Sunday’s XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR shapes up to be a scorcher – both in weather and competition.

With air temperatures expected to soar into the mid-90s, the 55-lap showdown could become one of the hottest races ever at the iconic Wisconsin road course.

“It's going to be a very, very tricky race tomorrow for the cars, the drivers, the pit crews, everyone around,” NTT P1 Award winner Louis Foster. “Can't do anything about it. It's going to be hot. Just have to make the most of it.”

Foster, coming off his first career NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole, leads a scorching Honda brigade to the green flag at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio Network. The manufacturer has won all eight races this season and nine in a row dating to the 2024 season finale at Nashville Superspeedway.

Honda drivers Alex Palou (No. 10 SOLO Cup Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) and Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Siemens Honda) start second and third, respectively, in the 55-lap race. They are the hottest drivers this season, combining to win all eight races, five by Palou and three by Kirkwood.

The intense heat challenges the durability of car parts. It’s also challenging for the drivers inside the cockpits, racing in fireproof suits and underwear without power steering in an environment that reaches well over 100 degrees.

Colton Herta, who qualified a disappointing 16th, in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda, believes the conditions could help Palou and Kirkwood.

"The thing with the heat is that it could make a car that's really good kind of stand out a lot more than usual, or a car that's bad drop back more than usual,” Herta said.

Marcus Armstrong, who starts 15th in the No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda for Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian, believes Sunday’s conditions will significantly separate the good cars from the bad.

“It just exposes weaknesses within the car and the driver,” he said.

Palou welcomes the challenge of the heat. He and Chip Ganassi Racing are known for their skill in conserving tires over long stints. Plus, CGR claimed four of the last five wins at the 4.014-mile road course, including Palou twice in the past three years.

“It's great,” Palou said. “I love it. It’s just going to make it tougher on tires and tougher on the race itself, tougher on drivers. So, I like that.”

Foster Drives Crashed Car to Pole

Foster’s resilience and the tireless work of his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing crew paid off in dramatic fashion Saturday.

Just six days after a heavy crash with Josef Newgarden at World Wide Technology Raceway and three weeks removed from a suspension failure and frightening crash with Felix Rosenqvist in the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on June 1, Foster earned his first career NTT P1 Award for Sunday’s race.

He did so in the same No. 45 Droplight/Desnuda Tequila Honda that suffered heavy damage in both crashes.

The car was rebuilt twice in two weeks, and the team’s efforts put Foster on the front row alongside Palou, ensuring the reigning INDY NXT by Firestone champion and two-time defending INDYCAR SERIES champion share Row 1.

“The boys have been working their rear ends off,” Foster said. “We had a crash in Detroit with the suspension failure, then last weekend at St. Louis. Massive props to the boys. All credit to them because they worked endlessly these last two weeks. They’ve rebuilt the car twice.”

Foster’s previous best qualifying effort was third in the Sonsio Grand Prix on May 10. He fell to 11th, which also serves as his best finish.

“I'm sure Alex (Palou) and Kyle (Kirkwood) are going to want to try to get past me as soon as possible,” Foster said. “We're not going to make it easy for them.”

Strategy Pushes Rahal into Firestone Fast Six

Graham Rahal qualified sixth in the No. 15 Hendrickson International Honda. That was his third top-six starting spot in the last five races.

His teammate Foster earned the pole, solidifying a positive day for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. RLL’s other driver, Devlin DeFrancesco, saw his quickest lap in the opening round of qualifying impeded by Scott Dixon and starts 19th as a result. However, DeFrancesco was second and 10th, respectively, in the practice sessions this weekend.

“It feels good,” Rahal said. “We need the points badly as a team, so I feel like we’ve set ourselves up in a good spot to have a good point day on Sunday. That’s obviously the focus.”

Rahal used strategy to get to the Firestone Fast Six and believes that decision could halt his 134-race winless streak dating to Detroit’s Belle Isle Park in 2017.

Rahal was the only driver in the Firestone Fast Six to not qualify on the faster Firestone Firehawk softer alternate tires. He used them exclusively in the first two segments.

“We have a sneaky suspicion tomorrow’s race is going to be a red (soft tire) race,” Rahal said. “If it is, then we need them. That’s why we chose not to run them and keep at least two sets of alternates.

“We also did a pretty good time on primes (hard tires), which I believe is quicker than everyone but (Felix) Rosenqvist of all three groups.”

Three Is Magic Number for Kirkwood

Kirkwood is one win away from completing the NTT INDYCAR SERIES “cycle” of earning a victory on each of the three circuit types. With four street course wins and his first oval triumph secured June 15 at World Wide Technology Raceway, all that remains is a breakthrough on a natural road course.

He also 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 trick that year at Milwaukee Mile, Iowa Speedway and the streets of Toronto.

Kirkwood enters the weekend riding a two-race win streak, having claimed victory in the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on June 1 and then on the WWTR oval at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline.

Though Kirkwood is 0-for-23 on natural road courses in his young career, the trend line is encouraging for Sunday’s race.

Kirkwood has improved year-over-year at nearly every natural road course venue, including a jump from 20th as a rookie at Road America driving for A.J. Foyt Enterprises in 2022, to ninth and fifth, respectively, the last two seasons with Andretti Global.

“You're only as good as your last race,” he said. “And if we finish 10th this weekend, then I'm a 10th-place driver. That's the way that you have to look at it because that's the way that everybody looks at it.”

So far, he’s backing up the talk. Kirkwood topped Friday’s practice chart, was fourth in Saturday practice and qualified third in the No. 27 Siemens Honda, positioning him squarely in the mix for Sunday’s race.

“We’ve got to do it all over again,” Kirkwood said. “We've got to finish well. We've got to get points and get out this weekend with hopefully another really good result.”

Road America Revered in INDYCAR Paddock

Set on 640 acres of rolling terrain, Road America is a 4.014-mile, 14-turn beast known for its high-speed corners, long straights and deep braking zones.

First hosting the INDYCAR SERIES in 1982, the track became a permanent fixture on the schedule again since 2016, and it’s widely considered one of the most complete and beloved road courses in North America.

“This is one of my favorite tracks in the calendar,” Palou said.

Palou has won twice on the track located midway between Milwaukee and Green Bay, in 2021 and 2023.

"This is such a marquee INDYCAR track,” Josef Newgarden said. “If you want to go to a place to see what an INDYCAR can do, it's like IMS and Road America.

“This is the road course version of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to me. It's got everything you want. Huge straightaway, big, high-speed corners, good brake zones, really good raceability. It's awesome when you show up here. This is where you want to race in INDYCAR.”

Odds and Ends

  • Road America is the third track of the eight races run this season with 14 turns, joining the streets of St. Petersburg and the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Palou is 2-for-2 for wins on these tracks this year.
  • Callum Ilott qualified a season-best ninth in the No. 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet.