| CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES XPEL Grand Prix at Road America4.014-mile, 14-turn Road America road courseElkhart Lake, WisconsinSunday Race ReportJune 21, 2026 ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin (June 21, 2026) – For the second time this season, Christian Lundgaard wheeled the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet into victory lane. The 24-year-old, who had scored the most points across the first two natural terrain road course races on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar, added to that lead after a roller coaster day ended on the top step of the podium. Lundgaard, who closed the gap to championship leader Palou, started the race from the 12th position before falling to last after contact on the first of 55 laps. His crew quickly replaced his front wing and all four Firestone Firehawk racing tires, keeping him on the lead lap, where he took advantage of a Lap 14 caution to catch back up with the field. Lundgaard moved back to his 12th starting spot by the halfway point of the race. His strategist, Kyle Moyer, extended his final stint, allowing a shorter pit stop with ten laps remaining and putting him into second place, where he quickly made up time, passing for the lead when the driver he was chasing slowed. David Malukas, in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, finished second for the third time this season, giving him four podium finishes and the honor of the top finishing Team Penske driver for the fifth time in the first ten races of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Alexander Rossi, in the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet, was the biggest mover, finishing sixth after starting 25th. He was joined in the top ten by fellow Chevrolet-powered drivers Scott McLaughlin in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet and Santino Ferrucci in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet. Malukas’ second-place finish moved him into second place in the championship standings, with Lundgaard (4th) and his Arrow McLaren teammate Pato O’Ward (5th) giving Team Chevy three of the top five in the season-long championship. Chevrolet numbers Lundgaard’s win is the 241st all-time win for a Chevrolet-powered driver and the 131st since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012Lundgaard’s win is the 12th all-time for a Chevrolet-powered driver at Road America and the 5th since the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned in 2016Lundgaard’s win is his 3rd all-time and 2nd with Chevrolet powerLundgaard’s win is Arrow McLaren’s 29th all-time, and their 11th win with Chevrolet power. Lundgaard and Malukas’ first and second-place finishes are the 687th and 688th podiums all-time for a Chevrolet-powered driver and 374th and 375th since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012Lundgaard and Malukas’ first- and second-place finishes are the 35th and 36th podiums all-time at Road America and the 18th and 19th podiums since the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned in 2016. XPEL Grand Prix at Road America race results: |
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| What they’re saying – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America race: Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet won the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America:“Winners here in Road America. I’m not quite sure how we pulled that off after the start. I’m shocked, surprised and happy. Obviously, we were on the struggle bus all weekend on the 7 car and managed to turn it around for the race. I’m pretty happy about that. We just need to qualify better, and I think there could be many more good results. But two wins in a row on road courses is pretty sweet.” Tony Kanaan, Arrow McLaren Team Principal:“A roller coaster of a day on both sides. Christian, obviously, had the hiccup at the start and then came back from a lap down. The combination of him driving a great race and Kyle Moyer calling a great strategy got us a win. Pato and Nolan got caught up in a yellow flag which put them both out of contention. As a team, it was a pretty good day. We came out with the win – our second one of the year. At this point last year, we didn’t have a single win. So, huge improvement, huge boost. We have a weekend off and then back to Mid-Ohio where we’ve won with Pato before, so we’ll be looking for another one.” David Malukas, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet finished 2nd:“It was obviously a chaotic run, but thankfully, we were on the right side of the chaos. So overall, though, I just need to study myself. I need to look into why I’m losing pace in these races. It’s a little bit of a repeat of INDY GP. Other than that, a really strong strategy from the guys, and big thank you, Team Penske Verizon, Chevrolet, all these guys. It’s because of them of why I’m here, so thank you. It was definitely very different with these cooler temps, but, we still had it roughly in the window from the warm up, and, these guys, they can see the weather, they know where the weather’s gonna be, so they got the car in the right place.” Alexander Rossi, No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet finished 6th:“I am proud of the Java House ECR team for continuing to keep after it and never giving up. It was a very difficult weekend for us all the way up until the race. It was hard to miss out on a podium, but we definitely salvaged a good result today after a tumultuous two days.” Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet finished 7th:“Solid day for us. It could have been a lot worse. We were probably, on strategy, looking at P15 because of the yellows. But,, we managed to come all the way back through and finish seventh. Got screwed a couple of times on yellows, obviously. I think our potential was a podium or a top five, so to come back to seventh was fantastic. The XPEL Chevy was really good. Just bummed that we didn’t have the luck today, but that’s all right. One day we’ll catch the yellow.” Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet finished 9th:“Incredibly long day in the car. Had a shin splint and the medical team got me right so it didn’t bother me. But then we got screwed on both the first and the second cautions (due to timing). Honestly, the fact we made it back around to take emergency service was a miracle. We were inside the top 10, dropped back to P 24, then inside the top 10 again, dropped back to like P 20. So, had to come back and drive through the field twice. Hats off to the crew on both yellow stops cause picked up spots both times, two if not three positions. Then we passed a bunch of cars in the final stint, stayed clean and just to finish in the top 10 today is phenomenal. I’m really proud of our Homes For Our Troops/AJ Foyt Racing team.” