2026 IndyCar Series

The 2026 NTT IndyCar Series is the ongoing 115th official championship season of American open-wheel racing and the 31st season under IndyCar Series sanction. Its showcase event is the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500. Álex Palou entered the season as the defending Indianapolis 500 winner and a four-time series champion, including defending three-peat champion.

• On September 12, 2024, IndyCar announced that the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company had signed an extension to remain as the series' sole tire supplier until at least the 2030 season.^[1]
• On July 31, 2025, Fox Sports parent company Fox Corporation announced that it had acquired a one-third stake in IndyCar parent company Penske Entertainment. As part of the acquisition, Fox Sports' TV contract was extended to 2030.^{[2] [3]}
• On December 11, 2025, IndyCar announced a new three-person independent officiating board, named IndyCar Officiating Inc. Two members – Ray Evernham and Raj Nair – were voted on to the panel by IndyCar team owners, while the third member – Ronan Morgan – was appointed by the FIA.^[4] Scot Elkins was later announced as the Managing Director of Officiating.^[5]
• On February 12, 2026, it was announced Chevrolet and Honda had signed a multi-year contract extension which keeps them in the series when it switches to 2.4-liter twin-turbo hybrid V6 engines in 2028. Each manufacturer will receive a single charter entry as part of the agreement.^[6]
• On April 28, 2026, IndyCar announced a new rule that non-chartered entries would not be permitted to race outside the Indianapolis 500 beginning with the 2027 season.^[7]

The following teams, entries, and drivers are competing in the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season.^[8] All teams use a Dallara DW12 chassis with 2018 universal aero kit and Firestone tires.

• On September 2, 2025, Team Penske confirmed reports that Will Power would depart the team, having driven for the team since the 2009 season.^[42]
• On September 2, Rinus VeeKay confirmed that he would not return to Dale Coyne Racing in 2026.^[43]
• On September 3, Cadillac Formula 1 Team announced that Colton Herta had been signed as the team's test driver for 2026, taking him out of IndyCar after seven seasons driving for Andretti Global.^{[44] [45]}
• On September 3, Andretti Global confirmed reports that Will Power would join the team, driving the No. 26 entry vacated by Herta.^[13]
• On September 18, Team Penske announced that David Malukas would join the team on a multi-year deal beginning in 2026, driving the No. 12 entry vacated by Power.^[41]
• On September 23, Dale Coyne Racing confirmed reports that 2025 Indy NXT champion Dennis Hauger would join the team for the 2026 season.^[24]
• On October 14, Juncos Hollinger Racing announced that Rinus VeeKay would join the team for 2026, serving as the team's lead driver.^[30]
• On October 29, Marco Andretti announced his retirement from motor racing and the Indianapolis 500.^[46]
• On November 6, A. J. Foyt Enterprises announced it had signed 2025 Indy NXT runner-up Caio Collet for the 2026 season, replacing Malukas in the No. 4 car.^[10]
• On November 13, Arrow McLaren announced that Ryan Hunter-Reay would join the team for the 2026 Indianapolis 500.^[19] On April 26, Arrow McLaren announced that Hunter-Reay's entry would be fielded in partnership with Legacy Motor Club.^[47]
• On November 24, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced that World Endurance Championship and ex-Formula One driver Mick Schumacher would pilot the No. 47 car, replacing the No. 30 car driven by Devlin DeFrancesco.^[37]
• On February 13, 2026, Dale Coyne Racing announced that Romain Grosjean would be returning to the IndyCar Series after competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship the previous year.^[23]

• On April 27, 2026, A. J. Foyt Racing confirmed that Katherine Legge would race in the 2026 Indianapolis 500, driving the No. 11 car in partnership with HMD Motorsports.^[48]

