered as the season of Álex Palou. 

Through nine races, he has won six times. Palou has a 93-point lead in the championship. A third consecutive title is inevitable at this point. It would also be the fourth in his career, and it would make him the sixth member of that club. There is still time for it to go wrong, but there is no reason to believe after the first nine races it will flip upside down in the final eight races. 

Championship aside, Palou is already joining special clubs. Moving away from victories for a second, though he has 17 now in his career, the same total as Danny Sullivan, Jimmy Murphy and Tony Kanaan, only one fewer than Ryan Hunter-Reay, and two behind Sam Hornish, Jr. and Jimmy Bryan, Palou hit a milestone at Road America that might not appear to be that significant. 

With his victory in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, Palou reached 50 career top five finishes. It was his 90th start. Only 33 other drivers have hit the half-century mark in top five results. It isn't the most exclusive club, but it is not a long list either when you consider the century-plus history of American open-wheel racing's highest division.

Fifty-in-90 is a breathtaking batting average. Each race Palou has better than 50% odds he will finish in the top five. A great day is a high probability for the Catalan driver every time he gets into the race car. 

Not many drivers could have had the same hit rate as Palou through 90 races. That begs the question, "What is the fastest a driver has reach 50 career top ten finishes?"

And I know what you might be thinking, but the answer is not Álex Palou, though he is up there. 

Palou became one of six drivers to reach 50 top five finishes within his first 90 starts with his most recent victory. 

The fastest?

The Split made some of these facts easy because it is Sébastien Bourdais. Bourdais reached 50 top five finishes in 71 career starts. That was at Circuit Zolder in Belgium on August 26, 2007. Bourdais would make three more starts in his Champ Car career before leaving after the 2007 season. In 74 starts over those first five seasons, he only had 15 results outside the top ten, eight of those were in his rookie season in 2003. 

Many drivers benefitted in the record book thanks to The Split. Really every driver did. If there had been one series the entire time, no one has the same totals they currently have. That goes for Bourdais, Kanaan, Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Paul Tracy, Sam Hornish, Jr. and everyone else. 

We cannot hold that against Bourdais. He is the fastest to 50 top five finishes. He broke Rick Mears' record to get there. Mears hit 50 in his 76th start. Then comes Mario Andretti, who hit 50 in his 81st start, A.J. Foyt's 50th was in his 85th start, and Dan Wheldon had 50 top five finishes in his first 88 starts. Then add Palou. 

That's it. That's the list. 

If you want to knock it up to 50 top five finishes within a driver's first 100 starts, you add Hornish, Jr. (92 starts) and Bobby Rahal (94 starts). That is still only eight members. 

When it comes to drivers who began their career after reunification, Josef Newgarden is the only other one to have reached 50 career top five finishes, and it took Newgarden 143 starts to get there. If you want to chuck Simon Pagenaud in there, who only compete in one season during The Split, the final Champ Car season in 2007, it still took Pagenaud 115 starts to reach 50 top five finishes. That is just over an extra season and a third compared to Palou.

It is not easy to hit this milestone in such a quick period of time. Palou is magnificent.

Kirkwood Rules The Streets

Back in April, we touched up Kyle Kirkwood's street course trend. With his victory at Long Beach, he became the fourth driver in IndyCar history to have his first three career victories come in street races. At the start of June, Kirkwood made it four street course victories in his first four career victories when he was first in Detroit. 

That made Kirkwood the third driver to do such a thing. Will Power was the first to do it as Power's first six victories were street races, though the temporary circuit at Edmonton City Centre Airport is included in that. Technically not city streets but recognized as a street course. Mike Conway was the other driver to achieve such an accomplishment. Conway's four career victories all came on street courses, and they were all proper street courses. 

Unfortunately, Kirkwood's run at Power's accomplishment ended when Kirkwood won at Gateway, his first career oval victory, and fifth in his career. He has a place in the history book, but just not the largest section of peculiar facts in IndyCar history. I still think he has a few more street course victories in his over the remainder of his career.

The Swedes

Marcus Ericsson and Felix Rosenqvist both made history in June, and you probably didn't even notice it. To be fair, no one really mentioned it. I am not sure anyone else was keeping track. 

We do know about the milestone both drivers reached. In the span of two races, they each made their 100th start. Ericsson hit the century mark at Long Beach. Rosenqvist followed at Barber Motorsports Park. That's not the history I am talking about. They each did something that you probably would not have guessed. 

Entering this season, the most experienced Swede in IndyCar roster was Kenny Bräck. Bräck had made 104 starts from his first start on March 23, 1997 at Phoenix to his final start on May 29, 2005 in the 89th Indianapolis 500. 

Ericsson became the most experienced Swede at Gateway. Rosenqvist moved ahead of Bräck into second at Road America.

It is a small thing, but it does capture a bit of IndyCar's place in the motorsports world in the 2020s. While we had Bräck, and Stefan Johansson was also a regular in the 1990s, there wasn't a Swedish pipeline of drivers to the United States. Sweden had a bit of a lull across the board in open-wheel racing until the arrival of Ericsson in GP2, which led to Formula One.

Bräck and Johnasson were the Swedes many IndyCar fans would have recognized, but then there was nearly a 15-year gap until another competed in the series. There is a cyclical nature to driver origins. For a while, Frenchman were common on the IndyCar grid. Now, there are none. We have seen fewer British drivers in recent years. I was stunned to find out Louis Foster's pole position at Road America was the first for a British driver in IndyCar since Dario Franchitti in 2013. Could it really have been that long? That feels like yesterday. 

For basically the entire 1990s and 2000s, Brazilians were as common, if not more common than American drivers on the grid. In 2025, the only Brazilian to race in IndyCar was Hélio Castroneves at the Indianapolis 500. The most recent Brazilian to debut in IndyCar was Pietro Fittipaldi at Phoenix in 2018. Matheus Leist debuted the race prior to that at St. Petersburg. 

At one point, it looked like Brazilians would also be frequent in IndyCar. Now, they are not here. We see two Danes on the grid, and prior to 2021, there had only been two Danes to ever compete in an IndyCar race. A Spaniard is leading the championship, but there have only been four Spaniards to ever start an IndyCar race. Scott Dixon was the only New Zealander for the longest time, and now we have three. Canadians have not been common on the grid and we have gone multiple seasons in recent years without a full-time Canadian driver. Mexican drivers had been lacking for over a decade before Patricio O'Ward came around. There is no full-time Japanese driver, and for almost 30 years Honda made sure it had a Japanese driver competing in the series. A decade ago, there were five Colombians in IndyCar. Now, there are none. 

One hundred starts is quite a bit. You have made a presence in IndyCar if you have been around for 100 starts. There is no sign that Ericsson and Rosenqvist will be going anywhere anytime soon, but we must keep in mind that someday they will be gone, and so might be this Swedish contingent that has embraced IndyCar and also had a respectable following in their home country, something we do not see from other international countries. 

Cherish it now because we do not know if it will continue.

No Repeat Finishes

An oldie, but a goodie. 

Dating back a few seasons ago, I have noted which drivers have not had a repeat finish through certain points in a season. 

Three seasons ago, Alexander Rossi became the first driver since Eddie Cheever in the 2001 Indy Racing League to not have a repeat finish over an entire season. Rossi went 17-for-17. The last two seasons have seen the longest streak without a repeat finish hit 13 races. Graham Rahal did it in 2023 and Felix Rosenqvist did it last year. 

Where are we through nine races in the 2025?

