ELKHART LAKE, WI – Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan gave Christian Lundgaard a pep talk on the starting grid before the Grand Prix at Road America. The message: Don’t make life harder on yourself.
But the Danish driver failed to follow those instructions, and on the first lap of the race, he drove his No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet into Scott Dixon’s No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, causing damage to Lundgaard’s car.
Lundgaard dipped into pit lane on that first lap, as the No. 7 needed a new front wing and tires. It was crucial for Lundgaard’s pit crew to operate quickly so that the car wouldn’t get lapped, which it didn’t. Still, it didn’t seem likely — or even possible — that Lundgaard could make his way from last (25th) to first.
But as the 55-lap race on the 4.014-mile road course progressed, Lundgaard’s car kept gaining speed and positions. With Lundgaard having an outside chance of a win, strategist Kyle Moyer decided to gamble.
While most of the race’s leaders made their final pit stop three to four laps before Lundgaard — a decision influenced by IndyCar’s new and cautious full-course yellow procedure — Moyer kept Lundgaard on track until Lap 45, the fifth-latest pit stop in the race. After a brief pit stop due to Lundgaard not needing a full tank of gas to get to the end, he exited pit lane second, behind Marcus Armstrong and ahead of David Malukas.
That was when Lundgaard knew he was in the fight for the win.
“I think ultimately we made the right moves at the right time,” Lundgaard said. “Staying out on that last pit sequence is what really gained us the win. But that’s also the riskiest thing we could do because we’re exposing ourselves to yellow (flags). That was win it or finish last at that time.”
Malukas passed Lundgaard on Lundgaard’s out lap since Malukas’ tires were warmer. But Lundgaard got by Malukas on Lap 49, leaving only Armstrong ahead of him.
Lundgaard didn’t think he’d catch Armstrong, who Lundgaard felt “should have won this race.” But Armstrong’s No. 66 Honda engine began to fail on Lap 52, allowing Lundgaard to pass Armstrong, whose car completely shut down on the next lap. Lundgaard held off Malukas following the restart to win his second race of the season.
Moyer, who’s in his first full season as Arrow McLaren’s team manager after being fired by Team Penske last May, made the call that paid dividends in the end. Moyer became the strategist on the No. 7 car this year, and he and Lundgaard have made an excellent pairing through 10 races.
“The one thing I have learned with Kyle is he’s not afraid of taking risks,” Lundgaard said. “I’m sure it’s going to bite us someday. The more races we can win until then, the better. … He’s very aggressive, but he also knows exactly what he’s doing. There’s no question in his mind. Whenever he makes a mistake, he’s honest about it, raises his hand. I think it helps the group move forward. There’s never any unanswered questions.”
After a 2025 season that saw Lundgaard succeed but come up short of wins on several occasions, the 24-year-old has taken the next step, getting another victory after winning the Sonsio Grand Prix on the IMS road course in May.
Up until the Sonsio Grand Prix, Pato O’Ward was the only driver to win a race for Arrow McLaren since McLaren Racing bought a stake in the team in 2020 and became the majority owner in 2021. This team has been built around O’Ward, who’s the most popular driver in the series and has finished top five in five of his six seasons with the team.
But this year, Lundgaard has outperformed his highly regarded teammate, as Lundgaard is fourth in the championship while O’Ward is fifth and Lundgaard is the only Arrow McLaren driver to finish on the podium this season. In his second year at Arrow McLaren, Lundgaard — who’s often forgotten amongst a talented crop of under-30 IndyCar drivers — has become a force.
“I think everything is going according to how I thought it would, right?” Lundgaard said. “First year in the team — obviously Pato is very established in there — it’s trying to learn as much as possible together, make the package better. I feel like I’ve evolved a little bit. I think he’s gone a little bit backwards, unfortunately, in terms of results. At the end of the day, I know how good he is.”
Lundgaard is a pending free agent, and if it wasn’t clear already, Sunday was another data point showing that Arrow McLaren should do all it can to keep him around. Kanaan previously said that he’d wait until after the Indianapolis 500 to talk extensions with Lundgaard and fellow free agent teammate Nolan Siegel, but those talks have not reached the formal stage, according to Lundgaard.
“I feel like right now we’re more chit-chatting, which is always fun as well,” Lundgaard said on Friday. “I’m not worried at all from my own perspective. So we’ll see how it goes, but obviously we’ve done great together, and I see that in the future too.”
When asked about a potential extension after the race, Lundgaard said winning a race “never hurts” while grinning. If those talks between him and Arrow McLaren’s have indeed been casual, it will be in the team’s best interest to accelerate those talks with the driver who’s tracking toward back-to-back seasons in the top five.
After winning the Sonsio Grand Prix, Lundgaard said, “I think we’ve unlocked the door now. I’m pretty confident many more will come.” It took only four races for that next win to come after Lundgaard went winless in the last two seasons.
Lundgaard is here to stay as a threat to win, especially on road and street courses. He proved himself with consistent results in 2025, and this year he’s proved himself as a winner.
Zion Brown is IndyStar’s motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar’s motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to the YouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How a risky strategy won Christian Lundgaard the Grand Prix at Road America
Reporting by Zion Brown, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Zion Brown, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
