These NTT INDYCAR SERIES road races are sometimes two-hour buildups to results we can see coming. And then there was Sunday’s XPEL Grand Prix of Road America Presented by AMR.

Ask Marcus Armstrong or Graham Rahal about unpredictable endings. Or Felix Rosenqvist or Alex Palou earlier in the race. Or Christian Lundgaard, for heaven’s sake. Upon crossing the finish line with the victory, he radioed to his team: “How did we do that?”

This trip to central Wisconsin was memorable for 55 laps of ever-shifting dynamics. Everyone expected Palou, the winner of three of the past four Road America races, to run away and hide, and his race began that way from the pole. But a caution on Lap 14 helped enable Rosenqvist to swipe the lead, and Palou, who later was penalized for speeding on pit road, never completely recovered.

Rosenqvist was walking away with the victory until he wasn’t. That moment came on Lap 29 when he came off the track’s last corner with every intention – and crew instruction – to pit. But just as he was about to turn in, caution lights illuminated for Christian Rasmussen’s stalled car on the front straightaway. Rosenqvist was caught out, and he never completely recovered.

Armstrong was the beneficiary of his teammate’s unlucky break. The first win of the New Zealander’s career was in sight until it wasn’t. With four laps remaining, Armstrong’s equipment failed, and he certainly couldn’t recover.

Then there was Rahal. It has been a comeback season for the veteran, and Sunday’s race was another installment. He was poised to add another podium finish – it would have been his fourth of the season – until the last lap. He and Will Power tangled in the fast approach to Canada Corner, and his damaged car rocketed into the Turn 12 run-off gravel as Power took third place. There was no way for Rahal to recover.

Finally, consider Lundgaard’s afternoon. His car suffered first-turn damage on Lap 1, and the stop for repairs reduced him to the back of the 25-car field. Through fortunate timing, brilliant driving and a late pit stop for new alternate tires, the Dane was able to not only get back in contention but stalk Armstrong for the lead in the late going. When Armstrong’s car faltered, Lundgaard pounced, scoring his second victory of the season and the third of his career.

As often happens in recent seasons, Palou emerged a winner. He battled back to finish fifth, enabling his points lead to be extended. Eight races remain, and the driver in pursuit of his record-tying fourth consecutive series title (and fifth overall) now has a margin of more than can be achieved in a single race. Palou leads David Malukas by 60 points, Kyle Kirkwood by 61 and Lundgaard by 77.

The field will have some time to digest how things turned so quickly at Road America. The next race is The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the 2027 CR-V Hybrid on Sunday, July 5 (12:30 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).