Scott Dixon (Second, tenth, eighth, 12th, fifth, 20th, 11th, fourth, ninth)

David Malukas (13th, 18th, 17th, 16th, 23rd, second, 14th, 12th, seventh)

That's it! That's the list! Only two drivers remain. That isn't crazy. Through nine races last year, only three drivers had yet to have a repeat finish, and in that ninth race itself, four drivers had their first repeat finish occur. 

In recent races, many drivers have had their first repeat finish. 

Santino Ferrucci was fifth in Indianapolis and fifth two races later at Gateway. Josef Newgarden has finished 25th in the last two races. Marcus Ericsson was 13th in consecutive races over Detroit and Gateway. Even if you throw Jacob Abel in, who failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, Abel had his first repeat finish of the season at Road America, where was 23rd after previously finishing 23rd at St. Petersburg. 

Who is more likely to have their streak go the longest?

Dixon has three of the top five spots covered, as well as six of the top ten. That is not a lot of room left for the remaining eight races. You expect Dixon to finish in the top ten regularly. He could win, but he could be second again. He could have a good day and finish third, or he could lose a spot in the final pit cycle and suddenly be fourth for the second time this season. 

Malukas is a bit of a wild card. He has eight top ten finishing positions remaining. He could click off a few more of those, but over the final eight races he will likely have four or five finishes outside of the top ten. That is a pretty wide net. That could be on the verge of the top ten, or those could be dreadful days where he is never a factor. The problem is Malukas has six spots between 11th and 20th already covered. 

I am leaning toward Malukas because he could practically finish 19th, eighth, sixth, 22nd, 15th, 11th, ninth and 25th over the final eight races and that would be 17 different positions in 17 races. He could do well on the ovals or he could overstep and a poor day would check off one of the final positions in the box score. 

The last time we didn't have a driver open a season with at least ten different finishing positions was in 2019 when Marcus Ericsson opened with nine different. Every season since reunification has seen at least one driver open with at least nine different finishing positions.

Caution Finishes

You might not have realized something at the end of the Indianapolis 500. Álex Palou came off of turn four and within the final few hundred yards of the finish line, lights flashed, Nolan Siegel was in the turn two wall, and the caution flag was waving. You probably did see that, but you probably did not realize what that caution also ended. 

The race was effectively over at that point. Marcus Ericsson wasn't going to make a run on Palou and beat him in a drag race to the yard of bricks, but this year's Indianapolis 500 was the first race to end under caution since Texas 2023, over two years prior. IndyCar had gone 37 consecutive races with a green flag finish prior to this year's Indianapolis 500.

Since reunification, that was the most consecutive races without a finish under caution. Prior to that, the longest streak was 23 races, beginning with the first Mid-Ohio race in 2020 and going through the 2022 Texas race.

There have been 294 races since reunification. Of those 294 races, 35 have finished under caution. That is 11.904%. Eight of those races have been weather-related, whether it be the race being called under red flag conditions or the race finishing under caution while reaching a time limit. Twelve of those 35 races had the caution come out on the final lap of the race.

That doesn't seem so bad.

Earliest Title Deciders

It is early to think about the championship, but it is on all of our minds. Álex Palou will be the 2025 IndyCar champion. When will he be the 2025 IndyCar champion? We are all expecting for the second time in three seasons the title to be clinched early. This is something we are not used to after having 16 consecutive years with at least one championship going to the finale unclaimed. The question becomes, "How early could Palou clinch?"

Up 93 points with eight races remaining, Palou is 16 points away from passing the threshold needed to clinch the title with two races to spare. On average, Palou's championship lead over second has increased by 10.375 after each race. At that rate, Palou would still only clinch the championship with two races in hand. With three races to go, Palou's lead would be around 145 points. With 54 points on the table for each race, 162 points would still be out there. However, Palou would be in a position where he would not need much to clinch the championship.

For some of you, this is the end of the world. How will anyone watch IndyCar if the championship is decided with two races to go?

Well, we had nearly two decades of championships going to the wire and all those title fights didn't really bring the masses to the racetrack or in front of their television screens to see the drama. I think IndyCar will be fine either way. This will just be one of those seasons that stand out, and it has been a long time since a championship was clinched with multiple races remaining. 

The last time was the 2002 CART season. Cristiano da Matta claimed the title with three races remaining. 

That is pretty early, but it is not the earliest. 

Since 1946, a total of 44 out of 93 seasons have seen the championship clinched with races to spare. In 23 of those season, the championship was sealed with multiple races remaining. On six occasions has the championship been clinched with at last four races remaining, but the earliest a championship has been clinched was with five races in hand, and that happened in consecutive seasons.

In 1969, Mario Andretti clinched the championship with his victory at Trenton on September 21, 1969. There were five races after that, and Andretti would win two of them. 

The following season, Al Unser clinched the championship with his victory at DuQuoin on September 7, 1970. DuQuoin was the first in a five-race winning streak for Unser, and that winning streak was snapped when he was second in the season finale at Phoenix behind Swede Savage. 

The other seasons where the title was over with at least four races remaining were Jimmy Bryan in 1954, A.J. Foyt in 1964, A.J. Foyt in 1975 and Alex Zanardi in 1998.

Álex Palou has some work to do if he wants the title decided that early. Clinching with three races in hand seems like a stretch, but clinching with two looks pretty practical with eight races left\t. 

July Preview

The first NASCAR race of the month will be the Chicago street course, and considering this will likely be the final edition of the race, I think it deserves to be recognized for being a respectable track while also being a significant achievement. 

NASCAR shut down Grant Park, right in the heart of the city. It didn't run around some parking lot on the outskirts of the city. It took a significant area and put on a race, and the track is pretty good. It is a bit of a shame that in two years we have not seen a completely dry race that was allowed to reach the scheduled distance. It is also a shame that this is a part of NASCAR's plan to be a limited time only with some of these events. 

I don't know how practical Chicago's Grant Park could be as a permanent NASCAR Cup Series venue, but it would not be a bad thing if NASCAR made a commitment that one of these street race events will stick around for years to go. There is a chance Chicago's exit will see the return of Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, but that is an hour outside the city. 

San Diego appears to be the next destination for NASCAR's street race, though that still must be confirmed. Street races do not have a long shelf life to begin with, but if NASCAR has one that works, it should not be afraid to stick it out and make it own. If it keeps jumping around, it will run the risk running out of cities sooner rather than later. 

Let's hope Grant Park gets a deserving send out, one full of sun.

Other Events of Note in July:

NASCAR will conclude its in-season tournament with races at Sonoma, Dover and the Brickyard 400. 

Formula One has two historic venues, Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps.

Formula E ends its season with a pair of doubleheaders at familiar venues, Berlin and London. 

MotoGP has a round in Germany and the Czech Republic, and then it is on summer break for a month.

Let's Look at the League - June 2025

We have surpassed the halfway point in the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season. The championship looks rather under control with Álex Palou up 93 points on the competition with six victories already under his belt with eight more races left to run. We are still adjusting to knowing the inevitable before the summer has even begun in IndyCar circles. 

To distract us from reality, we do have our yearly hypothetical, what if IndyCar had a head-to-head competition where each race individual teams competed against one another in a larger league format that would determine a different champion? 

NASCAR is about to do an actual form of this starting this weekend in Atlanta. For IndyCar, we continue playing make-believe, but it could be worse. At least this involves a little creativity.

League One

For League One, we are just beyond the halfway point in the regular season. Eight of 14 weeks are complete. The bigger picture is starting to shake out. A few teams are in a prime position for the playoffs, a few more are in the middle and could make it, but could also fall short. Then there are the few teams that know they must start winning matchup and time is running out.

