Favorites and Sleepers: Road America

INDYCAR
Winning nine of the 10 races since the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned to Road America in 2016, Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske are the organizations to beat.
Alexander Rossi's win for Andretti Global in 2019 is the lone exception.
CGR boasts five wins in that span, including four victories in the last six tries. Also, CGR driver Alex Palou is 3-for-3 on natural terrain road courses this season with victories at The Thermal Club, Barber Motorsports Park and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Team Penske has four wins at Road America since 2016, including a sweep of the podium last season with Will Power, Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin finishing first, second and third, respectively.
Can anyone new join the fray for Sunday's 55-lap XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR? Live coverage starts at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Favorites
Josef Newgarden (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet)
Newgarden has six top-three finishes in his last nine Road America tries. He led 32 laps but suffered a mechanical failure while leading on a late-race restart in 2021. He led 26 laps in his 2022 win and finished runner-up the last two years.
Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet)
He's 0-for-4 at Road America but has finishes of 14th, seventh, eighth and third, respectively. McLaughlin led 18 laps last year. Over his last 16 natural road course starts, McLaughlin has five podiums, six top-five finishes and 11 top 10's.
Pato O'Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)
O'Ward has five top-10 finishes in his last six Road America starts, including a third-place finish after qualifying second in 2023. He finished runner-up to Palou at The Thermal Club and on the IMS road course. O'Ward also has three podium finishes in the last four races this season.
Alex Palou (No. 10 Solo Cup Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)
Palou is undefeated on natural road courses this season and has a pair of wins in his last four Road America starts. He finished fourth last year.
Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet)
Power had four top-five finishes at Road America, including a 2016 win and a pair of runner-up results, in a five-year span. He's had two over the last five, including a 2024 victory. Power finished sixth at The Thermal Club this spring, fifth at Barber Motorsports Park and third on the IMS road course.
Sleepers
Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)
In three Road America starts, Lundgaard finished 10th in 2022, seventh in 2023 and 11th last year. In his first season driving with Arrow McLaren, Lundgaard has been strong on natural road courses by finishing third at The Thermal Club, second at Barber Motorsports Park and 16th on the IMS road course.
Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda)
The Andretti Global driver led 33 laps from the pole in 2023 at Road America. If not for the decision to pit a lap too soon, Herta was well on his way to a victory. Instead, he finished second. Herta has seven top-eight finishes in as many Road America starts, including five of the last six ending in the top five. Also, since the start of last season, Herta has eight top-eight finishes in nine natural road course starts. The outlier was a 25th-place finish in this year's Sonsio Grand Prix on the IMS road course.
Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Siemens Honda)
Can he score the season hat trick of wins on a street circuit, oval and road course? Kirkwood has improved all three opportunities at Road America, going from 20th as a rookie for AJ Foyt Racing in 2022, to ninth and fifth, respectively, the last two seasons with Andretti Global. Kirkwood also finished eighth in The Thermal Club this season, 11th at Barber and eighth on the IMS road course, leading to nine consecutive top-11 finishes on natural road courses.
Marcus Ericsson (No. 28 Fresh Connect Central Honda)
Ericsson boasts six consecutive top-10 finishes at Road America, including results of fourth, sixth, second, sixth and ninth, respectively, in his last five starts in Wisconsin. Ericsson has four top-10 finishes in his last seven natural road course starts overall.
Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda)
Road America was the site of Armstrong's breakout performance in 2023. He had a top-five car, leading five laps, before going off track late in the race. He qualified third last year, but a mechanical failure relegated him to 26th. Armstrong was seventh at The Thermal Club, 17th at Barber and seventh on the IMS road course. He also has three top-10 finishes in the last four races this season.
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Indianapolis Star

an hour ago

• Indianapolis Star

Will Buxton 1 on 1: Formula 1 regret leads to exploring America through calling IndyCar races

