IndyCar
Chip Ganassi Racing begins quest for 15th INDYCAR Championship
ST. PETERSBURG, FL (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Chip Ganassi Racing begins its quest for a third-straight NTT INDYCAR SERIES title with this weekend’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.
The team is clearly capable having won 14-INDYCAR titles between 1996 and 2021.
Alex Palou enters 2022 as the defending series Champion and knows that he, and his team, are capable of going back-to-back, joining CGR Alums Alex Zanardi (1997 & 1998) and Dario Franchitti – who won back-to-back titles en route to 3-straight (2009, 2010, 2011) – as the only CGR drivers to accomplish that feat.
“It’s going to take a lot of work for sure,” said Palou. “I think the field is getting stronger and stronger in INDYCAR, the teams are getting closer so the competition is really, really high. It’s going to be important to keep performing, even on the bad days. We kept the same team, almost all the mechanics, the engineering group on the 10-car so it should be a good year for us.”
Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion Scott Dixon says Palou’s title shows how strong and deep the Ganassi team is, which is reminiscent of when the team reeled off 4-straight titles – twice – from 1996-to-1999 and from 2008-thru-2011.
“To see Alex and the 10 car side, and the whole Ganassi group, be able to pull that off was great to see,” said Dixon, who again will pilot the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda. “It was great to see so many smiles, I think, throughout the team on all the team levels and the progression that we made. Hopefully we can carry that momentum through to this season and one of us have that opportunity to try and win for Chip again.”
Dixon’s mindset is always the same entering the season and it hasn’t changed in the two decades he’s been driving for the team.
“The first goal is to win the Indy 500, which has been difficult,” said Dixon, the 2008 winner of The Greatest Spectacle In Racing. “The second is to win the Championship. Last year was definitely trying at some points, and we lost a lot of points at the Indy 500 with double points, and it was very hard — nowadays especially with the competition, how tough it is, it’s very hard to claw back deficits like that.”
Marcus Ericsson enters his third year with the team and is coming off his first career victory in Detroit and followed that up with a victory in the inaugural Music City Grand Prix in Nashville.
“Last year was definitely kind of a breakthrough for me getting that first win out of the way, having a super strong season, a consistent season with a lot of top 10s, actually running in the top five for most of it there in the second half,” reflected Ericsson, who drives the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda.
Ericsson says one of the keys to the success of the team is the unselfishness of everyone involved.
“We have a very strong team,” said Ericsson. “We work so well together. I think that’s one of the reasons why we are so strong, is that we have all of us drivers in the team, me Scott and Alex, but also Jimmie and T.K. (Tony Kanaan). We are really working well together. We’re different characters, different personalities, but we all work really hard together and want to succeed as a team. I think that’s been getting the best out of each other last year. It was a big reason why we were so strong.”
Kanaan will run a fifth Ganassi entry, The American Legion Honda, at the Indianapolis 500 after driving the oval portion of the schedule in the No. 48 Honda that Jimmie Johnson drove on the road and street circuits in 2021.
Johnson is back and will drive the full season in the No. 48 Carvana Honda after a significant learning curve in 2021 after spending decades driving big, heavy, stock cars.
“I spent last year just trying to hitch my trailer to the back of the pack and keep up with everyone, and I was finally doing that at the end,” said Johnson. “I’m just eager to get more oval experience to try to sense and understand the car. I feel like I’ll be much more competitive on the ovals, and the faster I can learn the cars and sensations and adjustments, the better my chances will be at a podium or better yet.”
Johnson admitted that he needs to get settled in and just drive and react versus think and analyze every little detail.
“In some ways I just need to get out of my own head and hang it all out on the track,” said Johnson, who is looking forward to getting a second opportunity on tracks he’s only raced at once.
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg green flag drops Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Fans can watch the race on NBC and hear the race on INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates and SiriusXM Channel 160.
MADISON, IL (June 6, 2026) – Alex Palou and the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing team are continuing to lay down fast laps when it counts with Palou earning the pole position for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway. The pole position is Palou’s fourth straight NTT P1 Pole award.
“It was incredible and so much fun, especially that first lap,” said Palou, who turned a two-lap average speed of 174.353 mph in the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “The #10 Honda Honda had so much speed. The team I have around me is incredible. My car was on rails today; it was incredible.”
