By: Spencer Neff
June 20, 2025

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES wraps up a busy month of June at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin’s famed Road America.

It is the 36th INDYCAR Race at the 4.048-mile 14-turn permanent road course since its 1982 debut on the CART schedule. 2025 marks the 35th year INDYCAR has traveled two Road America (2020 doubleheader).

Before this weekend’s on-track activities begin, here’s a look at the major stories to watch.

Headlines

For the first time since 1980, the opening eight races have been split between two drivers. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou won five of the first six races and leads the points by 73 over Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward.

Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood has won three races, including the last two. On Sunday night, Kirkwood earned his first oval victory in the series after winning at Worldwide Technology Raceway.

Kirkwood sits third in points, 75 back of Palou.

After earning their first 1-2-3 finish since 2017 last year at Road America, Team Penske heads into the weekend looking to reverse misfortune from a week ago.

While they earned their second pole of 2025 via Will Power, who started alongside teammate Scott McLaughlin, all three drivers DNF’d (did not finish), including a spectacular crash from Josef Newgarden with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Louis Foster.

Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen earned his first INDYCAR podium last week, finishing third. Rasmussen won the 2022 Indy Lights (now Indy NXT) race at Road America.

Rookie of the Year leader Robert Shwartzman makes his Road America debut on the heels of a tenth-placed finish. It sis the first by PREMA Racing in their debut season.

XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR Fast Facts

Spotter Guide Pit Assignments  Race weekend: Friday, June 20 – Sunday, June 22 Track: Road America, a 4.014-mile, 14-turn permanent road course (clockwise), in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 55 laps / 220.77 miles | INDY NXT by Firestone: 20 laps / 80.28 miles or 55 minutes Push to Pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation. | INDY NXT by Firestone: A maximum of 50 activations total or 150 seconds of total Push to Pass time. Hybrid energy deployment parameters: Unlimited activation, with a maximum deployment of 715 kilojoules (kj) per lap Firestone tire allotment: Six sets primary (hard/black sidewall) and five sets alternate (soft/red sidewall) to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race. INDY NXT by Firestone: Four new sets to be used during the race weekend. X: @RoadAmerica @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #XPELGP, #INDYCAR #ROADAMERICA Instagram: @RoadAmerica, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #XPELGP, #INDYCAR #ROADAMERICA Threads: @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT Facebook: @Road America, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #XPELGP, #INDYCAR #ROADAMERICA TikTok: @INDYCAR @INDYNXT, #INDYCAR YouTube: @RaceRoadAmerica, @INDYCAR Event website: www.roadamerica.com INDYCAR website: www.indycar.com 2024 race winners:NTT INDYCAR SERIES Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet)INDY NXT by FirestoneJamie Chadwick (No. 28 Andretti Global) 2024 NTT P1 Award winner:Linus Lundqvist (No. 8 The American Legion Honda) 1:45.1519, 137.424 mph 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner:Jamie Chadwick (No. 28 Andretti Global) 1:51.0333, 130.145 mph Qualifying lap record:NTT INDYCAR SERIESDario Franchitti, 1:39.866, 145.924 mph, Aug. 19, 2000INDY NXT by FirestoneKyffin Simpson, 1:49.1028, 132.448 mph, June 17, 2023 FOX Sports telecasts: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Practice 1, 4:30 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live); Practice 2, 11 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Qualifying, 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Warmup, 10 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live); Race, 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX (live), FOX Deportes. Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be available on FOX Deportes. INDY NXT by Firestone: Practice 1, 3:30 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live); Practice 2, 10 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1; Qualifying, 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Race, 11 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live). Kevin Lee is the play-by-play announcer for FOX Sports’ coverage of INDY NXT by Firestone alongside analyst Jack Harvey. Georgia Henneberry is the pit reporter. INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Nick Yeoman, Jake Query and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Alex Wolff, Drake York and DJ Clark are the pit reporters. The XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR race (1 p.m. ET Sunday), INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America (10:55 a.m. Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. All INDY NXT by Firestone practices, qualifying sessions and races are available on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. At-track schedule (all times Central Time):  Friday, June 20 2:30-3:15 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 1, FS2 (live) 3:35-4:50 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1, FS2 (live) Saturday, June 21 9-9:45 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 2, FS1 (live) 10:05-11:05 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (45 minutes of green flag or 60 total minutes), FS1 (live) 12:30-1 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Qualifying (two groups/12 minutes each), FS1 (live) 1:35-3 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying), FS1 (live) Sunday, June 22 9:02-9:27 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup, FS1 (live) 10:01 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America Command to start engines 10:06 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America (20 laps/55 minutes), FS1 (live) Noon — Driver introductions 12:40 p.m. XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR Command to start engines XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR (55 laps/222.64 miles), FOX (live). Spanish telecast on FOX Deportes (live)

Header Image By Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR, Fast Facts By INDYCAR