Written by Danny Jones, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
The NTT IndyCar Series heads to the fast, bumpy, and spectacular sights of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for Round eight of the 2023 Season. Drivers are presented with their longest lap time of the year around the challenging Road America circuit, as the championship heads into its summer stretch, as the series starts to decide its champion.
Before we look forward to Road America, let’s look back to the previous event in Detroit, where Alex Palou further cemented himself as the man to beat in 2023. Palou won pole in convincing fashion for the second race in a row. He then went on to dominate the race, almost leading every lap, the victory never in doubt. Palou crossed the line for a second 2023 victory, and a sixth consecutive Top 5 finish.
The only person who could lay a finger on Palou was Will Power, who attacked the Spaniard on multiple restarts, but to no avail, as late-race contact saw the Australian forced to settle for second behind Palou. There was inter-team rivalry for the final podium spot, as Alexander Rossi and Felix Rosenqvist collided twice, with Rosenqvist barging his way to a second Arrow McLaren podium, building on his success at Toronto last year.
Kyle Kirkwood also impressed in Motor City. Having lost his rear wing on Lap one, following contact with Callum Ilott, and despite being last and almost a lap down, the Floridian recovered to sixth, as he further establishes himself as a street-circuit specialist. Marcus Armstrong impressed too, in a very consistent weekend all-round, as the Chip Ganassi Racing driver finished eighth at the flag. Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden had a quiet day, coming home in P10, understandably, after a week of media commitments and celebration - he surely wouldn’t mind though.
But Detroit saw further disaster for Pato O’Ward and his championship hopes. O’Ward, who crashed out the Indy 500 after contact with Marcus Ericsson, initially had a botched pitstop, his rear-left tyre not fitted properly, and he couldn’t get the car started. This put him a lap down, and out of contention. He was further frustrated when he clumsily hit the wall, trying to overtake Santino Ferrucci, in yet another overtake filled with frustration and desperation.
It wouldn’t be any better for early-season championship hopeful Romain Grosjean, who found the wall for the fourth time in seven races in 2023. Albeit, the Frenchman did suffer a mechanical failure, which sent him into the Detroit barriers when running in the Top five, coming off previous retirements in Indianapolis, Texas, and St. Petersburg. And things would only get worse for Graham Rahal. Having failed to qualify, and later retiring from the Indy 500, his Detroit race would be even more embarrassing. Rahal hit the wall whilst under caution, after horrendous understeer gave him no option other than finding the barrier, as his nightmares got even worse.
Detroit’s dramatic day has also had a huge effect on the championship standings. Palou’s sensational form gives him a 51 point lead (the equivalent to a race victory) over Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson. Newgarden lies a further 19 behind Ericsson, with both Scott Dixon and Pato O’Ward in touching distance of Newgarden, but remarkably, 80 points behind Palou! Let’s look forward to the challenge of Road America, a 4.048 mile (6.515km) road course featuring 14 corners, known for its bumpiness and elevation changes, and a real mix of different corners. The lap starts with a climb uphill over the start/finish line on a bumpy and narrow straight. Turn one is a fast-paced 90-degree right-hander, where drivers can carry much more speed than anticipated. However, if you run wide, Road America’s famed sausage curbs will punish, as shown by Scott McLaughlin in a recent test session.
Turn 2 is a nothing corner between Turns 1 and 3, another right hander, swooping downhill, where you must carry as much speed as possible, before heading down the best overtaking spot of the circuit into Turn 5. Drivers head downhill at high speed, heading into the challenging braking zone at Turn 5, where it is very easy to run wide, and make contact, as shown by Marcus Ericsson and Alex Palou last year.
You then climb uphill for the short run into Turn 6, a blind uphill left-hander, before a fast kink at Turn 7. Turn 8 provides a tight 90-degree left hander, before the toughest corner on the circuit, the Carousel. The Carousel is a never-ending right-hander, which goes a full 180 degrees, drivers usually right on the limit of speed and grip, a very easy combination for spinning out. Drivers require a mighty exit, before heading into the fastest corner of all the road courses in 2023, the Kink, a flat right-hander, before the run down Kettle Bottoms, at the very narrow right-hander at Canada Corner, another opportunity for overtaking.
Drivers then need to navigate the flat Bill Mitchell Bend at Turn 13, before a final 90-degree corner at Turn 14, which brings them up the dramatic climb uphill to finish the lap. The circuit had received a repave this year, with lap records expected to be shattered.
But for whom has Road America been a happy hunting ground? The circuit returned to the series in 2016, so has not featured many winners. Among the winners, though, are some huge names. Will Power won the inaugural event, with Scott Dixon winning a year later, with further success in 2020 giving him his second victory at the circuit. However, it is not regarded as Dixon’s strongest circuit, particularly in recent years.
Josef Newgarden won in 2018, in what is arguably his best circuit on the calendar. Newgarden won the People Ready Force for Good Challenge last year at the circuit, winning on a street, oval, and road course, and he would have won in 2021, had his engine not failed with two laps to go. The winner? Alex Palou, in what arguably might be his best circuit of the year. Palou starred here in 2020, in an unfancied Dale Coyne Car, taking 3rd in Race One and 7th in Race Two. He won the following year after Newgarden’s problems, and was looking good early on last year until he collided with Marcus Ericsson.
Arrow McLaren also feature two previous winners at the circuit. Alexander Rossi won here in 2019, although for Andretti Autosport, and the event last year saw a significant improvement in performance for Rossi, after he claimed pole and finished third in the race. Felix Rosenqvist also took his only career win at the track in 2020, beating out current team-mate Pato O’Ward to take the victory.
Amid the number of past winners, whom to watch out for? Newgarden and Palou would be the safest bets, considering their form and strength at the circuit, with both Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske traditionally going very strong at the circuit. Arrow McLaren traditionally haven’t been too strong around the circuit, in what could be a race-turning event for Pato O’Ward, as he tries to put his frustrating form behind him, and iron out the desperate moves he has shown in recent races.
And going into Road America, there has been a driver change. Conor Daly was removed from Ed Carpenter Racing due to ‘underperformance,’ as the team’s struggles have been amplified this year. He has been replaced by IndyCar veteran Ryan Hunter-Reay, who raced in this year’s Indianapolis 500 for Dreyer and Reinbold Racing, and last raced full-time for Andretti Autosport in 2021. Hunter-Reay looks set to bring experience and guidance into a team who so desperately needed both, but will we see any significant improvement from Ed Carpenter Racing?
Road America provides one of the toughest challenges of the entire calendar, and with the summer stretch of races coming, drivers will be looking to kick off their summer in the perfect fashion. As more eyes lay on the championship battle, the question remains: Can anyone catch Alex Palou?
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