Paddock Buzz: Felipe Nasr on Standby For Fill-In Duty With Penske

Porsche Penske Motorsport IMSA driver Felipe Nasr was in Josef Newgarden’s pit box Friday at Road America, dressed in a driver’s suit and shoes as a potential substitute in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet.

Josef Newgarden, a two-time series champion in 2017 and 2019, sported a new wrap around this walking boot and used the aid of two crutches to get around the paddock.

Newgarden continues recovering from a left foot injury suffered in a crash during the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. He raced through the injury since then, finishing 10th on May 31 in Detroit and winning June 7 at World Wide Technology Raceway, beating Marcus Ericsson to the finish.

Road America presents a different challenge than the streets of Detroit and the WWTR oval for Newgarden because of heavy braking zones and significant lateral loads.

Newgarden (photo, above, left) was 14th quickest Friday and will evaluate his participation level for Saturday’s practice and qualifying session in the morning.

Brazilian Nasr (photo, above, right) has tested Team Penske INDYCAR SERIES machinery multiple times and served as Newgarden's standby driver in Detroit. He raced in Formula One for Sauber in 2015-16 and has won three IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championships in the premier prototype category, including in 2024 for Porsche Penske Motorsport.

Newgarden enters the weekend sixth in points. He owns Road America victories in 2018 and 2022 and has runner-up finishes in 2017, 2023 and 2024.

Long Wait Surprising but Worthwhile for Rosenqvist

Felix Rosenqvist earned his first INDYCAR SERIES victory June 12, 2020, at Road America. He didn't expect to wait nearly six years for another.

Rosenqvist passed David Malukas on the final straightaway of the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge to earn his second career victory May 24.

"No, I didn't think so," Rosenqvist said of the gap between wins. "When you win, you expect another one to come pretty quickly. At that point in my career, I probably didn't understand how difficult this series can be."

Rosenqvist may not have to wait that long for a third trip to victory lane. The Swede was second quickest at 1 minute, 44.3501 seconds in Friday’s opening practice session. That’s the spot he finished last year’s race.

“Always love coming to Wisconsin,” Rosenqvist said. “It kind of reminds me of Sweden a little bit, the weather in the summer, lots of great race fans and just a great atmosphere. I have one win here now, which I kind of forgot about it from a long time ago, but another one would actually mean even more.”

Rosenqvist is in his eighth full-time season but third driving the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda. He has elevated the program from 25th in entrant points before his arrival to sixth last season.

Rosenqvist sits eighth in points the midway mark of 2026 and expects to continue the climb during the second half of the season.

He’s finished runner-up at three of the next four tracks factoring in Road America last year, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2019 and Portland International Raceway in 2023.

"I think it would be a stretch to say we're in a championship run," Rosenqvist said. "But it doesn't change the hunger for wins. We want to keep banking good results and take advantage of opportunities when they come."

Palou Chasing Road America Record, Fifth Straight Pole

Alex Palou is tied with Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi and Michael Andretti for the most Road America victories since INDYCAR SERIES competition began at the track in 1982. All three of Palou's wins have come since 2021, including last year.

A victory in Sunday's XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR (2 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls) in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda would give Palou (photo, above) sole possession of the record.

Palou was third fastest in Friday practice.

"No way," Palou said of learning he shares the record. "I didn't know that. So very cool. I've had a lot of great races here, a lot of success. That kind of fills us a little bit to try and do a good job. It's always so tough to win here. I remember last year was not a straightforward race. It was very chaotic, different strategies, lots of yellows, but we still survived."

Palou has four podium finishes in seven Road America starts. He's also been among the strongest drivers on permanent road courses this season, winning at Barber Motorsports Park and finishing fifth at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course after starting from pole in both races. Three of his four championship seasons have included a Road America victory.

"Hopefully we get to do it again," he said.

Palou also enters the weekend with four consecutive NTT P1 Awards, having won every pole since the Sonsio Grand Prix on May 9. A fifth straight pole would tie Andretti and Danny Sullivan for the fourth-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history. Bobby Unser holds the record with eight consecutive poles from 1971-72, followed by Andretti with seven from 1965-66 and Alex Zanardi with six from 1996-97.

