Alex Palou and his Chip Ganassi Racing crew celebrated in victory lane once again Sunday at Road America, as the three-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion stretched the available fuel in his No. 10 SOLO Cup Honda to earn his sixth victory in nine starts this season at the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR.
“It was a crazy race,” Palou said. “There were moments I thought we were losing a ton of positions. It was a tough race for everybody. Kudos to the team for the amazing strategy and Honda for giving us the fuel mileage we needed at the end to make it.”
Palou’s sixth win makes him the first INDYCAR SERIES driver to take the checkered flag at least six times in a season since Will Power in 2011. The victory also expanded his championship lead to 93 points over Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood as the season passed its halfway point.
Felix Rosenqvist finished second in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian, 2.1725 seconds behind Palou, despite being unshackled from a fuel-saving strategy over the closing laps. Santino Ferrucci hung on to third in the No. 14 Sexton Properties/AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, securing his fourth straight top-five finish this season.
The race featured a record nine leaders, with Palou taking the top spot for good on Lap 53 of the 55-lap race when teammate and leader Scott Dixon was forced to pit for fuel in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Palou’s final pit stop at the end of Lap 40 – two laps later than Dixon’s – and his ability to save fuel by running second in Dixon’s aerodynamic draft proved pivotal in making it to the finish with authority.
Despite five caution periods in the first 30 laps, the last 24 laps ran under green, creating a tense finish as drivers managed varying fuel and tire strategies.
“It was going back and forth there, comers and goers through the race,” Rosenqvist said. “We had great speed, had really good pace. We’ve had bad luck the last few races, haven’t really had a good go. Good comeback now. It’s been a while since I’ve been on the podium.”
The intense competition on a scorching day in central Wisconsin led to 348 on-track passes (including 345 for position), 96 passes in the top 10, and 29 passes in the top five – all those numbers second all-time among INDYCAR SERIES races at Road America.
Palou’s win also continued a historic duopoly this season, as he and Kirkwood are the only victorious drivers in 2025. The last time two drivers so dominated the first half of an INDYCAR SERIES season was in 1980, when Bobby Unser and Johnny Rutherford were the only winners through nine races.
The next race is The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the all-new 2026 Passport on Sunday, July 6 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.
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