Paddock Buzz: Graham Rahal, Will Power See Late Clash Differently

Graham Rahal was headed toward his fourth podium finish of the season Sunday in the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Presented by AMR.

Instead, a last-lap clash with Will Power turned a promising afternoon into frustration.

Rahal restarted the one-lap dash to the finish in third and was trying to hold off Power entering Turn 12, the famous Canada Corner, on the final lap when the two made contact. Rahal's No. 15 MSC Industrial Supply Honda spun into the gravel, while Power continued to finish third in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda for his 110th career NTT INDYCAR SERIES podium, fourth on the all-time list and his second podium of the season.

"Had a rough season, for sure," Power said. "Had a lot of potential. It’s not been for a lack of pace.”

The finish represented a much-needed result for Power, who entered the weekend 17th in points. The two-time series champion joined Andretti Global this season after spending 17 years with Team Penske but had endured five finishes of 16th or worse through the opening nine races.

Rahal's frustration stemmed from more than the lost podium. The veteran entered Road America 11th in points amid one of his strongest seasons in recent years, collecting three podiums, the most in a single season since 2020.

"Was I blocking? Heck, yeah," Rahal said. "It's the last lap. At the same time, he's not on the white line, he's got room to his left, so to run square into the back of somebody, it's pretty disappointing."

INDYCAR SERIES penalized Rahal for blocking, and he finished 23rd in the final results and dropped to 12th in the championship standings.

"I'm not so worried about the singular result here, I'm worried about the overall result of the championship," Rahal said. "Another podium, or let's say fourth at worst, puts us easily into the top 10 in points."

Power saw the incident differently.

"I could not do anything," he said. "I was at the capacity of braking. He moved it. There's nothing I can do. It took me by surprise, obviously. That's what caused that. It's a pity."

Rahal suggested the pressure of Power's difficult season may have influenced the move, while acknowledging Power's aggressive style has long been part of what makes him successful.

“This year he's been way more prone to more mistakes,” Rahal said. “More frequent than I would have expected of him. Look, he was paid a load of money to go over there to be the guy, and it hasn't worked. No matter how experienced, how many wins, that’s pressure. To finish on the podium today would have validated or eased a lot of the pressure, and obviously he got rewarded with that.”

Palou Rues Costly Pit Road Mistake

Alex Palou led the opening 13 laps from pole and appeared poised to contend for the victory before a costly mistake on pit road.

The points leader (photo, above) was caught speeding during his second stop on Lap 29 and appeared headed for a drive-through penalty. However, a caution one lap later for Christian Rasmussen's stalled car on the frontstretch helped minimize the damage, as Palou was among 11 drivers who had already pitted.

"Huge mistake by my side," Palou said. "We actually slowed down entering pit lane, but I didn't press the button (pit speed limiter) for the second time. When I went back on the power, we kind of went over the speed limit."

Palou credited his team's strategy for keeping him in contention.

"We pitted at the beginning of the pit window, and that put us in position again," he said. "Very happy to get lucky there but obviously not happy with the mistake at the beginning."

Despite the setback, Palou rallied to finish fifth in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda and extended his championship lead to 60 points over David Malukas.

Malukas finished second in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, his fifth runner-up result of his career, including three this season. He entered the weekend 68 points back of Palou.

Kyle Kirkwood finished 10th in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda for Andretti Global and fell to third in points, 61 back.

"I'm very ashamed of the mistake and very mad at myself," Palou said. "But at the same time, I'm happy because we didn't finish 22nd and we didn't crash. We still extended the points lead, which is important."

Rossi Charges From Last to Sixth

Alexander Rossi turned a difficult weekend into one of the day's biggest comeback drives.

Rossi (photo, above) had a six-spot starting grid penalty for an engine change, forcing the driver of the No. 20 Java House ECR Chevrolet to start 25th and last. He climbed through the field to finish sixth, matching his season-best result March 7 at Phoenix Raceway.

"I am proud of the Java House ECR team for continuing to keep after it and never giving up," Rossi said. "It was a very difficult weekend for us all the way up until the race. It was hard to miss out on a podium, but we definitely salvaged a good result today after a tumultuous two days."

Rossi gained five positions within the opening two laps on Firestone alternate tires and was running 18th when he made his first stop on Lap 13. A caution one lap later shuffled the order and moved him to 14th.

He continued his charge after the Lap 19 restart, climbing to 11th before making his second stop on Lap 29. Another caution immediately followed, vaulting Rossi into the top three as much of the field still needed service.

While he ultimately fell from podium contention, Rossi secured his fourth top 10 of the season despite still driving with lower-leg injuries suffered in a crash during practice in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

Odds and Ends

• Scott McLaughlin (photo, above) finished seventh in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet, his third top-10 finish in the last four races. He had three top 10s in the previous six races. McLaughlin is seventh in the standings, 126 points behind Palou.

• Josef Newgarden crossed the finish line ninth, but a 30-second post-race penalty for avoidable contact dropped him to 22nd. The penalty cost him three positions in the standings. He entered the race fifth.

• Fourteen drivers are scheduled to participate in a test Tuesday, June 24 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Teams slated to take part include Andretti Global, Dale Coyne Racing, ECR. Juncos Hollinger Racing, Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian and Team Penske. Each organization is expected to field all its full-time entries. Mid-Ohio hosts the next race of the season July 5.