David Malukas starts second in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet after a two-lap average of 173.244 mph. Malukas could only look on in disbelief as Palou knocked him off the pole.
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood starts third in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda following a two-lap average of 173.206 mph.
“ It was a good run for us,” said Kirkwood, the 2025 WWWT Raceway winner. “P3 is a really good starting spot and we can definitely do some great things from there. Last year we won from 10th, so it’s nice to be able to be at the front.”
2026 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Felix Rosenqvist starts fourth in the No. 60 SiriusXM Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin will start 5th in the No. 3 Dex Imaging Chevrolet.
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon starts 7th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda and CGR’s Kyffin Simpson will start 14th in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda.
Television coverage of Sunday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 begins at 8 PM CT / 9 PM ET on Fox. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).
DETROIT, MI (May 31, 2026) – Alex Palou is back in victory lane after winning Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, his fourth win of 2026 and 12th win in his past 25-races.
“It was a tough one,” said Palou. “The team did an incredible job one again with the strategy. Pit stops were incredible. The number 10 Honda Honda looked really good and I think every time it has been on track it’s had a win.”
Palou and the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda fought off Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood on two late-race restarts as Palou was on the harder Firestone Primary tire and Kirkwood was on the softer Firestone alternate tire.
“It was very tough with the temperature on the tires,” explained Palou. “On the restarts I couldn’t really be at the level of Kirkwood, Power and some of the guys who were able to get a little more tire temp than I Wass able to.”
“The Sam’s Club Honda was really fast,” said Kirkwood, who is second to Palou in the Championship. “We took a little bit of a gamble on tires there being the only guy on reds (alternate) at the end. It nearly paid off. It was so, so, close. They’re a great team and he’s a great driver.”
Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Graham Rahal finished third in the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda, tying Rahal’s best finish of the year.
“We had a lot of pace when we needed it,” explained Rahal. “We go lucky a little bit with the yellow.”
IndyCar
Alex Palou wins Detroit IndyCar Pole; Scott Dixon earns 4th starting spot; Honda sweeps front row
DETROIT, MI (May 30, 2026) – Alex Palou is starting on the pole position for the third consecutive NTT IndyCar Series Race, winning the number 1 starting spot for Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear.
Palou’s fast lap of 1-minute, 1.9017-seconds (95.668 mph) in the No. 10 Honda Racing Corporation Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was 0.005542-seconds ahead Will Power, who will start second in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda of Andretti Global. This is Power’s best starting position since switching to Andretti in the offseason.
“I’m super happy that we got the pole position,” said Palou. “The Fast Six was very exciting, especially with only getting one lap. The tires were not up to temperature, but this #10 Honda Honda car was on rails.”
“It was really nice to get into the Fast Six,” said Power, IndyCar’s all-time pole winner. “It’s my second time in the one lap shootout this year. It’s very difficult to beat Alex, so heading into the race I think we just have to put our heads down and see what we can do. The Honda is very good and I’ve been really enjoying running with Honda power all year.”
The front row Honda sweep on Chevrolet’s doorstep may bode well for the manufacturer as Honda has won every race at Detroit since the series switched to the downtown street circuit beginning in 2023.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin spoiled the Honda party, locking down the third starting spot with a lap of 1:02.4559 in the No. 3 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet.
Six-time series Champion Scott Dixon qualified a season-best fourth at 1:02.6085 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda to give Chip Ganassi Racing two of the top 4 starting spots.
“I was just a little too aggressive going for it,” said Dixon. “The No. 9 PNC Bank Honda has speed and it’s good to be starting up front.”
Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard will line up fifth after a fast lap of 1:02.7870 in the No. 7 Chevrolet, despite losing an engine in the morning practice.
Kyle Kirkwood continued the Firestone Fast Six Honda party qualifying sixth in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda despite locking his tires up at one point and two power slides during his quick lap.
David Malukas will start last in the field after bringing out a red flag during his qualifying run. Malukas smacked the wall in turn 7 causing heavy damage to the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet.
Sunday starts with a 30-minute morning warmup at 9:30 a.m. followed by the 100-lap race at 12:30 p.m. on Fox and the IndyCar Radio Network.
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