Leader of the championship, Scott Dixon was always well placed without ever having managed to win this season. While a Penske victory seemed inevitable, monopolizing the first 4 places on the starting grid, the New Zealander surprised them by way of the Road America circuit, ahead of Newgarden and Castroneves.
At the start of the race, Castroneves got off to a good start while Newgarden managed to double Will Power for second place. Simon Pagenaud lost him places by letting Dixon and Rahal pass. On lap 5, Graham Rahal was eighth after passing Pagenaud, Chilton and Kimball.
As of the end of the seventh lap, the first stops arrived with Rossi and Hildebrand, forcing them to make 4 stops. The first leader to stop was Castroneves at the end of lap 13, along with Power and Pagenaud. Newgarden stopped a lap later, followed by Dixon and Kimball. This allowed the American to stand out in front of Helio Castroneves, Dixon, Rossi and Power. The fight was intensified at the front, Castroneves had managed to iron again before Newgarden passed it outside after the straight.
On the 27th lap of the race, Helio Castroneves stopped a second time with Pagenaud and Power. Newgarden, Dixon and Kimball were still out of step with the other leaders. Scott Dixon has managed to get into second place thanks to this staggered strategy. At the same time, the safety car came out after a violent spin of Takuma Sato.
Scott Dixon took the lead on lap 31 when passing outside in the first corner while Hinchcliffe harpooned Power. At the same moment, Newgarden lost to Castroneves. The Brazilian stopped a third time at the end of lap 41 while Scott Dixon or Newgarden stopped at the end of lap 42. Thus, Dixon was still standing before Newgarden and Castroneves. Charlie Kimball, in the lead, stopped 12 laps from the end, leaving Dixon at the head of the race.
The race was neutralized a second time on lap 46 after Tony Kanaan’s runway exit. At the restart, Dixon managed to take a few meters ahead of the Penske. This allowed him to win his first race of the season in front of Newgarden, Castroneves, Pagenaud and Power.