Josef Newgarden and Penske, still winless this season, are they cursed in 2021? Here are three races that the major Indycar team leads a good part of the afternoon before seeing its efforts reduced to nothing by mechanical boredom or the game of offbeat strategies. Sunday at Road America, like a week earlier in Detroit, so Newgarden paid a heavy price. This time, it was two laps from the finish that everything was decided, at the time of a final restart, where his car started to falter and forced him to finish the race at idle speed.
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Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi), who had followed him closely throughout the afternoon, took the opportunity to get his second victory of the year (after Barber). The Spaniard thus regains the lead of the general classification which he had ceded for a point to Pato O’Ward (McLaren SP), a week ago in Detroit. The Mexican could not do better than ninth on his side. At the end of a race where contacts were very numerous and where the safety car came out four times, Colton Herta (Andretti) and Will Power (Penske) completed the podium ahead of Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi).
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Bourdais and Pagenaud far from the account
Romain Grosjean took a nice fifth place, his second best Indycar result after his podium at the Indianapolis Grand Prix in mid-May. First weighed down by a too slow pit stop at the start of the race, the Dale Coyne Racing driver elbowed his elbows throughout the race whether it was to attack or defend his position on a track giving a good margin of error for late braking. His passes of arms with Graham Rahal or Alexander Rossi animated the race. And the former Haas driver is rewarded for his efforts with a very positive result which allows him to turn the page of the failed weekend in Detroit (two withdrawals).
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The other two French people suffered a lot, however. Sébastien Bourdais (AJ Foyt), one lap behind after a mechanical problem, finally took 16th place. As for Simon Pagenaud (Penske), who started 6th, he kept retreating throughout the race and saw his tactical blow fail at the end of the race. Le Poitevin must be satisfied with an 18th place which does not do its business at all in the Championship even if it remains fifth overall. After seven weeks of intense competition (7 races), the Indycar will take two weekends off before finding itself, on July 4, on the Mid-Ohio road circuit.
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The classification of the race (55 laps)
1. Alex Palou (ESP/Chip Ganassi)
2. Colton Herta (USA/Andretti)
3. Will Power (AUS / Penske)
4. Scott Dixon (NZL / Chip Ganassi)
5. Romain Grosjean (Dale Coyne)
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16. Sebastien bourdais (AJ Foyt)
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18. Simon Pagenaud (Penske)
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The Championship classification
1. Alex Palou (ESP/Chip Ganassi), 349 points
2. Pato O’Ward (MEX/McLaren SP), 321
3. Scott Dixon (NZL / Chip Ganassi), 296
4. Josef Newgarden (USA/Penske), 261
5. Simon Pagenaud (Penske), 255
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16. Sebastien bourdais (AJ Foyt), 138
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18. Romain Grosjean (Dale Coyne), 125
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