Heartbreak for Penske Again; Palou Regains Championship Lead

IndyCar traveled to Wisconsin this week, as we saw new faces in IndyCar. Cody Ware made his IndyCar debut, and former F1 and IMSA driver Kevin Magnussen substituted for Rosenqvist, who is still not cleared to race. Oliver Askew made his second start in a row, as Rinus Veekay was involved in a cycling accident during the week. Veekay left Belle Isle tied for fifth in points, and this was a big blow to his championship hopes. But sophomore driver Alex Palou gained a huge boost, as he picked up his second win of the year.

At the drop of the green flag, the racing immediately heated up, as the aggression went to a 10 right away. Sato pushed Daly out of the corner, incurring damage on his side pod that seriously affected his downforce. Both Rossi and O’Ward started on the black tire, differing from the rest of the field. After a chaotic start, the field straightened out, and ran consistently until lap 11, when green flag pit stops began. Stops ended lap 15, as Dixon stayed out to overcut. Caution brought out on lap 17 for Johnson spinning, and the race restarted on lap 19. Newgarden kept his lead, but Palou jumped up to second, and kept Newgarden close as the laps wore on. On lap 23, Ericsson spun, bringing out a second caution. The field pitted, as only Sato and Magnussen stayed out, rolling the dice. The restart on lap 26 was chaotic, as the field on cold tires battled furiously, all while passing the lapped car of Johnson. Magnussen ducked off on lap 32, as the battle for the effective lead between Newgarden and Palou heated up.

 Magnussen then brought out the third caution on lap 35, as the engine on his Arrow McLaren SP Chevy gave out. The race restarted calmer this time, as Grosjean made an aggressive move on Rahal through turn 5. Newgarden retained his lead through the last sequence of green flag stops, and the fuel strategy was on. As drivers tried to save fuel, it was all for naught as Ed Jones spun around losing his left rear in Canada Corner, bringing out the caution with 4 laps to go. With all drivers now good on fuel, a two lap shootout was set up. 

On the restart Palou shot past Newgarden, as the Penske driver suffered a mechanical failure. Palou pulled away from Herta, securing his second win of the season, and a 28 point championship lead. The breakdown for Newgarden ends an especially difficult two weeks for Penske, as Power saw a dominant effort slip away due to a late red flag in Belle Isle, then a late caution saw Newgarden fall into the clutches of Pato O’Ward. Penske has led the most laps the last three races, and have seen wins slip through their fingers in a dramatic fashion. Ganassi has dominated Road America, winning the last three races at the track. With three cars in the top 10, and four wins on the season, Ganassi is showing itself to be the strong team this year. A comparatively poor finish for O’Ward drops him to second, with Dixon close behind. After Detroit, the points looked to be a six driver race, but after this weekend, Palou, O’Ward, and Dixon appear to be the leaders.