ELKHART LAKE – A frustrating weekend for Christian Lundgaard looked like a total loss on the first lap at Road America, but instead he pulled off an improbable victory June 21 in the XPEL Grand Prix.
Lundgaard took the checkered flag in a one-lap shootout that then ended under another caution for a crash behind him, earning his second victory of the NTT IndyCar Series season and third of his career.
Who is Christian Lundgaard, 2026 IndyCar winner at Road America?
Lundgaard, a 24-year-old from Denmark, is in his fifth year in IndyCar and second with the Arrow McLaren Chevrolet team.
He won last month on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and also in the 2023 Toronto street race with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
How did Christian Lundgaard win the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America?
Lundgaard started 12th and went most of a lap down early when his left front tire was cut from contact in the scramble into Turn 1 on the first lap.
Cautions eventually allowed him to catch the field, and he took the lead through the final sequence of pit stops, finally coming out second behind Marcus Armstrong with 10 to go and the two drivers ahead still needing to stop.
Lundgaard dogged Armstrong on fresher tires, and then the race came to him when Armstrong’s car sputtered to a stop on the 52nd of 55 laps around the 4.014-mile road course.
The caution for Armstrong set up a one-lap shootout. Lundgaard held off David Malukas on the restart and was comfortably ahead when Graham Rahal crashed while racing Will Power for third in Turn 12 and brought out the yellow flag.
Malukas finished second, Power third, Kyffin Simpson fourth and pole-sitter Alex Palou fifth.
When does IndyCar race next?
After a week off, the NTT IndyCar Series is back on a road course, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, for the Honda Indy 200 on July 5.
What other races are on the Road America schedule in 2026?
Road America has other popular weekends and smaller events on its 2026 schedule, among them Trans Am and TA2 muscle cars for the Cheese Capital Cup from June 26-28.
The IMSA sports car weekend July 30 to Aug. 2 has grown to rival IndyCar as the biggest weekend on the schedule. This year the main event will be a six-hour endurance race.
When does IndyCar race in Wisconsin again?
Although no 2027 date has been announced, all indications are Road America will again fall on Father’s Day weekend.
IndyCar will run a doubleheader weekend at the Milwaukee Mile on Aug. 28-30, the second- and third-last races on the schedule.
Who were other winners on 2026 IndyCar weekend at Road America?
Pabst Racing of Oconomowoc scored four victories in its home event with a USF Pro 2000 sweep by California-born rookie G3 Argyros (one Saturday, the other Sunday) and 1-2s in USF2000 with Eddie Beswick over fellow Australian Brad Majman on Saturday and Majman over Beswick on Sunday. Canadian rookie Anthony Martella won the other USF Pro 2000 race.
“They say you get the family you’re given and the family you have chosen. And I chose probably the best family in this entire paddock,” Argyos said. “And it shows by how much work and dedication we put into the program, how amazing the coaching is and how well we get to know each other.
“From start to finish, I knew that we had the same beautiful, amazing car that we had to win yesterday. And today from first, it was a little bit easier. Lap to lap at Pabst’s home track is very meaningful.”
Matteo Nannini was awarded the win in the second of two Indy NXT races after Alessandro de Tullio of Argentina was penalized for not having the same tires on his car Sunday as he did in qualifying. Australian Lochie Hughes won a day earlier.
(This story was updated to change or add a photo or video.)
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Christian Lundgaard pulls off improbable IndyCar win at Road America
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
