The Grand Prix of Road America (known as the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America for sponsorship reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Christian Lundgaard is the defending winner of the event, having won it in 2026.

For twenty-five years, the event was part of CART/Champ Car World Series, with the first race being held in 1982. The event was put on hiatus in 2008 after the unification of Champ Car into the Indy Racing League. On August 8, 2015, it was announced that the race would return beginning in 2016. The race weekend typically includes all three series under the Road to Indy and the GT World Challenge America as support races.

Race history The first major open wheel racing at Road America was a USAC/SCCA Formula 5000 (SCCA Continental Championship) held from 1974 to 1976.

The CART Indy Car Series first visited Road America in 1982. Road America was one of several road and street races that were added to the series during the 1980s. Immediately, the race became a popular event, owing much to the challenging, competitive, and picturesque nature of the course. Along with Milwaukee, the CART series for many years featured two stops annually in the state of Wisconsin.

Since its inception, Road America has been the longest track utilized on the Indy car circuit. At 4.048 miles (6.515 km), fuel mileage has been a deciding factor in many races. On more than one occasion, competitors have run out of fuel within sight of victory, occasionally leading to surprise winners. In some years, rain has been a factor, again adding a difficult challenge to even the most experienced drivers.

Throughout nearly its entire history as part of the CART/CCWS series calendar, the race was scheduled for either August or September, usually late in the season. The race was oftentimes a pivotal race in the championship hunt. The race began as a 50-lap/200-mile race, but was later lengthened. In 2007 only, the race was paired in a double-header weekend with the ALMS Road America 500.

The high speeds obtained on the course have seen several major crashes. A. J. Foyt went off in turn one in 1990, and nearly ended his career due to severe leg and ankle injuries. During a test session in 2006, Cristiano da Matta hit a deer, suffering a subdural hematoma. Katherine Legge suffered one of the most severe crashes during the 2006 race. the car lost a rear wing going into the Turn 11 Kink, and flipped into the catchfence.

Race revival In February 2003, CART officials filed a lawsuit against the promoters of the race, stating they had failed to pay sanctioning fees due from the previous year's race, and failed to make payments due for the 2003 race. On March 11, series officials cancelled the race outright.

The reaction among media and fans was very negative, as many believed the series was dropping one of its marquee events. A few weeks later, the track issued a countersuit against CART, stating that the sanctioning body broke the contract by cancelling the race. Mario Andretti stepped in to mediate, and in April the two sides came together to reinstate the event. The race was renamed the "Mario Andretti Grand Prix" in his honor.

After coming back for two more seasons, Road America was left off the 2005 Champ Car schedule due to lack of sponsorship and declining attendance. Promoters, however, were able to bring the race back for 2006 and 2007. The track was to be part of the 2008 Champ Car schedule, but it became a casualty of the 2008 open wheel unification. The event went on hiatus for nearly a decade.

In 2016, after several years of speculation, the race was revived as part of the IndyCar Series. The event was considered a rousing success, and reestablished the circuit as a marquee race on the IndyCar schedule. The race at Milwaukee had been put on hiatus after 2015, and Road America effectively replaced that event on the schedule. In 2024, Milwaukee returned to schedule, and the series once again makes two stops annually in the state of Wisconsin.

First wins Despite the demanding and challenging nature of the course, Road America has been the site of the first career win for several drivers in Indy car racing. In early years, Héctor Rebaque and "Uncle" Jacques Villeneuve both scored their first and only wins in the Indy cars. In 1986, Emerson Fittipaldi won his second-career CART series race at Road America, but it was notably his first such win on a road course.

In the 1990s, Paul Tracy won his first career pole position at Road America, and Jacques Villeneuve followed in the footsteps of his uncle in winning his first Indy car race here as well.

Dario Franchitti, Christian Fittipaldi, Bruno Junqueira, and Alex Tagliani also all scored their first-career CART/Champ Car series wins at Road America. In 2020, Felix Rosenqvist won his first career IndyCar Series race, while Pato O'Ward (who finished second, and had led the most laps) scored his first pole position and first podium finish.

