IndyCar
Helio Castroneves wins a record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 mile race
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Helio Castroneves is joining elite company after winning a record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 mile race Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Castroneves passed Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou for the lead for good with two laps-to-go and took the twin checkered flags first to join A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears as the only 4-time winners of ‘The Greatest Spectacle In Racing’.
“This is absolutely incredible,” said Castroneves. “From the beginning we were so comfortable. The car was incredible. I knew it was good. This is unbelievable.”
Castroneves other victories came in 2001, 2002 and 2009 when he drove for Team Penske. Sunday’s victory came driving for Meyer Shank Racing and was that organizations first NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory.
Castroneves and Palou started trading the lead back and forth with 17-laps remaining after most of the front runners made their final pit stops. Palou passed Castroneves on the front stretch with three laps-to-go and Castroneves tucked right behind Palou and followed him through turns one and two and then down the backstretch before pulling the same move on Palou.
Castroneves benefitted from a number of cars who were trying to make it to the end without pitting when he hit the backstretch on the final lap. Castroneves smartly used the draft from those cars to maintain his gap ahead of Palou, who tried to draft Castroneves but the gap was too great at that point.
“My strong corners were two and four and it was just a matter of the right opportunity,” said Castroneves. “I saw that traffic, because I needed that traffic to get away, so I decided I wasn’t going to wait.”
“It just hurts a little bit because I wanted this win really bad,” said Palou. “For sure the traffic didn’t help. I was doing everything I was doing to catch him but he was catching the tow from the traffic and I was not able to close up.
Palou may not have won but since the Indy 500 pays ‘double points’ towards the series championship he did take over the series points lead, so he while he was disappointed he couldn’t win, Palou was positive after the race.
“I’m living a dream driving a fast car for the best team in the paddock,” said Palou. “I’m super proud of what we’ve been doing but we’ve got to keep working.”
Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud finished third in the No. 22 Menards Chevrolet with Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward in fourth.
“We got caught up on the first yellow and had to make an ’emergency pit stop’ and got sent back to the back of the field,” explained Pagenaud. “We had to fight back over 156-laps and I really think we had a car that could’ve won.”
Pagenaud said that prior to the race he told Castroneves if he couldn’t win the race, he wanted Helio to get his fourth.
“It’s great that we have a guy from our generation (Castroneves) going into the 4-club,” said Pagenaud referring to the 4-time Indy 500 winners. “I hope he comes back to go for five!”
Stefan Wilson brought out the first caution flag of the race when he spun entering pit road during the first round of pit stops and struck the wall ending his day.
The closure of the pits to clean up the Wilson accident cost pole-sitter Scott Dixon and Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi dearly. The pair had yet to pit and were low on fuel and eventually ran out on pit road while making an ’emergency pit stop’. Both cars had to be re-fired and ended up losing a lap in the process.
Dixon got his lap back a little over halfway through the race and battled for an 18th place finish but ended up losing the series points lead in the process. Dixon sits in second place, one point ahead of third-place O’Ward.
The next race for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is the ‘Duel in Detroit’ on Belle Isle, June 12-13, in Detroit.
WEST ALLIS, WI (August 28, 2026) – Josef Newgarden is atop the speed charts after the first NTT IndyCar Series practice in preparation for the Milwaukee doubleheader.
Newgarden’s fast lap of 159.430 mph (0:22.9191) in the No. 2 Snap-On Team Penske Chevrolet was 0.0075-seconds quicker than rookie Dennis Hauger in the No. 19 Ault Block Chain Honda of Dale Coyne Racing.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou is third fastest after blasting around the historic Milwaukee Mile at 158.890 mph in the No. 10 DHL Honda.
Palou could clinch his fourth consecutive Championship this weekend and fifth overall if he leads by 108-points after Saturday’s Snap-on Makers and Fixers 250 (2:30 p.m. ET on Fox and IndyCar Radio). Palou leads Kyle Kirkwood by 91-points going into Saturday.
Palou will have to overcome a 9-grid starting spot penalty for an unapproved engine change.
Palou is not the only victim of this rule as the Nos. 3 and 12 Team Penske Chevy’s, and the Nos. 76 and 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy’s will also lose 9-starting spots.
Palou’s CGR teammates Kyffin Simpson and Scott Dixon both were in the Top 15 on Friday. Simpson is continuing to improve posting the 11th quickest speed (157.431) in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda and Dixon placed 15th (156.371) in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda.
Friday’s session was slowed by two on-track incidents.
Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel backed the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet into the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 about 16 minutes into the session. Siegel was not hurt but the car suffered significant damage.
Late in the session Kirkwood and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen were running side-by-side through Turn 2 and down the backstretch and got together in Turn 3, sending both cars into the outside wall.
Neither driver was hurt but both cars suffered extensive damage.
Kyle Kirkwood’s No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda and Christian Rasmussen’s No. 21 Stevia Splenda Chevrolet crash at the end of the first NTT IndyCar Series Practice at The Milwaukee Mile (Photo: James Black/Penske Entertainment)
“It felt like he kind of never turned in,” said Rasmussen. “I was on the outside, and it didn’t feel like I turned in early. But I think his rear tire probably touched mine. I didn’t feel like I could have been much higher than I was. It’s really unfortunate because we have a really fast race car.”
“I was just giving him some space there,” explained Kirkwood. “I don’t know if his spotter didn’t tell him I was still there on the inside or he expected me to turn down early or what, but he just started his turn-in too early. That’s not the way you want to end practice.”
Unfortunately for both drivers there is no Saturday morning practice due to the doubleheader format. The next on-track activity is Qualifying at 11 a.m. ET.
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
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Palou quickest in first Markham practice
