Kohler Grand Prix preview, forecast and predictions
Team Penske is poised to dominate the Kohler Grand Prix at Road America. We preview and predict Round 9 of the Verizon IndyCar Series season.
The Verizon IndyCar Series is hitting the road. Road America, that is, as the Kohler Grand Prix takes place on Sunday with Team Penske firmly ensconced up front.
All four Team Penske cars qualified in the top four positions on Saturday, with Helio Castroneves on pole for the third time this season and 50th in his career. Castroneves is still looking to break a three-year win drought, but to do it he’ll have to hold off his teammate and defending race winner Will Power.
Everyone else is looking for speed to chase the Penskes. Graham Rahal looked fast early in the qualifying session, but ultimately was the last of the Firestone Fast Six. And one Ganassi car, that of championship leader Scott Dixon, bumped another (Max Chilton) out of the Fast Six. Someone has to find that extra couple of tenths to keep things interesting on Sunday, and with the fierce level of competition in IndyCar, somebody will.
WEATHER FORECAST:
It’s all clear for the Kohler Grand Prix. Weather.com says it will be 67 degrees and partly cloudy in Elkhart Lake, with just a 20 percent chance of rain.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH:
- Helio Castroneves: If Castroneves wins the Kohler Grand Prix, it will be a major milestone for him. Not only will it be his 30th career victory, but it’ll be his first IndyCar win in the last three seasons. He’s come so close (most recently in the Indy 500) so you don’t want to miss it if he finally gets there.
- Honda cars: Do they have anything for the Chevrolets, specifically Team Penske? It didn’t look like it in qualifying, with only two Hondas in the Fast Six and both in the bottom of that final group. Honda dominated the 2017 IndyCar season early but it looks like Chevy may be roaring back, and Honda will certainly need an extra something to contend at Road America.
- Mikhail Aleshin: The Russian deserves a trophy just for getting through Kohler Grand Prix weekend. Aleshin was detained in France after the 24 Hours of Le Mans with visa issues, missed Friday practice, got to Wisconsin on Saturday morning just in time to qualify the No. 7 car and on top of that, the airline lost his luggage. Will the craziness affect him on track? And how did he get through all that so calmly?
PREDICTION:
It looks improbable for anyone to beat Team Penske going into Kohler Grand Prix weekend. The four Penske cars not only were top four in qualifying, but they were top four in practice before, and a Penske is the defending race winner at Road America.
It’d be statistically crazy for Penske to sweep the entire podium, but odds seem good that they’ll get at least two drivers up there, and the best two are Castroneves and Power. Power won this race last year and always seems to find that extra bit of aggression to make the difference in the race, while Castroneves has more speed.
However, Castroneves is also doing without his usual strategist, so how will that affect him? And Power is coming in with momentum, having just won the Rainguard Water Sealers 600. As great as it would be to see Helio Castroneves back in Victory Lane, Power has more advantages at the moment.
And who will be the non-Penske driver to hit the podium? Scott Dixon looked strong in the early qualifying rounds but then faded. Graham Rahal also drove decently throughout Saturday. One person has to bust up the Penske party.
We’re predicting Will Power to win the Kohler Grand Prix, followed by Helio Castroneves and Graham Rahal.
Next: What will help Max Chilton get an IndyCar win?
The Kohler Grand Prix takes place Sunday, June 25 at 3:30 p.m. ET from Road America. For complete IndyCar coverage throughout race weekend, follow the Motor Sports category at FanSided here.