IndyCar
Andretti Autosport Atop Speed Charts After Day 1 Of Qualifying At Indy
SPEEDWAY, IN (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Andretti Autosport swept the first four spots of Indy 500 qualifying Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Marco Andretti posted the fastest 4-lap average of 231.351 mph in the No. 98 U.S. Concrete Honda. Andretti did it later than his teammates as he drew the 28th qualifying attempt.
2014 Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay was second quickest with a 4-lap average of 231.330 mph in the No. 28 DHL Honda.
2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi was third fastest in the No. 27 NAPA Auto Parts Honda at 231.268 mph.
James Hinchcliffe, who is running a partial schedule in the No. 29 Genesys Honda, was fourth at 231.195.
PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, the 2008 Indy 500 winner and series points leader, spoiled the Andretti party posting the fifth fastest average 231.155 mph.
Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus Veekay was sixth fastest at 231.114 mph.
“Great run this morning, very happy with that,” said Veekay. “I’m happy!”
Rookie Alex Palou of Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh was seventh fastest at 213.034 mph.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) teammates Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato, the 2017 500 winner, rounded out positions eight and nine with speeds of 230.822 mph and 230.792 respectively.
Positions one through nine will come back on Sunday to fight it out for the pole position in the “Fast Nine Shootout”, which will set the lineup for the first three rows.
“We can play tomorrow, that’s the fun part,” said Andretti. “We’re going to be playing with three of our teammates, Dixon, a few other guys. Tomorrow’s going to definitely be a different day, so we’ve already been thinking about that, and it’s going to be a 10-to-15-mile-an-hour wind which makes it hard when you’re at these downforce levels.”
Positions 10 through 33 (rows 4 through 11) won’t have that chance as the speeds they set on Saturday will determine their starting position.
Just missing out on the fast nine were Andretti’s Colton Herta in tenth (230.775), Ganassi’s Marcus Ericsson in eleventh (230.566) and RLL with Citrone/Buhl Autosport’s Spencer Pigot in twelfth (230.539).
One team you will not see fighting for the pole on Sunday is Team Penske. Penske’s Josef Newgarden, the defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion will start 13th (230.296). Will Power, the 2018 Indy 500 winner, will start 22nd. 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud will start 25th and three-time 500 winner (2001, 2002, 2009) Helio Castroneves will roll off 28th.
WASHINGTON D.C. (August 22, 2026) – Alex Palou’s blistering lap of 56.8993 seconds in the No. 10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda puts the four-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion on the pole position for Sunday’s Freedom 250 on the streets of Washington D.C.
“Incredible,” said Palou. “My car was on rails. Super-fun lap, super-fun car to drive. Couldn’t be happier. Looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, man, 250 miles.”
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood lines up second after a lap of 57.4661 in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda.
“P1 both first and second group, and the last one Alex Palou is just a legend and goes faster on his one-lap dash than he did the whole rest of the run, I think,” Kirkwood said. “He made us look silly out there.”
Scott McLaughlin spoiled the Honda party up front, putting the No. 3 PPG Chevrolet third on the grid after a fast lap of 57.4200.
Palou’s CGR teammates Scott Dixon and Kyffin Simpson did not fare as well as their teammate.
Dixon was on a lap that would have allowed him to transfer into the next round of qualifying, when Simpson hit the wall, triggering a red flag which cancelled Dixon’s lap. The No. 9 PNC Bank Honda will start 14th.
Bringing out the red flag penalized Simpson of his two fastest laps so the No. 8 Sunoco Honda will start last in 25th.
Coverage of the Freedom 250 starts at 11:30 a.m. on Fox and IndyCar Radio with the green flag waving in our nation’s capital at 1 p.m.
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.
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