IndyCar
IndyCar At Pocono Future In Doubt; Drivers Want To Return
LONG POND, PA (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – This past Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway could be the last visit to the “Tricky Triangle” for the NTT IndyCar Series. The IndyCar Series does not have an agreement to return to Pocono in 2020.
The hot rumor circulating around the garage area and paddock is that the race is going to be replaced on the schedule by Richmond Raceway.
The last few years the IndyCars have raced at Pocono have resulted in accidents and tragedy. In 2015 Justin Wilson was struck in the helmet by a piece of debris from the car of Sage Karam, who had crashed. Wilson died as a result of his injuries.
In 2018 Arrow Schmidt Petersen Motorsports Robert Wickens was left paralyzed after a first lap multi-vehicle crash.
This past Sunday, on the first lap, there was multi-car crash involving Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato, Andretti Autosport teammates: Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay, Arrow Schmidt Petersen’s James Hinchcliffe and NTT Data Services Chip Ganassi Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist. Rosenqvist was taken to a local hospital, checked out, released and cleared to drive in the next race at Gateway.
The outrage on Social Media was quick and included Wickens and Karam.
How many times do we have to go through the same situation before we can all accept that an IndyCar should not race at Pocono. It’s just a toxic relationship and maybe it’s time to consider a divorce. I’m very relieved (to my knowledge) that everyone is okay from that scary crash
— Robert Wickens (@robertwickens) August 18, 2019
I don’t want people to think that I dislike pocono. I think it’s a great track it’s just not meant for indycars. We need to be smart and move on and go to tracks that fit these cars. I love oval racing and want it in Indycar I just simply don’t love Indycar at pocono.
— Sage Karam (@SageKaram) August 18, 2019
All three drivers that finished on the podium, who are also Series Champions, came to the track’s defense and placed some of the blame on the competitors.
“Honestly I feel bad for Pocono…” said Five-time Series Champion Scott Dixon. “Some mistakes that have happened on track, honestly they could happen anywhere. If you look at Justin or Robby, those can happen anywhere. I feel bad that it gets a bit of a bad taste in that scenario. I think the drivers in a lot of situations can do a better job to help that situation. Honestly, I hope we come back.”
Race-winner Will Power echoed those sentiments.
“It’s a great oval for us,” said Power. “Obviously some unfortunate accidents here, like Scott said, that could happen anywhere. (Pocono) Kind of got a bad rap for that.”
Pocono Raceway was designed in 1959 and each turn was designed after three classic IndyCar venues. Turn 1 is a copy of the now-defunct Trenton Speedway. Turn 2 is designed after the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Turn 3 is designed after The Milwaukee Mile.
Hinchcliffe felt the accident could have been avoided with a little common sense.
“We were heading into turn two kind of three wide, I knew that wasn’t a good idea, so I backed out,” said Hinchcliffe. “500-mile race man, I don’t know how many times we have to do this before people figure out you can attack all you want, it doesn’t give a change to win if you’re in the fence.”
Hunter-Reay was equally frustrated by getting taken out on the first lap for the second year in a row.
“This is ridiculous,” said Hunter-Reay. “I thought we learned our lesson here. Lap one of a 500-mile race. I had a nice clean run on Rossi, almost three-quarters of the way up past him and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, I’m backwards.
Power and Dixon hope to return to the track because they were seeing some positive signs.
“I felt the crowd today at the start of the race was fantastic,” said Dixon. “It was gaining some really good momentum. Hopefully it gets to continue.”
“It’s a great oval for us,” Power said. “The crowd us up 15-percent every year we come back. It’s getting better. The crowd was great today. It’s a good racetrack, man. A good track for racing. I really hope we come back. I think the guys do a great job. A cool track for us. It’s hard for us to find good ovals these days that suit our cars.”
Pagenaud believes having a race in the Northeastern United States is key and also hopes the race continues.
It’s a fun track to drive on,” said Pagneaud. “It would be really unfortunate, because it’s close to New York, a great market for IndyCar. It’s an opportunity to bring people from New York to the IndyCar races. Hopefully we can come back and hopefully we can keep working with the people at Pocono because it’s been a lot of fun. As a driver, I really enjoy coming here.”
LEBANON, TN (July 18, 2026) – Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood is sitting atop the speed chart after the first NTT IndyCar Series practice at Nashville Superspeedway.
Kirkwood’s No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda turned a fast lap of 23.7447 (197.097 mph) around the 1.33 mile oval to best Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou, who turned a fast lap of 23.7605 (196.996) in the No. 10 DHL Honda.
Team Penske’s David Malukas was third quick with a 23.8362 (196.340) in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet. Malukas’ car however got loose in Turn 2 and slammed backwards into the wall.
Malukas exited the vehicle under his own power and walked to the AMR Safety Vehicle. Malukas was taken to the infield care center. NTT IndyCar Series officials issued an update a short time later saying he was being taken to a local hospital by private vehicle for further testing. He has not been cleared to return to the cockpit at this point.