A onetime writer and lifelong devotee of Formula 1 who grew up in the United Kingdom, Will Buxton makes his living these days broadcasting IndyCar races on American television. Tabbed as the lead announcer for Fox Sports' inaugural season alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe, the excitable and gregarious 44-year-old has immersed himself in the history, prepared tirelessly and learned on the fly. Buxton, who had been to only three tracks on the NTT IndyCar Series schedule before taking the role, will reach the halfway point of his 17-race rookie season during the June 20-22 XPEL Grand Prix at Elkhart Lake's Road America. In a half-hour conversation with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Buxton talked about growing into the job, criticism, regrets, the season, the tracks — in particular the rural Wisconsin road course that comes next — and what he's trying to accomplish both on the Fox broadcasts and away from the booth. Here are highlights. Question: As the series hits the midpoint this weekend, how is your comfort level? Answer: I don't think you could ever be entirely comfortable doing play by play, I don't think you ever should be entirely comfortable doing play by play. There's always nerves. There's always massive tension. That expectation of the unknown is part of the allure. It's part of what keeps you coming back. We take what we do very, very seriously. We have a lot of fun doing it, but we all go into it with a huge amount of nerves every single broadcast, because you care. Can you characterize how your confidence level or however you want to describe it compares to before the season started? I wouldn't call it confidence. I think it's more comfort in terms of being more engrained with the championship, building more relationships, feeling more established and OK, we're not even half a season in, but that's the way the IndyCar Series is. It's incredibly open-armed and welcoming, and to have felt that has really aided my learning process and my ability, hopefully, to be able to bring out these characters and these stories and get people immersed in the wonder of IndyCar. Have you spent much time studying the broadcasts or does it pretty much need to be full steam ahead at this point yet? As difficult as it is and as horrible as it is to have to listen back to your own voice, yeah, every, every race, every week, every session, we all watch them back individually. We make notes, we bring them to bear at production meetings or private meetings and personal meetings that we have with the production crew, because we're always looking for ways that we can improve. And I think if we take the (St. Petersburg, Florida, season opener) and compare it to the St Louis race, (it's) a completely different broadcast, I think, a completely different sound, a very different look. And that goes not just for me, but for every member of the team. We have a brilliant director in Mitch Riggin who had never directed a single lap of racing, of auto racing, until we got to St. Pete. We have a diverse crew who have been involved in multiple sports, some of them in racing, some of them not in racing over their careers, and they've all been brought together to try to bring something fresh and something different to IndyCar. There's always things we can learn from (what) the fans are saying and the feedback that the fans are bringing to us. I think one of the most noticeable parts of that has been the pylon on the left-hand side of the screen that denotes who is where and what stage of the race they're in, what tires they might be running. That has changed every single race and I think that really exemplifies the constant desire to grow and to learn and to improve. Insider: Rising IndyCar star David Malukas knows 'I need to mature' on track, 'switch off' Team Penske rumors What you say is instantly out there forever. Are there a couple of things you said that you'd like to have back? About 98% of it. That's the addiction. That's what brings you back every time. You know there is no such thing as a perfect broadcast, there never will be, and the day that anybody achieves that, that's the day you quit, because it's never going to get any better. I started out in print. And I loved having the time to be able to craft and edit and amend and then get your article to a place where you are so happy with it, and then you send it in, and your editor ruins it. So to sort of be unedited is both freeing and also terrifying. You can try to polish it too much, and you can try to make it too perfect, but then it doesn't sound real, and you're not reacting in the moment. And the one thing that we want to do with this broadcast, and the one thing that we as a booth want to do, with myself and Townsend and James, is make the folks at home feel like they're sitting on the couch with us and that our reactions are their reactions and anytime something big happens, it's