IndyCar
Andretti Tops “Fast Friday” At Indy
SPEEDWAY, IN (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Third generation driver Marco Andretti topped the speed charts during “Fast Friday” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Andretti led the final practice before Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a fast lap of 233.491 mph in the No. 98 U.S. Concrete/Curb Andretti Autosport Honda.
“Fast Friday was good, especially with the top speed of the day,” said Andretti. “We seem to be looking good on no-tow speeds, as well. But we just need to nail tomorrow, and the No. 98 car has enough speed for the Fast Nine.”
Andretti’s fast lap was the fastest speed since Arie Luyendyk ripped off the fastest practice lap in Indy 500 history, 239.260, on May 10, 1996.
Second-generation driver Conor Daly was second fastest today at 232.337 in the No. 47 United States Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet.
“Results-wise, today looks great,” said Daly. “We’ve had a really consistent week up front in the top 10, which is nice.”
NTT INDYCAR SERIES points leader and 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon, fastest Thursday, was third at 232.290 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
“I hope things keep going in this direction,” said Dixon, a five-time series Champion. “The PNC Bank car is good right now, and we’re trying to get some more balance, so that’s kind of where we’re at. We were second or third most the day on the no-tow speed report for outright speed, so we hope that ends up holding true.”
2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay was fourth at 232.124 in the No. 28 DHL Honda, the best lap of the day without an aerodynamic tow, which he set early in the session.
“The 28 DHL car was really hooked up this morning,” said Hunter-Reay. “Unfortunately, two different racetracks from a.m. and p.m. I think the car has speed in it, but just lacked a little bit of balance later in the day.”
Rahal Letterman Lanigan with Citrone/Buhl’s Spencer Pigot rounded out the top five at 232.116 in the No. 45 Hy-Vee/Embrace Pittsburgh Honda.
“We had a pretty good day and ended up fifth overall,” said Pigot. “I think we were around the top nine in the no-tow list. Overall, it was a solid day; we made some good gains in the Hy-Vee / Embrace Pittsburgh car.”
The first day of qualifying takes place from 11 a.m.-4:50 p.m. (ET) Saturday. The nine fastest cars will earn a berth in the Fast Nine Shootout from 1:15-2:15 p.m. Sunday, which will determine the pole winner and the starting grid for the first three rows of the race Sunday, Aug. 23.
NBC will air qualifying from 3-5 p.m. Saturday. NBC’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES streaming platform, INDYCAR Pass on NBC Sports Gold, will cover qualifying from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday.
The Pennzoil INDYCAR Radio Network will air broadcasts of all track activity this weekend.
Qualifying coverage starts from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 3:30-5 p.m. Saturday on national affiliates, SiriusXM 205, indycar.com and the INDYCAR Mobile App powered by NTT DATA. Fast Nine Shootout coverage will air from 12:30-2:30 p.m. Sunday.
More Saturday qualifying coverage from the Pennzoil INDYCAR Radio Network will be available from 1-3:30 p.m. on indycar.com and the INDYCAR Mobile App. Practice coverage on indycar.com and the INDYCAR Mobile App will be available from 8:30-9:30 a.m. Saturday, 11-11:30 a.m. Sunday and 3:30-6 p.m. Sunday.
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.
Riggs rules New Hampshire, Ankrum survives to claim final Chase berth
Alex Palou powers to IndyCar Freedom 250 Pole Position in D.C.
Spithaler Sprints to Mercer Win
Newlywed Reft Wins At PPMS
Logano Wins at Richmond as Chase Picture Takes Shape
Michael Norris wins his 5th Jook George Steel City Classic
Kvapil Hangs On To Win Pennzoil 250 in Top-Four Sweep by JR Motorsports
Newlywed Reft Wins At PPMS
Troutman Gets First Win For Foster In Schaltenbrand Memorial At Lernerville; Cipriano, Flick, and Schneider Also Win.
