Pruett’s Preview: Kohler Grand Prix at Road America

IndyCar’s long awaited return to the Kettle Moraine valley for open-wheel action at Road America is expected to top all expectations. Sebastien Bourdais, the most recent Indy car winner at the idyllic circuit in 2007, is coming off possibly the biggest win of his career last weekend at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and heads to the town of Elkhart Lake riding a wave of momentum with the No. 11 KVSH Racing Chevy.

The Le Mans native also scored a win earlier this month at the Dual in Detroit IndyCar doubleheader, and with the Frenchman enjoying his own personal golden era, and his admitted love for all 4 miles of the Elkhart road course, the driver known as “SeaBass” will be looking to bookend Detroit and Le Mans with a Road America win to seal an amazing month of June.

Bourdais split the Detroit wins with Team Penske’s Will Power, who shook off a yearlong streak that kept the 2014 IndyCar champion out of Victory Lane. It has been quite a while since Power went on a winning streak, and with his natural road course prowess in mind, the Australian has been presented with the perfect chance—at the perfect track—to wage another title run.

With Bourdais (14th) and Power (seventh) facing a steep climb to the head of the championship fight, the two drivers with the most to gain or lose this weekend happen to be points leader Simon Pagenaud and second-place man Scott Dixon. 

Just as his teammate Will Power relishes racing on a track like Road America, Pagenaud comes alive on winding circuits where bravery and technical mastery are required. With wins at Barber Motorsports Park and the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis earlier this year, the Frenchman is the early favorite to maintain his 100 percent success rate on purpose-built road courses.

He’ll have Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dixon, the defending series champion who also competed at Le Mans last weekend and finished third on his debut, primed to draw down the 70-point gap that separated the title contenders. The New Zealander is all about high speed and lightning-fast car control, which could be the magic combination to earn his second win of the year.

Bourdais, Power, Pagenaud, Dixon—all members of Chevy’s Bowtie brigade, will face stiff opposition from the resurgent Honda camp. 

Andretti-Herta Autosport’s Indy 500 winner, Alexander Rossi, holds fifth in the standings and with all of his European open-wheel experience on tracks like Road America, the Californian could shine in a familiar habitat. His Andretti teammate Carlos Munoz, who many reckon to have the fastest hands in the series, is primed to put on a display in Elkhart Lake. 

The Colombian is only two points ahead of the surging Power, and can’t afford to fall from sixth in the standings as the series moves into the final months of competition.

Star-on-the-rise Josef Newgarden has been cleared to practice after a bone-breaking crash two weeks ago in Texas, and with his Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy holding fourth in the championship, the young American badass will do everything in his power to grab more points during Sunday’s 50-lap Kohler Grand Prix.

Among those on the outside looking in and needing a strong result to turn their seasons around, Chip Ganassi Racing rookie Max Chilton seems due for his second top 10 of the year. Andretti’s Ryan Hunter-Reay and Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Graham Rahal must be feeling uneasy after venturing past the halfway mark in the championship without a win. 

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ James Hinchcliffe is a giant ball of ready-to-win, and his teammate Mikhail Aleshin’s mockery of fear should lead to fireworks at Road America.

Dale Coyne Racing’s Conor Daly is cementing his position as a rookie who can handle the pressure and expectations to punch above his weight, and finally, Penske’s Juan Montoya was born to race at this circuit.

There are some events on the calendar where a handful of drivers will be left to settle the podium among themselves. Road America isn’t one of them. Outside of Indianapolis, it’s every IndyCar driver’s new or old favorite. It’s one of IndyCar’s spiritual homes, and embodies everything that makes open-wheel racing—above every other form of the sport—the best show of the year in Elkhart.

Welcome back, IndyCar.