Favorites and Sleepers: Road America

Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske enter Sunday's XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR as the teams to beat.

Those organizations have combined to win 10 of the 11 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at the 4.014-mile Wisconsin road course since the event returned to the schedule in 2016. The lone exception was Alexander Rossi's victory for Andretti Global in 2019.

Chip Ganassi Racing owns six wins during that span, including five in the last seven races. Alex Palou won last season, but he has never won consecutive Road America races, potentially opening the door for another contender.

Team Penske has won four times at Road America since 2016, including a podium sweep in 2024 when Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin finished first, second and third, respectively.

Can anyone new break through Sunday? Live coverage of the 55-lap race begins at 2 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.

Favorites

Josef Newgarden (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet)

Newgarden crashed and finished 25th last year, but his Road America résumé remains among the strongest in the field. He owns victories in 2018 and 2022 and has finished first or second in five of his last eight starts at the track. Newgarden was fourth in the Sonsio Grand Prix and enters the weekend with momentum after winning June 7 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet)

McLaughlin seeks his first Road America victory, but he has shown race-winning speed here. He finished third in 2024 after leading 18 laps and led eight laps last season. McLaughlin also has three top-five finishes this year, including two in the last three races.

Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)

Lundgaard enters as one of the hottest drivers on permanent road courses. He won the Sonsio Grand Prix and finished second at Barber Motorsports Park, extending a stretch of five consecutive podium finishes on natural road courses. Since joining Arrow McLaren for the 2025 season, Lundgaard (photo, above and top) has earned seven podium finishes in nine starts on permanent road courses. He started fifth and led four laps at Road America last year before finishing 24th.

Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)

It's difficult to overlook the defending race winner. Palou owns three victories and four podium finishes in seven Road America starts. He has been fast on permanent road courses again this season, winning at Barber and finishing fifth at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after starting from pole in both races. Three of his four championship seasons have included a Road America victory.

David Malukas (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet)

Malukas finished seventh here last season with AJ Foyt Racing. He arrives in Team Penske equipment after showing impressive speed on permanent road courses this year. He finished fourth at Barber and runner-up in the Sonsio Grand Prix, making him a strong candidate for his first career INDYCAR SERIES victory.

Sleepers

Santino Ferrucci (No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet)

Ferrucci scored a third-place finish at Road America last year and was eighth at Barber earlier this season.

Graham Rahal (No. 15 MSC Industrial Supply Honda)

Rahal finished third at both Barber and Indianapolis this season and has three consecutive top-four finishes on permanent road courses dating to Portland International Raceway last year. A 20th-place finish at Road America in 2025 ended a stretch of nine top-11 finishes in his previous 12 starts at the track. His career averages of 10.5 starting and 10.1 finishing position at Road America suggest he could contend for another strong result.

Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Sam's Club Honda)

Kirkwood remains winless in 29 starts on permanent road courses, but his Road America results have improved each season. After finishing 20th as a rookie in 2022, he followed with finishes of ninth, fifth and fourth. He also was fifth at Barber this season.

Marcus Ericsson (No. 28 Delaware Life Honda)

Ericsson has been consistent at Road America, recording six top-10 finishes in his last seven starts. He also enters on a positive trend with consecutive top-10 finishes, including a runner-up result after leading 114 laps at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda)

Road America has produced some of Armstrong's best INDYCAR SERIES performances. He showed top-five pace and led five laps here in 2023 before a late off-track excursion. He qualified third in 2024 before a mechanical issue dropped him to 26th and charged from 15th to fifth last season. Armstrong has six top-eight finishes in his last eight starts on permanent road courses.