Unser Jinx The father and son duo of Al Unser Sr. and Al Unser Jr., both champions in the CART series and multiple time Indianapolis 500 winners, notably failed to ever win a race at Road America. On numerous occasions, Unser Sr. or Unser Jr. were well on their way to victory, only for their race to come to a sudden end. This is in stark contrast to the rival Andretti family, which scored six victories at Road America but only one win (1969) at Indianapolis.

Al Sr. ran out of fuel on the final lap while leading in 1982. Al Jr. was leading handily in 1985 until he lost control in a sudden rain shower, crashed and broke his ankle. Unser Jr. crashed again in 1986, and ran out of fuel in 1988. In 1991, Michael Andretti narrowly beat out Unser Jr. in the final two laps. In 1996, Unser Jr. blew his engine on the final lap, two corners short of victory.

Al Unser Jr. also started on the pole in a Can-Am race at Road America, but broke the transmission on the second lap.

Race results SeasonDateDriverTeamChassisEngineRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed(mph)Report Laps Miles (km)USAC/SCCA Formula 5000 1974 July 28 Mario Andretti Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing Lola Chevrolet25100 (160.93)0:53:02124.741 Report 1975 July 27 Mario Andretti Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing Lola Chevrolet25100 (160.93)0:54:22110.355 Report1976 July 25 Jackie Oliver Phoenix Racing Shadow Dodge25100 (160.93)0:58:29102.590 Report Aug 28 Brian Redman Haas/Hall Racing Lola Chevrolet2080 (128.75)0:42:59111.640 Report Aug 29 Vern Schuppan Jorgensen Steel Lola Chevrolet25100 (160.93)0:54:38109.816 Report1977–1981 Not heldCART/Champ Car 1982 Sep 19 Héctor Rebaque Forsythe Racing March Cosworth50200 (321.868)1:49:56109.156 Report 1983 July 31 Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Cosworth50200 (321.868)2:00:42 99.41 Report 1984 Aug 5 Mario Andretti (2) Newman/Haas Racing (2) Lola Cosworth50200 (321.868)1:43:08 116.347 Report 1985 Aug 4 Jacques Villeneuve (Sr.) Canadian Tire Racing March Cosworth50200 (321.868)1:45:12 114.066 Report 1986 Sep 21/ Oct 4* Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing March Cosworth50200 (321.868)2:26:42 81.8 Report 1987 Aug 30 Mario Andretti (3) Newman/Haas Racing (3) Lola Chevrolet50200 (321.868)1:39:52120.155 Report 1988 Sep 11 Emerson Fittipaldi (2) Patrick Racing (2) Lola Chevrolet50200 (321.868)1:38:11 122.215 Report 1989 Sep 10 Danny Sullivan Penske Racing Penske Chevrolet50200 (321.868)1:37:43 123.05 Report 1990 Sep 23 Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing (4) Lola Chevrolet50200 (321.868)1:53:00 106.192 Report 1991 Sep 22 Michael Andretti (2) Newman/Haas Racing (5) Lola Chevrolet50200 (321.868)1:35:05 126.205 Report 1992 Aug 23 Emerson Fittipaldi (3) Penske Racing (2) Penske Chevrolet-Ilmor50200 (321.868)1:48:26 110.656 Report 1993 Aug 22 Paul Tracy Penske Racing (3) Penske Chevrolet-Ilmor50200 (321.868)1:41:20 118.408 Report 1994 Sep 11 Jacques Villeneuve Forsythe/Green Racing (2) Reynard Ford-Cosworth50200 (321.868)1:42:37 116.922 Report 1995 July 9 Jacques Villeneuve (2) Team Green Reynard Ford-Cosworth50200 (321.868)1:55:29 103.901 Report 1996 Aug 18 Michael Andretti (3) Newman/Haas Racing (6) Lola Ford-Cosworth50200 (321.868)1:56:33 102.947 Report 1997 Aug 17 Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda50202.4 (325.731)1:57:54 102.995 Report 1998 Aug 16 Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green (2) Reynard Honda50202.4 (325.731)1:35:30127.145 Report 1999 July 11 Christian Fittipaldi Newman/Haas Racing (7) Swift Ford-Cosworth55222.64 (358.304)1:37:00 137.697 Report 2000 Aug 20 Paul Tracy (2) Team Green (3) Reynard Honda55222.64 (358.304)1:37:53 136.457 Report 2001 Aug 19 Bruno Junqueira Chip Ganassi Racing (2) Lola Toyota45*182.16 (293.158)2:00:2890.721 Report 2002 Aug 18 Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing (8) Lola Toyota60242.88 (390.877)1:56:43 124.856 Report 2003 Aug 3 Bruno Junqueira (2) Newman/Haas Racing (9) Lola Ford-Cosworth34*137.632 (221.497)1:35:2886.493 Report 2004 Aug 8 Alex Tagliani Rocketsports Lola Ford-Cosworth48*194.304 (312.701)1:45:07110.903 Report 2005 Not held 2006 Sep 23 A. J. Allmendinger Forsythe Racing (3) Lola Ford-Cosworth51206.448 (332.245)1:54:43107.967 Report 2007 Aug 12 Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (10) Panoz Cosworth53214.544 (345.275)1:40:58127.481 Report2008–2015 Not held IndyCar Series 2016 Jun 26 Will Power Team Penske (4) Dallara Chevrolet50202.4 (325.731)1:39:10121.426 Report 2017 Jun 25 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing (3) Dallara Honda55222.64 (358.304)1:47:19123.431 Report 2018 Jun 24 Josef Newgarden Team Penske (5) Dallara Chevrolet55222.64 (358.304)1:40:16132.101 Report 2019 Jun 23 Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Dallara Honda55222.64 (358.304)1:39:40132.894 Report2020 July 11 Scott Dixon (2) Chip Ganassi Racing (4) Dallara Honda55222.64 (358.304)1:54:09116.027 Report July 12 Felix Rosenqvist Chip Ganassi Racing (5) Dallara Honda55222.64 (358.304)1:51:22118.942 Report 2021 Jun 20 Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing (6) Dallara Honda55222.64 (358.304)1:50:55119.424 Report 2022 Jun 12 Josef Newgarden (2) Team Penske (6) Dallara Chevrolet55222.64 (358.304)1:53:02117.174 Report 2023 Jun 18 Álex Palou (2) Chip Ganassi Racing (7) Dallara Honda55220.55 (354.94)1:50:04120.335 Report 2024 Jun 9 Will Power (2) Team Penske (7) Dallara Chevrolet55220.55 (354.94)1:45:00126.154 Report 2025 Jun 22 Álex Palou (3) Chip Ganassi Racing (8) Dallara Honda55220.55 (354.94)1:53:30116.696 Report 2026 Jun 21 Christian Lundgaard Arrow McLaren Dallara Chevrolet55220.55 (354.94)1:51:06119.220 Report 1986: Race started on September 21 but stopped after 3 laps due to rain. The remainder of the race ran on October 4. 2001 & 2004: Race shortened due to time limit. 2003: Race shortened due to darkness after 2 rain delays. 2020: Race postponed and was made into a doubleheader

Support race winners

Atlantic Championship Season Date Winning driver 1978 July 23 Howdy Holmes 1979 July 22 Bob Earl 1980 July 19 Bob Earl 1981 July 26 Whitney Ganz 1982 July 24 John David Briggs 1983 July 16 Roberto Moreno 1986 July 26 Scott Goodyear 1987 August 29 Ted Prappas 1988 July 17 Colin Trueman 1989 September 10 Claude Bourbonnais 1990 September 23 Jimmy Vasser 1996 August 17 Patrick Carpentier 1997 August 17 Alex Barron 1998 August 16 Anthony Lazzaro 1999 July 11 Andrew Bordin 2000 August 20 Buddy Rice 2001 August 19 Hoover Orsi 2002 August 18 Luis Díaz 2004 August 8 Ryan Dalziel 2005 August 21 Tõnis Kasemets 2006 September 24 Jonathan Bomarito 2007 August 12 Franck Perera 2008 August 9 Jonathan Bomarito August 10 Jonathan Summerton