2022 Sonsio Grand Prix

Race Notes

• The 2022 Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America was 55 laps on the 14-turn, 4.048-mile road course totaling 220.77 miles. Had inclement weather affected the race, it would have been limited to two hours.
• The pit road speed limit was in two stages: 90 mph in zone one and 45 mph in zone two. The pit window was approximately 13–14 laps under green-flag conditions but those on alternate strategies could have pitted as early as Lap 4.
• Pole sitter Alexander Rossi gridded drivers' right and took the green flag the second time by the start-finish line.
• All cars but those of Rossi, Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou, Marcus Ericsson, Romain Grosjean, Felix Rosenqvist, Callum Ilott, Rinus VeeKay, Devlin DeFrancesco, Tatiana Calderon and Simona De Silvestro started on primary black tires. All cars were required to use one new set of alternate tires and one set of primary black tires in the race.
• Fifteen minutes before the green flag, the ambient temperature at Road America was 61 degrees with 64% relative humidity and partly cloudy skies. The track temperature was 94 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• At 11:48 a.m. CDT, Lindsey Bird, the president of Sonsio Auto Protection and the race's grand marshal, gave the command, "Drivers, please start your engines." All 27 cars started and rolled on the grid, but the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet of VeeKay stalled on pit road and joined the field at the back of the grid. He was able to return to his original position.
• Rossi led the field to start-finish line. Behind Rossi, the No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Jimmie Johnson spun after contact with the No. 11 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet of Calderon in Turn 1. Johnson's stalled race car brought out the first caution of the race in Lap 1.
• The Lap 3 restart didn't last long due to contact between teammates Palou and Ericsson that sent Palou's No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda off course in Turn 5. The caution lasted for two laps with the race resuming on Lap 6.
• On Lap 8, the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet of Will Power was spun by DeFrancesco, causing Power to make light contact in Turn 5. The incident brought out the race's third caution which also had a two-lap duration. The Lap 10 restart began a long green-flag run until Lap 48.
• A key turning point in the race came on Lap 15 when both leader Rossi and second-placed Newgarden pitted. Newgarden managed to beat Rossi out of the pits, earning the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet an advantage that it would enjoy throughout the remainder of the race.
• The race's fourth caution flag flew on Lap 48 when a mechanical issue caused the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet of Pato O'Ward to coast to a stop in Turn 12. Like the three earlier cautions, the fourth one had a two-lap duration.
• With five laps to go, Newgarden led the field to the green flag only to have the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda of Helio Castroneves spin in Turn 14, bringing out a fifth and final caution. Lasting just one lap, the race restarted at the conclusion of Lap 52 with three laps to go.
• On the restart, Ericsson passed Rossi for the second position.
• Newgarden took the white flag with a lead of 2.0032 seconds over Ericsson and took the checkered flag with a 3.3710-second margin of victory.
• With the win on the Road America road course and his previous victories at the Long Beach street circuit and Texas Motor Speedway oval, Newgarden claimed the $1 million bonus for completing the PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge.
• Newgarden's victory marked his third win of 2022 and the 23rd win of his NTT IndyCar Series career. Newgarden tied Tommy Milton for 19th on the all-time wins list.
• Unofficial points after the Sonsio Grand Prix:
  1. Ericsson 293
  2. Power 266 (-27)
  3. Newgarden 261 (-32)
  4. O'Ward 248 (-45)
  5. Palou 246 (-47)
  6. Dixon 224 (-69)
  7. Rossi 218 (-75)
  8. Rosenqvist 203 (-90)
     

Session Notes

• Final practice for the 2022 Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America was 30 minutes in duration and took the place of the more traditional 30-minute warm-up on Sunday morning. The session began at 4:20 p.m. and ran until 4:50 p.m. CDT.
• Twenty-two minutes into final practice, the session was red flagged for Tatiana Calderon, whose No. 11 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet was stopped on course in Turn 5. Calderon was penalized five minutes of practice time for causing a red flag during practice.
• In addition to Calderon's penalty, Romain Grosjean was also penalized five minutes of practice time. He violated Rule 9.3.1.7 which involves failure to follow the direction of INDYCAR.
• Alex Palou ended final practice with the fastest lap: 1:46.2291.
  

Qualifying Notes

• Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award consists of three segments. In the first round, each group receives 12 minutes of track time. The fastest six cars from each group advance to Round 2 while the remaining cars are assigned positions 13 to 27. Group 1 drivers will occupy the odd-numbered positions while Group 2 drivers will occupy the even-numbered positions based on their fastest lap times. During Round 2, the 12 advancing cars receive 12 minutes of track time with the fastest six advancing to the Firestone Fast Six while the remaining cars are ranked in positions seven through 12 based on their fastest laps. During the Firestone Fast Six, the six cars receive eight minutes of guaranteed green-flag time. At the end of session, cars are ranked one through six based on their fastest laps.
• Qualifying at Road America began on time at 12:45 p.m. CDT. The ambient temperature was 70 degrees with 73% humidity and cloudy skies. The track temperature was 78 degrees according to Firestone engineers.
• All segments of knockout qualifying were without incident except for Round 2 which saw Callum Ilott's No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet run off course in Turn 14 and make contact with the tire barrier. Ilott was stripped of his two fastest laps and the ability to advance to the Firestone Fast Six.
• Colton Herta, Josef Newgarden, Marcus Ericsson, Alex Palou, Pato O'Ward and Alexander Rossi competed in the Firestone Fast Six for the NTT P1 Award.
• Rossi ended the final round of qualifying with the fastest lap: 1:44.8656. The achievement marked Rossi's seventh NTT IndyCar Series pole and his first since Belle Isle in 2019 which was 48 starts ago. Rossi became the eighth different pole winner in eight races in 2022.
  

Session Notes

• Unlike Practice 1, which was 75 minutes in duration, Practice 2 at Road America reverted to the standard-for-2022 45-minute session within a one-hour window to account for stoppages due to red flags.
• Also unlike Practice 1, Practice 2 had no red flags and ran uninterrupted from the drop of the green flag at 9:45 a.m. CDT.
• At the checkered flag, the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet of Pato O'Ward was fastest with a 1:45.2681.
• There were four teams represented in the top four with the addition of Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Autosport.
  

Session Notes

• The first practice session of the 2022 Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America race weekend began on time at 3:25 p.m. CDT and was 75 minutes in duration.
• Twenty minutes before the scheduled end time, practice was red flagged due to the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda of Helio Castroneves which was off course at Turn 12. Castroneves was penalized five minutes of practice time for causing a red flag. The session resumed six minutes later.
• At the conclusion of Practice 1, Alexander Rossi's 1:45.6027 was fastest overall.