Lundqvist shows resilience after 1st-lap Road America mishap

A dream Saturday became a nightmare Sunday start for Linus Lundqvist on the opening lap of the XPEL Grand Prix at Road American in Wisconsin. But as the race unfolded, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie showed why Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) has put Lundqvist behind the wheel of the No. 8 American Legion Honda this season.

After earning his first-ever INDYCAR pole on Saturday and leading the field on the opening lap – sharing the Legion’s Be the One message on his livery – Lundqvist was pushed into a spin by CGR teammate Marcus Armstrong, who had qualified third.

The contact, which resulted in a penalty for Armstrong, happened in Turn 1 and allowed the field to pass Lundqvist. But he was able to battle back, running in the top 10 at times before settling into a 12th-place finish, his second-best finish in a points race this season. He was able to build on his Rookie of the Year lead over teammate Kyffin Simpson, upping the advantage to 19 points.  

“It’s a shame man. I was so excited for this race,” Lundqvist said. “It would’ve been great to see what we could have done out there because I think after that our race was actually pretty decent. I think after all it was a solid recovery from the No. 8 American Legion team to get to P12.”

Defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champ Alex Palou started the race seventh driving the No. 10 DHL Honda featuring American Legion branding, led three laps on his way to a fourth-place finish. He remains in second place in the series points race, five points behind Sunday’s winner, Will Power.  

“It was a solid day for us. I think we just maximized everything we had,” Palou said. “The No. 10 DHL team did an amazing job, we just really didn’t have that speed that the top three had. A bit sad that I was just there alone all race, just trying to catch the top three guys, but we didn’t really have it today. Solid day for us and looking forward to the next one.”

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES finally gets a weekend off and will resume June 23 with the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

To learn about The American Legion’s Be the One veteran suicide prevention program, click here.