almost like you're jumping over the couch at them and putting your arm around the viewer and be like, 'Come on, my god, look at this, this is crazy,' and bring them in for the ride. Even the great calls, the legendary calls that go down in history and that we have, that resonate in our minds forever, the announcers who made those calls, they will still look at it and think, timing was a bit off, could have used a different word there. Insider: Why IndyCar's 1 million viewers on Sunday night is good ... but not as good as it looks How do you deal with critics? Anyone who likes to jump on social media and tell me that they don't think I'm good enough, trust me, that thought goes through my mind daily. You should always strive to be better and strive to improve. I find social media a challenge. There's been a very clear shift over the past decade from where it was as a place of community and interaction and trying to share joy and positivity to something that is now inherently negative and can be quite painfully toxic. And I find that a real sadness, because what it has done is it has made me intentionally kind of draw back from the interaction that I used to enjoy so much, and that interaction was all about bringing fans closer to the sport, but it's so difficult not to be affected by the tidal wave of negativity that I have kind of had to take a step back. But I do occasionally go on, and I do occasionally search my own name and have a bit of a giggle at some of the hideous stuff that is written, because you can't take it seriously. There's a great mantra out there, which is don't take criticism from people you wouldn't take advice from, and that's a good one to go along with. 'It's terrifying': Meet Will Buxton, next voice of IndyCar. (He's never attended an Indy 500.) I imagine Indianapolis was an outsized portion of your early preparation. How has the work or the focus changed since May? Actually, I've dedicated I'd say probably equal time to every race and to the championship and the history as a whole. Growing up in Europe, Formula 1 was the sport that I watched the most, and so a lot of its history and its major moments were things that just sort of seeped their way into my subconscious through osmosis. IndyCar is a championship I've always loved, but it wasn't as readily available in the European market as it was in the American market. And so the history and that side of the knowledge base that I need to have, I have had to work at that, and I will always have to work at that in order to get myself to that same place. The 500 was really interesting for me, and I did spend, obviously, quite a bit of time going into the history of it. The 500 is 110 years of history. You just have to do that much more to be that more aware of everything that has gone on there. But with every race weekend, I think you know, the first part for me is learning the recent history, certainly learning the history of the current drivers and what they've achieved on that track and how they might fare there. You've been to some of the tracks on the schedule, but not all, right? Pretty much every track for me is a new experience. I'd done the Milwaukee Mile (as a pit reporter). I'd been to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to do qualifying, but never the 500. I've been to Road America, that we're going to this week, but only as a guest of (racer-turned-broadcaster and fellow Englishman) David Hobbs when we were colleagues back in the NBC and Speed Channel days (of Formula 1 coverage in the United States), because he has a house out at Elkhart Lake. So been there, been to Siebkens (a famous local hotel/restaurant/bar with a long reputation among racers). Just once. Barber (Motorsports Park), for me, absolutely blew my mind. It was like an amalgamation of some of the most beautiful European racing circuits that I've ever visited. Going and doing a race under the lights on a short course oval like we did at (World Wide Technology Raceway outside) St. Louis was absolutely incredible. I'd been to Belle Isle before, so I've been to Detroit, but I'd never done the Detroit street race before, so it's lovely What I'm discovering is, and what I love about this year, is for my entire professional life, I've been used to traveling the world and experiencing different countries and different cultures. And I think it's true what people say about America, that every state and every city within those states you know, is almost like visiting a different country. … I'm loving that kind of cultural discovery of America. What were your impressions of the actual racetrack in your time at Road America? Hobbo actually took me out in a road car at Road America. And yeah, it's a tough track. The drivers all recognize it as a very, very tricky circuit. One of the ones they enjoy the most, obviously, is a circuit steeped in history, and one that you love to see still being on the calendar, because it's one of those ones that really means something to people. But I loved it. I loved driving around. I loved visiting Siebkens and the historical aspect of it. And I think that's what's so wonderful about this championship, going to your classic racetracks like your Laguna Secas and Long Beach and obviously Indianapolis and Road America and places like that, and then also discovering circuits that have only been on the calendar for a decade or less. We've got Arlington coming onto the calendar next year as a brand new race. I actually really enjoyed Thermal, and I know it gets bad press but I enjoyed the facility. I enjoyed the race. Because, again, I come from the world of Formula 1. We had drivers fighting their way up through the field. Will Power had an amazing race that day, and then we had a guy who had sat in third place for most of the race, came out 11 seconds behind the leader, and over the course of the next 10 laps, battled past the two dominant cars of the weekend and pulled off into the distance to win. That in Formula 1 terms is a generational race, but in IndyCar terms was seen to be somewhat below par, and that really taught me a very early lesson about what the expectations are in this championship for an exciting race. As the series has moved from place to place to place, have you had the opportunity to take in the surroundings, or has it been mostly hotel, booth and back? One of the big regrets of my 25 years in Formula 1 was that I don't think I took as many opportunities as I should have done to go out and explore and experience some of the amazing places that I got to visit. I went to China I want to say 12, 13, 14 times (covering Formula 1 as a journalist or broadcast host). I've never seen the Great Wall other than flying over it. Admittedly, the race was nowhere near it, but you'd think you'd probably try and take some time. We went to India a couple of times. I never got to the Taj Mahal. Those things, they're regrets, because you don't get to travel to those places all the time, and when you're traveling there for work, I probably should have taken a couple of days and got out and seen some of the great wonders of the world. I am trying to go and see everything I can. When we went to Barber, I made a point on my first day there, because I had about a half a day where I knew I wasn't needed to do anything, I went and explored the history of Birmingham, the civil rights movement, which is still very recent history of America ... and how important that is, not just to the history of this country, but to the present and the future of this country. And I'm trying to do that everywhere I go. I'm trying to take in the city, the area, the history, together, a fuller context of not just where I am in the moment and that city, but the country, which is one that I love. I've broadcast in America for such a long time, be it with Formula 1 or now with IndyCar, and I feel immensely privileged to be able to do so, but I don't think that you can properly broadcast to a nation unless you fully understand its history and its complex history and what makes the people and what makes the country what it is. So I'm trying to do that everywhere I go. 'Blown out of proportion': Nolan Siegel's radio rant no biggie for Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin After a wild night at World Wide Raceway, what are you looking for this weekend? St. Louis looked like it was going to be a Chevy weekend, and especially like it was going to be a Penske weekend. (Josef) Newgarden looked phenomenal. Obviously, (Will) Power took the pole. And then in the race itself, (Conor) Daly was so impressive. (Christian) Rasmussen was unbelievable. (Pato) O'Ward was in the hunt the entire night. And yet, here we are with not just another Honda win, but another Kyle Kirkwood win. And I think people have been sleeping on Kyle Kirkwood for too long. … And now he's emerged as the guy most likely to challenge Alex (Palou) for the title in 2025 and it's a wonderful story, and it's one I can't wait to tell. But can Penske find a way back? They're having an absolutely horrible season, and everything that could go wrong seems to be going wrong for them. So that's a fascinating narrative, and there are just so many young drivers looking for their breakthrough moment. (David) Malukas has been so impressive over the last few races, and I brought up Rasmussen, he's been mega as well, sixth at the Indy 500, third last time out in St. Louis. A wonderful breakthrough performance for PREMA Racing as well, with (Robert) Shwartzman finishing in the top 10 for them for the first time. There are so many great stories in the NTT IndyCar Series, and that's one of the things that brought me over from F1 was the fact that this, at its heart, is a drivers championship, where the driver makes the difference. And on any given Sunday, it doesn't matter where you start the race, you have a chance to win.