• On September 23, 2025, with the confirmation of Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing announced that it had formed a technical alliance with Andretti Global for the 2026 season.^[24]
• On January 29, 2026, Team Penske revealed that Tim Cindric is returning to the team as the strategist for Scott McLaughlin, having been released from his role as the team's IndyCar president in May 2025, following penalties during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.^[49]
• During the off-season, Ed Carpenter Racing shifted away from its former denomination and started to be publicly known by the acronym ECR, in light of further changes in its ownership structure involving Ted Gelov, who had become a co-owner in 2025.^{[27] [50]}
• On February 25, 2026, it was confirmed via IndyCar's entry list and grid space allocations that PREMA Racing would miss at least the opening round at St. Petersburg, amidst reports of the founding Rosin family departing the organization and other financial challenges.^[51]
• On April 20, 2026, Abel Motorsports confirmed that they would return to the series with an entry in the Indianapolis 500. The team had last competed in the IndyCar Series in 2023. Jacob Abel will be the driver for the team.^[9]

The schedule was released on September 16, 2025.^[52] Start times were released on December 18, with all races being broadcast on Fox.^[53] The Freedom 250 was then added on January 30, 2026.^[54]

• IndyCar returned to Phoenix Raceway after an eight-year absence, marking the championship's first race in Arizona since 2018.^{[55] [56]}
• The Grand Prix of Arlington debuted in March, held at a new street circuit around the Streets of Arlington. This marked the championship's return to Texas for the first time since 2023.^[57]
• The Grand Prix of Alabama moves from early May to late March.^[58]
• After having hosted the season finale since 2024, the Music City Grand Prix moves to July 19 and becomes round twelve of the season. The event will also become a night race and have its race length extended from 225 laps to 300 laps.^[52]
• The race at World Wide Technology Raceway will also be a night race.^[52]
• The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy race will move from Exhibition Place, where it has been held ever since 1986, except for 2008, 2020, and 2021, to a temporary street circuit in Markham, Ontario, under a five-year deal.^[59]
• The Milwaukee Mile race weekend becomes a double-header event, as it had been when it returned to the schedule in 2024.^[52]
• The Grand Prix of Monterey returns as the season finale, as it had been in 2019, 2022, and 2023. The race moves from late July to September 6.^[52]
• The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix did not return in 2026 after two years on the calendar.^[60]
• Iowa Speedway was also dropped from the calendar after four years on the IndyCar schedule.^[52]
• The Freedom 250 will debut in August, a race held on the streets of Washington, D.C., following its addition to the IndyCar schedule in January.^[61]

• On November 20, Java House was announced as the title sponsor for the inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington.^[62]
• On December 3, Good Ranchers was unveiled as the title sponsor for IndyCar's return to Phoenix Raceway.^[63]
• OnlyBulls was announced as the title sponsor for the Grand Prix of Portland.

• ¹ Kyle Kirkwood, Álex Palou and Will Power tied for most laps led at Arlington. Kirkwood received the bonus points for most laps led by virtue of being the highest placed finisher, based on IndyCar rule 7.3.6.2.

The 2026 IndyCar season started like the year before, with a pole position for Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.^[64] He led Andretti's Marcus Ericsson throughout the first stint of the race, handling an early restart after a three-car collision caused by Juncos Hollinger Racing's Sting Ray Robb on the opening lap. McLaughlin pitted on lap 35, with Ericsson following a lap later. Chip Ganassi Racing's defending champion Álex Palou crucially elected to stay out two laps longer to attempt an overcut. That strategy worked and it led to Palou taking the net race lead after his stop on lap 38, before cycling back to the front on lap 42. The only threat to his victory from that point on came through the final stint, where Palou ran hard tires while the others behind ran the quicker soft tires, but Palou consistently pulled away throughout the final part to win the race by almost 13 seconds. Andretti's Kyle Kirkwood looked set to take second before both McLaughlin and McLaren's Christian Lundgaard overtook him on lap 94.^{[65] [66]}

