IndyCar
Josef Newgarden Wins His 2nd IndyCar Series Championship
MONTEREY, CA (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden won his second NTT IndyCar Series title in three years by finishing eighth in Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
“I was just happy we were able to get through today,” said Newgarden, a Franklin Tennessee native. “It was kind of a chaotic event. There were times I didn’t think it was going to go our way. The most important thing was for a Team Penske car to win the Championship, and that’s the was we devised our strategy, and you hope it works out in your favor.”
The Championship was team owner Roger Penske’s 16th title and fourth in the last six years.
“Josef’s a great Champion,” said Penske. “You can see it in his eyes. You could see it the first time he won with us and with Will (Power) and Simon (Pagenaud), who just had an outstanding season, when you think about three wins and certainly the Indy 500 is the crown jewel that all of us want to have every year.”
Pagenaud finished fourth in the race and second in the Championship.
“I won Indianapolis this year,” said Pagenaud. “There’s nothing to be disappointed about. We finished second. That’s the second time we’ve finished second in the Championship. We won the Championship in ’16. But I’m just equally happy for Josef and the whole team, to wrap up the Indy 500 and the Championship in one year is just absolutely incredible.”
Andretti Autosports Alexander Rossi finished sixth in the race and ultimately finished third in the Championship.
“It is the way it goes,” said Rossi. “It is the way the chips fell. Nonetheless, I think the No. 27 NAPA Andretti Honda has some highlights this year. Ultimately, we just weren’t good enough. We need to regroup and work hard this offseason.”
PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon finished third in the race and ended up fourth in the Championship.
“The car was by far better on the red Firestone (Alternate) tires than the black primaries,” said Dixon. “There was a ton of tire degradation and it kind of threw us for a loop. Great result for PNC Bank, great for Honda winning the manufacturer title.”
Harding Steinbrenner Racing’s Colton Herta won the race in dominant fashion, leading 83 of the 90-laps to pick up his second victory of the season.
“It was a perfect race,” said Herta. “Whenever you win an IndyCar race, it has to be a perfect race. You can’t really make mistakes and get away with it, just because there’s always two or three other guys on that day that can win. We had the pay on them and we were definitely the best today, so we deserved to win.”
The win for Honda was its eighth of the year while clinching its second consecutive Engine Manufacturer’s Championship.
MARKHAM, ONTARIO (August 15, 2026) – The NTT IndyCar Series is making it’s first visit to a new street circuit in Markham, Ontario but a familiar face topped the speed charts after the first practice.
Four-time Series Champion Alex Palou turned the fastest lap around the 12-turn, 2.19-mile temporary street course, a 1-minute, 14.9915-seconds (100.811 mph) lap in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
A.J. Foyt Racing rookie Caio Collett was second quick with a 1-minute, 15.0454-seconds (100.739) in the No. 4 Chevrolet.
Louis Foster was third quick in the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda at 1:15.0278 (100.702) followed by Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin 1:15.2981 (100.401). Will Power rounded out the Top 5 at 1:15.3152 (100.378).
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammates were not as strong. Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon was 20th at 1:16.4583 (98.877) in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda. Kyffin Simpson was 24th at 1.17.3893 (97.688) in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda. Simpson made contact with the wall at Turn 6, causing damage to the rear suspension. Simpson limped to pits for repair and returned to action later in the session.
Practice 2 is set for 2:30 p.m. as delayed track construction forced officials to cancel Friday’s activities and condense Saturday’s schedule. NTT P1 Pole Qualifying is set for 6:30 p.m. ET
MARKHAM, ONTARIO (August 14, 2026) – Issues with the completion of the temporary street circuit in Markham Ontario has forced the NTT INDYCAR SERIES first practice to be moved to Saturday as all of Friday’s on-track activity had to be scrubbed from the schedule.
“INDYCAR is incredibly disappointed that our promoter was not able to complete the track build on time, despite significant support from our team on site,” INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said. “Ontario has always been a magnificent market for our sport and the number of spectators that attended today is a shining example of that. New events can always pose logistical challenges and we join in the frustration of our loyal fans and apologize.”
Green Savoree Promotions also issued a statement.
“Ensuring the safety of the drivers and the completion of the certification process of competing on a brand-new racetrack delayed all on-track activities today. Today’s sessions have been rescheduled to Saturday, August 15, to allow for further track preparations.”
“We greatly appreciate all the fans who made it out to the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham today and chose to spend the day with us. The attendance and support were overwhelming.”
The revamped schedule calls for the first practice to take place at 10:00 a.m. followed by a second practice at 2:30 p.m. and P1 Pole Qualifying at 6:30 p.m.
PORTLAND, OR (August 9, 2026) – Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing are closing in on another NTT IndyCar Series Championship after winning Sunday’s Only Bulls Portland Grand Prix.
Palou started second and passed Felix Rosenqvist during the first round of pit stops by staying out an extra lap and using the ‘overcut’ to get the lead and then dominated, leading 60 of 110-laps to grab his sixth victory of 2026.
“Everybody at CGR and Honda did an incredible job,” said Palou, who started second. “I had an absolute rocket ship today. It was very, very nice to drive every single lap.”
“We had to do something different than Felix,” said Barry Wanser, team manager for the No. 10 Honda. “We had to go longer than him. It takes a lot of performance by Alex and certainly the Honda engine to give us the fuel mileage to jump in one more and do the overcut. That helped us. We had a pretty smooth pit stop and got the jump there.”
Rosenqvist, who started on the pole in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Grateful Dead Honda, closed to within a second late but couldn’t get back to the front.
“He got us in a sequence,” said Rosenqvist, the 2026 Indianapolis 500 winner. “I got kind of twisted up leaving my box because I was so close to the Schumacher crew. I think between the overcut and that, we kind of lost the position. From there on we just sat in second.”
Andretti Global’s Will Power finished third in the No. 26 TWG Honda to lockout the podium for the manufacturer.
“Great day for us,” said Power. “Great day for Andretti. Didn’t quite have the pace I think the top two guys. Probably about a tenth off. Just seriously fast pace all day. Qualifying laps, really good quality. Such a quality field now.”
The victory for Palou increased his Championship lead to 110 points over Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global, a gap of more than two races with just five races remaining this season.
“Chip puts the best guys around me, but then also everybody is just executing,” said Palou. “That car is a rocket ship, and I’m just lucky enough to drive it.”
The next NTT IndyCar Series race is the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham on Sunday, Aug. 16 on the streets of Markham, Ontario.
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