Chevrolet had two chances to take its first win of the 2020 NTT Data IndyCar Series season at Road America this past weekend, but left empty-handed after an action-packed double-header at the iconic 4.048-mile circuit.
The first race of the weekend was won by none other than Scott Dixon, but he didn’t take victory in his usual dominant fashion. The Kiwi qualified ninth for the start and drove a slow and steady opening two stints, keeping his nose clean as he ran in the middle of the pack. He emerged from the pits on Lap 28 following his second and final stop of the race and was surprised to find out that he and the Team Penske Chevrolet of Will Power had moved into the lead – thanks in part to their extremely quick in- and out-laps.
“I don’t know how that happened, man,” Dixon told IndyCar.com post-race. “We came out of the pits (on Lap 28), and they said, ‘You and Power are first and second.’ I was like: ‘How? How?’ I know we had huge out laps and a big in lap, as well. Definitely proud to be powered by Honda here.”
Power finished Race 1 in second to put Chevy on the podium, while rookie Alex Palou made it a Chevrolet sandwich with a third place finish in his Dale Coyne Racing/Team Goh Honda.
If Race 1 was a battle between the old guard of Dixon and Power, then Race 2 was the exact opposite. McLaren young gun Pato O’Ward qualified P1 for Race 2 and lined up alongside 20-year-old Colton Herta on the first row, who was second in his No. 88 Harding-Steinbrenner entry. O’Ward dominated the race, leading 43 of 55 laps, but was passed by Felix Rosenqvist with just two laps remaining after the young Mexican driver used up his soft compound red sidewall tires. The Swede went on to take his first IndyCar victory of his career, while O’Ward was second in his McLaren Chevy. Alex Rossi overcame his recent string of bad luck to complete the podium.
Re-live all the best parts from this past weekend’s REV Group Grand Prix IndyCar doubleheader from Road America in the two videos embedded below.
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Comments
Can not open Indy car footage from Elkhart Lake without committing to some extra cost ‘no ad program’ or ‘best way to view program’..I resent these tactics. If it was for a GM product I could understand but as a guest on the GM web-site which encourages one to watch it but we can’t unless we ‘subscribe first’ to a unknown program is too much like Nancy Pelosi telling us to ‘vote for it’ then we can learn what it is about”
I largely agree with your comments, except politicizing by analogy. It seems America is becoming divided on almost every issue. I find that to be destructive . I can remember when Offenhauser ruled at Indy but there were other possibilities. Remember when Studebaker sent a fleet of 5 cars to Indy?? There was a time when Indy was diversified, a time when even the smaller companies had a chance. I would love to see that type of opportunity return to Indy. Have an above average day
Instead of just Chevrolet and Honda Indy cars lets have Dodge, Ford, Jaguar, Fiat, Aston-Martin, Ferrari, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan involved in Indy racing. It would draw more fans cheering for their favorite Brands and there might be a few other “sleepers” out there that would surprise everyone. A diversity of the sport would enhance interest
Fred nothing is stopping the others from entering accept they don’t have or want to spend the money.
With many automakers struggling with development cost racing is not an option for them. With ratings down on most series it is hard to get a program approved.
Mario has been lobbying for Ferrari to Join Indycar. It would be interesting if they would.
Unlike F1 which is on ESPN; NBC makes it far more difficult trying to find the station that is broadcasting the race which meant only a handful of people watched the race because neither races were on NBC non-cable channel.