The Good Ranchers 250 marked IndyCar's return to Phoenix for the first time since 2018. Team Penske's David Malukas earned his first career pole position after beating teammate Josef Newgarden in qualifying.^[67] He controlled the opening part of the race, which saw an early caution on lap ten. On the restart, JHR's Rinus VeeKay made contact with Palou while attempting to pass him, sending the points leader into the wall and out of the race. Malukas held first place until the first pit cycle, where McLaren's Pato O'Ward took over in front. ECR's Christian Rasmussen rose up the order during the next stint, and a timely second caution allowed him to dispatch then-leader Kirkwood with fresher tires. Andretti's Will Power attacked Rasmussen for the lead and the pair made contact, causing a puncture for Power and a third caution. Newgarden was among the drivers electing to pit and quickly moved from tenth to the lead. He took the win and the points lead ahead of Kirkwood and Malukas, while Rasmussen dropped to fourteenth with a damaged car.^{[68] [69]}

The Java House Grand Prix of Arlington brought a new track as well as a new top-six single-lap shootout qualifying format, in which Ericsson took his first career pole position.^[70] Palou qualified second, with the pair leading the field until they both pitted on lap 16. An error by Ericsson's pit crew saw him fall behind Palou, with O'Ward and Kirkwood slotting in behind. Lap 27 saw both Andretti cars make their second stops, with Palou and O'Ward following a lap later before Kirkwood got past Ericsson for a net second place. The pit stops promoted Power to the front, albeit on a less favorable two-stop strategy that saw him extend his second soft-tire stint until lap 45. By that point, Palou had nullified the gap to him and took over at the front. The top two took their final pit stop on lap 49, and Kirkwood, the fastest man on track at that point, reeled in Palou to claim first place with 16 laps to go. The race ended under caution after a multi-car collision, handing Kirkwood the win and with it the championship lead as Power rounded out the podium.^{[71] [72]}

Round four, the Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix, saw Palou take pole position in qualifying ahead of Malukas and RLL's Graham Rahal.^[73] The top three remained static after the start until Rahal took second place on lap 17. Malukas pitted two laps later, with Rahal following suit and Palou holding out on hard tires on until lap 27. Lundgaard, who also started on hard tires, rose from tenth to third in his first stint. Palou took his second pitstop on lap 45, seven seconds ahead of Rahal, who stopped one lap later. Lundgaard pitted on lap 50, overcutting Rahal to move into second place. Lundgaard cut Palou's advantage to 3.4 seconds during the penultimate stint, until the Spaniard stopped for the final time on lap 64. Lundgaard stayed out longer again and looked set to challenge Palou through an overcut, but a slow 17-second stop saw him rejoin behind Rahal. Palou, now leading comfortably, took victory to cut the championship gap to two points. Lundgaard was able to repass Rahal, who held on to third to take his first podium since August 2023.^{[74] [75]}

MSR's Felix Rosenqvist secured pole position in qualifying for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, besting O'Ward by just 0.04 seconds.^[76] Palou started third and immediately passed O'Ward for second place on lap 2. Rosenqvist controlled the pace for the first 31 laps until the leaders made their first tandem pit stops. Rosenqvist maintained his lead over Palou as they both transitioned to the alternate tires. He managed to build a three-second lead during this second stint, before a piece of debris triggered the event's only caution period on lap 57. The field pitted on lap 59, leading to a direct duel between the top two drivers' pit crews. Palou's stop took 7.3 seconds, while Rosenqvist was stationary for 8.4 seconds, leading to him losing the lead as CGR's Scott Dixon took third place. After the lap 61 restart, Palou quickly began gapping the field, while Dixon had to work hard defending from Kirkwood. Palou claimed his maiden victory at Long Beach to also move back into the championship lead, 17 points ahead of fourth-place finisher Kirkwood.^{[77] [78]}

