After a week of oval racing on the high speed Texas Motor Speedway, it’s time to head back to a permanent road course as the NTT IndyCar Series tackles the REV Group Grand Prix at the iconic Road America.
While CART had a long history on this track that ran from 1982 through 2007, IndyCar first raced there in 2016, so this will be the fourth race on the track. In three previous starts, there have been three different winners and it remains to be seen if that streak of unique winners can be kept alive.
Here are some other storylines to keep an eye on:
- Josef Newgarden and Graham Rahal are the only drivers in the field with top-10s in their previous three Road America starts. All eyes will be on the pair to see if Newgarden and Rahal can remain perfect. Ed Jones swept the top 10 in his first two attempts and can keep his streak alive as well.
- Last week Alexander Rossi earned his fourth consecutive top-five. This week, it’s Ryan Hunter-Reay’s turn to try for the four-peat while Rossi chases his fifth consecutive.
- This race has been won from the pole twice with Will Power performing the feat in 2016 and Newgarden last year. Scott Dixon won from fifth in 2017, so starting position will be critical in the REV Group Grand Prix. Sebastien Bourdais also won from the pole winner in the final CART series event on this track in 2007.
- One reason qualification has been so important is a lack of caution periods to shake up the running order. In 2017, one yellow flag slowed the action for four laps. The 2017 edition had only two yellows and last year went caution free. Viewers will want to have snacks in place before the green flag waves.
- Can Felix Rosenqvist get his groove back? After finishing in the top 10 in four of the first five races, he has only one such finish (a fourth at Belle Isle in race one) in his last four attempts. Two of these were outside the top 15.