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Christian Lundgaard, Road America

By the Numbers: The XPEL Grand Prix at Road America

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The XPEL Grand Prix at Road America was without a doubt a historic race: Christian Lundgaard overcame a 99-second deficit to the leaders to claim victory, while Alex Palou secured his fifth consecutive pole position — something that hadn’t happened in nearly 30 years! What else stood out during the race weekend? We break it down through a series of numbers!

240 - A total of 240 on-track passes for position were recorded during the race at Road America. That's significantly fewer than last year, when 345 passes were recorded.

108.224 - Romain Grosjean drove back to the pits on three wheels after losing his left-rear wheel under braking for Turn 5. How much slower is an IndyCar on three tires? We compared the average speeds in every mini-sector he completed while still moving on three wheels. The result showed an average speed of 77.473 mph (124.681 km/h) on three tires, compared to 144.719 mph (232.905 km/h) in those same sectors one lap earlier. In other words, losing a rear wheel at Road America cost him an average of 67.246 mph (108.224 km/h)!

105.570 - While chasing Marcus Armstrong, Christian Lundgaard set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 50 with a time of 1:45.570, or 105.570 seconds.

99 - An incredible statistic: race winner Christian Lundgaard was 99 seconds behind race leader Alex Palou after making his pit stop at the end of the opening lap. With lap times of at least 1:46 around Road America, the eventual winner was therefore only about seven seconds ahead of Palou on track. IndyCar can be a crazy series sometimes!

60 - Despite finishing only fifth, Alex Palou still extended his championship lead. Because Kyle Kirkwood finished just tenth, Palou's advantage in the standings grew from 49 to 60 points. Kirkwood dropped to third in the championship, while the runner-up finish by David Malukas moved him up to second in the standings.

22 - Nolan Siegel was the driver who was passed the most during the race, losing positions 22 times. However, that number was heavily influenced by the final lap, when contact with Josef Newgarden dropped him from ninth to 21st place. Romain Grosjean ranked second in this category (21 times passed), ahead of Josef Newgarden (20).

19 - Alexander Rossi gained more positions than any other driver relative to his starting spot. After starting last due to a grid penalty, Rossi fought his way to a sixth-place finish, a gain of 19 positions. It could have been even better, as he appeared to be on course for a podium finish before a slow final pit stop. Still, there was one comeback that topped it: Lundgaard was running last after the opening lap and went on to win the race.

17 - Race control had a busy afternoon during the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America, handing out no fewer than 17 penalties!
  • Mick Schumacher and Alex Palou were penalized for speeding on pit lane. Schumacher was sent to the rear of the field for the restart, while Palou received a drive-through penalty.
  • Romain Grosjean, Sting Ray Robb, Scott Dixon, Santino Ferrucci, Rinus VeeKay, Kyffin Simpson, Mick Schumacher and Pato O'Ward all made emergency pit stops while pit lane was closed and were sent to the rear of the field.
  • Romain Grosjean received a stop-and-go penalty for operating an unsafe car while driving on three wheels.
  • Scott Dixon and Mick Schumacher received drive-through penalties for making pit stops after the field had been reordered.
  • Louis Foster and Romain Grosjean were each required to surrender two positions for blocking competitors.
  • Josef Newgarden received a 30-second penalty for causing a collision with Nolan Siegel.
  • Graham Rahal was deemed responsible for the crash involving Will Power in the closing corners of the race. Rahal was not penalized, because he retired as a result of the incident.


  • 16 - Caio Collet was the highest-finishing rookie in 16th place, though it likely felt like a missed opportunity after he appeared to be on his way to a top-10 finish earlier in the race.

    16 - Kyffin Simpson completed the most on-track passes during the race with 16. He narrowly edged out Kyle Kirkwood (15 passes) and Louis Foster (14).

    12 - For the first time this season, a race was won by a driver who started outside the top 10. Christian Lundgaard took the green flag from 12th on the grid.

    5 - Five different drivers led at least one lap: Felix Rosenqvist (18 laps), Marcus Armstrong (14 laps), Alex Palou (13 laps), Christian Lundgaard (7 laps) and Josef Newgarden (3 laps).

    5 - David Malukas must be getting tired of second-place finishes. His runner-up result marked the fifth time in his IndyCar career that he has come up just short of his first victory. Three of those second-place finishes have come in the last five IndyCar races, suggesting it's only a matter of time before Malukas reaches Victory Lane.

    5 - The retirement of Christian Rasmussen was already his fifth of the season and his fourth in the last five races. There was little he could do about it, as the hybrid system once again appeared to be the issue.

    5 - This was Alex Palou's fifth consecutive pole position! It marks the first time a driver has won five straight poles since Alex Zanardi accomplished the feat across the 1996 and 1997 seasons. Zanardi actually secured six consecutive poles: Mid-Ohio, Road America, Vancouver and Laguna Seca in 1996, followed by Homestead and Surfers Paradise in 1997.

    3 - The victory was Christian Lundgaard's third career IndyCar win, moving him into a tie for 116th on the all-time IndyCar wins list. Among the drivers sharing that position are Tony Stewart, Max Papis and Mark Donohue.

    PhotographyPenske Entertainment
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