Fox Sports

9 hours ago

• Fox Sports

Practice Shots: Drivers Start To Tame Beautiful Beast Road America

INDYCAR The NTT INDYCAR SERIES will reach its halfway point midway through Sunday's XPEL Grand Prix at Road America, and with that comes several aspects to assess. Like Alex Palou's pursuit of a third consecutive series championship and fourth title in the past five years. Like the challenges of Palou by Pato O'Ward, Kyle Kirkwood and others. Like how beginning Sunday there will be nine races staged held over the next 11 weekends. There's a lot to consume, for sure. Meantime, drivers and their teams warmed up at Road America with the first practice of the weekend. These three things stood out in the session: The Return to Road America Let's start with this middle-of-Wisconsin facility. You roll through the first half of the season with an assortment of racetracks – some located in prettier settings than others – and then you roll up to Road America, and you wonder why you haven't been camping with the family in years. If an artist were to create scenery around a motorsports venue, he'd proudly draw this place, then celebrate with a brat lathered with mustard. The track is 4.014 miles, with one breathtaking location after another. Canada Corner isn't just the best-named spot in INDYCAR, it's stuck deep in the woods with horsepower reverberating through the trees. Cars sprint to that spot before darting hard right up the hill to what seems like civilization. It's exhilarating. But be warned: Road America can bite like few other tracks in this country. Speeds are high; the trappings consequential. This is beauty and a beast. Turn 1 was the scene of the worst accident of A.J. Foyt's career in 1990. Parker Johnstone barrel-rolled through that corner in 1996. The bridge at Turn 4 is what Memo Gidley smashed in 2001. At the end of that long straight, Bryan Herta was facing backward after a spin in 1998 and watched Alex Barron's car squarely land on top of his. And then there was Katherine Legge's indescribable ride down the backstretch in 2006. View the replay at your discretion. Palou and Josef Newgarden both crashed at Road America last year. Scott Dixon and Will Power tangled in a big one a couple years back. At these speeds, high alert is advised. Team Penske Needs Bounce-Back The most successful organization in the history of this sport is coming off its worst weekend in more than three decades, and it was maybe worse than that when considering Team Penske drivers finished 24th, 25th and 27th in the 27-car field last weekend in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline at World Wide Technology Raceway. The cars driven by Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin and Power each failed to finish the race, something that hadn't happened to Roger Penske's team since 1994. But here's the difference between those years: When cars driven by Al Unser Jr., Emerson Fittipaldi and Paul Tracy failed to finish that day at Michigan International Speedway, they still finished eighth, 10th and 15th in that 28-car field, and they went on to finish 1-2-3 in the championship. Unser also won the Indianapolis 500 that year. Eight races into this season, Power ranks seventh, McLaughlin eighth and Newgarden 16th in the standings, and each is seeking his first race win of the year. Here's the good connection between those two seasons: The 1994 gang bounced back to finish 1-2-3 in the ensuing race, held at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. This Penske bunch stood together on last year's Road America podium with Power winning the race followed by Newgarden and McLaughlin, and they were three of the fastest six cars in Friday's practice. Power and Newgarden are each two-time series winners at Road America. Palou Ready for Road America Palou was the overlooked driver in last week's World Wide Technology Raceway incident that saw Newgarden smash into the wounded car of rookie Louis Foster on the frontstretch. Palou was first on the scene of Foster's lazy spin, but had the advantage of seeing what Newgarden couldn't. 'I was lucky there,' Palou said. 'I had to take a decision of going up (the track) or going low, and I went up because I saw that the car was potentially going to go down, and Josef unfortunately didn't have that option. Those moments sometimes you are lucky and you get it right, and sometimes you don't. I'm glad I was on the right side there.' Palou said the expansive Road America circuit and its numerous passing opportunities could offer a lot of incidents in a race or none at all. But he also has noticed that many of his fellow competitors have started 'playing a little bit more aggressive than probably at the beginning of the season' as goals haven't yet been achieved. Palou's goal is to win at Road America for the third time, and the fact he has won in recent odd years (2021 and 2023) has him optimistic about this visit in 2025. Palou had a pair of subpar results in this season's past two races – 25th after being punted into the tires in the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear and eighth at WWTR – but he still holds a sizable lead over second place O'Ward (73 points) and third place Kirkwood (75 points). Kirkwood has been the driver on the charge, winning each of those two races. Kirkwood also posted the fastest lap of Friday's practice (1 minute, 44.9881 seconds). Palou's best lap ranked ninth. Keep an eye on these two drivers and more this weekend. recommended

