From Strategy To Cheese, Here's What You Should Know Before Road America
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Road America. America's National Park of Speed is what they like to call it.
The 14-turn, 4.014-mile course presents plenty of challenges for INDYCAR drivers. It runs through a picturesque setting, including fields and a small forest situated about 90 minutes north of Milwaukee.
The 27 INDYCAR drivers get practice Friday afternoon and another Saturday morning, before qualifying on Saturday afternoon. They have a brief warm-up on Sunday before the 55-lap race, which airs at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
But there's so much to dive into before Road America.
Has Nolan Siegel squashed his beef with Scott McLaughlin? Do drivers have a special strategy for this four-mile course? And since we're in Wisconsin, will cheese be on everything?
Let's get you ready for the race. Here's everything you need to know.
Who's the favorite?
Last year, Team Penske drivers went first, second and third. Will Power won an emotional victory (snapping a 34-race winless streak), Josef Newgarden was second and Scott McLaughlin rounded out the podium.
Does this mean this will be another Penske or Chevrolet race? Chevrolet desperately needs a win, as Alex Palou (five wins) and Kirkwood (three wins) have won all the events this year in Honda-powered cars.
"It was [a Chevy track] last year," Kirkwood said. "Every track's been a Honda track this year. I hope that trend doesn't go away this weekend."
Can Kirkwood win three in a row?
Kirkwood has won the last two races. Those were at the Detroit Grand Prix and World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway). He's got three wins this season.
"Momentum is a big thing in motorsports, and I think it's in all sports," Kirkwood said. "When you have that momentum, things come to you a little bit easier. That race [at Gateway] we didn't really take the bull by the horns. It kind of came to us with some penalties, and we just did everything right.
"And then next thing you know, we cycle out into the lead. ... To me, that just feels like momentum."
What about the Penske teams?
The Penske drivers finished 24th, 26th and 27th last week at Gateway. Will Power suffered a flat tire and Josef Newgarden got involved in a scary wreck, where he flipped up upside-down. Then McLaughlin had a mechanical issue.
"We just had some luck not go our way," McLaughlin said. "The head's still up. ... The best thing is, we had bad luck. But I'm not slow."
Is McLaughlin mad at Nolan Siegel?
Siegel was penalized for blocking McLaughlin at Gateway, as McLaughlin attempted to lap him. A week earlier, McLaughlin was penalized for avoidable contact with Siegel at Detroit.
This all led to Siegel's profanity-filled outburst that went viral.
"It gets heated all the time. I'm no angel," McLaughlin said. "I spoke to him after the race. We're all good. I just wanted to clear the air, make sure there was no beef between the two of us.
"But I hadn't heard what he said on the radio before that. So I back him [from] what he said to me. He said it wasn't a retaliation of Detroit."
Furthermore, McLaughlin said he did feel the penalty was warranted.
"The way that he drove me down — regardless if it was me or if we had beef before that or whatever — it shouldn't have happened.
"That's what I said to him as well, and he and I think he knows that. ... Luckily, we had room on the inside there. If there was grass, that could be bad. So you need to penalize people for that."
How does Siegel feel?
Siegel chose his words carefully.
"No matter what, the penalty happened and the stewards made their decision, and I have a lot of respect for [them] and I've talked to both of them," Siegel said. "It was a mistake how I reacted."
Siegel wasn't as careful with his words during the race last Sunday. He ultimately apologized for his expletive-laden tirade.
"The fact is what we're doing is extremely high pressure, and there are moments that are extremely frustrating," Siegel said. "And I think ultimately, a big part of being a good race car driver is staying calm in those moments. ... It's not something that I can let happen again.
"I will continue in the future to stay more calm and not press the radio button. It was a combination of a frustrating couple months. I need to not let that get to me."
Did Siegel apologize to Pato O'Ward?
It was the last restart of the Gateway race. Siegel was a lap down, and he restarted ahead of his Arrow McLaren teammate O'Ward. This potentially stalled O'Ward's ability to make a pass for the lead as Siegel was trying to get his lap back, fighting the leader Dixon.
Siegel, O'Ward and Kyle Kirkwood — the eventual winner — were three-wide, with O'Ward getting the raw end of the deal. If O'Ward had been able to get the lead, the track position potentially would have led to an O'Ward win.
Siegel said the team had told him to do his best to pass Dixon to unlap himself. So there wasn't much discussion on the issue during the week. He said he didn't even realize he was three-wide.
"I was told to try to pass Dixon to get my lap back for me in the car," Siegel said. "I obviously got a bad jump on the restart, and at that point, the only thing I really could have done differently was lift a little early into Turn 1 and let Pato by.
"In the moment for me, I was told the best thing for my race was to go try to chase Dixon down, and I took a lap to try to do that.
"At that point, it was too late."
What about the points leader?
Alex Palou finished fourth here last year. At Road of America, he has two wins, two seconds and a third. The next two races at Road America and Mid-Ohio are probably opportunities for him to dominate. And that's before a double-header at Iowa, a potential place where Palou could struggle, giving other drivers a chance to make up ground.
Palou had won five of the first six races and then crashed out of the Detroit Grand Prix. Last week at Gateway, he finished eighth.
"Detroit, I had a lot of fun until I crashed," Palou said. "Gateway. I didn't have fun at all at any point. We were really good in practice, but then, for some reason in the race, I was not comfortable. Although the result was actually OK and the last stint was good. The rest of the race, I was struggling a lot.
"It's great [to be here]. I love this place."
Is there strategy at Road America?
Kinda but less than on most weekends. With a track that is longer than four miles, there is more risk to run a lap or two longer or shorter than the other drivers.
That could hurt a smaller team that wants to do something off-strategy while hoping it works out. But then again, for a driver who has pace, it is a clear-cut race.
"This track in particular, I feel like you can race [everyone] straight up just because of how big it is, how long it is, and all the passing zones," said A.J. Foyt Racing driver Santino Ferrucci said.
Anything else when it comes to this race?
This is the first race at Road America with the hybrid, so teams will be learning that. And it will be hot. Temps will potentially be in the 90s for the race, and that could impact how much grip the tires have.
Will the heat change things?
"I don't know," Kirkwood said. "That's a great question. It sure will for overall grip, tire [wear]. Power-wise? I have no idea."
Does everything sold at the track have cheese?
We haven't been to every food truck and concession stand across the circuit, but this is the land of cheese and cheese heads.
If any food (other than ice cream) sold doesn't have cheese on it, it should. If it doesn't, then it shouldn't even qualify as food here at Road America.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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