Armstrong's Practice Domination
Marcus Armstrong Leads Meyer Shank 1-2 at Road America IndyCar Practice Session
Marcus Armstrong topped the opening practice session for the NTT XPEL Grand Prix at Road America on June 19, posting a best lap of 1:44.2714 at an average speed of 138.585 mph, according to Motorsport Week. Teammate Felix Rosenqvist finished second, giving Meyer Shank Racing a commanding 1-2 on the 4.014-mile Elkhart Lake circuit — and Armstrong did it while battling a flu-like illness on just two hours of sleep.
"I'm as sick as a dog," Armstrong said, per IndyCar Series Official. "At least I've proven to myself I can still be fast with two hours of sleep." The gap between Armstrong in first and Alex Palou in third was just 0.0945 seconds, with all top 20 drivers finishing within one second of each other, according to Wisconsin Rapids Tribune.
Meyer Shank Surges Late on Red Tires
Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing) led the session for its first 50 minutes on the primary "Black" Firestone tires, RACER reported. Then, with about 15 minutes left, Armstrong and Rosenqvist switched to the alternate "Red" compound and shot to the top of the leaderboard. The move was not just for headlines — the Red tires will be critical in Saturday qualifying.
A red flag paused the action at 4:49 PM ET after Sting Ray Robb spun and hit the wall at Turn 14, per IndyCar Series Official. When the session resumed, MSR made their tire switch and sealed the 1-2. Analysts at Motorsport Week noted that Palou's strong pace on primary tires still makes him a race-day favorite, since primaries cover most of the 55-lap distance on Sunday.
MSR-CGR Technical Alliance Pays Off Without Private Test
Five teams — AJ Foyt, Andretti, Arrow McLaren, ECR, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan — ran a private test at Road America last week. Armstrong, Rosenqvist, and Palou skipped it entirely. Yet they finished 1-2-3 on Friday, Read Motorsport reported. That result points to the strength of the MSR-CGR technical alliance, which lets the smaller MSR team share data and engineering resources with the powerhouse Ganassi outfit.
SPEED SPORT frames the result as part of MSR's rise from underdog to top-tier team, accelerated by Rosenqvist's victory at the 110th Indianapolis 500 last month. Meanwhile, Motorsport Week noted that Honda-powered teams appear to have adapted faster than Chevrolet teams to new reduced hybrid power limits introduced for Road America this season.
Rookies Shine While Team Penske Struggles
The session produced surprise performances from first-year drivers. Caio Collet (AJ Foyt Racing) finished 6th and Mick Schumacher (Rahal Letterman Lanigan) finished 8th, per Yardbarker. Both outpaced veterans Josef Newgarden (14th) and Will Power (17th). Nolan Siegel of Arrow McLaren finished 5th in one of his strongest practice runs of the 2026 season, Motorsport Week noted.
Team Penske had a rare off day at a track where it has historically been strong. David Malukas was their fastest car at 12th. Scott McLaughlin and Will Power both finished outside the top 15, according to RACER. Penske will need to find significant pace before Saturday's qualifying at 2:00 PM ET.
Championship Picture: Palou Leads, Kirkwood Stumbles
Points leader Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing) finished third despite being fastest for most of the session. He currently holds a 49-point lead over Kyle Kirkwood in the 2026 standings, per RACER. Kirkwood finished a disappointing 15th in practice. Palou enjoyed the challenge. "Every lap, man, I enjoy this place," he said. "It's hard work; it's never easy to put a lap together at Road America, but it's fun."
Armstrong's fast time is already nearly two-tenths of a second quicker than the 2025 pole-winning lap, OpenWheelWorld reported. The race goes 55 laps over 220.77 miles on Sunday at 2:00 PM ET. Armstrong's illness remains a wild card — Road America is one of the most physically demanding tracks on the IndyCar calendar, and his endurance over a full race distance is an open question.
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