By: Spencer Neff
June 18, 2026
The second half of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES campaign begins this weekend as the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America will serve as the 10th race of the 18-race schedule.
Sunday’s 55-lap race on the 4.014-mile, 14-turn road course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin is the 38th race in 37 seasons dating back to 1982 at Road America (no race in 2005 or 2008-2015, two races in 2020).
As the run to the championship continues on, here is a look at this weekend’s major storylines.
Headlines
On June 7, Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden continued his short oval dominance, winning the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at Worldwide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. Newgarden’s second victory of 2026 (Phoenix) is his 11th in a row on an oval.
His last victory on a road or street course was at Road America in 2022, the second of his career there (2018).
Newgarden has four additional podiums in 11 total starts at Road America.
After leading a race-high 114 laps, Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson finished second, his first podium since Detroit in 2024. Ericsson has finished in the Top 10 in six of his previous eight starts at Road America, including a runner-up finish to Newgarden in 2022.
Despite starting on the pole for the fourth consecutive race and leading 49 laps, an ill-timed red flag and caution led to fuel issues that saw points leader Alex Palou drop to 17th in the running order, two laps down.
With a points lead over Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood now at 49 points, Palou heads to a track where he’s won three times in the last five years and finished on the podium in his 2020 (Race 1) debut with Dale Coyne Racing. His 2025 victory was also the first time he started on the front row, where he lined up alongside Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Louis Foster.
Fast Facts
Race weekend: Friday, June 19 – Sunday, June 21
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
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: 65 seconds of total time.
Hybrid energy deployment parameters: Unlimited activation, with a maximum deployment of
600 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.
Featured (left to right): Netherlands’ Rinus VeeKay, England’s Louis Foster, Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson, Spain’s Alex Palou, Mexico’s Pato O’Ward, Brazil’s Caio Collet, Australia’s Will Power, France’s Romain Grosjean, Norway’s Dennis Hauger, New Zealand’s Scott Dixon and USA’s Josef Newgarden (Image By Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR)
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Event website: http://www.roadamerica.com
INDYCAR website: http://www.indycar.com
2025 race winner:
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Alex Palou (No. 10 SOLO Cup Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)
2025 NTT P1 Award winner:
Louis Foster (No. 45 Droplight / Desnuda Tequila Honda) 1:44.5141, 138.263 mph
Qualifying lap record:
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Dario Franchitti, 1:39.866, 145.924 mph, Aug. 19, 2000
FOX Sports telecasts: NTT INDYCAR SERIES:
Practice 1, 4 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live);
Practice 2, 11 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live);
Qualifying, 2 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live);
Warmup, 11 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live); Race, 2 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX (live).
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 will be available on FOX Deportes.
INDYCAR Radio Powered by OnlyBulls broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Nick Yeoman, Jake Query and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Alex Wollf, Joel Sebastianelli and DJ Clark are the pit reporters.The XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR race (1:30 p.m. ET 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.
At-track schedule (all times Central Time):
Friday, June 19
3:05-4:20 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1, FS2 (live)
Saturday, June 20
10:05-10:55 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2, FS1 (live)
1:05-2:30 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying), FS1
(live)
Sunday, June 21
10:05-10:35 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup, FS1 (live)
12:30 p.m. — Driver introductions
1 p.m. – FOX on air
1:20 p.m.–XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Command to Start Engines
1:27 p.m. -XPEL Grand Prix at Road America (55 laps/220.77 miles), FOX (live)
Header Image By James Black/INDYCAR, Fast Facts By INDYCAR
IndyCar1909.com 