It's Officially Summer Now That We've Got An IndyCar Covered In Red Solo Cups

The NTT IndyCar Series has a quick turnaround after a wild race at World Wide Technology Raceway (seriously; I still can't get over Jose Newgarden's crash), and teams will have to go from a short oval to the longest road course on the calendar, Road America.

Now, it's fitting that this race takes place on the first official weekend of summer because the scenery around the Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin circuit is about as picturesque as you can get for a perfect summer day, with lush green foliage surrounding a lot of the track.

So, what better time to roll out the ultimate summer cookout/get-together/shindig livery than this weekend?

Well, that's what championship leader and Indy 500 winner Alex Palou is doing when he hits the track in his No. 10 Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing, that is decked out in a livery that pays homage to everyone's favorite piece of disposable drinkware, the SOLO cup.

I feel like every race weekend has a livery that becomes everyone's favorite. When I went to the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg at the start of the season, that livery was Kyle Kirkwood's No. 27 with a Chili's livery. That thing had everyone jonesing for a triple-dipper, which is obviously the idea.

This weekend? That favorite will almost certainly be Palou's SOLO cup scheme because it hit that balance of being quirky but still looking good. I promise you, there will be many a red SOLO cup being raised as Palou navigates his way around the four-mile circuit.

And speaking of favorites, Palou and the aforementioned Kirkwood will come into this weekend as two of the drivers to beat, considering they're the only drivers who have won any races this year, with Kirkwood having won the last two races on the streets of Detroit and at World Wide Technology Raceway, the latter of which was his first win on an oval.