{"id":35076,"date":"2025-06-20T14:21:43","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T18:21:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=35076"},"modified":"2025-06-20T14:21:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T18:21:43","slug":"indycar-xpel-grand-prix-at-road-america-schedule-predictions-and-how-to-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/06\/20\/indycar-xpel-grand-prix-at-road-america-schedule-predictions-and-how-to-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"IndyCar XPEL Grand Prix at Road America: Schedule, Predictions and How to Watch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019re getting ready for the second half of back-to-back race weekends for the NTT IndyCar Series, and our next race is bringing us to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_35080\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-35080\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-35080 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/Start-of-the-XPEL-Grand-Prix-at-Road-America-By_-Joe-Skibinski_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m109307-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/Start-of-the-XPEL-Grand-Prix-at-Road-America-By_-Joe-Skibinski_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m109307-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/Start-of-the-XPEL-Grand-Prix-at-Road-America-By_-Joe-Skibinski_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m109307-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/Start-of-the-XPEL-Grand-Prix-at-Road-America-By_-Joe-Skibinski_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m109307-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/Start-of-the-XPEL-Grand-Prix-at-Road-America-By_-Joe-Skibinski_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m109307-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/Start-of-the-XPEL-Grand-Prix-at-Road-America-By_-Joe-Skibinski_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m109307.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-35080\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Elkhart Lake, WI &#8211; during the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. (Photo by Joe Skibinski | IMS Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b>Round 9: Road America Preview and Predictions\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Last year at Road America, it was a Penske 1-2-3 with Will Power winning his first of three races in 2024. Now, in 2025, Penske has had an abysmal year. Can they turn it around in Elkhart Lake? Or will Kirkwood and Palou continue their dominance?<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Extended Race Highlights | 2024 XPEL Grand Prix at Road America | INDYCAR SERIES\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/APQgEfGPBPA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><b>XPEL Grand Prix Preview:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/17\/indycar-101-the-2025-tracks\/\" target=\"_self\">Road America is a road course<\/a> that\u2019s been hosting races since the 1950s. The first official race held at the track was the Sports Car Club of America. Since then, it\u2019s hosted multiple different race series. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, Road America serves as a points-paying race for IndyCar and the IMSA SportsCar Championship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The XPEL Grand Prix is a 4.048-mile<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> road course located in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The race runs for 55 laps and features 14 different turns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The Track: Road America<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The CART Champ Car series raced at Road America from 1982 to 2007. IndyCar revived the race as part of the 2016 season and has been racing there ever since.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chip Ganassi Racing has five wins at the track while <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/06\/09\/road-america-2024-how-will-power-ended-his-2-year-win-drought\/\" target=\"_self\">Team Penske<\/a> has had a driver take the top step four times.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main straight and Kettle Bottoms are ideal spots for overtaking. Other areas that give good overtaking opportunities are\u00a0 Turns 5, 6, and 12, but they\u2019re also known as the prime area for lockups due to being a heavy braking zone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The track has a few elevation changes, making Road America a bit more physically demanding. Some notable examples are the uphill run into Turn 6 and the significant elevation drop at the Carousel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Just done a lap of the track and a reminder to me that <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/roadamerica?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@roadamerica<\/a> really is one of the most daunting and challenging tracks. It\u2019s also hands down one of the most beautiful circuits I\u2019ve ever been to, anywhere in the world. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/aV7Pq8aHvn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/aV7Pq8aHvn<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Will Buxton (@wbuxtonofficial) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wbuxtonofficial\/status\/1935738338218058081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 19, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><b>Drivers to Watch:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>David Malukas\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/10\/18\/how-david-malukas-became-the-newest-member-of-a-j-foyt-racing\/\" target=\"_self\">Malukas<\/a> has been a driver to watch this season. With rumors floating around about him replacing Will Power at Team Penske, Malukas has had eyes on him all season long.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The past few races, he\u2019s been inching closer and closer to a win. After finishing as the runner-up at the Indy 500, it\u2019s clear that there has been an increase in his performance over recent months.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He\u2019s managed to snag a spot in the Firestone Fast Six. While his impressive qualifying results have yet to be converted into a win due to some bad luck on race day, He led more than 20 laps in St. Louis. It&#8217;s only a matter of time until David Malukas takes the top step for his first IndyCar career win.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Kyle Kirkwood<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the start of the season, it seemed like a fourth championship win for Alex Palou was a no-brainer. This quickly changed once <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/04\/13\/indycars-acura-grand-prix-of-long-beach-was-one-to-remember\/\" target=\"_self\">Kyle Kirkwood snagged the win at Long Beach.\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since Long Beach, Kirkwood has won the past two races, also marking his <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/06\/15\/kyle-kirkwood-conquers-the-night-in-st-louis\/\" target=\"_self\">first career oval win.\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The championship battle thus far is between Palou and Kirkwood. If Kirkwood can pull off three wins in a row, he\u2019ll continue to close the gap in the standings before him and Palou in hopes of surpassing them as we enter the back half of the season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Just another weekend of bringing home hardware \ud83d\ude18 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WzoZofZvw1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/WzoZofZvw1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Andretti INDYCAR &amp; INDY NXT (@AndrettiIndy) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AndrettiIndy\/status\/1934684509074567316?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 16, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><b>How to Watch IndyCar at Road America:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Practice 1 is on Friday at 4:30 p.m. and will be available to watch on FS1.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Practice 2 is at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, with qualifying starting at 2:30 in the afternoon the same day. Both will be streaming on FS1.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Sunday morning, FS1 will have coverage of the warmup at 10:00 a.m. Then, at 1:30 p.m., the drivers will start their engines for the 2025 XPEL Grand Prix at Road America.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All times are according to Eastern Standard Time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Last Word On Motorsports will have all the updates from Road America and the NTT IndyCar Series.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><strong>Main Photo:\u00a0<\/strong>Joe Skibinski, Penske Entertainment<\/p>\n<p>Recording Date: 6\/9\/2024<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re getting ready for the second half of back-to-back race weekends for the NTT IndyCar Series, and our next race is bringing us to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America.\u00a0 Round 9: Road America Preview and Predictions\u00a0 Last year at Road America, it was a Penske 1-2-3 with Will Power [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5230,"featured_media":35081,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1663],"tags":[1836,2108,398,1656,1657,2466,634,168],"class_list":["post-35076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indycar","category-ntt-indycar-series","tag-aj-foyt-racing","tag-andretti-global","tag-chip-ganassi-racing","tag-david-malukas","tag-kyle-kirkwood","tag-preview","tag-road-america","tag-team-penske"],"modified_by":"Hayden Murdock","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5230"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35076"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35083,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35076\/revisions\/35083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}