Palou earned his third consecutive pole position for the Sonsio Grand Prix after leading every session of the event.^[79] The race began with a multi-car collision in turn 1 that collected Dixon, O'Ward, Rosenqvist and A. J. Foyt's Caio Collet. Palou and Kirkwood formed the top two during the early stages, until lap 21, when ECR's Alexander Rossi stopped on the front straight with a mechanical failure. Only a local yellow was initially thrown to allow most of the field to pit, a decision that led to criticism and a change in procedures post-race.^[80] Palou and Kirkwood stayed out and therefore dropped back when they pitted under the belated full-course yellow. Malukas inherited the lead and held it until lap 68, when Lundgaard made a decisive pass through turns 5 and 6 to claim first place. He maintained the lead to claim his second career victory and end a 47-race winless drought as Malukas took a career-best second place and Rahal completed the podium in third. Palou recovered to fifth to extend his championship lead over Kirkwood to 27 points.^[81]

Pole position for the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 went to Palou once again, ahead of Rossi and Malukas.^[82] Palou and Dixon controlled the early stages, trading the lead frequently to manage fuel consumption. Rain arrived at the speedway around the halfway point, forcing a red flag on lap 105. Upon the resumption, a distinct strategy split developed; Malukas and Palou opted for a late pit stop to run at full power, while Rosenqvist and O'Ward attempted to reach the finish by conserving fuel. The tactical battle was neutralized on lap 192 when a crash for Collet caused a red flag for cleanup. Rosenqvist led the subsequent restart, but was overtaken by teammate Marcus Armstrong before a final caution on lap 197 set up a one-lap shootout. Malukas took the lead into turn 1, with Rosenqvist and Armstrong side by side behind him until turn 4, where Rosenqvist slingshotted past Malukas to win by 0.0233 seconds, the closest margin in race history. Palou finished seventh, his lead over the rest of the field extended again to 37 points.^{[83] [84]}

Qualifying for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix saw Palou continue his one-lap dominance as he claimed another pole position.^[85] At the green flag, Palou maintained his lead while McLaughlin overtook Power for second place. He returned to second following an early caution, before taking the lead on lap 17. He lost out to McLaughlin and Lundgaard when his tires faded on lap 35, before the frontrunners pitted and Palou returned to the front through an undercut. Palou’s team then opted for a green-flag pit stop on lap 63, a move which would prove crucial when a caution was triggered three laps later, forcing Kirkwood, who had inherited the lead, to pit under yellow. That promoted Palou back into the lead and Rossi to second, before the latter had to take a drive-through penalty. Three more cautions punctured the final part of the race. Kirkwood pressured Palou at each restart, but was unable to find a way past. Palou maintained control to secure his fourth victory of the season, growing his championship lead over Kirkwood to 62 points.^{[86] [87]}

• Ties are broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc.; then by finishing position in the previous race; then by random draw.^[88]

• At all races except the Indy 500, the pole position qualifier earns 1 point (unless qualifying is not held).^[89] The twelve Indy 500 qualifiers who qualify for the fast 12 session receive points based on the results of that session, descending from 12 points for first place.^[90]
• Drivers who lead at least one race lap are awarded 1 point.^[91] The driver who leads the most laps during a race scores an additional 2 points.^[91]
• Each entrant-initiated engine change-out performed, prior to the engine having reached its distance mandate, results in a loss of 10 championship points.^[92]

• ¹ Álex Palou was penalized five points at the Indianapolis 500 after his car failed post-race technical inspection in regard to front wing height.^[93]

• ¹ The #10 Chip Ganassi Racing entry was penalized five entrant points at the Indianapolis 500 after failing post-race technical inspection.^[93]

The top-two finishing full-season eligible entrants for a manufacturer in each race score points toward the engine manufacturer's championship. Points scored are the same as the driver's championship except for bonus points – a race win is worth five bonus points for a manufacturer, while a pole position is worth one bonus point (except at the Indianapolis 500). A full-season entry is eligible to score manufacturer points until it exceeds the maximum number of allowed engines per entry.

For Indianapolis 500 qualifying, the manufacturer that runs the fastest speed on Saturday receives one bonus point; while the manufacturer that qualifies on pole position receives two bonus points.

^P–Pole position winner, ^W–Race winner

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