ELKHART LAKE – Moments before drivers climbed into their cars for the XPEL Grand Prix, Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan approached Christian Lundgaard.
Lundgaard is just 24 but hardly a newcomer to the NTT IndyCar Series. This is his fifth season, his second with the team.
Still a little veteran advice can never hurt, right?
“Actually he said not to do exactly what I did,” Lundgaard said, “which is don’t make life harder on yourself.”
To that point Lundgaard had had a sub-par weekend at Road America, lagging in practice and qualifying despite a recent test.
What he did was run into Scott Dixon in the first turn on the first lap, hobble around for 3 ¾ miles on three inflated tires and one flat, drive around by himself most of a lap behind the field in last place, catch the cautions he needed to position himself for a top-10 finish on what had been a frustrating weekend and then win.
Somehow.
“It was a very eventful day, very long day,” Lundgaard said. “Not quite what I had on my bingo card waking up this morning.”
Really, little of what transpired in the race June 21 was on anyone’s checklist, bingo card or script.
Four-time champion and three-time Road America winner Alex Palou was the favorite and he led convincingly – not surprising – but never fully recovered from a pit speed penalty.
Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist led at the site of his first IndyCar victory six years ago. But he got caught out on the second round of stops when a caution flag flew and the pits were closed seconds before he needed to come in.
Then Marcus Armstrong was powering toward his first victory – an important result in a contract year – only to feel the engine in his car sputter and quit. That was painful to watch.
“His race pace has been amazing,” two-time Road America winner Will Power said of Lundgaard after finishing third. “I think people are happy to see someone else [other than Palou] win, to be honest.”
Lundgaard gave little indication he’d be that guy.
His day, from running into Scott Dixon on the opening lap to surviving a restart with one lap to go for his second win of the season, Lundgaard’s day was truly buy-a-lottery-ticket stuff.
Consequently, an ample crowd spread over the sprawling facility cashed in.
“Obviously at that point I know how long the race is,” Lundgaard said of his gaffe on the start. “It was really to try to stay on the lead lap, that was the main goal. … But from there on, it’s such a long race, one caution brings you back in the game.
“I knew we were going to be fighting for a top 10 regardless, just from the pace that we had. I didn’t really expect it to be a win.”
Lundgaard didn’t show the pace in practice or qualifying, and it was well hidden while he raced far behind Palou and Rosenqvist and Armstrong.
But the cautions allowed him, and he was able to make his final stop later than most of the leaders, a gamble that could have bit Lundgaard the way it Rosenqvist. When he came out of the pits with 10 laps to go, he was behind only Armstrong and two drivers who still needed to pit.
It was then that Lundgaard’s expectations changed. He had fresher tires, the red-sidewall alternates that are grippier but less durable than the primaries.
“When I came out in front of David Malukas on the last stint and then got past, that was the moment I realized we were fighting for a podium,” Lundgaard said of their pass and re-pass.
“I never thought I was going to catch Marcus. I was going to give it my best shot to get close to him and put him under some pressure.”
Lundgaard the math in his head as strategist Kyle Moyer did it on his timing stand. What’s the gap? How many laps?
“Kyle told me at this pace we were going to catch him on the last lap,” Lundgaard said, “but I’d still have to get by him.”
His two chances were a problem for Armstrong or a late yellow flag, and Lundgaard got both.
On the 52nd of 55 laps, Armstrong’s car sputtered and Lundgaard shot past. Then as Armstrong pulled off the caution came out, setting up a one-lap shootout.
Tires gave Lundgaard the upper hand over Malukas, and when Graham Rahal crashed in Turn 12 while racing Power for third, all pressure was off.
“I’m going to say I don’t prefer being last at any point in the race,” Lundgaard said. “Ultimately we made the right moves at the right time. Staying out on that last pit sequence is what really gained us the win.
“We’ve done so well on race pace, we’ve produced such great race cars on Sunday, and we just need to be better on Saturday. I think that will just help our weekends tremendously.”
Races like this one, though, are more fun to watch.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: When chaos reins, Christian Lundgaard and Road America IndyCar fans win | Kallmann
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
