| Country: | USA |
| Race: | REV Group Grand Prix at Road America |
| Date: | June 20 |
| Year: | 2021 |
| Official Name: | REV Group Grand Prix at Road America |
| Round No: | 9th |
| Series: | IndyCar |
| Location: | Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin |
| Course: | Permanent racing facility |
| Course Mi: | 4.014 |
| Course Km: | 6.460 |
| Distance Laps: | 55 |
| Distance Mi: | 220.55 |
| Distance Km: | 354.94 |
| Pole Driver: |  Josef Newgarden |
| Pole Team: | Team Penske |
| Pole Time: | 01:46.0186 |
| Pole Country: | USA |
| Fast Driver: |  Álex Palou |
| Fast Team: | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| Fast Time: | 01:48.5653 |
| Fast Lap: | 43 |
| Fast Country: | ESP |
| First Driver: | Álex Palou |
| First Team: | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| First Country: | ESP |
| Second Driver: | Colton Herta |
| Second Team: | Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian |
| Second Country: | USA |
| Third Driver: |  Will Power |
| Third Team: | Team Penske |
| Third Country: | AUS |
The 2021 REV Group Grand Prix at Road America was the ninth race of the 2021 IndyCar Series season. The race was held on Sunday, June 20, 2021, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin at Road America, a 4.048miles permanent road course. The race went to the scheduled 55 laps to completion. At race's end, Álex Palou, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, would take advantage of a disaster-stricken Josef Newgarden to win his second career IndyCar Series win and his second of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Colton Herta, driving for Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian, and Will Power, driving for Team Penske, would finish second and third, respectively.
Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NTT Indycar Series, NTTWeatherTech SportsCar Championship, SCCA Pirelli World Challenge, ASRA, AMA Superbike series, IndyCar Series, and SCCA Pro Racing's Trans-Am Series.
Numerous driver replacements would occur for the race. Former F1 driver Kevin Magnussen, who would make his IndyCar debut, would replace Felix Rosenqvist, who suffered injuries at the 2021 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.[2] [3] Oliver Askew would also replace an injured Rinus VeeKay, who suffered injuries in a cycling incident.[4]
In addition, NASCAR driver Cody Ware would make his IndyCar debut.[5]
| Key | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| Rookie | ||
| Past winner |
The first practice session was held on Friday, June 18, at 5:00 PM EST. The session would last for 45 minutes.[6] Romain Grosjean, driving for Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, setting a time of 1:47.6781.[7]
| Driver | Team | Engine | Lap Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 51 | Romain Grosjean | Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing | Honda | 01:47.6781 | |
| 2 | 26 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian | Honda | 01:45.4730 | |
| 3 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 01:47.8417 | |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
The second practice session was held on Saturday, June 19, at 11:10 AM EST. The session would last for 45 minutes. Josef Newgarden, driving for Team Penske, would set the fastest time in the session, setting a time of 1:45.3399.[8]
| Driver | Team | Engine | Lap Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 01:45.3399 | |
| 2 | 28 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian | Honda | 01:45.4730 | |
| 3 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 01:45.6515 | |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
The final practice session was held on Saturday, June 19, at 5:30 PM EST. The session would last for 30 minutes. Colton Herta, driving for Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian, would set the fastest time in the session, setting a time of 1:47.6312.[9]
| Driver | Team | Engine | Lap Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian | Honda | 01:47.6312 | |
| 2 | 9 |  Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 01:47.6457 | |
| 3 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 01:47.6707 | |
| Full final practice results | ||||||
Qualifying was held on Saturday, June 19, at 2:30 PM EST. The qualifying format was a three-round knockout elimination format. For round one, the field is divided into two groups based on the odd and even positions of drivers in the final pre-qualifying practice session. The fastest driver in that session decides which group the odd-positioned drivers will be in with the even-positioned drivers in the other group. The fastest six drivers from each group would move onto round 2. Then, the fastest six drivers in round 2 would move onto to the third round, also known as the Firestone Fast Six. The fastest driver in Round 3 would win the pole.[10]
Josef Newgarden, driving for Team Penske would win the pole after advancing from both preliminary rounds and setting the fastest lap in Round 3, setting a time of 1:46.0186 in the third round.[11]
| Driver | Team | Engine | Time | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | |||||||||||