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 12th:“First, congrats to Christian and the team for the win. In terms of performance on my side, I think we had everything in position to win this race today. We just can’t catch a break with these unlucky yellows. We obviously got cycled to last on that last yellow, and that’s a pretty big race-ender. There are a lot of positives in terms of performance we can take away from this weekend, and we’re going to go to Mid-Ohio to try to get one there.” Caio Collet, No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet finished 16th:“The first stint was the best, and maybe the only one, but it was really good. Pace was strong, fighting that for p6, p7 and then unfortunately we had a fueling issue on the first stop. Also, on the other stop as well (due to tank being nearly empty), which was a shame, because the Combitrans Chevy was quick all weekend long. Obviously, in the first stint fighting for p6 and p7, I think we could have finished there with just a normal race, so that’s a bit frustrating. But I think the past two race weekends, we’ve shown really good speed overall. We just need to put a weekend together, that’s what we’re missing. Let’s see if we can at Mid-Ohio.” Rinus VeeKay, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet finished 18th:” Well, in go kart terms, a weekend to forget. On to the next one. Just, We were off the pace kind of all weekend, struggling to find the grip and move forward on the grid. Qualified 21st. Did our best in the race, but, unfortunately, the yellows fell in the wrong time for us, for the strategy we were doing. Did not have a lot of luck to go with it, but we finished. Would have loved to finish a lot higher, I’m looking forward to the next race because it can’t be as bad as it was now. Good job by everybody in pit lane and, everybody at JHR for, working hard and fighting to, to give me that pace. A clean slate in Mid-Ohio. And we’re testing there.” Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger – Goodheart Chevrolet finished 19th:“Yes. Not P18, a P19 today. Teammate P18. I think it shows kind of, where our pace was. It’s unfortunate the way the yellow fell. I think that we, should not go to any casinos or buy lottery tickets right now because the luck today was just horrible with yellows. So, every single one fell in a way that hurt us and took emergency fuel, and the first set us back. And to be honest, it it was just a matter of, getting through the day.”So, I think that we learned, hopefully, a lot this weekend. We spent a lot of time, chasing the car around trying to figure out what to do, but ended up with two cars right next to each other with completely different setups. So, I think there’s a lot of opportunity for us to to learn from here. And I think that the test in Mid-Ohio in the next week is going to help us a lot for the next race as well. To get back in the car and kind of wipe the slate clean will be nice. “But shout out to the team. Pit stop for good. We had our new fueler on the car this weekend. It’s our third fueler of the year, but he really did well. Really impressive for his first race, getting plugged in and getting us out of the box quickly So good job, guys, and we’ll see you at the next one.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 21st:“We had a super strong weekend overall. The pace was really good in the race, and I thought we were a podium or top-five contending car. Like Pato, we caught an unlucky yellow that sent us backwards. We kept pushing and worked our way forward but then got hit from behind on that final restart. The performance was really strong from everyone on the 6 car, and it’s just an unfortunate feeling leaving the racetrack knowing you could have come away with so much more. Congratulations to Christian and the 7 crew for an awesome drive and win here.” Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet finished 22nd: Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 Direct Supply Chevrolet finished 25th:“I am very disappointed to have another promising day end in a way that was out of our control. We had a good car, things were falling our way, and we had made it up into the the Top 10. Unfortunately, our day was cut short.” |
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| NTT INDYCAR SERIES News ConferenceSunday, June 21, 2026Christian LundgaardPress Conference THE MODERATOR: This year’s champion, Christian Lundgaard, led seven of the 55 laps after starting 12th this afternoon. First win here at Road America. Second of 2026. Third career win. Also jumps up to fourth now in the championship. Congratulations on a win. Crazy race. How did you do it? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Wasn’t I fourth in the championship before, first of all? THE MODERATOR: I feel like you maybe jumped up, but… CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I don’t know. It was a very eventful day, very long day. Not quite what I had on my bingo card waking up this morning. Obviously this is what you hope for. I know on road courses, didn’t really matter where we would start, we would always get good results. I think we produced very good race cars. We need to still figure out how to qualify better. Obviously this weekend has been a little bit of an outlier for me. Not felt comfortable, not had the pace in practice one or practice two, even though we tested here two weeks ago. A confusing weekend. To end with a win I would say confuses me even more. Maybe I just need to be confused (smiling). THE MODERATOR: You were fourth coming into it. You cut into the lead a little bit. You’re 79 points behind Alex Palou. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Finally. THE MODERATOR: He’s not on the podium. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: For once. THE MODERATOR: Open it for questions. Q. The very start, lap one, what is it like for you trying to stay composed? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I mean, I haven’t honestly seen it yet. I’m not quite sure what exactly happened. In the moment I thought it was my fault, basically just ran into the back of Dixon. Obviously at that point I know how long the race is. It was really to try to stay on the lead lap. That was the main goal. It wasn’t very easy with the tire missing basically. But from there on, it’s such a long race, one caution brings you back in the game. You just got to take it from there after that. Yeah, I knew we were going to be fighting for a top 10 regardless, just from the pace that we had. I didn’t really expect it to be a win. Q. It’s no secret Pato has been the guy on this team. Now you have two wins under your belt. What have you proved about yourself this year? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I think everything is going according to how I thought it would, right? First year in the team. Obviously Pato is very established in there. It’s try to learn as much as possible together, make the package better. I feel like I’ve evolved a little bit. I think he’s gone a little bit backwards unfortunately in terms of results. At the end of the day I know how good he is. Q. Christian, we saw T.K. giving you a pep talk on the grid before the race. Can you talk about what he said to you, how that helped you? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Actually he said not to do exactly what I did, which is don’t make life harder on yourself. That’s pretty much it (smiling). THE MODERATOR: You defied what he had to say. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Maybe that’s the key. Q. You’re still the only McLaren driver who has been on the podium this year. How are you feeling about the progress you’ve made with the team versus what the rest of your teammates have made? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I mean, I feel like this one today is a little bit of a cheat code. I think Marcus should have won this race. Again, it is racing. We’ve all had that. It happened me in Nashville last year, which cost me P3 in the championship. I’ve been there. Most of us have. I think at the end of the day I’m here to try to improve myself every weekend, every day, every year. I think we found something in St. Louis, which will help moving forward. I’m only optimistic and happy for the rest of the year. Q. How much confidence and momentum does it give you starting off the second half of the season with a win? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I hadn’t thought of that. I also didn’t think I was going to win. Yeah, I mean, ironically enough, I feel like we’ve done so well on the road courses this year, which we did last year. Many of them fell short. So far this year we’ve picked up the pieces. I won pretty much all of them. Q. You said you thought top 10 was achievable. At what point in this confusing race did it come to you that you do have a chance to win? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: When I came out in front of David Malukas on the last stint and then got past. That was the moment I realized we were fighting for a podium. I never thought I was going to catch Marcus. I was going to give it my best shot to get close to him and put him under some pressure. But yeah, I mean, it wasn’t really obvious at any point until then. Q. Did you think you had a pretty good chance? Were you closing on him enough that you felt confident in your ability to get him? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: No. I was trying to drive around and do some math of the speed that I was faster than him and still the gap that I had to close. I think Kyle told me at this pace we were going to catch him on the last lap, but I still have to get by him. I didn’t really know how much push to pass he had. At the end of the day if the yellow and the safety car that came at the end would have happened anyway, I think we would have had him. Q. Christian, early in the race you come out in front of the lead pack. That was really important, making sure you didn’t go a lap down. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, who was leading at that time? Q. Palou. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, obviously we started on the primes. Had to pit for the alternates due to the puncture. I had been very positive about the alternates all weekend. I think a lot of drivers had been negative, never really knew what they were going to do. I was very happy with them. It sounded like everybody was degging a little more. I was having a great time driving around. I wasn’t really full, full push. Just trying to maintain. I still knew I had to make it to a certain lap to put ourselves in contention if a yellow did come out, which it did. Again, obviously it’s super important to come out in front of the leaders at that time. When you’re driving on three wheels, I rather want to just get it to the pit lane than anything else. Q. Tell us about Kyle. Two of you doing really good work. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: The one thing I have learned with Kyle is he’s not afraid of taking risks. I’m sure it’s going to bite us someday. The more races we can win until then, the better. If we’re ever in contention at the 500, I just hope it isn’t that day that it bites us. He’s very aggressive, but he also knows exactly what he’s doing. There’s no question in his mind. Whenever he makes a mistake he’s honest about it, raises his hand. I think it helps the group move forward. There’s never any unanswered questions. Q. (Question about Chris Lawrence.) CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Because we’ve both been so confused this weekend. This is not where we expected to be. Q. There’s a bond developed here. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I mean, Chris is such an awesome guy. I enjoy so much working with him. Sometimes he’s asking me questions where I’m just like, What are you talking about, and vice versa. I am pretty sure he thinks that I ask him some stupid questions sometimes, which is fine. That’s how we learn and that’s how we get better. The key that we have is simplicity is key. We’re not trying to make it overcomplicated for each other. Practice two to qualifying, I told him not to tell me what he was doing to the car, just let me drive. Q. How huge is this win to help towards a potential contract extension next year? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Well, it never hurts, does it (smiling)? Q. Talk about your car after the pit stop on lap one. Did it feel better after you made the changes? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I’m not really sure we did anything to the car throughout the race. I thought our second prime stint was a little worse than our first one. I don’t know if that was just kind of track condition at the time or some tire pressure adjustments or kind of where I was on track in terms of traffic. I mean, throughout the whole race I knew I had a car – if we were in the front – we would be pretty competitive. Q. After two wins, is there really any other place you’d rather be than Arrow McLaren? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I mean, no. Q. Talk about the last couple laps coming past Malukas. Did it feel similar to your win at the Indy GP? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yes and no. I mean, I’m going to say I don’t prefer being last at any point in the race. But I think ultimately in terms of making passes, there were certainly times in the race where I thought, Why am I able to just drive through people? Then I kind of got stuck, couldn’t really do anything, specifically to Rossi. I was actually quite fast at that time in the race. I think ultimately we made the right moves at the right time. Staying out on that last pit sequence is what really gained us the win. But that’s also the riskiest thing we could do because we’re exposing ourselves to yellow. That was win it or finish last at that time. I would have been very frustrated if I knew we had a chance of finishing in the top five and threw that away for trying to score one or two points more at that time. Q. We’re going to another road course after this, Mid-Ohio. Is there anything you feel like you can take from today’s race, except for don’t listen to T.K. on pit lane? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Maybe I do need to drive into the back of whoever is in front of me into four (smiling). No, I mean, we got to qualify better. I think that’s really the main thing. We’ve done so well on race pace, we’ve produced such great race cars on Sunday, and we just need to be better on Saturday. I think that will just help our weekends tremendously. I’m not worried going to Mid-Ohio. We were extremely fast there last year. I think we can make something happen. We just don’t need Dixon to do another two stop. THE MODERATOR: Christian, congratulations. NTT INDYCAR SERIES News ConferenceSunday, June 21, 2026David MalukasPress Conference THE MODERATOR: David Malukas started second this afternoon, his third runner-up finish in 2026. Back to second in points in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings. David, your thoughts on a second-place finish here at Road America. DAVID MALUKAS: It was a crazy race. No, it feels good. P2 champions. That’s been the story of this season (smiling). Honestly, big, big kudos to this team because that race, I mean, obviously everybody saw that, that was insane. I didn’t even know what was going on. Next thing you know we’re P2. Really happy from the team side. Travis on the wall, great strategy. I have to look into it. Our race pace, missing a little bit there from my side. I have to study and figure out why I’m losing some time on these races. This team carried me here. Big thank you to them. THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions. Q. David, on a restart like that, if you don’t get the leader in lap one, is there anywhere else around the course that you can close up dramatically? DAVID MALUKAS: Which restart? Q. The one at the very end. DAVID MALUKAS: The very end one, that was the one that’s not really any chance there. You’re going against alternates versus primary tires. It’s not really going to be a competition. You come out of turn 14, he’s going forward, I’m going sideways. That’s kind of the result of that. I mean, if it was same tires, you can maybe make an opportunity, yeah. You could try to set him up the next lap through 14. That’s just a tire difference there. Q. David, you’ve talked about how you’re really happy with your year so far, but still chasing the first win. How much pressure or frustration do you feel to get that? DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely slowly starting to build there. It’s always just a battle of trying to keep that kind of contained. At the end of the day we’re still in a championship fight, still good amount of races to go. We really never know what happens. You’re still on that edge of I want to make some risks to go for the win, at the same time I need to keep it contained because I don’t want to make something stupid and get out of some good points. That’s the challenge of this year, balancing between those two forms of racing. Q. David, can you talk about the championship a little bit. You’re inching a little closer now. Does that rise more to the front as an achievable goal? DAVID MALUKAS: I mean, it’s something that’s there. Palou obviously has been on his A game. Same thing with Kyle. I think Kyle had a little bit of an off race this one. I mean, we all have one off race. You know the next race we go to, he’s going to be right back up there. It’s going to be a close battle. You never know. With these yellows now being thrown out randomly, you got to be on the forefront of strategy. If we can still be getting some good strategy calls, we can slowly pick at it. Who knows what will happen in the end. Q. This back and forth you just had raises the juxtaposition, the No. 12. Talk about what it’s been like competing against each other. DAVID MALUKAS: Means a lot. For me the No. 12 car was it specifically. The name Will Power, Verizon being on the car for so long. That was the one car I watched growing up. That’s what really got me into racing, you and obviously the Cars movie. That’s what got me into racing. To be in that car, it was a dream come true. I am not going to lie. The amount of pressure I was under heading into St. Pete, needing to fill the legend here, fill his shoes, what’s he’s accomplished, it was pretty stressful. But it’s a good crew. We’ve always been good friends ever since. Was it here where you showed me the Vegemite? (asking Will Power) DAVID MALUKAS: I remember. It was here. He knocked on my bus. He said, Hello. Just walked in. I was very confused. He let me try Vegemite. Then I was like, Wow, that’s actually pretty good. I thought I was keeping it. He said, No, no, I need that back. WILL POWER: I was like, I like my Vegemite. You can taste it, but you have to buy your own. DAVID MALUKAS: Then he left, that was that (smiling). WILL POWER: He’s done a great job. The win’s going to come. No doubt. It’s just a matter of time. Q. David, you talk about the championship. Like today, are they telling you to be safe because you’re ahead of Palou and Kirkwood? DAVID MALUKAS: No. During the race they’re saying full push, do whatever you need to get around him. They’re going full from their side. When it comes to INDYCAR, everybody here is veteran drivers. Even when you see rookies, it’s incredible, this field. Everybody is at the top of their game. It’s more of a mental note to myself to keep calm, keep that controlled. At the end of the day I’m 24 years old. That younger side of me wants to come out and do some stupid stuff. I’m trying to keep it calm. THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. |
| Up Next After a weekend off, the Team Chevy drivers and teams head to another classic American Road Course in the Midwest for a Fourth of July weekend party. The Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, held on the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio road course, will air on FOX at 12:30 pm (Eastern) on Sunday, July 5.  |
| Christian Lundgaard (Arrow McLaren) and David Malukas (Team Penske) celebrate on the podium at Road America in 2026 |
| CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIESXPEL Grand Prix at Road America4.014-mile, 14-turn Road America road courseElkhart Lake, WisconsinSunday Race ReportJune 21, 2026 ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin (June 21, 2026) – For the second time this season, Christian Lundgaard wheeled the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet into victory lane. The 24-year-old, who had scored the most points across the first two natural terrain road course races on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar, added to that lead after a roller coaster day ended on the top step of the podium. Lundgaard, who closed the gap to championship leader Palou, started the race from the 12th position before falling to last after contact on the first of 55 laps. His crew quickly replaced his front wing and all four Firestone Firehawk racing tires, keeping him on the lead lap, where he took advantage of a Lap 14 caution to catch back up with the field. Lundgaard moved back to his 12th starting spot by the halfway point of the race. His strategist, Kyle Moyer, extended his final stint, allowing a shorter pit stop with ten laps remaining and putting him into second place, where he quickly made up time, passing for the lead when the driver he was chasing slowed. David Malukas, in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, finished second for the third time this season, giving him four podium finishes and the honor of the top finishing Team Penske driver for the fifth time in the first ten races of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Alexander Rossi, in the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet, was the biggest mover, finishing sixth after starting 25th. He was joined in the top ten by fellow Chevrolet-powered drivers Scott McLaughlin in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet and Santino Ferrucci in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet. Malukas’ second-place finish moved him into second place in the championship standings, with Lundgaard (4th) and his Arrow McLaren teammate Pato O’Ward (5th) giving Team Chevy three of the top five in the season-long championship. Chevrolet numbers Lundgaard’s win is the 241st all-time win for a Chevrolet-powered driver and the 131st since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012Lundgaard’s win is the 12th all-time for a Chevrolet-powered driver at Road America and the 5th since the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned in 2016Lundgaard’s win is his 3rd all-time and 2nd with Chevrolet powerLundgaard’s win is Arrow McLaren’s 29th all-time, and their 11th win with Chevrolet power. Lundgaard and Malukas’ first and second-place finishes are the 687th and 688th podiums all-time for a Chevrolet-powered driver and 374th and 375th since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012Lundgaard and Malukas’ first- and second-place finishes are the 35th and 36th podiums all-time at Road America and the 18th and 19th podiums since the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned in 2016. XPEL Grand Prix at Road America race results: |
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| What they’re saying – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America race: Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet won the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America:“Winners here in Road America. I’m not quite sure how we pulled that off after the start. I’m shocked, surprised and happy. Obviously, we were on the struggle bus all weekend on the 7 car and managed to turn it around for the race. I’m pretty happy about that. We just need to qualify better, and I think there could be many more good results. But two wins in a row on road courses is pretty sweet.” Tony Kanaan, Arrow McLaren Team Principal:“A roller coaster of a day on both sides. Christian, obviously, had the hiccup at the start and then came back from a lap down. The combination of him driving a great race and Kyle Moyer calling a great strategy got us a win. Pato and Nolan got caught up in a yellow flag which put them both out of contention. As a team, it was a pretty good day. We came out with the win – our second one of the year. At this point last year, we didn’t have a single win. So, huge improvement, huge boost. We have a weekend off and then back to Mid-Ohio where we’ve won with Pato before, so we’ll be looking for another one.” David Malukas, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet finished 2nd:“It was obviously a chaotic run, but thankfully, we were on the right side of the chaos. So overall, though, I just need to study myself. I need to look into why I’m losing pace in these races. It’s a little bit of a repeat of INDY GP. Other than that, a really strong strategy from the guys, and big thank you, Team Penske Verizon, Chevrolet, all these guys. It’s because of them of why I’m here, so thank you. It was definitely very different with these cooler temps, but, we still had it roughly in the window from the warm up, and, these guys, they can see the weather, they know where the weather’s gonna be, so they got the car in the right place.” Alexander Rossi, No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet finished 6th:“I am proud of the Java House ECR team for continuing to keep after it and never giving up. It was a very difficult weekend for us all the way up until the race. It was hard to miss out on a podium, but we definitely salvaged a good result today after a tumultuous two days.” Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet finished 7th:“Solid day for us. It could have been a lot worse. We were probably, on strategy, looking at P15 because of the yellows. But,, we managed to come all the way back through and finish seventh. Got screwed a couple of times on yellows, obviously. I think our potential was a podium or a top five, so to come back to seventh was fantastic. The XPEL Chevy was really good. Just bummed that we didn’t have the luck today, but that’s all right. One day we’ll catch the yellow.” Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet finished 9th:“Incredibly long day in the car. Had a shin splint and the medical team got me right so it didn’t bother me. But then we got screwed on both the first and the second cautions (due to timing). Honestly, the fact we made it back around to take emergency service was a miracle. We were inside the top 10, dropped back to P 24, then inside the top 10 again, dropped back to like P 20. So, had to come back and drive through the field twice. Hats off to the crew on both yellow stops cause picked up spots both times, two if not three positions. Then we passed a bunch of cars in the final stint, stayed clean and just to finish in the top 10 today is phenomenal. I’m really proud of our Homes For Our Troops/AJ Foyt Racing team.” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 12th:“First, congrats to Christian and the team for the win. In terms of performance on my side, I think we had everything in position to win this race today. We just can’t catch a break with these unlucky yellows. We obviously got cycled to last on that last yellow, and that’s a pretty big race-ender. There are a lot of positives in terms of performance we can take away from this weekend, and we’re going to go to Mid-Ohio to try to get one there.” Caio Collet, No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet finished 16th:“The first stint was the best, and maybe the only one, but it was really good. Pace was strong, fighting that for p6, p7 and then unfortunately we had a fueling issue on the first stop. Also, on the other stop as well (due to tank being nearly empty), which was a shame, because the Combitrans Chevy was quick all weekend long. Obviously, in the first stint fighting for p6 and p7, I think we could have finished there with just a normal race, so that’s a bit frustrating. But I think the past two race weekends, we’ve shown really good speed overall. We just need to put a weekend together, that’s what we’re missing. Let’s see if we can at Mid-Ohio.” Rinus VeeKay, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet finished 18th:” Well, in go kart terms, a weekend to forget. On to the next one. Just, We were off the pace kind of all weekend, struggling to find the grip and move forward on the grid. Qualified 21st. Did our best in the race, but, unfortunately, the yellows fell in the wrong time for us, for the strategy we were doing. Did not have a lot of luck to go with it, but we finished. Would have loved to finish a lot higher, I’m looking forward to the next race because it can’t be as bad as it was now. Good job by everybody in pit lane and, everybody at JHR for, working hard and fighting to, to give me that pace. A clean slate in Mid-Ohio. And we’re testing there.” Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger – Goodheart Chevrolet finished 19th:“Yes. Not P18, a P19 today. Teammate P18. I think it shows kind of, where our pace was. It’s unfortunate the way the yellow fell. I think that we, should not go to any casinos or buy lottery tickets right now because the luck today was just horrible with yellows. So, every single one fell in a way that hurt us and took emergency fuel, and the first set us back. And to be honest, it it was just a matter of, getting through the day.”So, I think that we learned, hopefully, a lot this weekend. We spent a lot of time, chasing the car around trying to figure out what to do, but ended up with two cars right next to each other with completely different setups. So, I think there’s a lot of opportunity for us to to learn from here. And I think that the test in Mid-Ohio in the next week is going to help us a lot for the next race as well. To get back in the car and kind of wipe the slate clean will be nice. “But shout out to the team. Pit stop for good. We had our new fueler on the car this weekend. It’s our third fueler of the year, but he really did well. Really impressive for his first race, getting plugged in and getting us out of the box quickly So good job, guys, and we’ll see you at the next one.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 21st:“We had a super strong weekend overall. The pace was really good in the race, and I thought we were a podium or top-five contending car. Like Pato, we caught an unlucky yellow that sent us backwards. We kept pushing and worked our way forward but then got hit from behind on that final restart. The performance was really strong from everyone on the 6 car, and it’s just an unfortunate feeling leaving the racetrack knowing you could have come away with so much more. Congratulations to Christian and the 7 crew for an awesome drive and win here.” Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet finished 22nd: Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 Direct Supply Chevrolet finished 25th:“I am very disappointed to have another promising day end in a way that was out of our control. We had a good car, things were falling our way, and we had made it up into the the Top 10. Unfortunately, our day was cut short.” |
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| NTT INDYCAR SERIES News ConferenceSunday, June 21, 2026Christian LundgaardPress Conference THE MODERATOR: This year’s champion, Christian Lundgaard, led seven of the 55 laps after starting 12th this afternoon. First win here at Road America. Second of 2026. Third career win. Also jumps up to fourth now in the championship. Congratulations on a win. Crazy race. How did you do it? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Wasn’t I fourth in the championship before, first of all? THE MODERATOR: I feel like you maybe jumped up, but… CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I don’t know. It was a very eventful day, very long day. Not quite what I had on my bingo card waking up this morning. Obviously this is what you hope for. I know on road courses, didn’t really matter where we would start, we would always get good results. I think we produced very good race cars. We need to still figure out how to qualify better. Obviously this weekend has been a little bit of an outlier for me. Not felt comfortable, not had the pace in practice one or practice two, even though we tested here two weeks ago. A confusing weekend. To end with a win I would say confuses me even more. Maybe I just need to be confused (smiling). THE MODERATOR: You were fourth coming into it. You cut into the lead a little bit. You’re 79 points behind Alex Palou. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Finally. THE MODERATOR: He’s not on the podium. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: For once. THE MODERATOR: Open it for questions. Q. The very start, lap one, what is it like for you trying to stay composed? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I mean, I haven’t honestly seen it yet. I’m not quite sure what exactly happened. In the moment I thought it was my fault, basically just ran into the back of Dixon. Obviously at that point I know how long the race is. It was really to try to stay on the lead lap. That was the main goal. It wasn’t very easy with the tire missing basically. But from there on, it’s such a long race, one caution brings you back in the game. You just got to take it from there after that. Yeah, I knew we were going to be fighting for a top 10 regardless, just from the pace that we had. I didn’t really expect it to be a win. Q. It’s no secret Pato has been the guy on this team. Now you have two wins under your belt. What have you proved about yourself this year? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I think everything is going according to how I thought it would, right? First year in the team. Obviously Pato is very established in there. It’s try to learn as much as possible together, make the package better. I feel like I’ve evolved a little bit. I think he’s gone a little bit backwards unfortunately in terms of results. At the end of the day I know how good he is. Q. Christian, we saw T.K. giving you a pep talk on the grid before the race. Can you talk about what he said to you, how that helped you? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Actually he said not to do exactly what I did, which is don’t make life harder on yourself. That’s pretty much it (smiling). THE MODERATOR: You defied what he had to say. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Maybe that’s the key. Q. You’re still the only McLaren driver who has been on the podium this year. How are you feeling about the progress you’ve made with the team versus what the rest of your teammates have made? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I mean, I feel like this one today is a little bit of a cheat code. I think Marcus should have won this race. Again, it is racing. We’ve all had that. It happened me in Nashville last year, which cost me P3 in the championship. I’ve been there. Most of us have. I think at the end of the day I’m here to try to improve myself every weekend, every day, every year. I think we found something in St. Louis, which will help moving forward. I’m only optimistic and happy for the rest of the year. Q. How much confidence and momentum does it give you starting off the second half of the season with a win? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I hadn’t thought of that. I also didn’t think I was going to win. Yeah, I mean, ironically enough, I feel like we’ve done so well on the road courses this year, which we did last year. Many of them fell short. So far this year we’ve picked up the pieces. I won pretty much all of them. Q. You said you thought top 10 was achievable. At what point in this confusing race did it come to you that you do have a chance to win? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: When I came out in front of David Malukas on the last stint and then got past. That was the moment I realized we were fighting for a podium. I never thought I was going to catch Marcus. I was going to give it my best shot to get close to him and put him under some pressure. But yeah, I mean, it wasn’t really obvious at any point until then. Q. Did you think you had a pretty good chance? Were you closing on him enough that you felt confident in your ability to get him? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: No. I was trying to drive around and do some math of the speed that I was faster than him and still the gap that I had to close. I think Kyle told me at this pace we were going to catch him on the last lap, but I still have to get by him. I didn’t really know how much push to pass he had. At the end of the day if the yellow and the safety car that came at the end would have happened anyway, I think we would have had him. Q. Christian, early in the race you come out in front of the lead pack. That was really important, making sure you didn’t go a lap down. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, who was leading at that time? Q. Palou. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, obviously we started on the primes. Had to pit for the alternates due to the puncture. I had been very positive about the alternates all weekend. I think a lot of drivers had been negative, never really knew what they were going to do. I was very happy with them. It sounded like everybody was degging a little more. I was having a great time driving around. I wasn’t really full, full push. Just trying to maintain. I still knew I had to make it to a certain lap to put ourselves in contention if a yellow did come out, which it did. Again, obviously it’s super important to come out in front of the leaders at that time. When you’re driving on three wheels, I rather want to just get it to the pit lane than anything else. Q. Tell us about Kyle. Two of you doing really good work. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: The one thing I have learned with Kyle is he’s not afraid of taking risks. I’m sure it’s going to bite us someday. The more races we can win until then, the better. If we’re ever in contention at the 500, I just hope it isn’t that day that it bites us. He’s very aggressive, but he also knows exactly what he’s doing. There’s no question in his mind. Whenever he makes a mistake he’s honest about it, raises his hand. I think it helps the group move forward. There’s never any unanswered questions. Q. (Question about Chris Lawrence.) CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Because we’ve both been so confused this weekend. This is not where we expected to be. Q. There’s a bond developed here. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I mean, Chris is such an awesome guy. I enjoy so much working with him. Sometimes he’s asking me questions where I’m just like, What are you talking about, and vice versa. I am pretty sure he thinks that I ask him some stupid questions sometimes, which is fine. That’s how we learn and that’s how we get better. The key that we have is simplicity is key. We’re not trying to make it overcomplicated for each other. Practice two to qualifying, I told him not to tell me what he was doing to the car, just let me drive. Q. How huge is this win to help towards a potential contract extension next year? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Well, it never hurts, does it (smiling)? Q. Talk about your car after the pit stop on lap one. Did it feel better after you made the changes? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I’m not really sure we did anything to the car throughout the race. I thought our second prime stint was a little worse than our first one. I don’t know if that was just kind of track condition at the time or some tire pressure adjustments or kind of where I was on track in terms of traffic. I mean, throughout the whole race I knew I had a car – if we were in the front – we would be pretty competitive. Q. After two wins, is there really any other place you’d rather be than Arrow McLaren? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I mean, no. Q. Talk about the last couple laps coming past Malukas. Did it feel similar to your win at the Indy GP? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yes and no. I mean, I’m going to say I don’t prefer being last at any point in the race. But I think ultimately in terms of making passes, there were certainly times in the race where I thought, Why am I able to just drive through people? Then I kind of got stuck, couldn’t really do anything, specifically to Rossi. I was actually quite fast at that time in the race. I think ultimately we made the right moves at the right time. Staying out on that last pit sequence is what really gained us the win. But that’s also the riskiest thing we could do because we’re exposing ourselves to yellow. That was win it or finish last at that time. I would have been very frustrated if I knew we had a chance of finishing in the top five and threw that away for trying to score one or two points more at that time. Q. We’re going to another road course after this, Mid-Ohio. Is there anything you feel like you can take from today’s race, except for don’t listen to T.K. on pit lane? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Maybe I do need to drive into the back of whoever is in front of me into four (smiling). No, I mean, we got to qualify better. I think that’s really the main thing. We’ve done so well on race pace, we’ve produced such great race cars on Sunday, and we just need to be better on Saturday. I think that will just help our weekends tremendously. I’m not worried going to Mid-Ohio. We were extremely fast there last year. I think we can make something happen. We just don’t need Dixon to do another two stop. THE MODERATOR: Christian, congratulations. NTT INDYCAR SERIES News ConferenceSunday, June 21, 2026David MalukasPress Conference THE MODERATOR: David Malukas started second this afternoon, his third runner-up finish in 2026. Back to second in points in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings. David, your thoughts on a second-place finish here at Road America. DAVID MALUKAS: It was a crazy race. No, it feels good. P2 champions. That’s been the story of this season (smiling). Honestly, big, big kudos to this team because that race, I mean, obviously everybody saw that, that was insane. I didn’t even know what was going on. Next thing you know we’re P2. Really happy from the team side. Travis on the wall, great strategy. I have to look into it. Our race pace, missing a little bit there from my side. I have to study and figure out why I’m losing some time on these races. This team carried me here. Big thank you to them. THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions. Q. David, on a restart like that, if you don’t get the leader in lap one, is there anywhere else around the course that you can close up dramatically? DAVID MALUKAS: Which restart? Q. The one at the very end. DAVID MALUKAS: The very end one, that was the one that’s not really any chance there. You’re going against alternates versus primary tires. It’s not really going to be a competition. You come out of turn 14, he’s