Results

	Conference One	Conference Two
Week 1 (St. Petersburg)	#10 CGR def. #15 RLLR (1-12)	#26 Andretti def. #6 McLaren (16-26)
	#28 Andretti def. #12 Penske (6-26)	#3 Penske def. #21 ECR (4-15)
	#60 MSR def. #5 McLaren (7-11)	#9 CGR def. #45 RLLR (2-27)
	#2 Penske def. #7 McLaren (3-8)	#27 Andretti def. #14 Foyt (4-12)
Week 2 (Thermal)	#10 CGR def. #28 Andretti (1-21)	#26 Andretti def. #21 ECR (4-12)
	#12 Penske def. #15 RLLR (6-11)	#6 McLaren def. #3 Penske (19-27)
	#5 McLaren def. #7 McLaren (2-3)	#9 CGR def. #14 Foyt (10-14)
	#60 MSR def. #2 Penske (5-13)	#27 Andretti def. #45 RLLR (8-24)
Week 3 (Long Beach)	#10 CGR def. #60 MSR (2-4)	#26 Andretti def. #45 RLLR (7-16)
	#7 McLaren def. #12 Penske (3-5)	#3 Penske def. #14 Foyt (6-11)
	#5 McLaren def. #15 RLLR (13-22)	#9 CGR def. #6 McLaren (8-20)
	#28 Andretti def. #2 Penske (12-27)	#27 Andretti def. #21 ECR (1-23)
Week 4 (Barber)	#10 CGR def. #7 McLaren (1-2)	#26 Andretti def. #14 Foyt (7-18)
	#12 Penske def. #60 MSR (5-13)	#3 Penske def. #45 RLLR (3-26)
	#5 McLaren def. #28 Andretti (6-20)	#9 CGR def. #21 ECR (12-15)
	#2 Penske def. #15 RLLR (10-14)	#6 McLaren def. #27 Andretti (9-11)
Week 5 (GPOI)	#10 CGR def. #2 Penske (1-12)	#27 Andretti def. #26 Andretti (8-25)
	#5 McLaren def. #12 Penske (2-3)	#3 Penske def. #9 CGR (4-5)
	#15 RLLR def. #7 McLaren (6-17)	#6 McLaren def. #14 Foyt (13-20)
	#60 MSR def. #28 Andretti (10-26)	#45 RLLR def. #21 ECR (11-19)
Week 6 (Indianapolis 500)	#10 CGR def. #5 McLaren (1-3)	#26 Andretti def. #9 CGR (14-20)
	#12 Penske def. #2 Penske (16-22)	#3 Penske def. #27 Andretti (30-32)
	#7 McLaren def. #28 Andretti (7-31)	#14 Foyt def. #21 ECR (5-6)
	#60 MSR def. #15 RLLR (4-17)	#45 RLLR def. #6 McLaren (12-13)
Week 7 (Detroit)	#12 Penske def. #10 CGR (4-25)	#26 Andretti def. #3 Penske (3-12)
	#5 McLaren def. #2 Penske (7-9)	#27 Andretti def. #9 CGR (1-11)
	#7 McLaren def. #60 MSR (8-21)	#14 Foyt def. #45 RLLR (2-22)
	#28 Andretti def. #15 RLLR (13-20)	#6 McLaren def. #21 ECR (19-24)
Week 8 (Gateway)	#10 CGR def. #15 RLLR (8-22)	#26 Andretti def. #6 McLaren (17-19)
	#28 Andretti def. #12 Penske (13-27)	#21 ECR def. #3 Penske (3-24)
	#5 McLaren def. #60 MSR (2-16)	#9 CGR def. #45 RLLR (4-26)
	#7 McLaren def. #2 Penske (14-25)	#27 Andretti def. #14 Foyt (1-5)
Week 9 (Road America)	#10 CGR def. #28 Andretti (1-21)	#26 Andretti def. #21 ECR (16-18)
	#12 Penske def. #15 RLLR (14-20)	#6 McLaren def #3 Penske (8-12)
	#5 McLaren def. #7 McLaren (17-24)	#14 Foyt def. #9 CGR (3-9)
	#60 MSR def. #2 Penske (2-25)	#27 Andretti def. #45 RLLR (4-11)

Conference One Standings

#10 Ganassi 8-1

#5 McLaren 7-2
#12 Penske 5-4
#60 Meyer Shank 5-4

#7 McLaren 4-5
#28 Andretti 4-5
#2 Penske 2-7
#15 RLLR 1-8

There are five weeks left in the regular season, and nothing is set in stone. The top seeds are still in play, everyone is still alive for a playoff spot, and the relegation battles are tight. 

It is no surprise Álex Palou would have the #10 Ganassi team leading the way in his conference, Patricio O'Ward would have the #5 McLaren in second, only one game back, and a little breathing space to Will Power and Felix Rosenqvist tied for third. The #12 Penske defeated the #60 MSR at Barber and that is currently the tiebreaker.

The playoff positions could swing widely over the final five weeks. Christian Lundgaard has been unable to catch a break. Despite finishing on the podium in three consecutive races, Lundgaard lost two of those matchups. He was third at Thermal Club and lost to his teammate O'Ward, who was second. At Barber Motorsports Park, Lundgaard was second but he lost to Palou, who won the race. 

Marcus Ericsson has better odds than you would expect for the playoffs considering his season. Josef Newgarden's season has him positioned right where you would expect, and Newgarden is closer to relegation than the playoffs, but there is time for him to go on a run. Graham Rahal's struggles are showcased right here. He isn't out of it, but Rahal has some work to do.

Key Matchups

Week 10 (Mid Ohio): #12 Penske vs. #7 McLaren. 

Week 12 (Iowa): #10 Ganassi vs. #2 Penske / #12 Penske vs. #5 McLaren

Week 13 (Toronto): #10 Ganassi vs. #5 McLaren / #12 Penske vs. #2 Penske / #7 McLaren vs. #28 Andretti

Week 14 (Laguna Seca): #10 Ganassi vs. #12 Penske / #5 McLaren vs #2 Penske

Conference Two Standings

#26 Andretti 8-1

#27 Andretti 7-2

#6 McLaren 5-4
#3 Penske 5-4
#9 Ganassi 5-4
#14 Foyt 3-6
#45 RLLR 2-7
#21 ECR 1-8

It hasn't been the greatest seasons for Colton Herta, but he has caught some breaks to top his conference with Kyle Kirkwood in second. Herta has won four consecutive matchups, and in three of those he has finished outside the top ten. After Kirkwood is a tight middle. Despite Nolan Siegel not having the greatest season, Siegel's results have him in a playoff spot thanks in part to him being 2-0 against Scott McLaughlin. McLaughlin beat Scott Dixon in their first meeting, and Dixon did beat Siegel. 

After starting 0-5, Santino Ferrucci is 3-1 over the last four races, but Ferrucci has some work to make the playoffs. Christian Rasmussen was the last one on the board when he won his matchup at Gateway, but the second Iowa race will be circled on his calendar because that is when he faces Louis Foster again, and a win that weekend could be enough to get Rasmussen the tiebreaker and avoid automatic relegation.