Fox Sports

9 hours ago

• Fox Sports

Paddock Buzz: Foyt Team Honors Memory of Dear Friend at Road America

INDYCAR A.J. Foyt Enterprises honors this weekend at Road America the legacy of longtime friend, supporter and team sponsor Marlyne Sexton (photo, left), who passed away June 11 at age 86. In her memory, the team debuted a special tribute livery on the No. 14 Sexton Properties/AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet driven by Santino Ferrucci during this weekend's XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR. Ferrucci was the 11th quickest among 27 drivers in Friday's opening practice session with a top lap of 1 minute, 45.7423 seconds. 'Man, just hanging out with Mrs. Sexton and A.J. in Indy is just always fun, just watching them,' Ferrucci said. 'They had some good banter back and forth. 'She's such a wonderful lady. She did wonders for the team. She made me feel like family when I first joined in 2023. I know she thought of Larry (Foyt) like a son, so heavy hearts with her passing, and very honored to be driving the special livery in her honor for this weekend.' Sexton, along with her husband, Joe, founded Sexton Properties, an Indianapolis-based real estate development company, in 1962. Their first Indiana project was located just minutes from Indianapolis Motor Speedway and marked the beginning of a friendship between the Sextons and A.J. Foyt, one of the development's first tenants. 'I met Marlyne's husband, Joe Sexton, years ago,' Foyt said. 'I was one of the first customers, and from then on, we were just great friends." Joe passed away in 2002, but Marlyne continued to lead the company and remained a powerful influence in real estate and motorsports. Sexton Properties began sponsoring AJ Foyt Racing during the 2015 Indianapolis 500 as an associate partner on an entry driven by Alex Tagliani. The partnership grew each season, culminating in a primary sponsorship role by 2022. "I am deeply saddened by the loss of Marlyne Sexton,' said Larry Foyt, team president of AJ Foyt Racing. 'It can't be overstated the positive effects she has had on not only our team but on me personally. Her strength and positive influence are a huge piece of our recent successes. I will forever be grateful for the life lessons she taught me and the confidence she instilled in all aspects of my life. 'Marlyne loved watching INDYCAR and cheering for AJ Foyt Racing. I will miss our talks about the races and the team, but her teachings and impact will be remembered for the rest of my life.' Kirkwood Riding Momentum Into Road America Kyle Kirkwood enters Road America aiming for a feat Andretti Global hasn't pulled off in over a decade. Kirkwood has three victories this season, with back-to-back wins in the last two races in the series, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on June 1 and Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline on June 15. He has a chance in Sunday's 55-lap race to become the first Andretti Global driver since Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2012 to win three races in a row. RHR pulled off a hat track that year at Milwaukee Mile, Iowa Speedway and the streets of Toronto. 'Momentum is a big thing in motorsports,' Kirkwood said. 'When you have that kind of momentum, things come to you a little bit easier.' Kirkwood is off to a great start Friday, quickest in the No. 27 Siemens Honda with a lap of 1:44.9881. Kirkwood has improved his finishing position at Road America all three years. He finished 20th as a rookie for AJ Foyt Racing in 2022, then ninth and fifth, respectively, for Andretti Global the last two years. The steady upward trend, paired with his current form, positions him as a legitimate threat to contend for the win Sunday. This is also the first time this season Kirkwood hasn't had a week off between wins. 'To do well, you've got to celebrate with the crew for a couple of hours, and then you're straight back to work to do it all over again,' he said. 'I've gone home after each win and been able to relax and wind down from it, but this week it's been like, 'OK, it's Road America, here we go again,' which isn't a bad thing. Just keep it rolling. It doesn't allow the ball to stop.' Herta Strives for Road America Victory Colton Herta has been one of the most consistent performers at Road America, but victory at the 4.014-mile Wisconsin road course continues to slip just out of reach. In eight starts, Herta has never finished worse than eighth and has qualified on the front row five times, including each of the last two years. He earned NTT P1 Award honors in 2019 as a rookie and in 2023. He's only started outside the top seven once – 11th in 2022. 'I've always been really strong here,' Herta said. But have still never won. I've had close ones. This is the place I've never really had a bad weekend.' Herta's best chances slipped away due to small but costly mistakes. In 2019, managing tire wear caught him off guard as he faded to eighth. In 2023, a pit stop one lap too early forced him to save fuel late, and he ultimately finished fifth. Andretti Global Drivers Stick With Pacers Andretti Global's NBA loyalty got complicated this week as Mark Walter, who is part of Andretti Global's TWG Global ownership group, made headlines this week for purchasing the Los Angeles Lakers. Walter, already a stakeholder in the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Sparks and owner of the Professional Women's Hockey League, holds a significant presence in both racing and LA sports. However, Andretti Global is based in Indianapolis, and co-owner Dan Towriss' company Gainbridge, has naming rights to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home of the Pacers. So, where do Andretti Global drivers Marcus Ericsson, Herta and Kirkwood's allegiances stand? Herta took a bipartisan approach. 