"That's a funny stat," Palou said. "But at the same time, it's not important. I wish it would have been a streak of wins and not poles because it's only four points. That's nothing. It's two or three positions in a race. Although it feels great and you feel like a superhero on Saturday, you cannot take much away on Sunday. I'd love to get another one here at Road America, but if we don't, that's fine as long as we get a win."

Palou started second last year for his best effort in seven tries here.

Ericsson Building Momentum

Ericsson enters Road America ninth in points after finishing second in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline on June 7 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

The Swede (photo, above) led 114 of 260 laps at WWTR and was eager to strap into the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda for Andretti Global Friday at Road America.

"I think it was one of my best race performances in the INDYCAR SERIES," Ericsson said. "It's been coming. This year has been really strong for me and the No. 28 team. We've gotten a car underneath me that I can build confidence in.

“That’s why Gateway was not a surprise for us. We felt like we were building toward that.”

The momentum carried forward Friday with Ericsson ninth fastest in the session.

Ericsson has six top-10 finishes in his last seven Road America starts and believes the upcoming tracks favor him, too.

He finished second here in 2022 and runner-up in 2021 at Mid-Ohio.

"I'm very excited," Ericsson said. "I've been on the podium here and at Mid-Ohio. I feel like every track we go to now, we're capable of competing."

The No. 28 Andretti Global Honda has not finished in the top 10 in points since Ryan Hunter-Reay placed 10th in 2020.

"I feel like I'm driving at the same level I was at Ganassi," Ericsson said. "If I keep doing that, things will work out."

Ericsson finished sixth in points in his final three seasons at Ganassi (2021-23) and earned all four of his victories in that span, including the 2022 Indy 500.

Foster Trades Razor Roles

Louis Foster lost his mustache for charity at last year's Road America welcome party at Siebkens Stop-Inn Tavern.

This year, he held the razor.

Foster shaved FOX Sports analyst James Hinchcliffe's beard into a handlebar moustache during Thursday night's annual event, which raises money for Racing For Kids through donations and celebrity bartending. FOX Sports play-by-play announcer Will Buxton also took a shift on the razor to trim Hinchcliffe’s beard (photo, above).

Lundqvist Joins Honda Development Program

Linus Lundqvist was named Honda Racing Corporation's Driver-In-The-Loop simulator development driver this week.

The 2022 INDY NXT by Firestone champion made 20 INDYCAR SERIES starts and earned Rookie of the Year honors in 2024.

deadmau5 to Headline Nashville Concert

GRAMMY-nominated artist deadmau5 will headline the race-day concert at the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by OnlyBulls on July 19 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Nashville-based Backbeat Troubadours featuring actor Billy Bob Thornton and Mark Collie, along with country artist Chase Wright, also will perform.

Odds and Ends

• Arrow McLaren, AJ Foyt Racing, Andretti Global, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and ECR tested here last week. That’s why it’s no surprise that six of the top nine times in Friday’s practice belonged to these teams.

• Stickers honoring the memory of INDYCAR SERIES team owner Dennis Reinbold (photo, above) were made available to teams this weekend. Reinbold, owner of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, died July 13 at age 65.

• Ericsson is wearing his fourth Delaware Life specialty hat of the season. This weekend's design, created by Peyton Manning Children's Hospital patient ambassador Laquan, features a custom white color scheme.

• Caio Collet sported a Brazilian soccer team jersey Friday. Collet also admitted he had an MRI last week and that he has broken ribs from the Indy 500 crash that will take another month to heal.

• Temperatures are expected to be significantly cooler than last year's race, when highs reached 93 and 94 degrees Saturday and Sunday. Friday was in the low 70s and sunny, with Saturday and Sunday forecasted to be in the upper 60s and low 70s.

• An interesting Road America trend: The second-fastest driver in the Saturday morning practice won each of the last two Road America races, while the 17th-fastest driver in that session earned the NTT P1 Award both years. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices at 11 a.m. ET and qualifies at 2 p.m. ET Saturday. Both air on FS1, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.