Key Matchups

Week 10 (Mid-Ohio): #9 Ganassi vs. #6 McLaren

Week 11 (Iowa): #26 Andretti vs. #14 Foyt

Week 12 (Iowa): #26 Andretti vs. #27 Andretti / #3 Penske vs #9 Ganassi

Week 13 (Toronto): #26 Andretti vs. #9 Ganassi / #3 Penske vs. #27 Andretti

Week 14 (Laguna Seca): #26 Andretti vs. #3 Penske / #9 Ganassi vs. #27 Andretti

League Two

Unlike the top division, League Two is nearly done with its first phase of the competition, but it is mostly a formality. Though there are two races left in the regular season, we know the two promoted teams for next season. The final two weeks will still be used to determine a champion, but it is one of two parties. The rest will be competing for promotion playoff spots and will race deep into the summer.

Results

Week 1 (St. Petersburg)	#8 CGR def. #51 Coyne (18-23)
	#18 Coyne def. #77 JHR (9-21)
	#4 Foyt def. #66 MSR (13-24)
	#20 ECR def. #76 JHR (10-17)
	#83 Prema def. #30 RLLR (20-22)
Week 2 (Thermal)	#30 RLLR def. #77 JHR (20-23)
	#66 MSR def. #20 ECR (7-9)
	#76 JHR def. #18 Coyne (16-17)
	#4 Foyt def. #90 Prema (18-26)
	#51 Coyne vs. #83 Prema def. #51 Coyne (22-25)
Week 3 (Long Beach)	#8 CGR def. #20 ECR (10-15)
	#66 MSR def. #30 RLLR (14-24)
	#90 Prema def. #76 JHR (21-25)
	#4 Foyt def. #83 Prema (17-18)
	#18 Coyne def. #51 Coyne (19-26)
Week 4 (Barber)	#66 MSR def. #8 CGR (17-21)
	#20 ECR def. #77 (8-22)
	#4 Foyt def. #30 RLLR (16-24)
	#90 Prema def. #51 Coyne (23-27)
	#18 Coyne def. #83 Prema (4-25)
Week 5 (GPOI)	#4 Foyt def. #8 CGR (23-27)
	#83 Prema def. #77 JHR (18-21)
	#66 MSR def. #90 Prema (7-22)
	#76 JHR def. #30 RLLR (15-17)
	#20 ECR def. #51 Coyne (14-24)
Week 6 (Indianapolis 500)	#30 RLLR def. #8 CGR (11-25)
	#77 JHR def. #90 Prema (23-33)
	#66 MSR def. #18 Coyne (18-27)
	#76 JHR def. #51 Coyne (8-DNQ)
	#4 Foyt def. #20 ECR (2-28)
Week 7 (Detroit)	#8 CGR def. #76 JHR (5-17)
	#66 MSR def. #77 JHR (6-15)
	#20 ECR def. #18 Coyne (10-27)
	#4 Foyt def. #51 Coyne (14-18)
	#83 Prema def. #90 Prema (16-26)
Week 8 (Gateway)	#8 CGR def. #77 JHR (15-20)
	#66 MSR def. #51 Coyne (9-21)
	#76 JHR def. #83 Prema (6-10)
	#20 ECR def. #30 RLLR (11-23)
	#18 Coyne def. #90 Prema (7-18)
Week 9 (Road America)	#8 CGR def. #18 Coyne (6-10)
	#51 Coyne def. #77 JHR (23-26)
	#66 MSR def. #83 Prema (5-27)
	#4 Foyt def. #76 JHR (7-22)
	#90 Prema def. #30 RLLR (15-19)

League Two Standings

#4 Foyt 8-0

#66 MSR 8-1

#8 Ganassi 5-3

#20 ECR 5-3

#76 JHR 4-4

#18 Coyne 4-4
#83 Prema 4-4

#90 Prema 3-5

#30 RLLR 2-6

#77 JHR 1-7

#51 Coyne 1-8

The promotion spots have been claimed. With two weeks remaining in the regular season, the #4 Foyt entry and the #66 Meyer Shank entry have clinched the automatic promotion spots. David Malukas beat Marcus Armstrong at the season opener at St. Petersburg after Armstrong's mechanical issues. Since then, Malukas has won every matchup, and Armstrong hasn't lost since that day. 

The League Two championship, which is mostly for pride, will come down to whether or not the #4 Foyt entry loses both the final two races or if the #66 MSR does not win at Mid-Ohio. All Malukas needs is one victory to clinch the championship, and he is slated to face the #77 JHR entry at Mid-Ohio, and the #18 Coyne entry in the first Iowa race. Armstrong's final regular season race is at Mid-Ohio against the # entry, as the #66 MSR's bye is the final week at Iowa. 

Everyone else is competing for a spot in the round robin for the promotion playoff. Last place in the regular season does not qualify for the promotion playoffs, and that fight took a turn at Road America as Jacob Abel got the #51 Coyne entry's first victory of the season over Sting Ray Robb in the #77 Juncos Hollinger Racing entry. This puts Abel and Robb on the same record with the tiebreaker going to Abel. 

Over the final two weeks, the #77 JHR entry will face the #4 Foyt at Mid-Oho and the #76 JHR car at the first Iowa race. The #51 Coyne entry has its bye for Mid-Ohio, but then it has the #30 RLLR entry at Iowa. If the #77 JHR fails to win both of the final two weeks, it will not qualify for the promotion playoff. If the #77 JHR wins one of the two, then it must have the #51 Coyne entry lose at Iowa.

That will be worth keeping an eye on. 

For the promotion playoff, those eight teams will be split into two groups and there will be a round robin over the second Iowa race, Toronto and Laguna Seca races. The top two from each group will advance to the semifinal at Portland before the final promotion spot will be secured at Milwaukee.

We will come back in July when we are on the verge of the playoffs.

Musings From the Weekend: The Unanswerable Questions From F1 The Movie

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

Álex Palou won again. IndyCar announced its regulations for its new chassis and engine, which are basically unchanged from the regulations announced in 2020, so we are getting what we were told about six or seven years late. Maybe that is enough time to attract some other manufacturers. Elsewhere, there was an endurance race that was not won on the road. There was another endurance race that went to the final lap. The power went out. There was some rain. It appeared to be hot no matter where in the world you stood. Fuel mileage was a common thread across a number of series. NASCAR could be heading to San Diego and Philadelphia. However..., "Let's all go to the lobby. Let's all go to the lobby. Let's all go to the lobby and get ourselves a treat." 

The Unanswerable Questions From F1 The Movie

It is premiere week for one of the most anticipated motorsports movies in recent memory. 

For years we have heard about this ambitious project of a Formula One feature film with Apple Studios, and Lewis Hamilton as a producer. There were many skeptics, but after two years of filming, it is here and F1 The Movie is about to be released in the United States. 

This film comes during the boom Formula One has experienced over the last half-decade. Never has Formula One been more popular in the United States, and a feature film was the next step along with the docuseries, three grand prix, live flag-to-flag race coverage and even commercial appearances for a number of the teams. Formula One has never been more exposed and recognized. To top it all off, it has Brad Pitt in the leading role.

Many are still skeptical, this time over the quality of the film. You aren't going to please everyone, but motorsports fans are some of the hardest people to please. Because they are snooty and will not admit it. They also do not accept creative license. Plenty are writing this film off before even going to the box office. 

"Let's judge a book by its cover! It saves time!" 

Do as you please, but let's see how it goes. Will it push reality? Probably. It is a movie. Will it live up to what Formula One actually is? To some level it will, but again, movie! 

I am not that interested in how the film portrays Formula One. I don't really care how it does with the lingo or the presentation of races or we get the scene where a car is in second-place and then all it needed to pass was to shift into the next gear and we get that stereotypical car movie trope. That is coming and I can live with that. 

I am here to pick some knits. 

If you listen to The Rewatchables, every film has some loose threads. Some are glaring! Others you need to ponder. 