Malukas was also assessed a nine-place grid penalty for an unapproved engine change entering this weekend.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon rounded out the Top 10 with a quick time of 23.9932 (195.055) in the No. PNC Bank Honda. Palou and Dixon’s CGR teammate Kyffin Simpson was 20th at 193.346.
Qualifying takes place at 3:00 p.m. on Fox and the IndyCar Radio Network.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (July 2, 2026) – Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon is leaving Chip Ganassi Racing following the conclusion of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series Season the team announced in a statement Thursday before the series races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Complex this weekend.
MADISON, IL (Sunday, June 7, 2026) – The king of World Wide Technology Raceway has returned to his throne.
Josef Newgarden won for the sixth time in 11 starts at the 1.25-mile oval just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, enduring two rain delays during the race Sunday night to win a feverish, fascinating Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline. The victory was Newgarden’s second this season, as he also won in March at the 1-mile Phoenix Raceway oval.
SEE: Race Results
The two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion has captured 15 of his 34 career victories on ovals shorter than 1.5 miles. This win came as he was still recovering from a lower leg injury suffered two weeks ago in the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.
“Great job to the group,” Newgarden said. “Just a methodical night. We had a good car to start. It wasn’t perfect, but it really came to us just when we needed it. It was a track position day.”
Newgarden, who started eighth, drove his No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet to victory by .6613 of a second over the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda of fellow Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, who still managed a season-best finish. Christian Rasmussen finished a season-best third in the No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet of ECR.
Rinus VeeKay continued the trend of season-best finishes by ending up fourth in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, with Scott McLaughlin rounding out the top five in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet that featured a throwback livery honoring the 2009 Indianapolis 500-winning car driven by Helio Castroneves.
Newgarden took the lead for good on Lap 221 after a spirited duel with Rasmussen that began almost immediately after a restart on Lap 212. Rasmussen dove under Newgarden in Turn 1 for the lead on Lap 215, but Newgarden drove past Rasmussen in Turn 3 for the top spot on Lap 219.
One lap later, Rasmussen again drove under Newgarden for the lead in Turn 1, one of his race-high 38 on-track passes. But Newgarden countered again in Turn 3 one lap later for a lead he would not surrender. It was the most decisive of an event-record 268 passes for position in this frantic race.
Ericsson sped under Rasmussen for second in Turn 3 on Lap 225 and set his sights on Newgarden. But one lap later, a plume of smoke trailed from the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet fielded by A.J. Foyt Enterprises for Caio Collet, who was enjoying the best race of his rookie season by leading seven laps and running consistently in the top five in the second half of the race.
That triggered the last of four caution periods, with another wrinkle to concern Newgarden and the lead pack. A host of trailing cars entered the pits for fresh Firestone Firehawk tires, while the top eight cars stayed out.
McLaughlin made a spirited charge toward the front on the restart on Lap 234, climbing from ninth to fifth in just four laps. But the Kiwi and the other cars that pitted for tires didn’t have enough traction from the fresher rubber or speed to challenge the top four down the stretch.
Meanwhile, Newgarden maintained a gap of around one-half of a second over Ericsson over the closing 10 laps and never was threatened.
“You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Marcus,” Newgarden said. “I thought he was incredibly strong. I don’t really think there was much between us, so it was a matter of who was going to get position on each other, and that was going to seal the deal. He drove a great race.”
Said Ericsson, seeking his first win since March 2023 at St. Petersburg: “I’m very proud of our performance, but at the same time it’s tough to lead that many laps … I thought we had it at some points, but Josef is the best in the business on these short ovals.”
Two red-flag periods totaling 50 minutes kept strategists’ heads spinning on the pit wall as various permutations and fuel options were considered.
Chip Ganassi Racing rolled the dice earlier in the race by calling NTT P1 Award winner Alex Palou and his teammate Scott Dixon to the pits to top off fuel as soon as the pits opened after the first red flag period, which lasted 38 minutes. The hope was to get enough caution to need one fewer fuel stop than rivals or be out front when a race-ending rain shower arrived.
But neither happened, and Palou paid the price dearly.
The four-time series champion entered the pits on Lap 203, two laps after Dixon had to enter a closed pit for emergency service as his No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was running out of fuel. Palou’s No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda sputtered when it entered the pit lane and ran out of fuel, and he was forced to coast to his pit box for a stop made even longer when his engine wouldn’t refire.
Palou’s car restarted, and he returned to the track to finish 17th. The two short oval races this season have been Palou’s Achilles’ heel. He finished 24th after contact in March at Phoenix, and that result and tonight’s disappointing showing are his only finishes outside of the top seven all season.
Reigning series champion Palou’s lead in the standings was trimmed to 49 points over Kyle Kirkwood, who finished sixth in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda of Andretti Global.
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America on Sunday, June 21 at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
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