IndyCar
Marco Andretti Wins The Pole Position For The 104th Indianapolis 500
SPEEDWAY, IN (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Marco Andretti is on the pole position for the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 mile race.
Andretti’s four-lap average of 231.068 mph in the No. 98 U.S. Concrete Honda was 0.017 quicker than Scott Dixon’s 231.051 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
“I’m so excited, I’m so happy,” said Marco Andretti. “Our team rolled off so fast. Honda just did an unbelievable job. Horsepower is so cool. It makes everything so much easier. I was sliding definitely more than Scotty (Dixon) looked like he was sliding. I knew it was going to be close. Luckily we were just on the better end of that.”
Marco’s legendary grandfather Mario Andretti sat on the pole position three times at Indy in 1966, 1967 and 1987 but his father Michael never won at pole at the Speedway.
Oh Wow, thank you everyone!! https://t.co/ES8wWQV9rn
— Mario Andretti (@MarioAndretti) August 16, 2020
“Fantastic!” exclaimed Michael Andretti. “It was unbelievable, the car was so loose and he just didn’t take his foot of the throttle and he drove the hell out of it. He saved the day because it was pretty disappointing with the first three runs of our other cars. I didn’t think we had a shot but he pulled us through.”
“I’m really happy for Marco,” said Dixon. “They’ve had a solid month. He deserves this. I know what this place means to his family. Really proud of the PNC Bank No. 9 crew. Hopefully we can reverse the positions in a week’s time.”
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato will line up third after posting a four-lap average of 230.725
Row two will line up with rookie Rinus Veekay (230.704) of Ed Carpenter Racing on the inside with Andretti’s Ryan Hunter-Reay (230.648) in the middle with teammate James Hinchcliffe (229.870) on the outside.
The third row consists of Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh Rookie Alex Palou (229.676) on the inside with Sato’s teammate Graham Rahal (229.380) in the middle and Andretti’s Alexander Rossi (229.234) on the outside.
IndyCar
Alex Palou powers to IndyCar Freedom 250 Pole Position in D.C.
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.
IndyCar
Palou quickest in first Markham practice
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
IndyCar
Incomplete race track moves IndyCar Markham practice to Saturday
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.