| Group 1 | Group 2 | ||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:45.6078 | 01:45.6818 | 01:46.0186 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 26 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian | Honda | 01:45.7504 | N/A | 01:45.5231 | 01:46.2616 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 60 |  Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | N/A | 01:46.0061 | 01:45.3612 | 01:46.7206 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 12 | Will Power | Team Penske | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:45.6716 | 01:45.8570 | 01:46.8237 | 4 | ||
| 5 | 10 | Álex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 01:45.8821 | N/A | 01:45.8363 | 01:46.8633 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 22 |  Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 01:46:1281 | N/A | 01:45.7996 | 01:47.1274 | 6 | ||
| 7 | 51 | Romain Grosjean | Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing | Honda | 01:46.1329 | N/A | 01:45.9015 | data-sort-value="7" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 7 | |
| 8 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 01:46:3086 | N/A | 01:45.9514 | data-sort-value="8" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 8 | |
| 9 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Honda | N/A | 01:45.6286 | 01:46.1037 | data-sort-value="9" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 9 | |
| 10 | 5 |  Patricio O'Ward | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:45.7681 | 01:46.1069 | data-sort-value="10" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 10 | |
| 11 | 14 | Sébastien Bourdais | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 01:46.1085 | N/A | 01:46.2225 | data-sort-value="11" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 11 | |
| 12 | 18 | Ed Jones | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan | Honda | N/A | 01:45:7968 | 01:46.2270 | data-sort-value="12" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 12 | |
| 13 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 01:46.3427 | N/A | data-sort-value="13" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="13" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | N/A | 01:46.2779 | data-sort-value="14" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="14" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 14 |
| 15 | 20 | Conor Daly | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 01:46.3976 | N/A | data-sort-value="15" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="15" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 15 |
| 16 | 21 | Oliver Askew | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:46.2902 | data-sort-value="16" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="16" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 16 |
| 17 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 01:46.8624 | N/A | data-sort-value="17" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="17" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 17 |
| 18 | 8 |  Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | N/A | 01:46.4069 | data-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="18" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 18 |
| 19 | 29 |  James Hinchcliffe | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda | 01:47.0294 | N/A | data-sort-value="19" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="19" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 19 |
| 20 | 30 |  Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | N/A | 01:46.5130 | data-sort-value="20" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="20" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 20 |
| 21 | 7 |  Kevin Magnussen | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | 01:47.3776 | N/A | data-sort-value="21" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="21" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 21 |
| 22 | 59 | Max Chilton | Carlin | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:46.5551 | data-sort-value="22" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="22" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 22 |
| 23 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 01:47.7886 | N/A | data-sort-value="23" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="23" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 23 |
| 24 | 4 | Dalton Kellett | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:46.9786 | data-sort-value="24" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="24" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 24 |
| 25 | 52 | Cody Ware | Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing | Honda | N/A | 01:47.7324 | data-sort-value="25" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | data-sort-value="25" align="center" style="background: silver" | N/A | 25 |
| Full first group qualifying results | |||||||||||
| Full second group qualifying results | |||||||||||
| Full second round qualifying results | |||||||||||
| Full Fast Six qualifying results | |||||||||||
| Driver | Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Álex Palou | 349 | ||
| 2 | Patricio O'Ward | 321 | ||
| 3 | Scott Dixon | 296 | ||
| 4 | Josef Newgarden | 261 | ||
| 5 | Simon Pagenaud | 255 | ||
| Official driver's standings | ||||
| Manufacturer | Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honda | 738 | ||
| 2 | Chevrolet | 710 | ||
| Official engine manufacturers' standings | ||||