ELKHART LAKE – Marcus Armstrong would like to think the first practice session of the NTT XPEL Grand Prix weekend at Road America bodes well for him and teammate Felix Rosenqvuist.
They were, after all, first and second on the speed chart after the 75-minute session June 19 at the rolling 4.014-mile course.
“I feel like it is valuable clearly, but by the time you get to Sunday, you’re so dialed in,” Armstrong said. “Frankly, I felt very dialed-in from the very first laps here.
“I’ve always thought it’d be quite cool if we just sort of went [from a] short practice, straight into quali[fying], because you have less time to adjust as a driver and less time to find the setup as a team, and I feel like it would be quite interesting that way. … You certainly need to be on it.”
Armstrong completed 15 laps with his best coming on the 14th, 1 minute 44.2714 seconds (138.585 mph) on the grippier but less durable alternate tires. Rosenqvist, whose first victory came at Road America in 2020 and his second in the Indianapolis 500 last month, was .0787 behind.
Three-time and defending race winner Alex Palou was next. Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing and the Meyer Shank Racing team for which Armstrong and Rosenqvist drive are allies within the Honda camp.
Palou is looking to become the first driver to win four Indy-car races at Road America, breaking from a tie with Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi, each of whom won three in the CART era.
Interestingly theirs were teams that didn’t test when about half the field did 10 days earlier.
“I don’t think that we’re on the back foot,” Armstrong said. “I was pretty comfy from the first lap, so that’s also because we have a good car. But yeah, I don’t feel like we missed anything.”
The top 10 included six Honda-powered cars with Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren the best among Chevrolet teams.
He and teammates Christian Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel were at the test, which was extremely valuable, O’Ward said, even if the results of the first practice didn’t make that clear.
“[It’s] just guidance of where we want to go for qualifying, just kind of getting a read on what the alternate [tire] is going to do,” O’Ward said of practice. “The nature of IndyCar is you get surprised. What you felt in practice one and then practice two is something completely different sometimes and you’re like, why? Sometimes it is just a very smooth weekend. Whatever it is going to be, we’re just going to try and maximize it.”
The fastest lap for each of the top seven drivers were within a half-second and the top 20 were covered by a second.
Qualifying is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Saturday, June 20 (FS1 cable) following a second practice session at 10:05 a.m. The 55-lap race is set to start after 1 p.m. Sunday (Fox).
Penske has a backup plan if Josef Newgarden can’t race at Road America
Two-time Road America winner Josef Newgarden, hobbled from his crash at Indy and subsequent surgery to his left foot, ranked 14th as team Penske appeared to struggle overall.
Felipe Nasr, who drives for Penske’s sports car program and has won at Road America twice in IMSA, stood by through practice needing only to pull up his uniform and put on a helmet and gloves.
Nasr said in a short interview with Fox television he wasn’t sure if he’d be needed but would be ready.
“It’s pretty impressive, what he’s been able to do in the car,” said Nasr, who also was on hand at Detroit a week after the 500. He has tested but has not raced in IndyCar.
Between the Detroit street race and Road America, Newgarden won on the World Wide Technology Raceway.
“Whatever comes, this is a track that I know, so that’s the positives I can see right now,” Nasr continued.
“I always wanted to have a proper chance in any car, and I’ve driven those cars in the past. I don’t know if it’s going to be this weekend or not, but at least it was an honor to be called by the team as their first option.”
Tickets are on sale for 2027 IndyCar weekend at Road America
Road America launched its ticket sales effort for next season with a promotional price of $140 for the weekend.
The obvious missing detail, though, is when the race will be. As has been the case in recent years, the track has begun sales before the following season’s schedule was announced. All indications are IndyCar will land on Father’s Day weekend again in 2027, June 17-20.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marcus Armstrong leads Meyer Shank 1-2 in Road America IndyCar practice
Reporting by Dave Kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dave Kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