going forward, I’m going sideways. That’s kind of the result of that. I mean, if it was same tires, you can maybe make an opportunity, yeah. You could try to set him up the next lap through 14. That’s just a tire difference there. Q. David, you’ve talked about how you’re really happy with your year so far, but still chasing the first win. How much pressure or frustration do you feel to get that? DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely slowly starting to build there. It’s always just a battle of trying to keep that kind of contained. At the end of the day we’re still in a championship fight, still good amount of races to go. We really never know what happens. You’re still on that edge of I want to make some risks to go for the win, at the same time I need to keep it contained because I don’t want to make something stupid and get out of some good points. That’s the challenge of this year, balancing between those two forms of racing. Q. David, can you talk about the championship a little bit. You’re inching a little closer now. Does that rise more to the front as an achievable goal? DAVID MALUKAS: I mean, it’s something that’s there. Palou obviously has been on his A game. Same thing with Kyle. I think Kyle had a little bit of an off race this one. I mean, we all have one off race. You know the next race we go to, he’s going to be right back up there. It’s going to be a close battle. You never know. With these yellows now being thrown out randomly, you got to be on the forefront of strategy. If we can still be getting some good strategy calls, we can slowly pick at it. Who knows what will happen in the end. Q. This back and forth you just had raises the juxtaposition, the No. 12. Talk about what it’s been like competing against each other. DAVID MALUKAS: Means a lot. For me the No. 12 car was it specifically. The name Will Power, Verizon being on the car for so long. That was the one car I watched growing up. That’s what really got me into racing, you and obviously the Cars movie. That’s what got me into racing. To be in that car, it was a dream come true. I am not going to lie. The amount of pressure I was under heading into St. Pete, needing to fill the legend here, fill his shoes, what’s he’s accomplished, it was pretty stressful. But it’s a good crew. We’ve always been good friends ever since. Was it here where you showed me the Vegemite? (asking Will Power) DAVID MALUKAS: I remember. It was here. He knocked on my bus. He said, Hello. Just walked in. I was very confused. He let me try Vegemite. Then I was like, Wow, that’s actually pretty good. I thought I was keeping it. He said, No, no, I need that back. WILL POWER: I was like, I like my Vegemite. You can taste it, but you have to buy your own. DAVID MALUKAS: Then he left, that was that (smiling). WILL POWER: He’s done a great job. The win’s going to come. No doubt. It’s just a matter of time. Q. David, you talk about the championship. Like today, are they telling you to be safe because you’re ahead of Palou and Kirkwood? DAVID MALUKAS: No. During the race they’re saying full push, do whatever you need to get around him. They’re going full from their side. When it comes to INDYCAR, everybody here is veteran drivers. Even when you see rookies, it’s incredible, this field. Everybody is at the top of their game. It’s more of a mental note to myself to keep calm, keep that controlled. At the end of the day I’m 24 years old. That younger side of me wants to come out and do some stupid stuff. I’m trying to keep it calm. THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. |
| Up Next After a weekend off, the Team Chevy drivers and teams head to another classic American Road Course in the Midwest for a Fourth of July weekend party. The Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, held on the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio road course, will air on FOX at 12:30 pm (Eastern) on Sunday, July 5. |
| Christian Lundgaard (Arrow McLaren) and David Malukas (Team Penske) celebrate on the podium at Road America in 2026 |
| Chevrolet at Road America Chevrolet Wins: 11 2026 – Christian Lundgaard – Arrow McLaren2024 – Will Power – Team Penske2022 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2018 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2016 – Will Power – Team Penske1993 – Paul Tracy – Team Penske1992 – Emerson Fittipaldi – Team Penske1991 – Michael Andretti – Newman Haas Racing1990 – Michael Andretti – Newman Haas Racing1989 – Danny Sullivan – Team Penske1988 – Emerson Fittipaldi – Patrick Racing1987 – Mario Andretti – Newman Haas Racing Chevrolet Poles: 13 2021 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2020 Race #2 – Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren2020 Race #1 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2018 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2017 – Helio Castroneves – Team Penske2016 – Will Power -Team Penske1993 – Paul Tracy – Team Penske1992 – Paul Tracy – Team Penske1991 – Bob Rahal – Galles Racing1990 – Danny Sullivan – Team Penske1989 – Danny Sullivan – Team Penske1988 – Danny Sullivan – Team Penske1987 – Mario Andretti – Newman Haas Racing Chevrolet Podiums: 36 Chevrolet podiums at Road America by driver: Josef Newgarden (6), Will Power (5), Mario Andretti (3), Emerson Fittipaldi (3), Rick Mears (3), Michael Andretti (2), Pato O’Ward (2) Bob Rahal (2), Al Unser Jr. (2), Helio Castroneves (1), Santino Ferrucci (1), Tony Kanaan (1), Christian Lundgaard (1), David Malukas (1), Scott McLaughlin (1), Danny Sullivan (1), and Paul Tracy (1) Chevrolet podiums at Road America by team: Team Penske (20), Newman Haas Racing (5), Arrow McLaren (3), Galles Racing (2), Rahal Hogan Racing (2), , A.J. Foyt Racing (1), Chip Ganassi Racing (1),and Patrick Racing (1) Chevrolet Laps Led: 712 Chevrolet laps led at Road America by driver: Josef Newgarden (162), Will Power (81), Michael Andretti (79), Emerson Fittipaldi (76), Danny Sullivan (62), Paul Tracy (55), Mario Andretti (50), Pato O’Ward (43), Scott McLaughlin (26), Al Unser Jr. (24), Helio Castroneves (17), Christian Lundgaard (11), Max Chilton (7), Felix Rosenqvist (7), Kevin Magnussen (6), Oliver Askew (2), David Malukas (2), and Simon Pagenaud (2) Chevrolet laps led at Road America by team: Team Penske (446), Newman Haas Racing (129), Arrow McLaren (67), Patrick Racing (35) Galles Racing (24), Carlin (7), A.J. Foyt Racing (2), and Ed Carpenter Racing (2) Manufacturer History at Road America Wins (with competition) 12 — Chevrolet (2025, 2024, 2022, 2018, 2016, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987)10 — Honda (2025, 2023, 2021, 2020 R2, 2020 R1, 2019, 2017, 2000, 1998, 1997)5 — Cosworth (1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1982)4 — Ford (1999, 1996, 1995, 1994)2 — Toyota (2002, 2001) Poles (with competition) 13 — Chevrolet (2021, 2020 R2, 2020 R1, 2018, 2017, 2016, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987)7 — Honda (2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2019, 2000, 1996)5 — Cosworth (1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1982)4 — Ford (2001, 1999, 1998, 1995)1 — Ilmor (1994)1 — Mercedes (1997)1 — Toyota (2002) |