This film has a few knits before it has even hit the screen. We know it. To the average viewer with no knowledge or a passing knowledge of Formula One, they aren't thinking about it. To me, I am focus on those. 

Without further ado, let's get to picking.

How can a 60-ish-year-old driver make it to Formula One?

Pitt's main character is Sonny Hayes, a "New York City cab driver, professional gambler and nomadic racer-for-hire who was a Formula One driver in his youth" according to Wikipedia. In another character description, Hayes is said to have suffered a significant accident that took him out of the sport. 

That's nice. Let's cut to the chase, Brad Pitt is 61 years old. He was born in 1963. The last driver born in 1963 to compete in a Formula One weekend was Ukyo Katayama in the 1997 European Grand Prix from Jerez. Literally the day Jacques Villeneuve became world champion! Hell, Villeneuve is still only 54 years old!

How can a 60-ish-year-old person make it to Formula One? 

This isn't a late-30s-something driver who was a star junior driver, had a bad accident in his early 20s, was out of the sport and started rebuilding after years of recovery and now is getting his chance. He is 60-ish years old. 

The oldest driver to ever start a race was Louis Chiron in the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix at 55 years and 292 days old. This film started filming when Pitt was 59 years old, but still, how does a driver who has been out of Formula One for almost 30 years, comeback at an age that is nearly four years older than the current record for oldest race starter?

There hasn't even been a driver over the age of 45 since Graham Hill ran the 1975 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Which brings us to our next point...

How does Sonny Hayes have a Super License if he was competing IMSA's GT Daytona class?

On regulations alone, I don't see how Hayes could have been allowed in a Formula One car. 

Let's just start with driver rankings that the FIA uses for sports cars. There are four categories, from highest to lowest, platinum, gold, silver and bronze. 

A platinum ranking includes those who are a "current or past Super License holder." But Hayes would have been downgraded a grade to gold when he turned 50 and he would have been downgraded again to silver when he turned 55. 

If it had been 30-ish years since he ran in Formula One, and he is now "a racer-for-hire" competing in the GT Daytona class at the 24 Hours of Daytona (as we know from the filming two years ago and from the shots in trailer), I don't think he could just show back up and get a ride. 

This guy got a Super License waiver and Colton Herta couldn't?!?!?!

Yeah! In what world would an at-best silver-rated, part-time driver competing in a pro-am class as the amateur get a Super License waiver to return directly into Formula One? And this would be an American driver by the way if you want to believe that kind of thing matters.

Herta couldn't get a waiver and was at least competitive in IndyCar. In no world would Hayes be allowed.

There was not other driver out there?

The team hiring Hayes, APX GP, couldn't find a more capable solution? I know the plot is Hayes is brought in to mentor APX's young talent, but there isn't another more suitable driver out there?

I know Hayes is friends with the APX team owner (team principal?) played by Javier Bardem. That is how he gets the ride, but in what world would Bardem's character throw Hayes a bone? This is like Christian Horner (who is ten years younger than Pitt) being fed up with the driver situation at Red Bull and after running through Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, Horner decides to bring in former British Formula Three teammate Warren Hughes in to be Max Verstappen's teammate, or Zak Brown needing a new driver at McLaren and calling up his former British Formula Three teammate Johnny Mowlem. 

Of all the drivers in the world, there are no other options to be the second driver in this team? 

Hayes could be a driver's coach. He doesn't have to be the other race driver. We see plenty of drivers work as coaches. 

How in the world can Sonny Hayes be competitive?

He is descried as a "racer-for-hire." 

I am not sure what that means. He is getting hired to race, but he was competing in the 24 Hours of Daytona in the GTD class and he is at best a silver-rated driver. Is he the equivalent of the old driver that other silver-rated drivers or bronze-rated drivers watched growing up and now that they are gentlemen drivers and are funding a seat they can hire whomever they want as their co-driver, and Hayes is the driver they grew up watching they can now pay him to round out their lineup? 

He isn't even competing in IMSA's top class. He is going from GT3 competition to Formula One. At least if he was in a GTP car it could be a little more plausible. If he was driving for Proton Competition or Action Express Racing, we could at least acknowledge it is possible. Kevin Magnussen went from GTP back to Formula One.  

We saw Jimmie Johnson jump into an IndyCar after almost 20 years in the NASCAR Cup Series and he couldn't finish above 16th on a road or street course. Hayes has been competing less than that in mostly GT competition and he is just going to get into a Formula One car and be competitive? 

I don't think so.

How bad is APX GP?

During one of the trailers, Hayes is out of the car and when celebrating finishing the race the character who is the team... something or another played by Kerry Condon comments he finished last. 

Some of that could be the driver, and Hayes being 30 years removed from racing Formula One and competing in a grand prix at 60 years old, but is APX GP bad? 

If the team was any good, it wouldn't be relying on Hayes. It would have a development program of some sort or a partnership and could have a Mercedes junior driver or Ferrari junior driver on call that could fill that opening. If APX GP needed a veteran driver for mentorship, Mercedes could have given them Stoffel Vandoorne at that time. There were better options out there. 

I don't think this is a competitive team. Now, it is a movie. APX GP will be competitive. It would be funny if they made this movie and the plot point is APX trying to get sixth in the constructors' champion and that extra $10 million. I think there is an audience that would appreciate that.

Who is Hayes Replacing?

If APX GP is relying on a 60-something who is basically done driving, who the hell was its second driver before Hayes? What is that guy doing afterward? Is he getting another shot in Formula One and Williams is thinking they got a steal or is this guy off to sports cars after realizing APX GP is simultaneously the mountaintop and rock-bottom of his Formula One career?

Who is paying for this?

Is APX GP that settled on sponsorship that it can hire this guy? 

Where is its funding coming from? This isn't an actual automobile manufacturer. It doesn't appear to be Red Bull where it is selling another product through Formula One. This is a pure private team. Is this is all Javier Bardem's character's team and he funds it to a points where he can hire whomever he wants or he has signed all the sponsors and they have trusted him to hire any driver without getting any say? He obviously gets the only say in who the drivers are. No boardroom would allow Hayes to be hired. 

I think if we are getting into how the fictional race team in a Formula One movie has its funding, that is a place to wrap it up. The runtime for this film is over two hours and 30 minutes in length. Maybe there is a five-minute or 15-minute scene going over the Super License waiver process with the FIA. There is going to be plenty of time for it.

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Álex Palou, but did you know...

Marc Márquez won MotoGP's Italian Grand Prix, his sixth victory of the season, and Márquez also won the sprint race. Manuel González won the Moto2 race, his fourth victory of the season. Máximo Quiles won in Moto3, his first career victory in his fifth career start. 

The #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura of Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun won 6 Hours of the Glen. The #22 United Autosports Oreca-Gibson of Paul di Resta, Rasmus Lindh and Dan Goldburg won in LMP2. The #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW of Max Hesse and Dan Harper won in GTD Pro. The #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin of Zacharie Robichon, Tom Gamble and Casper Stevenson won in GTD.

Chase Briscoe won the NASCAR Cup race from Pocono. Connor Zilisch won the Grand National Series race, his second victory of the season. Layne Riggs won the Truck race.

Caio Collet won the Indy Lights race from Road America. Max Garcia (race one & two) and Max Taylor  (race three) split the USF Pro 2000 races. Thomas Schrage and Teddy Musella split the U.S. F2000 races.

The #98 Rowe Racing BMW of Augusto Farfus, Jesse Krohn, Kelvin van der Linde and Raffaele Marciello won the Nürburgring 24 Hour.

Dan Ticktum won the Jakarta ePrix.

