For the final 35 or so laps at the REV Group Grand Prix of Road America, the biggest story was whether IndyCar would throw a full course yellow flag for a big chunk of concrete sitting exposed on the racing surface.
That’s because Alexander Rossi got up a big lead early, and established a 14-second advantage over second place Will Power before the race even hit halfway.
It was an absolute clinic.
IndyCar: Alexander Rossi dominates at Road America
Rookie Colton Herta became the youngest pole winner in series history on Saturday at qualifying, but Rossi even made quick work of him, leading lap 2, lap 55, and everything in between.
Herta had more issues as his No. 88 Harding Steinbrenner Racing team couldn’t get the fuel to flow through their hose, causing him to be shuffled into the middle of the top 10 pack.
That pack, wouldn’t even be able to touch Rossi, however, who cruised to his second win of the season.
“It’s up there I think,” Rossi said on NBC following the race. “These guys, and what we did overnight, seeing what we were missing. Going out and doing that was sensational. After thinking about it, yeah it was probably the best race car I’ve ever driven.”
Power went on to hold off teammate Josef Newgarden as the Penske cars rounded out the podium.
The victory moves Rossi to just seven points out of first place in the race for the championship, behind Newgarden.
“It was just a win that we needed,” Rossi said. “We’ve been there, but the past few cars were getting the upper hand on us. To be able to go out and win a race the way that we did… we stated our intentions.”
The NTT Data IndyCar Series is back in action at Honda Indy Toronto after a week off on July 14. The race will be televised on NBCSN and is scheduled to kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET.
IndyCar Road America Results
1. Alexander Rossi
2. Will Power
3. Josef Newgarden
4. Graham Rahal
5. Scott Dixon
6. Felix Rosenqvist
7. James Hinchcliffe
8. Colton Herta
9. Simon Pagenaud
10. Takuma Sato
11. Ryan Hunter-Reay
12. Sebastien Bourdais
13. Marcus Ericsson
14. Spencer Pigot
15. Jack Harvey
16. Max Chilton
17. Pato O’Ward
18. Zach Veach
19. Santino Ferrucci
20. Matheus Leist
21. Tony Kanaan
22. Ed Jones
23. Marco Andretti
| IndyCar Series Standings | |||
| Position | Driver | Points | Behind |
| 1 | Josef Newgarden | 402 | |
| 2 | Alexander Rossi | 395 | -7 |
| 3 | Simon Pagenaud | 341 | -61 |
| 4 | Scott Dixon | 308 | -94 |
| 5 | Will Power | 294 | -108 |
| 6 | Takuma Sato | 292 | -110 |
| 7 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 271 | -131 |
| 8 | Graham Rahal | 243 | -159 |
| 9 | James Hinchcliffe | 216 | -186 |
| 10 | Felix Rosenqvist | 209 | -193 |
Alexander Rossi Dominates at Road America