'I'll have an Eastern Conference team in the Pacers and a Western Conference team in the Lakers to cheer for,' he said. Florida native Kirkwood was more loyal to his adopted home. 'I don't know anything about that situation,' Kirkwood said. 'I live in Indiana. I know all the Pacers players' names, at least. I watch them play, and I know their style. I'm a big, big fan of the Pacers. I scream at the TV.' Ericsson, like Kirkwood, remains loyal to the Pacers. Fatherhood Helps McLaughlin Through Rough Stretch Scott McLaughlin is navigating a challenging stretch of the season, with a string a setbacks that have dropped him from fifth in points entering the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge to eighth in the standings entering Sunday's 55-lap race at Road America. McLaughlin crashed on the pace lap and finished 30th in the '500' on May 25. A week later, he was penalized for avoidable contact after rear-ending Nolan Siegel's No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet and finished 12th at Detroit. In last Sunday's race at World Wide Technology Raceway, McLaughlin qualified second, ran in the top five, but suffered a mechanical failure on Lap 216, ending 24th. McLaughlin likened this difficult period to his 2015 season in Australian V8 Supercars, though with a more grounded perspective this time around. Becoming a first-time father to daughter Lucy during the offseason has provided emotional balance and perspective. 'Obviously, her college fund has taken a hit, but I think at the same time she's so very refreshing,' McLaughlin said. 'Being a dad and having a life outside of the sport, not that I didn't have that before without Lucy. I mean, I always had (wife) Karly, and she's great at taking my mind of stuff. But the dad part of life is awesome, and I'm probably the most happy I've ever been off the track.' McLaughlin has yet to win at Road America in four starts, but his performance improved each year, climbing from 14th in 2021, seventh in 2022, eighth in 2023 and third after leading 18 laps last year. He was sixth quickest Friday with a time of 1:45.3191 in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet. Franchitti, Buxton Shave Foster's Mustache for Charity NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie Louis Foster made a surprising and charitable style change ahead of the Road America race weekend by losing the mustache he had sported all season. Foster, an English driver for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, wore the mustache as a nod to three-time series champion Bobby Rahal, co-owner of the team. In May, he joked that his look was very 1986 Indy 500 Bobby Rahal, embracing the retro vibe and team pride. At Thursday night's Welcome Party at Siebkens Stop-Inn Tavern, a beloved Elkhart Lake establishment, Foster joined other drivers as a celebrity bartender, raising funds for Racing For Kids through tips and donations. When asked what it would take to shave the mustache, Foster half-jokingly said $1,000. Dario Franchitti, a four-time INDYCAR SERIES champion, offered $500 if he could shave it off himself. Others, including FOX Sports play-by-play announcer Will Buxton, chipped in, and the mustache was officially shaved for charity. Foster was eighth quickest in the No. 45 Droplight/Desunda Tequila Honda in Friday's practice. Cannon Helps VeeKay Score WWTR Top 10 Finish Rinus VeeKay has found a new groove in recent races and credits veteran engineer Michael Cannon for the turnaround. Cannon rejoined Dale Coyne Racing after this year's Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and brings decades of technical expertise and a proven track record of rapid impact. In their first race together at Detroit, Cannon's input, especially on braking, helped VeeKay qualify seventh. The next race at WWTR, the No. 18 askROI Honda cracked the top 10 and finished seventh thanks to fuel-saving strategy devised by Cannon. Cannon spent six years (2014-19) at DCR, engineering a range of drivers. He also has served as an engineer in recent seasons for Chip Ganassi Racing and AJ Foyt Racing, delivering immediate improvements to those teams, especially on ovals. 'Working with (Scott) Dixon in the past, he gave me some tricks to improve the fuel mileage,' VeeKay said. Odds and Ends Championship leader Alex Palou has new colors on track this weekend with SOLO Cup sponsoring his No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. He was ninth quickest in the opening practice session. Team Penske swept the podium in last year's race and had all three drivers in the top six during Friday's practice session, led by defending race winner Will Power (1:45.1795) in third in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Two-time Road America winner Josef Newgarden (1:45.2228) in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet was fourth, .0433 of a second behind Power, with McLaughlin sixth. The top 15 drivers in Friday's speed chart were separated by less than a second. Saturday features NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice at 11:05 a.m. ET and then qualifying to set the 27-car lineup for Sunday's race at 2:35 p.m. ET. Both air on FS1, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network. 2012 INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Ryan Hunter-Reay served as a booth analyst for FOX's INDY NXT by Firestone practice coverage Friday. recommended