Broc Feeney swept the Supercars races from Hidden Valley Raceway.

Coming Up This Weekend

Formula One is in Austria. 

MotoGP runs the Dutch TT. 

NASCAR opens its in-season tournament in Atlanta

The 24 Hours of Spa closes out a three-week run of 24-hour endurance races.

The Acropolis Rally will take place. 

First Impressions: Road America 2025

1. When Álex Palou made his final pit stop with 15 laps remaining in the XPEL Grand Prix of Road America, it felt like he would make it. Fifteen laps was right on the limit for a fuel stint, but it would be close. Palou was running second as Scott Dixon led, but with Dixon stopping 17 laps from the finish, he would be short. It allowed Palou to run in the draft until Dixon peeled off with two laps to go. Palou held a three-second lead over Felix Rosenqvist, and at no point over the final eight miles did Palou stumble. He had enough fuel, taking his sixth victory of the season, and he even had enough for a cool down lap.

If it isn't Dixon, it is Palou who is going to complete the unthinkable. Fifteen laps wasn't that crazy, but with the pace Palou was running, it felt he would be right on the edge. It doesn't appear that was the case. No concerns were expressed over Palou's radio in those closing laps. The needed might have been close, but it had belief it would get there. This wasn't Palou's greatest race, but then again, in a choppy Road America race, no one looked that dominate. It wasn't a matter of leading laps today. It was a matter of having the right strategy. 

Palou was able to remain in front as this race shuffled about. He didn't get caught in traffic, which cost some other drivers. When it came to the finish, Chip Ganassi Racing placed two of its cars in an advantageous position to win the race. If it wasn't going to be Dixon, it was going to be Palou, and sure enough it played out that way.

Entering this race, everyone tried to make appear the championship is still in play. It isn't. Mathematically, it is as Palou is up 93 points with eight races remaining. It will require someone, whether that be Kyle Kirkwood or Patricio O'Ward, to win four or five or six of the final eight races. Palou isn't going to make mistakes. If he has an off day, it will likely be the only one. Until others start thrashing the competition, Palou will remain in control. 

Six victories from nine races. I think we need to start considering the records Álex Palou will be chasing down in the second half of the season. 

2. It felt like this was going to fall in Felix Rosenqvist's favor. Rosenqvist made his final stop with 13 laps to go. He was set on fuel and he could fly. He did but he just wasn't running enough laps in the low-1:47 range to do it. Rosenqvist ran the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, 1:46.7814, no other driver ran a sub-1:47 lap in this race, but it was too little too late, as the Swede was 2.1725 seconds off Palou. 

Certainly, Rosenqvist had the right strategy. He did not stop under caution at lap 24. He ran the extra four laps before making his third stop, which put him firmly in the spot to make it on one more stop and allow him to run aggressively to the finish. The difference was Palou's pace. Palou had the pace, and the gap was enough that he could hold off Rosenqvist. 

I don't think Rosenqvist did anything wrong. He was running at the limit during the final stint and Palou just had the advantage of time. I don't know if anyone else could have run the race Palou did. Take Palou out, Rosenqvist wins today.

3. Santino Ferrucci had enough fuel to finish third and he ran out just after taking the checkered flag. This was another race where the cautions went in Ferrucci's favor. It wasn't until that caution at lap 24 did it look like Ferrucci was going to be in contention for a top ten finish let alone ending up on the podium. Ferrucci was more aggressive in that penultimate stint and made up spots before his final stop. It seemed like some drivers were already saving in that penultimate stint, and Ferrucci took advantage before saving when he needed to in the final laps. 

Four consecutive top five results for Ferrucci and the A.J. Foyt Racing team. This was the team's best finish ever at Road America. Things keep falling their way. 

4. Kyle Kirkwood was on the same strategy as Rosenqvist, but he got caught in traffic and shuffled back. Kirkwood was caught behind Will Power and Colton Herta before his final pit stop, which allowed Rosenqvist to open the gap and be the only one that could really challenge Palou. On the final stint, Kirkwood came out of the pit lane about seven seconds behind Ferrucci. Once he was in that dirty air, he couldn't get back ahead and Kirkwood finished fourth. 

If there was any negative from this day it was Kirkwood kept getting bogged down with cars. In the opening stint, he was better than Palou, but Kirkwood lost two spots when Power forced him wide in Canada Corner. When that happened, Palou slipped ahead of both. That was the story of Kirkwood's day. He probably could have been a little better. This isn't a bad day, but the last person Kirkwood needed to win today ended up winning.

5. I thought stopping at lap 24 was a stretch. At that point, it didn't look like anyone could make it one more stop. They stretched it, but it wasn't easy. Meanwhile, Rosenqvist and Kirkwood stayed out until laps 28 and 29 respectively and could run flat out. Marcus Armstrong also stayed out until lap 29, and it got him a top five finish. 

Armstrong was closing on Kirkwood in that final stint as his car was better in dirty air. I think too many teams played it safe today. It made sense to stop under that lap 24 caution, but it forced a lot of guys to slow down and the right call was to run extra laps and stop under green. 

Armstrong is not in the top five if he stops under that caution. Meyer Shank Racing made a great call today for both cars.

6. Kyffin Simpson also went 15 laps on his final stint, like his teammate Palou, and it ended up netting Simpson a sixth-place finish, his third top ten result of the season. Simpson had to stretch it, and he was able to make it work. Chip Ganassi Racing has better fuel mileage than probably everyone at this moment. It likely allowed Simpson to run more confidently than others. Everyone who stopped under that lap 24 caution made it on one more stop, but some cut it closer than others. Simpson didn't and he got a bit of a break to finish sixth.

7. Speaking of breaks, David Malukas lost it on his own heading into turn three of the opening lap. Beached, Malukas needed a tow out. He didn't lose a lap, but he lost a top ten position after he had started seventh. If it wasn't for all the cautions, Malukas might not finish in the top 20. He got a break and actually ran a short-stint to make this a four-stop race. It was actually a five-stopper because he stopped after he was pulled from the gravel. 

With nothing to lose, Malukas could run the aggressive strategy and it got him a top ten finish when he really didn't deserve one today. 

This was another race where Malukas tripped over himself. He was seventh, but he didn't run well after that opening lap incident. This kind of masks his problems. 

8. Nolan Siegel was eighth. I don't know how he was eighth, but he was. Siegel made pit stops at lap 12, 24, 26, 32 and 45. He and Malukas each stopped on lap 32 to split the end of the race in half and run harder. That likely helped, but this result was more down to the cautions than anything Siegel really did.

9. Starting 25th meant Scott Dixon had to do things differently. Dixon stopped under the opening caution for Malukas being beached, and he went long on that second stint, going to lap 22. It is Scott Dixon and when it comes to fuel mileage, it will play out in his favor more times than not. With how this race played out, he had to make a pit stop with 17 laps to go. Even Dixon wasn't going to make that work, but with a splash-and-go with two laps remaining, he still finished ninth.

I am not sure how else Dixon would have finished ninth today without this strategy. At best, you are picking up three spots per stint. If this was a clear race with three stops all about 14-15 laps apart, Dixon might finish 12th or 13th, but that isn't a top ten. 

Dixon's group played a strategy for the best of the #9 Honda team and also for Chip Ganassi Racing as a whole. Without Dixon, I am not sure Palou make his strategy work. Ferrucci and others stretched it 16 laps, but Palou likely benefitted from the draft. Without it, there is a chance Palou has to run a slower pace and Rosenqvist is able to chase Palou down. It is not a victory for Dixon, but this is a case where he played a big role in another Ganassi triumph.

10. Rinus VeeKay rounded out the top ten, and that was despite at drive-through penalty. VeeKay did 16 laps in the final stint. I don't think he did anything spectacular. Nothing stood out about his performance, and frankly everyone that finished outside the top ten was a bit of a mess. It felt like every two laps, someone dropped four spots because of an on-track battle during that final stint. Those guys were all over the place saving fuel but also battling on track. 

11. Louis Foster started on pole position but he did not have a car set up to lead from the start. Scott McLaughlin took the lead immediately and Foster kept losing spots. On the second stint, Foster took on the primary tire and it sent him backward again. His day leveled off just outside the top ten. 

I wish we got a cleaner race and it was not a mess on pit strategy because I think that would have given us a better clue on where Foster was on pace. This race is a little flattering, but he likely finishes ahead of Simpson, Malukas, Siegel, VeeKay and probably even Ferrucci if there aren't all the cautions. It might have been better than 11th or it could have been 11th but with a few different drivers ahead of him.

12. The best Team Penske finisher was Scott McLaughlin in 12th, as this was another terrible day for IndyCar's most successful team. 

McLaughlin was saving fuel heavily in the final stint, and it cost him a top ten finish, but he didn't have the cleanest day. At one point, he dropped his tires off the track heading down to turn five. It was a needless error that cost him time. 

That was the story of Team Penske's day. Self-inflicted errors.

Will Power was all over the place and eventually spun on his own. Power still recovered to finish 14th as he didn't hit anything spinning on exit of Canada Corner. 

Josef Newgarden hit the barrier after spinning on exit of turn 14. This was going to be at top ten day for Newgarden and he couldn't get out of his own way. It might have been a top five result if things fell right. 

The pace is there, but all three of these drivers are lost at the moment. It doesn't help that there is a mess behind the scenes. Roger Penske needs to get his house in order.

13. Alexander Rossi was in the same boat as Scott Dixon. Rossi had to stop a few laps earlier for his splash of fuel. All he could get out of it was 13th. This wasn't a great weekend for Rossi and Ed Carpenter Racing. They struggled for speed all weekend. I think they will see 13th as a kind result.

14. There is one guy that should be the most disappointed after today's race because he probably should have won or at least been the one breathing down Álex Palou's neck. 

It is Christian Lundgaard. Lundgaard was leading Rosenqvist and Kirkwood on their strategy. Lundgaard had a gap over both of them and he was positioned to be leading those guys as we entered the final stint. But Lundgaard spun when he went wide in Canada Corner attempting to pass Colton Herta, and Lundgaard lost it over the bumps. 

That was race over for Lundgaard. He went from likely leading the charge in the final stint to last car on the lead lap in 24th at the checkered flag.

This was a massive miss for Lundgaard. He was about two seconds up the road from Rosenqvist when he spun. Give him those two seconds and all that clear track Rosenqvist saw in the final laps, I think Lundgaard is in prime position in a late battle with Palou. If Lundgaard was within two seconds of Palou with say eight laps to go, I don't think Palou would have been able to hold Lundgaard off. 

This was a big miss for Lundgaard on a day when he really could have won over his team. The second quarter of the season hasn't been as great as the first for the Dane, but he could have used this race as a tone-setter for the final half of the season that is about to begin. It certainly set a different tone. 

15. Callum Ilott was 15th and that is fine. It could have been better. It could have been worse.

Colton Herta and Patricio O'Ward could not get away from one another in that final stint, and they both lost out finishing 16th and 17th respectively. Both those guys were closer to McLaughlin and around Power, and they both fell backward. In a clearer race, I think both guys are finishing the top ten.

Christian Rasmussen did nothing brilliant and was 18th. Same for Devlin DeFrancesco in 19th. Graham Rahal started well, but at one point Rahal was shuffled off course and that ruined his race. Rahal was better than 20th today. 

Marcus Ericsson is a mess and was 21st. Conor Daly continues to be a mess and was 22nd. Jacob Abel got a lead lap finish in 23rd, so that is a slight improve. 

Sting Ray Robb lost it under braking, but Robb does come off as someone who never makes a mistake. That looks like Robb was a little too aggressive and it put himself into the barrier.

We never got to see what happened to Robert Shwartzman that caused him to end up in the barriers early. That is a rough way to follow up your first career top ten finish.

16. This was a messy race, and it allowed the cars to be close and competitive. It also allowed the variety of pit strategy we saw, but this wasn't a great representation of how everyone raced today and their true pace. 

I wish there was a way we could get cars out of the gravel quicker, especially on lap one. We know turns three and five are going to be trouble areas. Is there a way to have a proactive extraction set up so the car can be pulled out in 20 seconds or 30 seconds? The lap times around Road America is over a minute and 45 seconds. Corner workers could have a minute to get a car out, and I am sure they could do it. I would rather see that over immediately having a caution on the first lap of the race. 

Unfortunately, we know IndyCar isn't exploring how to keep races green and get cars out of the gravel in a quicker fashion. 

17. IndyCar gets another week off. I know there was a week off between Detroit and Gateway, but it didn't really feel like we had a break. This one better feel like a break because after next week, IndyCar will have four consecutive race weekends and five races in that time. When that stretch is over, only three races will remain. The season will be over shortly. Enjoy this time before Mid-Ohio.

Morning Warm-Up: Road America 2025

In his ninth IndyCar weekend, Louis Foster scored his first career pole position with a lap at 104.5141 seconds around Road America, and Foster will lead the field to the green flag for the XPEL Grand Prix of Road America. This is Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's first pole position since Graham Rahal started first for Portland in 2023. This is the second consecutive year we have a first-time pole-sitter at Road America. Last year, Linus Lundqvist scored his first career pole position driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. Foster's best start prior to this weekend was third for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Accidents at Detroit and Gateway means Foster has failed to finish the last two races. He had finished the previous five events. Foster is still looking for his first career top ten finish. He was 11th at the IMS road course. Eight drivers have had their first career victory come at Road America, most recently Felix Rosenqvist in 2020.

Álex Palou will start second after qualifying 0.1159 seconds off Foster's pole position time. This is the third time Palou has started on the front row this season. He has won each of the previous two times. His worst starting position this season is ninth. This is actually the first time Palou has started on the front row at Road America. He had started third-place three times in his first six starts here. Palou will be making his 90th start this weekend. He has 49 career top five finishes. He would become the sixth-fastest driver to 50 top five finishes should Palou end up in the top five this weekend.

Kyle Kirkwood makes it a sweep of the top three for Honda in qualifying as Kirkwood was 0.3382 seconds slower than Foster. Third is Kirkwood's best starting position at Road America. This will be Kirkwood's 60th career start. He won from third starting spot at Detroit earlier this month. Kirkwood could become the first driver to win three consecutive races with each coming on an oval, road course and street course since Cristiano da Matta won at Portland, Chicago Motor Speedway and Toronto in 2002.

Scott McLaughlin is the top Chevrolet starter in fourth. McLaughlin was 0.4996 seconds off pole position. McLaughlin will be looking to avoid four consecutive results outside the top ten for the first time since his rookie year when he had a seven-race run without a top ten finish. The last time he started fourth, he finished fourth at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis in May. The fourth starting position has not produced a winner at Road America since Christian Fittipaldi in 1999.

Christian Lundgaard has his best starting position ever at Road America in fifth. The Arrow McLaren driver fell 0.5687 seconds from the top spot. Will Power won last year at Road America from fifth starting position. Since returning to the circuit in 2016, the fifth starting position has produced three winners, more than any other starting position. The last time the same starting position produced consecutive winners in consecutive years at Road America was in 1996 and 1997 when Michael Andretti and Alex Zanardi each respectively won from third.

