Will Power finished third at the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America on Sunday, his second podium since moving to Andretti Global at the start of the season. The result continues a productive run for the newly-minted Honda driver, who previously finished third at Arlington as part of a Honda sweep of the top four positions.
Kyffin Simpson finished fourth, the best result of the 2026 season for the Chip Ganassi Racing driver from the Cayman Islands. Simpson’s previous high was ninth at Detroit earlier this month. The performance came down to fuel strategy after a poorly-timed yellow trapped several competitors a lap down. Simpson had the mileage to reach the pits and stay on the lead lap, a call that kept him in contention through the final restart.
Alex Palou recovered from a pit-lane speeding penalty to finish fifth and extend his championship lead from 49 points to 60. The four-time reigning IndyCar champion started from pole, his fifth consecutive pole position of the season, but dropped through the field after triggering the penalty. Palou attributed the mistake to a button-press error rather than actual entry speed. A full-course yellow during his drive-through penalty limited the damage.
Honda-powered drivers led all but 10 laps at Road America but came up short of the win. Felix Rosenqvist led a race-high 18 laps before finishing eighth. Palou led 13. Marcus Armstrong led 14 laps for Meyer Shank Racing before a mechanical failure ended his race while running first with three laps remaining. HRC US President David Salters called the failure heartbreaking and said the organization would investigate what went wrong with components pushed to their stress limits.
Kyle Kirkwood finished 10th for Andretti Global, his ninth top-10 result in 10 races this season. Kirkwood sits 61 points behind Palou in the championship and just one point out of second place. Scott Dixon finished 11th for Chip Ganassi Racing. Marcus Ericsson took 13th for Andretti Global. Louis Foster was 14th for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, Romain Grosjean 15th for Dale Coyne Racing. Rookie Mick Schumacher finished 17th for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, rookie Dennis Hauger 20th for Dale Coyne Racing. Graham Rahal did not finish after contact.
The finish puts five Honda drivers in the top 10 and seven in the top 15, a strong weekend marred by Armstrong’s late mechanical. Power credited strong restarts and smart pit strategy from the Andretti stand. Simpson expressed gratitude for the fuel-mileage calculation that kept him on the lead lap. Palou said the day could have been better but was relieved it was not a disaster given the self-inflicted penalty.
The 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES moves to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Honda Indy 200 on Fourth of July weekend, another home race for the manufacturer.
Source: Honda. Images courtesy of Honda.