Graham Rahal rounds out the top six. This is Rahal's best starting position at Road America since the second race of the 2020 doubleheader. In the previous four years, he had not started better than 14th here. Rahal has eight top ten finishes in his 11 Road America starts, but he hasn't finished better than eighth in his last five races at the circuit. Rahal has made 132 starts since his most recent victory at Belle Isle in 2017. He led 49 of 85 laps in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis last month before fading to finish sixth. 

David Malukas was 0.0401 seconds from making the final round of qualifying, and he takes seventh on the grid. A.J. Foyt Racing enters with a top five finish in three consecutive races. The team has never finished better than eighth at Road America. Mike Groff was eighth at Road America in 1991. Malukas' best finish on a permanent road course this season was 16th at Barber Motorsports Park with an average finish of 19th over the three road course events this year.

Will Power joins Malukas on row four after falling 0.0715 seconds shy of advancing from round two. Power was in last-place last week at Gateway. He became the 21st driver in IndyCar history with at least ten last-place finishes in a career. The most recent driver to finish last in a race and then when the following event was Will Power, who was last at Gateway in 2019 and followed it with a victory at Portland.

Callum Ilott scored his best starting position of the season and scored Prema its first appearance in the second round of qualifying on a road course as Ilott ended up ninth. His previous best starting position this season was 16th. Ilott has finished 11th and 18th in his first two trips to Road America. Ilott has yet to be classified inside the top fifteen this season. 

Josef Newgarden rounds out the top ten. This is only the third time in 11 Road America starts Newgarden is starting outside the top six. Newgarden has finished on the podium in three consecutive Road America races, and he has six podium finishes in ten starts at this circuit. Each of his two victories though came from a front row starting position. Nine times has Newgarden won from outside a top five starting position, but he has never won from tenth starting position. 

Patricio O'Ward is starting 11th for the second consecutive year at Road America. O'Ward was second last week at Gateway, his 16th career runner-up finish. The only time he has won the race following a runner-up result was the second race of the 2022 Iowa doubleheader. O'Ward has finished better than or equal to his starting position in five consecutive races. He went from 11th to eighth last year in this race.

Felix Rosenqvist takes the outside of row six. This is Rosenqvist's best start at Road America since 2022 when he stared seventh. In the prior two years, the Swede did not roll off from better than 16th on the grid. Only once has Rosenqvist finished in the top ten in the ninth race of the season. That was in 2020 when he was seventh in the second Gateway race.

Nolan Siegel was a little over a tenth of a second from making it to the second round qualifying, and this leaves the Arrow McLaren driver in 13th. This is Siegel's best starting position since he started sixth at Barber Motorsports Park. He had started 18th or worse in the last four races. Siegel ended up finishing 13th in both races from Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May, and he has finished 19th in the first two races of June.

Marcus Ericsson fell 0.0555 seconds shy of making it out of the second group in round one of qualifying, and this places Ericsson 14th on the grid. He had started 12th and 13th in the previous two races. Ericsson has six consecutive top ten finishes at Road America, and his worst finish here was 13th in his rookie season. The Swede has finished 13th in the last two races. 

Marcus Armstrong matches his worst starting position on a road or street course this season in 15th. Armstrong was was a little more than a quarter of a second from advancing. This is only the scend time this season he did not make it out of the first round of qualifying. Armstrong is aiming for his third consecutive top ten finishes. The only other time he has had three consecutive top ten finishes was last year over Toronto, Gateway and Portland. 

Colton Herta has his worst starting position ever at Road America, Herta was 0.0806 seconds off advancing out of the first round of qualifying. This places Herta in 16th. He had made it out of the first round of qualifying every year he has competed at Road America. Herta has finished in the top five of the ninth race of the season in five consecutive seasons. This includes a pair of fifth-place results at Road America in 2022 and 2023.

Robert Shwartzman takes 17th on the grid, his best starting position on a road or street course this season. His previous best was when he qualified 18th at St. Petersburg to open the season. His avearge starting position on road and street courses prior to this weekend was 23.667. Shwartzman is coming off his first career top ten finish at Gateway. His previous best result was 18th. 

Santino Ferrucci finds himself starting 18th, a position better than where he started last year in this race. Ferrucci has finished in the top five in three consecutive aces and he has started 15th or worse in all three of those races. In eight of his ten career top ten finishes, Ferrucci has started outside the top ten and five of those have been starting positions outside the top fifteen. 

On the inside of row ten will be Devlin DeFrancesco. DeFrancesco has failed to finish the last two races. He has never failed to finish three consecutive starts. He has only finished better than his starting position in two races this year. He went from 26th to 20th at Thermal Club, and he went from 16th to 11th in the Indianapolis 500.

Christian Rasmussen is starting 20th in car #21. Last week, Rasmussen was on the podium for the first time in his IndyCar career as he was third at Gateway after starting 25th. His first career podium finish came in one fewer start than Bobby Unser, and in eight fewer starts than Arie Luyendyk and Josef Newgarden.

Conor Daly will match his worst starting position for a Road America race in 21st. The most positions Daly has ever gained from a starting position at this track is six, going from 21st to 15th in 2017. Last year, Juncos Hollinger Racing scored its best finish at Road America when Romain Grosjean finished seventh. 

Rinus VeeKay joins his old Ed Carpenter Racing teammate Daly on row 11. Through eight races, VeeKay has four top ten finishes. The most recent Dale Coyne Racing driver to have at least five top ten finishes through the first nine races was Justin Wilson in 2013, who had six top ten finishes in the first nine races. VeeKay has never finished in the top ten in five Road America starts. His best result was 12th in 2023. 

Kyffin Simpson takes 23rd on the grid. After starting the first seven races inside the top twenty, this is Simpson's second consecutive start outside the top twenty. He started 26th last week at Gateway. After finishing on the lead lap in the first three races, Simpson has one lead lap finish in the last five events. That was when he finished fifth at Detroit.

Alexander Rossi has his worst starting position of the season and his worst starting position ever at Road America in 24th. His previous worst grid position here was 16th in 2016. Rossi had started in the top 12 in eight consecutive Road America races. Rossi's best finish through eight races is eighth. Only one other time has Rossi gone nine races without a top five finish to start a season. That was in 2021.

Scott Dixon was penalized for interference in the first qualifying group in round one when he impeded Devlin DeFrancesco. Dixon lost his fastest two laps as punishment and he will take 25th on the grid. This is his seventh time starting outside the top ten this year, and he previously started on row 13 at Barber Motorsports Park when he started 26th. Dixon has not started in the top five at Road America since 2017, when he won the race. 

Sting Ray Robb will start on Dixon's outside in 26th. Last year, Robb started 26th and finished 17th at Road America. He went from 26th to 15th at Detroit earlier this month. Since finishing ninth at Long Beach, Robb's average finish is 20.2. He has finished in the top twenty of the last two races. The last time Robb had three consecutive top twenty results was a four-race run last season that started at Road America and went through the first Iowa race.

Jacob Abel takes last on the grid for the second consecutive race. Abel was in the top five in all three of his Indy Lights starts at Road America. He was second in 2023 and third last year with fastest lap.Jacob Abel. Abel was in the top five in all three of his Indy Lights starts at Road America. He was second in 2023 and third last year with fastest lap.

Fox's coverage of the XPEL Grand Prix of Road America begins at 1:30 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 1:47 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 55 laps.